British Telecommunications

Croatia has announced a tender to construct and operate a nationwide GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) network. Bids were due 15 April. A consortium led by ABN Amro Bank …

SINGAPORE-What was to have been one of the most glorious moments in Singapore’s telecommunications history turned out to be a major fiasco in April when one of the tenderers for …

OXFORD, England-In March, shareholders of the privatized Spanish operator Telefonica approved a new group structure as well as a proposal to raise Pta 600 billion (US$3.97 billion) through the largest-ever …

Switzerland last week awarded national licenses to two of five rival consortia-diAx mobile and Orange Communications SA-to operate wireless networks in competition with the country’s single operator, Swisscom. The winning …

ROME-Three consortia have submitted bids for Italy’s third mobile phone license, due to be awarded mid-year. Two of the bids were expected for some time. Picienne-a consortium led by the …

After years of delays and controversy, the Italian Ministry of Communications began accepting bids for the country’s third mobile phone license last week. The ministry set an April 15 deadline …

ComTel Ltd., a United Kingdom-based cable TV company, said it plans to offer its customers mobile telephone service through an agreement with U.K. cellular carrier Cellnet. ComTel business customers will …

NEW YORK-GTE Corp. announced a series of asset sales and other actions April 2 that the company said are “designed to further sharpen its strategic focus and improve its competitive …

The recent merger activity involving second-tier cellular companies has touched off speculation about which companies may be next to tie the knot. Alltel Corp. and 3600 Communications Co. last week …

LONDON (AP)-Three British telephone companies charge customers too much to place calls to mobile phones, a regulator said Thursday as he ordered a monopoly investigation of their pricing. “Mobile phones …

Although the Italian government awarded fixed telephony licenses last week to two companies, confusion and frustration continue to surround the decision to bestow a much-delayed third mobile phone license. The …

DUBLIN, Ireland-The challenges faced by radio-access network providers have been underlined by the experiences of Ionica, a company established in June 1996 to provide a new wireless telephone service to …

WASHINGTON-Spain’s Telefonica has announced it will partner with United States-based WorldCom and MCI in a partnership for future business ventures in Europe and the Americas. This follows the collapse of …

1. Jan. 6 NextWave awarded its PCS permits In a decision almost surely headed for the appeals court, the Federal Communications Commission last Friday conditionally awarded NextWave Personal Communications Inc. …

NEW YORK-As the new year approaches in the horse race that is commercial deployment of low earth orbit mobile satellite systems, “we’re still at the first half-mile, with the finish …

Italy’s award of a third mobile phone tender has hit another snag. The country’s Post and Telecommunications Ministry delayed once again the long-awaited process until February due to an October …

Nearly one year after British Telecommunications plc and MCI Communications Corp. announced plans to merge, MCI last week terminated the agreement and accepted a $37 billion stock offer to merge …

The Dutch government most likely will auction two mobile phone licenses in the spring, rather than the end of this year, because the European Commission blocked the government’s plan to …

AT&T Corp.’s board of directors unanimously elected C. Michael Armstrong chairman and chief executive officer of the company, effective Nov. 1. AT&T was widely viewed to be under pressure to …

Espoo, FINLAND-The Quadrant Consortium, which is comprised of British Telecommunications plc, Nokia Corp., Motorola Inc. and TRW, has been authorized by the British government to begin work on the specification …

MCI Communications Corp., which last week found itself with a third suitor in GTE Corp., may finally have an opportunity to enter the wireless arena in more than a reseller …

NEW YORK-Competition, as intended, is causing the telecommunications pie to enlarge. But it also is creating numerous consolidation plays among carriers as they strive for dominance and economies of scale …

JACKSON, Miss.-The Federal Communications Commission extended the timetable for public comment on WorldCom’s application to establish a voting trust in connection with the company’s bid to acquire MCI Communications Corp. …

WorldCom Inc. last week made an unsolicited offer to merge with MCI Communications Corp. in a deal that would eclipse British Telecommunications plc’s planned acquisition of MCI, which has been …

Consolidation as a means to expansion has been the tradition in the wireless industry. Look no further than Craig McCaw, amassing a wireless fortune one cellular license at a time. …