As wireless operators enjoyed their holiday break from the Federal Communications Commission's re-auction of 422 personal communications services licenses, a fair share of pre-auction predictions made by analysts were being discarded along with the holiday wrapping paper.Some of those early forecasts included predictions of...
STOCKHOLM, Sweden-In a surprise announcement, the Swedish government awarded four Universal Mobile Telecommunications System licenses on Dec. 16, dismissing a proposal from Telia, the country's current mobile leader. Sweden's other two incumbent operators, NetCom and Europolitan, won licenses through a "beauty contest," along with...
BRUSSELS, Belgium-KPN Mobile will acquire 50 percent of Belgium operator KPN Orange Belgium from France Telecom for $443.5 million, giving KPN 100-percent ownership.France Telecom had to divest its KPN Orange ownership, which it acquired through its acquisition of Orange plc earlier this year, to...
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...
BRAZILADC Telecommunications Inc. announced it signed a $16 million contract to supply GVT Brazil with a broadband access bundled solution for the southern and central regions of Brazil. ADC said the solution is based on the BroadAccess Multiservice Access Platform and delivers narrow and...
NEW YORK-A U.S. class action lawsuit was filed last week against Turkish cell-phone operator Turkcell. The lawsuit was commenced on behalf of all persons or entities purchasing Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetler A.S. American Depository Shares from July 10 to Sept. 21.Turkcell, Turkey's dominant cell-phone operator...
DUBLIN, Ireland-The Irish telecom regulator outlined the license framework for third-generation licenses in the country, following a public consultation period. The regulator, which previously announced the licenses will be awarded by a "beauty contest," said four licenses of equal spectrum amounts will be available...
OSLO, Norway-British Telecom and Telenor agreed to extend Telenor's put option on Irish mobile operator Esat Digifone from Dec. 7 to Feb. 7, 2001.Under an agreement between BT and Telenor reached earlier this year, Telenor has the right to exchange its 49.5-percent shareholding in...
Every day another vendor announces it has won a contract to provide third-generation services. And with each 3G announcement is the implication that 3G services will soon be here.And they will. But one only has to look back at the rollout of second-generation wireless...
SOFIA, Bulgaria-Five companies have submitted applications to bid for a 15-year GSM license in Bulgaria. The minimum price for the license, to be awarded Dec. 15, is $40 million.Vodafone Bulgaria, a partnership between Vodafone Group plc and United Bulgarian Bank; TIM International, the mobile...
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil-Telecom Italia Mobile said it agreed to acquire the 19.43-percent and 18.53-percent stakes held by UGB S.A. and Vicunha S.A. in Brazilian operator Maxitel S.A. TIM will pay $240.4 million for the total 37.96-percent stake.TIM already owns 58.7 percent of Maxitel...
HELSINKI, Finland-European mobile operator Telefonica Moviles Espana chose Nokia Corp. to supply its third-generation core radio network in Spain.Telefonica said it plans to launch the commercial service in August. The company has about 12 million subscribers in Spain.Earlier this year, Nokia was selected as...
JAMAICAAfter a successful field demonstration of Finline Technologies' multichannel multipoint distribution system, N5 Systems Ltd. plans to deploy the company's system in Jamaica. The companies hope the joint deployment will provide interactive digital video and data services to the country. The Finline Trilogy MMDS...
HELSINKI, Finland-Sonera Corp. said it will be the first operator in the Nordic countries to launch a GPRS network when its commercial service begins Dec. 11. Initial service will be in the Helsinki area, as well as Turku, Tampere and Oulu. Early next year,...
GENEVA-The Financial Times reported the Swiss government will resume its auction of four Universal Mobile Telecommunications System licenses on Dec. 6. The report said the decision was made after the government found no evidence a move by Tele Danmark to take control of two...
OSLO, Norway-The Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications announced the winners of the country's four Universal Mobile Telecommunications System licenses, which were awarded through a beauty contest. The license winners are Broadband Mobile, an Enitel ASA and Sonera Corp. consortium; incumbent operator NetCom GSM,...
With AT&T Wireless Services Inc.'s announcement that it will overlay its existing TDMA-based network with a GSM network supporting GPRS, the pressure is on other TDMA carriers, specifically the largest U.S.-based TDMA carrier Cingular Wireless, as to its future technology choice. Will the company...
For a new company looking to succeed in business, producing wireless handsets would seem to be one of the tougher markets to crack. Beyond the big three producers, Nokia, Motorola and Ericsson, are plenty of smaller, capable companies scavenging for leftovers of the handset...
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,...
SINGAPORE-StarHub Chief Executive Terry Clontz said end users would draw the short end of the stick because of the Singapore government's decision to use the auction method of awarding third-generation licenses. He added any operator would expect to recoup the cost of the 3G...
NORWAYNorway is expecting to raise between $2 billion and $2.7 billion in the initial public offering comprising 21 percent of state-owned Telenor. Shares will begin trading on Dec. 4 on the Oslo Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq index.NETHERLANDSKPN Telecom announced its equity and bond...
STOCKHOLM, Sweden-L.M. Ericsson said Bolivian operator Entel Movil selected it to deploy Latin America's first General Packet Radio Service network. The three-year $36 million agreement is for a full GSM/GPRS 1900 MHz system.Entel Movil is 50-percent owned by Telecom Italia and offers TDMA cellular...
STOCKHOLM, Sweden-Swedish operator Telia partnered with ForeningsSparbanken, a Swedish banking group, to develop secure solutions for payment, bank and e-commerce services using mobile phones. Telia said a series of applications, including the ability to check purchases and balances on accounts, make credit and debit...
PAKISTANMillicom International Cellular SA announced it acquired Paktel Ltd., Cable and Wireless plc's cellular operation in Pakistan. Millicom said Paktel is the No. 3 operator in the country. "MIC's acquisition of Paktel will enhance the value of our investments in Pakistan and allow us...
