LONDON-In yet another setback for third-generation technology, Manx Telecom, a subsidiary of British Telecommunications plc, has postponed its mid-May launch of 3G services on the tiny Isle of Man. The delay was blamed on software problems in handsets, according to international press reports.The 3G...
LONDON-Vodafone Group plc has agreed to pay $6.9 billion total for British Telecommunications plc's interests in Japan and Spain.The sale includes BT's 20-percent stake in Japan Telecom and its 20-percent stake in J-Phone Communications, JT's mobile subsidiary, making Vodafone the largest shareholder of JT...
GENEVA-How the mighty have fallen. British Telecommunications (BT), once ranked among the world's most powerful carriers, is finding itself buckling under a crippling mountain of debt in a climate where raising equity in the telecom/information technology (IT) sector has hit an all-time low. In...
In Beijing, it is uncivilized for a lady to talk on a mobile phone while walking, according to a report on the Beijing Evening News. It seems cultural rules of society can be seamlessly translated to the mobile industry and should be given adequate...
TOKYO-Toyota Motor Corp. sold its stakes in three regional wireless companies to Japan Telecom for an undisclosed amount, international press reports said. J-Phone Communications is Japan's second-largest mobile carrier and is owned 54 percent by Japan Telecom.Toyota held 1.97 percent of J-Phone East, 1.98...
NEW YORK -British Telecommunications plc will undertake "a massive, massive restructuring, and I don't want to underestimate what we plan to do this year," Sir Peter Bonfield, chief executive officer, told securities analysts at a recent meeting here.Under the umbrella of a new group...
NEW YORK-The Multi-Service Networks Division of Ericsson Telecom AB, Stockholm, is poised to deliver on the promise of convergence by enabling Internet service providers, cable TV operators and local exchange carriers to offer seamless connectivity to mobile communications.The technologies are designed to provide wireless...
LONDON-As speculated earlier this week, Vodafone Group plc said it agreed to acquire AT&T's Corp.'s 10-percent economic interest in Japan Telecom Co. for $1.35 billion in cash. Following the completion of the transaction, Vodafone will hold 25 percent of Japan Telecom's equity.The acquisition marks...
GENEVA-Despite a subdued initial public offering (IPO) that saw the company reap a modest US$9 per share-near the bottom end of an already hastily reduced US$8.7 to US$10 range-the future is looking good for Orange, the former U.K. operator that now forms the cornerstone...
TORONTO-The established Canadian wireless fraternity scooped up most of the available spectrum licenses contested in the February auction. All told, Industry Canada's auction for wireless spectrum in the 2 GHz band raised US$964 million for federal coffers.Rogers Wireless and Bell Mobility were the two...
AT&T Corp. is reported to be in "exploratory discussions" with Dobson Communications Corp. regarding a potential transaction between the two companies, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.The report cites an AT&T filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission."As part of this...
NTT DoCoMo, announced that it set the public offering prices for new shares at $17,500 per share for 400,000 shares. If the additional 60,000 shares are issued at the same price, the issue amount will total $8.1 billion, the firm said. The payment due...
NEW YORK-Borrowing the vernacular of a traffic engineer, a financier compared the current capital market conditions for telecommunications companies to rush-hour congestion, but observed that the tie-up looks like it is slowly beginning to clear.Investors still are sorting out a host of concerns that...
OSLO-In a move to gain about $1.1 billion, Telenor plans to sell its stake in Esat Digifone to its owner, British Telecommunications plc. BT acquired Esat last year.Since Telenor acquired its 40-percent stake in Esat in 1996, it has invested a total of $109...
LONDON-State regulators in Europe are gearing up to promote the 40 GHz-43.5 GHz band for fixed-wireless telecom services, which will enable new entrants to compete against dominant operators such as British Telecommunications plc and Deutsche Telekom.Commercial uncertainties remain, however, as to the viability of...
TOKYO-KDDI, the sole cdmaOne operator in Japan, has been expanding its international roaming services, fully using its universally standardized cdmaOne technology.In January, KDDI launched international roaming services in Canada in cooperation with Telus Mobility, a major Canadian carrier. Canada will become the fifth country...
LONDON-State regulators in Europe are gearing up to promote the 40 GHz-43.5 GHz band for fixed-wireless telecom services, which will enable new entrants to compete against dominant operators such as British Telecommunications and Deutsche Telekom.Commercial uncertainties remain, however, as to the viability of the...
TOKYO-NTT DoCoMo has been gearing up its global strategy, concluding one investment agreement after another. Since December 1999, it has invested in carriers in Hong Kong, the Netherlands and Britain.At the end of November 2000, DoCoMo announced another big deal with a U.S. carrier,...
OSLO, Norway-Telenor said it would exercise its option to sell its 10-percent stake in German operator Viag Interkom GmbH to British Telecommunications plc. The transaction, expected to be completed in January 2001, is worth more than $2.26 billion.Telenor said the payment will mainly go...
Chris Gent has had quite a year.For the chief executive of Vodafone Group plc, 2000 began with a hostile takeover of Mannesmann AG, parent of its rival Orange plc, and continued with a spending spree for third-generation licenses across Europe. The year also marked...
NEW YORK-The major players' rankings reflect the dynamic environment of telecommunications as some stalwarts held their ground, some newcomers joined the group, while still others showed substantial rises or falls in various categories.AT&T Wireless Group, listed this year as an entity distinct from its...
BIENNE, Switzerland-Two of the five companies left to bid in a Swiss third-generation license auction merged, causing the Swiss government to postpone the auction of four licenses. Four companies are left in a race for just four licenses."Virtually all candidates have undergone major changes...
NEW YORK-The telecommunications environment has become so dynamic that it is forcing rapid and radical change in the way internal information technology departments and external middleware providers operate.Carriers' legacy computer systems are scalable and reliable but also resistant to change. Even some middleware companies...
A week after announcing plans to eliminate as much as $14 billion in debt, British Telecommunications plc said it was selling its 34-percent stake in Swiss joint venture Sunrise to TeleDanmark, a partner in the deal, for $659 million. BT said the sale netted...
