Japan

TOKYO—J-Phone Group, a mobile business unit of Japan Telecom on 1 October will start providing a variety of services using Disney characters for its J-Sky service users, J-Phone announced on …

TOKYO—The board of directors for the four J-Phone Communications Co. Ltd. companies; East, Central, West and Japan Telecom, agreed to merge their companies into a single J-Phone structure.The merged company, …

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 …

After a year in which its global customer base increased from 53 million customers to a staggering 83 million customers, U.K.-based Vodafone Group plc said it will turn its attention …

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, …

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 …

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 …

GENEVA-How the mighty have fallen. British Telecommunications (BT), once ranked among the world’s most powerful carriers, is finding itself buckling under a crippling mountain of debt in a climate where …

NEW YORK-Not surprisingly, the number and size of mergers and acquisitions for which a dollar value was made public declined markedly in all industries when compared to the same period …

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 …

TOKYO-Citing a delay in hardware development, Japan Telecom Co. Ltd. said it would delay the deployment of third generation services from this December until summer 2002. The delay will place …

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 …

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 …

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 …

TOKYO-KDDI, the second-largest carrier in Japan, has decided to launch its third-generation (3G) services based on High Data Rate (HDR) technology. KDDI will launch its HDR services initially using the …

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. …

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 …

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, …

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 …

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 …

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 …

TOKYO-The mobile music distribution business is going to take off in Japan, according to industry representatives. Some carriers have already revealed their services, while others are promoting field tests in …

TOKYO-KDDI, the newly formed telecom group in Japan, said it is talking to several foreign carriers regarding alliances, international press reports said. A possible alliance could include an equity investment, …

TOKYO-Japan Telecom said it plans to launch third-generation (3G) mobile service by October 2001, instead of its originally scheduled December 2001 date. J-Phone, the company’s wireless operator, hopes to better …

Qualcomm Inc. appears to have gotten its way in Japan. DDI Corp., which plans to take over IDO and KDD in October, is expected to file for a third-generation license …