NEW YORK—A trio of wireless carriers tapped the deep well of the debt markets last week, collectively raising nearly US$2 billion.Korea Telecom was first out of the starting gate, raising US$1.32 billion in five-year, unsecured notes convertible into common stock. The securities, sold in...
NEW YORK—A trio of wireless carriers tapped the deep well of the debt markets last week, collectively raising nearly $2 billion.Korea Telecom was first out of the starting gate, raising $1.32 billion in five-year, unsecured notes convertible into common stock. The securities, sold in...
TORONTO—BCE is propping up its mobile-phone subsidiary Bell Canada International by putting in up to C$500 million (US$317 million) to meet financial obligations of C$1.3 billion (US$824 million) due in April. BCE, Canada's largest communications company, owns about 74 percent of Bell Canada International's...
MEXICO CITY—America Movil, the mobile subsidiary of Mexico's TelMex, announced several transactions that will give it control of several Latin American companies currently held by Telecom Americas and centralize Telecom Americas' holdings in Brazil. Telecom Americas is the partnership among America Movil, SBC Communications...
DENVER, United States—Venezuela's leading operator, Telecommunicaciones Movilnet, signed a US$150 million contract that will allow Lucent Technologies to build a nationwide third-generation (3G) cdma2000 wireless network to complement its existing TDMA digital network.Lucent did not announce the timeline for the launch of the network,...
TORONTO—In the high-speed Internet pricing war with Rogers Cable, Bell Canada is the first to blink. Bell is raising prices for the first time since it launched its top-end Web service. Wireless carriers are carefully monitoring the rate increases in high-speed, fixed-wired Internet services....
MONTREAL-Telesystem International Wireless Inc. has closed the sale of its interests in Brazilian cellular operations Americel S.A. and Telet S.A. to an affiliate of Bell Canada International Inc. and Telecom Americas Ltd. for proceeds totaling $153 million.
SAO PAULO, Brazil-Brasil Telecom is looking to acquire part of Vesper, its rival that uses wireless local loop technology to offer basic telephone service, according to international press reports. The potential deal is in the early negotiation stage, according to the reports.Vesper is controlled...
STOCKHOLM, Sweden-Telia AB said it will sell its financial interests in Brazilian mobile operator Tess to Telecom Americas for $950 million. Telia has a 62-percent stake in Tess, which has about 940,000 wireless subscribers.Telia and Telia Overseas are selling all their preferred shares in...
TORONTO-To the relief of the wireless industry, the Canadian government raised the four-year-old spectrum cap that limits the amount of radio spectrum each PCS provider may operate. Wireless carriers in Canada can now each use 55 megahertz of spectrum, an increase from 40 megahertz.In...
NEW YORK-Telecommunications carriers worldwide are under significant pressure due to the bandwidth explosion, rising capital expenditures, competition from new players and delays in commercial rollout of new technologies."I take a cautious view of the telecommunications services world at the moment, although I believe there...
MONTREAL-Continuing its efforts to divest its Asian telecommunication properties, Canadian communications company Bell Canada International Inc. signed a definitive share purchase agreement with Taiwan Cement Corp. to sell its 20-percent interest in Taiwanese personal communications services provider KG Telecom for $533.9 million.BCI expects to...
TORONTO-The consolidation trend in the North American wireless sector is intensifying. The prevailing wisdom is that it is no longer good enough to be merely a regional or national carrier with transborder capabilities. The game plan is to be part of a global presence,...
BANGALORE, India-Although the Indian cellular industry is growing quite well, with the country's cumulative cellular subscriber base at 2.18 million at the end of June, operators are still hesitant to expand coverage outside high-density population centers.When the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) originally divided the...
New ZealandNokia Corp. will integrate its General Packet Radio Service core network solution into Vodafone New Zealand's network, providing mobile Internet access to Vodafone's subscribers. Vodafone plans to launch commercial GPRS service during the fourth quarter.TaiwanNokia will deliver its General Packet Radio Service core...
MEXICO CITY-Telefonos de Mexico and Bell Canada International announced they will form a new company with an initial capitalization of US$3.5 billion to target the South American market.Telmex and BCI will hold equal interests in the venture.The companies offered SBC Communications the right to...
SEOUL, South Korea-Korea Telecom has agreed to purchase a 48-percent stake in Korean wireless operator Hansol M.com for $2.6 billion. Bell Canada International Inc., American International Group Inc. and South Korea's Hansol Group agreed to sell their combined 48 percent of the country's smallest...
MEXICO CITY-Telefonos de Mexico and Bell Canada International announced they will form a new company with an initial capitalization of $3.5 billion to target the South American market.Telmex and BCI will hold equal interests in the venture.Telmex and BCI offered SBC Communications Inc. the...
South Korean mobile phone carrier Hansol M.com said talks to sell a controlling stake in the company to either Korea Telecom or the LG Group had broken down. The problems centered around differences over prices, according to press reports.Both Korea Telecom and the LG...
SAO PAULO, Brazil-In early January, by starting operations as a "mirror" company of fixed-line carriers Telefonica and Telemar, Vesper faced a challenge in the Brazilian market. The company planned to compete with operators installed in 17 states, with an objective of ending the first...
BOGOTA, Colombia-The Colombian telecommunications sector has experienced growth over the last year despite the 1998-1999 economic recession. Although expectations that the sector would boom in 1999 were overshadowed by economic problems, several government initiatives promise to pave the way for future growth.The Colombian government...
