PORT-LOUIS, Mauritius-Mauritius Telecom said France Telecom will take a 40-percent stake in the currently state-owned operator for $261 million. The Mauritian government will retain 40 percent, and the state Bank of Mauritius will hold the other 20 percent.Mauritius Telecom owns 70 percent of Cellplus,...
LittlefeetLittlefeet Inc., a wireless network infrastructure developer, appointed Kai Cheong Chan as the general manager and sales director for the company's new regional office, which will serve Singapore and the Asia-Pacific region.Chan will be responsible for developing business relationships and managing distribution channels for...
PRAGUE, Czech Republic-Cesky Mobil, the Czech Republic's third mobile telephone operator, is seeking to differentiate itself from its competition by offering low start-up costs and emphasizing ease of use.The formula has paid quick dividends. In its first four operational months, it signed up more...
SCHAUMBURG, Ill.-Motorola said it reached a definitive agreement to sell its four cellular companies in northern Mexico to Telefonica Moviles for $1.79 billion. The agreement was first announced earlier this month.With the acquisition, Telefonica gains assets in the one large Latin American market where...
MONTREAL-ClearWave N.V., the Central/Eastern European subsidiary of Canada's Telesystem International Wireless Inc., withdrew its initial public offering due to poor market conditions."Market conditions at the time of initial planning for the IPO of ClearWave shares made the offering an attractive opportunity for us to...
MADRID, Spain-Spain's Telefonica has finally added Mexico to its Latin American footprint with the acquisition of Motorola's Mexican mobile-phone assets. The $2.5 billion acquisition is also an important stepping stone for the pending listing of Telefonica's mobile subsidiary, Telefonica Moviles, in Spain and on...
BelgiumBelgium's ASTRID, the government-owned corporation responsible for providing communications to all Belgian public safety organizations, launched Nokia Corp.'s TETRA network. Nokia said the TETRA system will provide ASTRID with secure and reliable communications to emergency and security organizations nationwide.Hong KongThe government of Hong Kong...
Michael Pascazi last year was in New York desperately trying to reach his cousin in Italy, armed only with a cellular phone. His newborn son was to be baptized there, and he was trying to make the arrangements through his relatives."I have to call...
BUCHAREST, Romania-A new digital technology for public access mobile radio and private mobile radio users has seen interest from numerous wireless carriers in Europe and Asia since it was first presented at the CeBIT exhibition in 1998.The technology, GSM Pro from Ericsson, targets end...
MADRID, Spain-The Telefonica Group, comprised of the company's many telecom holdings, reported increased revenue for the first half of 2000, led by large gains in the group's wireless businesses.As a whole, The Telefonica Group posted operating revenue of $11.8 billion from January to June...
BSWDBellSouth Wireless Data L.P. has named cellular industry veteran Donald Kovalevich as its new president and chief executive officer. Former BSWD President and CEO William Lenahan left the company in May to take a position at another telecom firm. Since then, J.D. Gardner has...
MONTREAL-ClearWave N.V., the Central/Eastern European subsidiary of Telesystem International Wireless Inc., is proceeding with its initial public offering of ordinary class A shares.According to TIW, an amended registration statement was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission July 25 but has not become effective....
ATLANTA-BellSouth Corp. reported a 9.8-percent increase in both second-quarter earnings and consolidated revenue compared with the same quarter last year and an increase in both domestic and international wireless revenue.The company's reported earnings per share increased from 51 cents per share in 1999 to...
MONTREAL-Telesystem International Wireless Inc. created a new corporate structure under which it will carry on a national Universal Mobile Telecommunications System business in the United Kingdom.As part of the reorganization, TIW UMTS UK Ltd., the successful bidder for license A in the U.K. UMTS...
TOKYO-NTT DoCoMo announced it entered arrangements with Hutchison Whampoa and KPN Mobile to cooperate on European third-generation mobile networks. The agreements cover four European markets-the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Belgium.The announcement comes as U.S. mobile-phone carriers begin to express concern about being competitive...
Sunday CommunicationsSunday Communications Ltd. announced that Craig Ehrlich, currently group managing director and chief executive officer, will give up his CEO duties. He will continue as group managing director, focusing on the company's regional expansion program. Ehrlich also will continue as the company's principal...
Motorola Inc. plans to divest its interests in more than a dozen international wireless operators to free itself from potential conflicts with customers.The new wholly owned subsidiary, Propel Inc., filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission last week for an initial...
NEW YORK-SBC Wireless hopes to take a bite out of the Big Apple as one part of a territorial and services expansion plan accompanying combining its wireless operations with those of BellSouth Corp.With the closing of the joint venture agreement, which is expected in...
MONTREAL-Telesystem International Wireless Inc.'s Central/Eastern European subsidiary ClearWave N.V. filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the United States for an initial public offering of ordinary class A shares.TIW said that concurrently with the IPO, certain existing shareholders in Romanian...
TOKYO-NTT DoCoMo announced it entered arrangements with Hutchison Whampoa and KPN Mobile for cooperation regarding European third-generation (3G) mobile networks. The agreements cover four European markets-the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Belgium.In the United Kingdom, DoCoMo will acquire a 20-percent stake for 1.2 billion...
DUBLIN, Ireland-Trunked radio may be dismissed by some as the poor relation of GSM and an irrelevance in the world of multibillion pound Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) license bids, but it has carved a niche in the communications world, and at least one...
TORONTO-The major Canadian carriers are cautiously laying the groundwork for third-generation (3G) wireless networks. But true, full-blown 3G in Canada is at least three to four years away."Canadian mobile operators are unlikely to reach the promised land of mobile data services in one single...
The U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit to block the US$129 billion merger between WorldCom and Sprint, the second- and third-largest U.S. long-distance telecom carriers, respectively. The lawsuit, combined with European Union opposition, effectively killed the deal.ICO-Teledesic Global, a holding company controlling Craig McCaw's...
The lure of wireless Internet promises to transform the worldwide mobile industry. Carriers across the globe are risking it all on the future potential of the mobile Web. The difference between reshaping the wireless experience as we know it-and in the process realizing joyous...
