NigeriaIntercellular Nigeria awarded a US$21 million contract to Motorola for the supply and deployment of a CDMA fixed wireless local loop (WLL) network expansion. The 800 MHz system will be expanded for up to 45,000 limited mobility subscribers.South AfricaTETRA technology, a digital two-way radio...
DUBLIN, Ireland-High license costs and fierce competition have further increased the pressure on European third-generation (3G) operators to quickly roll out their networks. But while this rush to market will create opportunities for companies other than the current dominant cellular infrastructure vendors Nokia and...
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-Econet Wireless is gearing up to become one of the leading cellular operators on the African continent. With Botswana and Zimbabwe cellular operations firmly under its wing, it has recently gained further momentum by winning the privatization license bid in Lesotho and...
AustraliaTelecom New Zealand said it intends to make a takeover offer for the approximately 18 percent of shares in Australian operator AAPT that it does not already own for A$444 million (US$258 million). The company said it will offer minority shareholders A$7.25 (US$4.23) in...
BANGALORE, India-Although the Indian cellular industry is growing quite well, with the country's cumulative cellular subscriber base at 2.18 million at the end of June, operators are still hesitant to expand coverage outside high-density population centers.When the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) originally divided the...
FranceFrance released details of its plan to award four 3G wireless phone licenses based on a beauty contest. Bidders, given a 31 January, 2001, deadline to submit proposals, will be judged on the strength of their business plans, before being selected to pay US$4.5...
DenmarkTele2 entered an agreement with Sonofon to become a mobile virtual network operator (VNO) in Denmark. Sonofon is the first operator to open its networks to mobile VNOs, according to Tele2's parent company, NetCom.FinlandSonera said it is in talks about a merger or partnership...
DUBLIN, Ireland-The myth that prepaid cellular users are by definition low-value customers has been firmly discredited, and prepaid services did much to increase GSM penetration among the young and cost conscious at a time, around 1997, when European growth rates were slack.Now European operators...
U.K. wireless handset manufacturer Sendo announced a global strategic partnership with Virgin Mobile. Virgin Mobile will be the first operator to offer Sendo's phones to consumers later this year. Virgin Mobile initially plans to introduce two Sendo phones, which will be marketed as Virgin...
SINGAPORE-What do you do when you have loads of cash? You go shopping.That is precisely what Singapore Telecom has done. Flushed with cash reserves of some S$6.3 billion (US$3.7 billion), the phone operator has been on an aggressive expansion trail outside Singapore during the...
DUBLIN, Ireland-Gaining more than 10 million Japanese subscribers within 18 months of launch, NTT DoCoMo's i-mode wireless Internet service is a genuine industry phenomenon. But despite the Japanese company's determination to extend the service to Europe to compete with the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP)-which...
NEW DELHI, India-Ailing Indian GSM operator Koshika Telecom has decided to sell majority stakes to pay license fees to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). The company operates in four contiguous telecom circles-Uttar Pradesh (East), Uttar Pradesh (West), Bihar and Orissa.Leading the race to capture...
STOCKHOLM, Sweden-L.M. Ericsson announced plans to work with WorldCom's UUNET Internet communications subsidiary to develop Internet services for mobile operators.The companies plan to work together on new technology and product developments to meet Internet Protocol networking needs. Ericsson said it will support UUNET's effort...
One of the world's most savvy and chic brand names is coming to the U.S. mobile-phone market next year.Virtual network operator Virgin Mobile USA said it plans to ink an agreement with a carrier in the United States and offer nationwide service by the...
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...
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill.-In a move designed to give its customers a higher level of focus, resources and services, Motorola Inc. created the Global Telecom Solutions Sector, which includes employees from the former Network Solutions Sector and the former Global Telecom Solutions Group.Motorola said the...
WELLINGTON, New Zealand-Telecom Corporation of New Zealand said it intends to make a takeover offer for the approximately 20 percent of shares in Australian operator AAPT that it does not already own for $258 million. The company said it will offer minority shareholders $4.23...
New ZealandNokia Corp. will integrate its General Packet Radio Service core network solution into Vodafone New Zealand's network, providing mobile Internet access to Vodafone's subscribers. Vodafone plans to launch commercial GPRS service during the fourth quarter.TaiwanNokia will deliver its General Packet Radio Service core...
STOCKHOLM, Sweden-Three companies formed a consortium to apply for a Swedish Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service third-generation license.The companies are Swedish private equity firm Ratos; Nomura International plc, a wholly-owned subsidiary of investment bank The Nomura Securities Co. Ltd.; and Teracom, a network operator for...
OSLO, Norway-Seven groups plan to participate in Norway's selective tender or "beauty contest" process to award four Universal Mobile Telecommunications System licenses. The licenses will be awarded by the end of October.Incumbents NetCom ASA and Telenor AS applied to participate in the UMTS license...
OSLO, Norway-Tele Danmark and partner SBC Communications Inc. agreed to sell their combined 40-percent stake in Norway's mobile operator NetCom ASA to Sweden's Telia.In May, Tele Danmark purchased 25,000 additional shares in NetCom and attempted to take control of the operator with a $34...
SHENZHEN, China-Chinese GSM operator China United Telecommunications Corp. launched General Packet Radio Service mobile data on its network in Shenzhen, China, enabled by the core GPRS network solution supplied by Motorola Inc. and Cisco Systems Inc."Once you turn on your cellular phone, you are...
BALA CYNWYD, Pa.-Wireless operator UbiquiTel Inc. posted what it called "extremely productive" second-quarter results, after launching initial services earlier this year.The company reported total revenue for the quarter of $2.2 million, consisting of approximately $1.4 million in subscriber revenue, $700,000 of travel and roaming...
TOKYO-Japan's dominant wireless carrier, NTT DoCoMo, is in talks with SBC Communications Inc. and BellSouth Corp. about taking a minority stake in the combined mobile venture between the two U.S. carriers, according to a report in the Aug. 17 edition of the Financial Times.The...
