CHINA
China Mobile Communications Corp. awarded Motorola Inc. a GPRS network supply contract to cover an estimated 110,000 subscribers in four Chinese cities. China Mobile, a GSM operator, will use the “always on, always connected” GPRS feature with data applications like e-commerce, e-mail and data transfer to the cities of Hangzhou, Chengdu, Tianjin and Beijing. The announcement did not disclose the financial details of the deal.
ITALY
Telecom Italia said it increased its stake in Entel S.A. in Chile from 25.63 percent to 54.76 percent. Entel owns 100 percent of Entel PCS, a mobile operator in Chile. Chile said it purchased the stakes held in Entel Chile by the Chilquinta Group and Matte Groups, respectively 25.63 percent and 3.5 percent, for $905 million-$820 million to Chilquinta and $85 million to Matte. Entel Chile also operates a fixed-line network.
INDONESIA
Indonesian telecommunications provider Indosat said it received a license for a Digital Cellular System-1800 network and selected Ericsson to begin building the infrastructure to cover nine cities in the country. The company said the service, which will be an upgrade to its cellular network, is expected to launch in the third quarter of next year.
UNITED KINGDOM
Orange will deploy location-based services through SignalSoft Corp. and will license SignalSoft’s location gateway product, Location Manager, and its location-based information application, local.info. Compaq, SignalSoft’s partner and the project’s prime contractor, will host the gateway and applications on its NonStop Himalaya Intelligent Network platform. Webraska, a member of SignalSoft’s local.info Alliance, will provide personal navigation, traffic information and maps. “Content and advanced services are central to winning subscriber loyalty and new revenue streams,” said Thomas Kohler, Orange’s head of corporate development.
