OXFORD, United Kingdom-Investment in the telecommunications sector is an urgent priority for Central and Eastern European countries. Financial management consultant Price Waterhouse examined in a recent report the challenges of such investments for 12 countries in the region, representing a combined population of some...
OXFORD, United Kingdom-Originally scheduled for fall 1996, Italy's third GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) license finally was awarded in June. The winning WIND consortium is 51-percent owned by the state-controlled electricity utility Enel, together with partners Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom. WIND recently...
The Italian government named the Wind consortium the winning bidder for the country's third mobile phone license, bringing to a close a tender process that began in the fall of 1996.The Ministry of Communications made the announcement June 10, the day its adviser, Italian...
MADRID-Spain's incumbent mobile phone operators Telefonica and Airtel could have some competition soon, as the country prepares to award a third license this month.Involved in the auction is the mobile arm of the Spanish fixed-line operator Retevision, called Retevision Movil-owned in part by Telecom...
Despite uncertainties surrounding the process, the Brazilian government is pushing ahead with plans to sell its stake in telecommunications giant Telebras.The sell-off, originally slated for July 15, now has been pushed to July 29. Telebras is scheduled to split into 12 regional holding companies...
NORTHBROOK, Ill.-Motorola Inc. announced a partnership with automobile manufacturer Renault and France Telecom Mobiles to develop a telematics system for Renault drivers.The on-board communications device will link drivers to emergency response, roadside assistance and other services through a 24-hour control center. Motorola said the...
Globalstar L.P.'s original service providers have until the end of today to decide if they want to take up Loral Space & Communications' recent offer to buy a portion of their holdings in the satellite partnership.In a series of complex transactions announced April 24,...
NEW YORK-France Telecom Inc. is putting the finishing touches on elaborate preparations that began three years ago for France 98, the month-long World Cup soccer tournament coming up this summer.Some 2.5 million people are expected to attend the World Cup, of which about 800,000...
DENMARKMobilix, a France Telecom subsidiary, has begun offering services on its DCS 1800 network.GERMANYLucent Technologies Inc.'s Microelectronics Group acquired Optimay GmbH, a privately held software-development company based in Munich. Optimay, which will become a subsidiary of Lucent Technologies International, develops software products and services...
OXFORD, England-Both Cable & Wireless plc and Telecom Italia have been searching long and hard for an international partner. Now the search may be over. The two operators intend to join forces in a global alliance to strengthen their international operations.Cable & Wireless claims...
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 rights issue by a Spanish company. Approval was granted at the shortest-ever meeting in...
NEW YORK-France Telecom S.A., the second-largest telecommunications company in Europe, announced March 18 it had returned to profitability by the Dec. 31 close of its fiscal year after incurring losses during the second half of 1996.The carrier attributed its 1997 results to "increased phone...
Argentine President Carlos Menem last week announced a telecommunications liberalization plan that would give American wireless companies broader access to the Argentine telecommunications market.Under the president's executive decree, Argentina's two major telecom providers would begin competing in each other's territory in October 1999, a...
ATHENS-According to sources at OTE, the Greek telephone company's subsidiary Cosmote will begin activating personal communications services customers this week as scheduled, becoming the country's third mobile phone operator.OTE, which was awarded the third license in 1996, owns the majority stake in Cosmote, the...
Price Communications Corp. announced Feb. 25 its board of directors authorized the repurchase of up to 500,000 shares of the company's common stock in the open market or in private transactions. Price Communications, headquartered in New York, provides cellular services covering a population of...
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 Italian Senate is said to have set a May 31 deadline for the Ministry of...
Telesystem International Wireless Inc., Canada, signed a letter of intent with SOGERA to acquire, for approximately US$13 million, the French trunked radio operations of France Telecom that were marketed under the brand names Praxiphone, Heliophone and Armoricom, announced TIW. With this acquisition, TIW's French...
Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) now accounts for 31 percent of the world's wireless market, and the GSM industry is well on course for the `"early achievement" of 100 million customers during 1998, said Adriana Nugter, chairman of the GSM MoU Association, in...
JOHANNESBURG-South African companies are poised to play a major role in telecommunications as the privatization and deregulation process, which began in the early 1990s in Africa, moves rapidly ahead.But the march is not likely to be an easy one as top international companies are...
In the summer of 1989, one of my favorite bands, the B-52s, released an album with the big hit-tune "Roam," in which singer Kate Pierson encouraged listeners to "roam around the world." Well, it took me nine years, Kate, but I finally took you...
NEW YORK-Microcell Capital Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Microcell Telecommunications Inc., said it created GSM Capital L.P., an international venture-capital fund with more than $137 million committed to private-equity investment in companies developing new Global System for Mobile communications products and services.GSM Capital...
ATLANTA- France Telecom subsidiary France Caraibe Mobiles plans to license LHS Group Inc.'s customer care and billing software for its cellular network, LHS announced. FCM provides digital and analog cellular service in French Departments in the Caribbean.Under the agreement, LHS will provide its client/server-based...
NEW YORK-AU-System Mobile AB, a wholly owned division of Stockholm-based software provider AU-System, is making a foray into the U.S. subscriber identity module market, but with a twist.AU-System Mobile offers open software platforms that permit Global System for Mobile communications network operators to integrate...
Sprint Corp. reportedly is intensifying its search for a European partner to construct a possible merger or partnership scheme that could give the long-distance carrier enough cash to buy out its cable partners in the personal communications services business.Analysts close to the situation indicate...
