STOCKHOLM, Sweden—The boards of Sony and Ericsson have both approved their mobile-phone joint venture, first announced in April. The joint company, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, is slated to begin operations …
BOSTON, United States—In a recent report, analyst and consulting company Ovum warned that operators need to follow thought-out strategic business plans to successfully implement third-generation (3G) technologies in the foreseeable …
NEW YORK—Ericsson received mixed reviews this week from Moody’s Investors Service, which confirmed the company’s investment-grade A3 long-term debt ratings, but changed the ratings outlook to negative from stable. “The …
LONDON—According to a recent Frost & Sullivan study, the pending introduction of General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) may change mobile data access, especially among enterprises. According to Ben Connelly, a …
HELSINKI, Finland—Nordic telecom companies Sonera and Telia have met, in separate talks, with representatives of the government of Belarussia to discuss a possible participation in applying for the former Soviet-bloc …
KIEV, Ukraine—The second-largest Ukrainian carrier Kyivstar is placing corporate bonds worth 86.95 million hrivnas (US$16.3 million). The placement will continue until 17 October. The bonds are issued in documentary and …
BUCHAREST, Romania—The board of directors of Enitel AS, in consultation with the company’s debt committee, has decided to hand in a petition for bankruptcy for the Enitel ASA subsidiary. The …
COPENHAGEN, Denmark—The Danish telecom agency awarded four third-generation (3G) licenses for US$118 million each after receiving bids from five companies. Incumbent operators TDC Mobile, Telia Denmark and Orange each won …
LUXEMBOURG—Millicom International Cellular (MIC) has been awarded licenses to develop GSM 1800 MHz wireless telephony in Russia’s Rostov-on-Don, Izhevsk, Kemerovo, Irkutsk and Omskand surrounding regions. The five regional licenses each …
NEW YORK—MMO2, the BT Wireless unit that British Telecommunications plans to spin off in November, has received low-tier investment-grade corporate credit ratings of Baa2 from Moody’s Investors Service and BBB- …
TOKYO—NTT DoCoMo, the leading mobile carrier in Japan, and IBM Japan have jointly developed key technologies for streaming service over mobile phones, both firms announced on 18 September. According to …
HONG KONG—The Hong Kong telecom regulator announced the initial results of the first phase of its third-generation (3G) license auction. The successful bidders are Hong Kong CSL, a company jointly …
NEW YORK—Any plans to take the J-Phone wireless business of Japan Telecom public must wait until the performance of its parent improves, said Chris Gent, chief executive of Vodafone Group, …
BANGKOK, Thailand—Thailand’s CP Orange said it signed a US$250 million contract with Motorola to install cellular networks in Thailand’s provinces. According to a statement by CP Orange, Motorola will install …
BEIJING—Beijing Mobile, a unit of China Mobile, said it plans to raise its call forwarding rates because of high interconnection costs. According to Reuters, China Mobile users pay high costs …
OXFORD, United Kingdom—European cell-phone operators have been criticized by the Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) for promoting the technical attributes of their networks rather than services. The GSA, a trade …
OXFORD, United Kingdom—Current lithium battery technology used to power cell phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs) is reaching its limits, according to researchers. To drive the power-hungry third-generation (3G) handsets …
ARLINGTON, Va.—Last week, France played host to the third meeting of Project MESA, an international public-safety partnership working to bring together organizations from public protection, disaster response and civil defense …
RALEIGH, N.C.—High Speed Net Solutions Inc. said it has demonstrated its Bluefuel Image module designed to enable image applications on mobile phones and other wireless devices, featuring full-color sports images …
BANGKOK—Thailand’s CP Orange said it has signed a $250 million contract with Motorola Inc. to install cellular networks in Thailand’s provinces. According to a statement by CP Orange, Motorola will …
