In rhythm with an economy on the retreat, telecommunications giant Lucent Technologies Inc. seems to be on the decline.Against a background of outsized estimates, employee downsizing, technological miscues and a haunting investigation of its accounting practices, the company's credit rating suffered downgrades from two...
A variety of wireless operators released fourth quarter results last week, including national carrier VoiceStream Wireless Corp., regional operator Western Wireless Corp. and flat rate, local calling provider Leap Wireless International Inc.VoiceStreamVoiceStream, which is in the midst of a takeover by Germany's Deutsche Telekom,...
High-speed wireless data access provider Metricom Inc. posted a fourth-quarter loss and said it will postpone the introduction of its Ricochet data network in some markets until it secures additional financing. The company noted it had just over $525 million in cash and investments...
A year ago, if a company was looking for a few million dollars in investment money, all it needed to do was call on Wall Street and wait for the flood of dollars to come. But in the past year, Wall Street financing has...
Agilent Technologies Inc. moved early last week to flesh out its presence in the network test and measurement market with the $665 million acquisition of Objective Systems Integrators Inc.Wall Street seemed to agree with Agilent executives' and industry analysts' positive view on the acquisition-Agilent's...
Wireless broadband started out as a unique and rapidly growing concept, poised on the edge of a data revolution that promised to produce millions of dollars and bring the Internet to those left out in the cold by wireline technologies.For months, momentum has been...
NEW YORK-The number of licenses awarded, not the prices paid for them, likely will lead Standard & Poor's Corp. to downgrade the debt ratings of many winning bidders in Germany's recent third-generation wireless auctions."The total paid, 50.5 billion euros ($45.85 billion), conforms to our...
The upcoming U.S. spectrum auctions present some interesting times for the wireless industry.Auctions in the past were more predictable, primarily reserved for veteran executives experienced in running wireless networks.Today, the story is much different. Wireless has caught the attention of many powerful and nontraditional...
NEW YORK-The credit quality of the seven large incumbent U.S. operators will only be moderately affected by the capital costs of commercializing third-generation technology, according to Moody's Investors Service."We expect that in the U.S., 3G will largely be rolled out as an overlay on...
DUBLIN, Ireland-The massive sums being invested in third-generation (3G) licenses, network development and acquisitions have placed the major European operators firmly under the financial spotlight. While observers agree there is no significant cause for concern yet, it is also clear operators are being forced...
NEW YORK-A senior executive of Moody's Investors Service Inc. has issued a stern warning to securities analysts that a widely used measure of financial health is misleading and inadequate, particularly in industries subject to technological change.Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA,...
NEW YORK-Moody's Investors Service Ltd., London, has downgraded the speculative grade ratings of $775 million in debt owed by Dolphin Telecom plc, the largest European provider of specialized mobile radio services.The rating agency said it began its review in March and that further downgrades...
NEW YORK-In a move that, ironically, furthers consolidation in Europe's deregulated telecommunications market, France Telecom said May 30 it would buy Orange plc from Vodafone AirTouch plc for $38 billion plus the assumption of $2.7 billion in outstanding Orange debt.The acquisition gives the French...
TOKYO-NTT DoCoMo Inc. announced it signed a memorandum of understanding with KPN Telecom, acquiring 15 percent of the voting rights in a newly formed holding company called KPN Mobile N.V. for about $4.5 billion. The announcement follows KPN's failed merger talks with Spain's Telefonica...
Centennial Puerto Rico Corp., a subsidiary of Centennial Communications Corp., Neptune, N.J., plans to raise $250 million in eight-year notes to help finance its Caribbean expansion.Centennial's personal communications services operations in Puerto Rico cover 3.9 million people, of which 169,000 are subscribers."Subscriber growth in...
NEW YORK-NTT DoCoMo Inc., Tokyo, has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to issue up to $9.55 billion in dollar-denominated bonds over the next few years.The shelf registration becomes effective April 11, meaning Japan's largest wireless carrier can sell any or all of...
UbiquiTel Inc., a Bala Cynwyd, Pa., affiliate of Sprint PCS, plans to raise $550 million in debt and equity to fully fund network construction, expected to be largely completed by the end of 2001.Notwithstanding its East Coast headquarters, UbiquiTel has an exclusive agreement to...
NEW YORK-American Cellular Corp., a joint venture between AT&T Corp. and Dobson Communications, received a Ba3 rating from Moody's Investor Service for its $1.75 billion senior secured credit facilities. The senior implied rating is also Ba3, and the issuer rating is B1.The ratings reflect...
NEW YORK-Leap Wireless International Inc., San Diego, sold $1.245 billion in debt and equity securities Feb. 17, a substantial sum that was more than it expected to raise.Leap, which Qualcomm Inc. spun off in September 1998, launched its Cricket brand Code Division Multiple Access...
NEW YORK-Publicly held long-term debt set an unwelcome record in 1999 as 147 corporate and sovereign issuers defaulted on $44.6 billion in bonds, more than double the $21.2 billion of defaults during 1999.Moody's Investors Service Inc., which released its year-end 1999 bond default report...
Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri A.S., the largest of Turkey's two Global System for Mobile communications operators, is planning a $200 million debt issue to finance continued expansion of its network and future introduction of wireless data and Internet access services.By the end of November, Istanbul-based...
NEW YORK-Newtel AB, formed by the merger of Sweden's Telia AB and Norway's Telenor AS, announced Dec. 7 it will not sweeten its hostile cash bid of $1.59 billion to take over Esat Telecom Group plc, Ireland's second-largest telecommunications carrier.Already a 49.5-percent owner of...
MEXICO CITY-Nuevo Grupo Iusacell, S.A. de C.V., Mexico City, placed privately Dec. 9 a $350 million issue of 14.25 percent senior notes due 2006 that it will use to expand its digital network capacity and coverage.Of the net proceeds, $134 million will be placed...
NEW YORK-NTT Mobile Communications Network Inc., Japan's largest mobile carrier, said Dec. 2 it plans to buy a 19-percent interest in Hutchison Telephone Co. Ltd., Hong Kong's biggest wireless provider, for $410 million.Under terms of the agreement, reached with Hutchison Whampoa Ltd., which is...
