BUENOS AIRES, Argentina-The Budget Law approved the end of last year established that the state-owned cellular operator, Ancel, could sell up to 40 percent of its shares. However, in June, the government decided not to proceed with the privatization and go forward with a...
PARIS—Alcatel says it has won a contract to build mobile networks for Philippines operator Digitel to support 500,000 subscribers who will be able to surf the Internet and carry out other wireless data transactions at 115 kpbs."Under the terms of this contract, Alcatel will...
NEW DEHLI, India—The Communications Authority of Thailand (CAT) will call for fresh bids for its CDMA mobile-phone expansion project next month, following withdrawal by SBP Holding, the sole bidder in the last round.The state-owned mobile operator is also planning to reduce the size of...
NORTH HOLLYWOOD, California, United States—Walt Disney Internet Group today announced two major content distribution deals—moves that come just one week after the company announced a distribution agreement with Taiwan Cellular Corp.—proof Walt Disney is moving rapidly into the worldwide wireless Web industry.Walt Disney Internet...
LONDON—U.K. mobile-phone manufacturer Sendo announced it will use PacketVideo's mobile multimedia player software as the streaming video application base for the company's new Z100 General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) smart phone. Users can access media applications including video messaging, interactive games, and news and...
LONDON—United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) telecommunications operator Etisalat revealed that it has earmarked approximately US$1 billion to upgrade its cellular infrastructure. A significant proportion of this amount will finance the expansion and modernization of Etisalat's core and access networks, enabling Etisalat to offer a range...
BUCHAREST, Romania—Czech GSM operator Oskar announce that its customers can make all payment transactions at ATMs in the Czech Republic. The number of ATMs has increased to 316. Via ATMs Oskar subscribers can pay their invoices for Oskar's services, make advance payments, increase their...
MOSCOW—The Rostelecom Company plans to sell its 23.5-percent stake in Moscow Cellular Communications (MCC) due to the financial losses the operator has incurred, announced Rostelecom Director General Sergei Kuznetsov. However, MCC hurried to report a US$2 million net profit during the first half of...
LA JOLLA, Calif.—NewsTakes Inc. released a new product for packet-based wireless network operators and wired Internet companies that NewsTakes said allows users to control how they view and—more importantly—pay for streaming media content.The company's patent-pending product, Packet Choice, allows users to choose customized viewing...
PARIS—Alcatel says it has won a contract to build mobile networks for Philippines operator Digitel to support 500,000 subscribers who will be able to surf the Internet and carry out other wireless data transactions at 115 Kpbs."Under the terms of this contract, Alcatel will...
LONDON—U.K. mobile-phone maker Sendo today announced it will use PacketVideo Corp.'s mobile multimedia player software as the streaming video application base for the company's new Z100 GPRS smart phone.The Z100 is Sendo's first data phone and is based on Microsoft Corp.'s smart phone operating...
NORTH HOLLYWOOD, Calif.-Walt Disney Internet Group today announced two major content distribution deals-moves that come just one week after the company announced a distribution agreement with Taiwan Cellular Corp.-proof Walt Disney is moving rapidly into the worldwide wireless Web industry.Today, Walt Disney Internet Group...
BEIJING, China-Amid slowing subscriber growth worldwide, China still shows a healthy increase in mobile-phone users. The country's two mobile-phone operators are each offering new services-one General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), the other CDMA. Handset manufacturing is also soaring, with domestic suppliers narrowing the still...
NEW DELHI, India-The Indian cellular mobile market has always been fascinating, if only for the sheer number of players that compete here. Each of the 20-odd telecom circles, or geographic coverage areas, will soon have four cellular operators. In addition, there will be basic...
JAKARTA, Indonesia-For years, countries in Southeast Asia have achieved tremendous growth in cellular phone services. However, when economic turmoil hit the region in 1997, network buildout was deferred and even stopped in some countries due to plummeting local currencies. Although many operators in the...
HONG KONG-On the face of it, Hutchison Whampoa is a great success story. The company is among the leading international wireless operators and part of the giant Cheung Kong (Holdings), which in May announced after-tax profits of US$8 billion on a market capitalization of...
TOKYO-NTT DoCoMo, the largest mobile carrier in Japan, is accelerating preparations for the launch of its commercial-based 3G service Oct. 1.NTT DoCoMo initiated an experimental 3G service last 30 May on a limited basis only to 4,500 select users. Although some users have experienced...
DUBLIN, Ireland-The recent decision of the European competition commissioner to sanction raids on U.K. and German mobile operators as part of investigations into collusion over roaming charges came as little surprise to most industry observers. It is becoming increasingly difficult for operators to explain...
So Paulo, Brazil-Telesp Celular announced that as soon as October it will begin commercially operating a network based on the CDMA 1x technology. The operator, controlled by Portugal Telecom and Spain's Telefonica, provides wireless service to 4.5 million customers in So Paulo, by far...
TOKYO-NTT Group is performing a field test for a very high-speed wireless system based on NTT's proprietary advanced wireless access (AWA) technology. Unlike conventional wireless LAN systems, NTT's Biportable 5 GHz system provides up to 36 Mbps data rates. NTT Corp., the holding company...
A U.S. federal appeals court rejected a Federal Communications Commission filing asking that it not be required to return personal communications services licenses to bankrupt carrier NextWave Telecom Inc. NextWave, however, will probably not gain control of the licenses for some time and the...
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados-Jamaica's cellular market could be engaged in a fierce competition for the consumer soon. A new provider, Centennial Digital Jamaica Ltd., is set to become the third operator by year-end 2001, with promises of bringing newer technology options and service to this Western...
BOSTON, United States—The Yankee Group said CDMA technology is secure in China with a projected 55 million subscribers by the end of 2005 and China Unicom being the flagship operator of the technology.However, there will be challenges."As the only major operator in the world...
