LONDON-Vodafone Group plc has completed its acquisition of the interests of British Telecommunications Plc (BT) in Japan Telecom Co. Ltd. (JT) and J-Phone Communications Co. Ltd. (JPC) for a cash consideration of about $4.348 billion.
In a dramatic move to bolster its value and trim debt, British Telecom said last week it would spin off its wireless unit, BT Wireless, as a separately traded company, and temporarily suspend dividend payments. The telecom giant said it expects the moves to...
LONDON-Vodafone Group plc has agreed to pay $6.9 billion total for British Telecommunications plc's interests in Japan and Spain.The sale includes BT's 20-percent stake in Japan Telecom and its 20-percent stake in J-Phone Communications, JT's mobile subsidiary, making Vodafone the largest shareholder of JT...
TOKYO-Vodafone Group, the largest mobile carrier in the world, announced in May it will acquire British Telecommunications' (BT) entire stake in Japan Telecom Group (JT) for 652.3 billion yen (US$5.4 billion). Following the deal, Vodafone Group will hold a 45-percent stake in Japan Telecom...
The future of third-generation networks took a hit last week following NTT DoCoMo's announcement that it was suspending the introduction of its highly touted 3G network in Japan from May until October. Japan's largest wireless operator, which many in the industry look to as...
TOKYO-Toyota Motor Corp. sold its stakes in three regional wireless companies to Japan Telecom for an undisclosed amount, international press reports said. J-Phone Communications is Japan's second-largest mobile carrier and is owned 54 percent by Japan Telecom.Toyota held 1.97 percent of J-Phone East, 1.98...
Lucent TechnologiesLucent Technologies introduced Flexent Wireless IP Core Network Architecture, which it said will help wireless carriers deliver a range of voice and data services to customers. According to Lucent, the first phase of the architecture, the Lucent Softswitch Toll/Tandem Solution, lets carriers connect...
TOKYO-The number of browser-phone users in Japan exceeded 30 million as of the end of February 2001, according to the Telecommunications Carriers' Association, an industry body. According to the TCA, the number of users of browser-phone services provided by three Japanese carriers reached 31.41...
LONDON-As speculated earlier this week, Vodafone Group plc said it agreed to acquire AT&T's Corp.'s 10-percent economic interest in Japan Telecom Co. for $1.35 billion in cash. Following the completion of the transaction, Vodafone will hold 25 percent of Japan Telecom's equity.The acquisition marks...
TOKYO-Matsushita Communications Industrial, the leading cellular vendor in Japan, is putting the final touches on its new third-generation (3G) mobile terminals for NTT DoCoMo. NTT DoCoMo, Japan's leading mobile carrier, is scheduled to launch its 3G services by the end of May, earlier than...
NTT DoCoMo, announced that it set the public offering prices for new shares at $17,500 per share for 400,000 shares. If the additional 60,000 shares are issued at the same price, the issue amount will total $8.1 billion, the firm said. The payment due...
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...
STOCKHOLM, Sweden-Vodafone Group plc and Ireland's Eircom plc reached an agreement calling for Vodafone to acquire the business of Eircell, Eircom's mobile operator, for about $4.1 billion in stock.According to the deal, Eircell will be demerged from Eircom into a newly incorporated company, Eircell...
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...
TOKYO-British Telecommunications plc is in the process of increasing its current 15-percent stake in Japan Telecom Co. Ltd., according to Reuters. The move comes at the same time BT rival Vodafone Group is also trying to gain a larger share of Japan's third-largest telecom...
London-based mobile phone giant Vodafone Group plc reported strong interim results for the six months ended Sept. 30, including a 55-percent increase in proportionate customer additions compared with the same period last year, bringing the company's proportionate customer base to 65.5 million subscribers.Proportionate earnings...
TOKYO-The third-generation (3G) business plans and service strategies of three Japanese cellular carriers are becoming more concrete. NTT DoCoMo and J-Phone Group, the mobile business of Japan Telecom, are going to launch 3G services based on wideband-CDMA (W-CDMA) technology in 2001, and the country's...
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...
TOKYO-Japanese vendors are in the final stages of developing third-generation (3G) terminals. Japanese 3G services are scheduled to be launched earlier than any other country in May 2001 by NTT DoCoMo, followed by J-Phone, the mobile business of Japan Telecom and the newly merged...
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...
IndiaThe government-owned Department of Telecom Operations (DTO) will start its cellular mobile service in some cities by March 2001. It will soon float a tender for the supply and installation of about 1.5 million lines of GSM equipment on a turnkey basis.The service would...
TOKYO-Ericsson and Japan's J-Phone Communications Co. signed an agreement covering the commercial launch of J-Phone's W-CDMA network, beginning in 2001.Ericsson is supplying systems to support the Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya regions as J-Phone's sole supplier for the first phase of commercial third-generation launch in...
TOKYO-Advertising on mobile terminals, including the popular i-mode-enabled terminals, has established itself as a lucrative business in Japan.The number of Japanese users who access the Internet via cellular terminals exceeded 15 million in early August. Included in that number are 10 million i-mode users.Finding...
TOKYO-The Japanese government on 30 June granted third-generation (3G) licenses to three carrier groups: NTT DoCoMo, J-Phone Group and DDI Group.NTT DoCoMo is scheduled to launch its 3G services based on wideband Code Division Multiple Access in May 2001. J-Phone will launch its 3G service...
