BEIJING-China's two telecom operators-big brother China Telecom and little brother China Unicom-soon will face the competitive onslaught of foreign heavyweights such as AT&T, Deutsche Telekom and WorldCom.After China joins the World Trade Organization (WTO), expected some time during the first half of the year,...
PRAGUE, Czech Republic-The Czech government agreed to sell some of its 51-percent stake in SPT Telecom, the country's fixed-line monopoly. The tender should be completed by the end of 2000 or early 2001, according to international press reports.SPT Telecom owns 51 percent of Eurotel...
In a bid to strengthen its position in the wireless industry and expand its influence overseas, Internet infrastructure provider InfoSpace.com announced it signed a definitive agreement to acquire wireless Internet portal Saraide Inc.According to the agreement, InfoSpace.com will issue about 2.4 million shares of...
United KingdomBritish Telecommunications plc is close to a deal with Viag, the German utility, that would give it access to the Austrian telecom market and more control in Switzerland, the Financial Times reported. BT will take a 50-percent stake in a new holding company,...
NEW YORK-For strategic and financial investors, many domestic wireless carriers possess a strong desirability quotient because they own scarce spectrum in a huge and growing market.Lehman Brothers Inc. projects that wireless penetration in the United States will reach 50 percent by 2002 and 70...
During the last five weeks, merger and acquisition announcements have flooded the telecommunications arena. Carriers in Asia, Europe and North America continue to jockey for positions in an industry that promises to exclude players without multinational footprints.Telia/TelenorThe merger of Telia of Sweden and Telenor...
NEW YORK-Contrary to headlines about heavy merger activity in all sectors, the $234 billion worth of transactions for which dollar values were disclosed last quarter doesn't come close to either of the prior two quarters.Nevertheless, aggregate merger and acquisition deal values stood at $992...
Mannesmann AG, parent of Germany's top mobile communications company, confirmed last week it made a bid to buy U.K. mobile carrier Orange plc, which Orange's largest shareholder accepted.The bid values Orange, the United Kingdom's third-largest mobile operator, at about $32 billion.Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa,...
NEW YORK-France Telecom last week proceeded toward its goal of becoming a pan-European provider of seamless mobile, wireline and Internet communications through an agreement to acquire controlling interest in E-Plus, Germany's third-largest wireless carrier.After the E-Plus acquisition, France Telecom will have about 17 million...
FRANKFURT, Germany-Deutsche Telekom AG announced it is buying a majority stake in MediaOne Group Inc.'s cellular phone assets in Central Europe and Russia for $2 billion.Under the agreement, Deutsche Telekom will double its stake in Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa Sp.zo.o, which operates under the Era...
Dear Bernie,Congratulations on your promotion into the wireless industry. While I admired your foray into wireless with MCI WorldCom's acquisition of SkyTel, I admit I was surprised at your company's coup in picking up Sprint's PCS licenses.You obviously are a savvy businessman with a...
WASHINGTON-The Clinton administration may have misled American telecom firms by suggesting that problems created by Beijing's ouster of wireless and wireline investors in China Unicom could be ironed out by year's end as part of negotiations over China's membership in the World Trade Organization.But...
NEW YORK-Nuance of Menlo Park, Calif., announced Oct. 5 it is in preliminary testing stages with 25 telecommunications and Internet companies for Voyager, its new speech interface software.Company officials said they see Voyager, which uses open standards, as heralding the arrival of the "Voice...
Speculation circulated last week that MCI WorldCom Inc. and Sprint Corp. were in merger talks, following published reports that linked the two companies.Neither company would comment on the reports.Meanwhile, MCI WorldCom closed on its acquisition of SkyTel Friday.Both MCI WorldCom and Sprint long have...
France Telecom said it will sell its 2-percent stake in Deutsche Telekom next year, according to a Reuters report. France Telecom also said it expects changes in the shareholder structure of Global One, France Telecom's joint venture with Deutsche Telekom and Sprint Corp.Meanwhile, at...
About the time PCS licenses were first up for grabs, industry prognosticators predicted that four or five mega-carriers would one day rule the U.S. wireless industry.Are we there yet?As Bell Atlantic admits it is talking with Vodafone AirTouch plc about a link-up between their...
WARWICK, United Kingdom-Castle Transmission International, the U.K. subsidiary of Crown Castle International Corp., said it is working in cooperation with One 2 One on plans for a mobile network in Northern Ireland.Under terms of a preliminary agreement, CTI will design the One 2 One...
NEW YORK-Deutsche Telekom, which bought England's One-2-One last month, considers its 10-percent stake in Sprint Corp. too minuscule a toehold in the burgeoning and beckoning American market, company executives said at a press conference Sept. 9.Make no mistake, the German giant is pleased with...
United KingdomDeutsche Telekom is acquiring U.K. operator One2One from Cable & Wireless and MediaOne Group. Deutsche Telekom Chairman Ron Sommer called the acquisition "key" to Deutsche Telekom's international strategy and said it is an important step toward offering a cross-border mobile product.British Telecom (BT)...
LONDON-Cable & Wireless plc announced it is considering selling some of its interests in cellular phone companies, particularly in Japan.The company said it will focus on providing data services to business customers, and will dispose of shares in companies not central to that focus,...
China Unicom is working to oust foreign investors from its telecommunications projects this fall, and it appears investors may not leave quietly.The Chinese government has ordered China Unicom, the country's second telecommunications operator, to wind up all China-China-Foreign (CCF) partnerships by the end of...
LONDON-Following weeks of industry speculation, Deutsche Telekom on Friday won its bid to buy U.K. mobile carrier One 2 One in a deal valued at about $13.6 billion.The deal is made up of about $11.2 billion in cash and the assumption of about $2.4...
Rumors that Deutsche Telekom AG is in talks to buy British mobile phone company One2One for about $12 billion continued last week amid renewed speculation the German phone company might also be interested in buying Sprint Corp.Deutsche Telekom has been the subject of such...
FRANKFURT, Germany-Deutsche Telekom AG is rumored to have entered an $11.75 billion bid to acquire British mobile phone company One2One, according to a Reuters report."We have no comment," Deutsche Telekom spokesman Stephan Broszio told Reuters.One2One was put up for sale by its parents Cable...
