MELBOURNE, Australia-Vodafone Pacific said it will transfer at least 1 million mobile-phone customers and distribution assets to Hutchison Telecommunications if it wins regulatory approval for its proposed acquisition of Cable & Wireless Optus, according to the Wall Street Journal.Under the deal, Vodafone's share of...
SINGAPORE-Singapore's smallest paging operator, Hutchison Intrapage, has quit the sector four years after it began operations. The shareholders-Hong Kong's Hutchison Telecommunications (40 percent), Intraco (30 percent) and its subsidiary Teledata (30 percent)-looked for a buyer for the loss-making operations for two years, and after...
KARLSKRONA, Sweden-Europolitan and Hi3G, two companies granted Universal Mobile Telecommunications System licenses in Sweden last year, agreed to jointly build part of their UMTS infrastructure.The companies will form a common entity designated to build and provide UMTS infrastructure, mainly outside the three major metropolitan...
BulgariaOte Telecom won Bulgaria's third mobile-phone license for US$135 million, beating out Telecom Italia Mobile through an auction. Ote plans to partner with Bulgarian Telecommunications Co. (BTC), the country's fixed-line provider, to build out the GSM network.FranceMartin Bouygues, chairman of Bouygues Telecom, called on...
NEW DELHI, India-The slide in the Thai paging industry seen in 2000 is likely to continue during 2001, but operators hope to ride out the crisis by exploring value-added products and using their networks for the emerging business of call centers.The market continues to...
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...
The millennium is off to a good start for Vodafone Group.The U.K.-based carrier began 2000 with a hostile takeover of Mannesmann, parent of its rival Orange, and continued with a spending spree for third-generation (3G) licenses across Europe. The year also marked the finalization...
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,...
MELBOURNE, Australia-The Australian Communications Authority (ACA) will hold the keenly awaited auction of third-generation (3G) spectrum in the 2 GHz radio-frequency band in early March.The new 3G mobile services are expected to combine popular communications forms, such as mobile phones, the Internet and computers,...
STOCKHOLM, Sweden-In a surprise announcement, the Swedish government awarded four Universal Mobile Telecommunications System licenses on Dec. 16, dismissing a proposal from Telia, the country's current mobile leader. Sweden's other two incumbent operators, NetCom and Europolitan, won licenses through a "beauty contest," along with...
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...
BIENNE, Switzerland-The auction of Universal Mobile Telecommunications System licenses in Switzerland ended quickly last week, with only four companies bidding on four licenses, raising $120 million for the government.Swisscom; dSpeed, the combined diAx and Sunrise Telecom; and Team 3G, a consortium including Telefonica, Sonera...
The strategic alliance announced between NTT DoCoMo and AT&T Wireless Inc. is fairly simple on the surface, but may have long-term implications for the global wireless industry.DoCoMo will invest about $9.8 billion in AT&T preferred stock for a 16-percent equity share in the company....
VIENNA, Austria-Europe's fifth auction of Universal Mobile Telecommunications System licenses ended after less than two days of bidding. All six participants gained licenses to operate UMTS systems in Austria, drawing about $728 million, much less than anticipated.The auction came to a halt for five...
VIENNA, Austria-The Austrian auction of third-generation licenses began today, amid investigations into illegal activities among some of the already-completed European 3G auctions.In Austria, six bidders are competing for 12 licenses. Companies are expected to acquire up to three licenses.After six rounds of bidding, bid...
HONG KONG-The Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) is generally regarded with something between scorn and indifference in Hong Kong among industry sources, and mobile operators will not even reveal subscriber numbers for the service.This contrasts with the bullish claims of Scott Goldman, chief executive officer...
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-Israel is determined not to be shaken from its pristine position of having one of the highest cellular penetration rates in the Middle East by the current unrest in the region."Penetration in Israel is growing steadily at a double-digit rate for next...
BUCHAREST, Romania-Although most of the third-generation (3G) licensing attention in Europe is focused on Western Europe, Eastern European countries are also moving forward with licensing plans. The region, with lower wireless penetration rates than many Western European countries and improving economies, promises to hold...
AlcatelEurope. With Orange as a strategic supplier for its third-generation networks throughout Europe.Value: UndisclosedItaly. With Wind Telecomunicazioni as a preferred third-generation network supplier.Value: UndisclosedEricssonChina. With China Telecom and Guangdong Mobile Communications to build a fixed network and expand Guangdong mobile networks.Value: US$550 millionChina. With China Mobile for...
The controversy surrounding European third-generation (3G) spectrum auctions reached a new peak with Dutch and Italian competition authorities launching investigations in early November into possible collusion between rival bidders. These moves put further pressure on the European Community (EC) to instigate a pan-European probe...
Hong KongHong Kong's Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) will use a "hybrid" method-a prequalification followed by an auction-to allocate four third-generation (3G) mobile services licenses early next year. New market entrants must compete with Hong Kong's six incumbent operators. Hutchison Telecom, Pacific Century...
ROME-The results of the Italian third-generation license auction are unfortunate for the Italian government and British Telecommunications plc, while most opportune for the five companies that have unofficially won licenses at prices much lower than anticipated.After just two days of bidding among six mobile...
ROME-The Italian auction for five Universal Mobile Telecommunications System licenses began last Thursday. Italy is Europe's largest cell-phone market, with six groups participating in the auction process, which is expected to raise around $21 billion.The German UMTS auction, which ended in August, drew nearly...
BEIJING-Vodafone, the world's largest mobile-phone operator by total subscriber numbers, is set to take a 2-percent stake in China Mobile (Hong Kong), the listed subsidiary of parent China Mobile Telecommunications in Beijing. Vodafone agreed to purchase shares valued at $2.5 billion in China Mobile...
