MOSCOW-Russian Global System for Mobile communications operator Mobile TeleSystems CJSC and Motorola Inc. launched the first trials to deliver the Internet to mobile phone users in Russia, announced the companies.The trial relies on Motorola's open Mobile Internet Exchange platform and uses the Wireless Application...
BUCHAREST, Romania-Romanian national wireline operator Romtelecom said it plans to launch a mobile telephony service in February on an investment of about $500 million. The service, initially planned to begin this month, will make Romtelecom the fourth mobile operator in Romania.Romtelecom Director General Vassilios...
OXFORD, United Kingdom-While the use of mobile communications in Europe continues to grow beyond everyone's wildest expectations, the latest bid of $140 billion by Vodafone AirTouch plc for the Mannesmann empire has caused many a jaw to drop in stunned amazement.This record-breaking bid has...
Everywhere you look, competition is the key phrase.Paging operator MessageLink noted the intense competition between Internet service providers and paging carriers makes the two ideal partners in the communications business. One company can offer content; one company can offer access.FCC Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth writes...
Hong Kong mobile telephone operator SmarTone Communications said it is looking to secure a wireless fixed network license in Hong Kong. SmarTone is among 14 companies that have applied to the Hong Kong government for wireless local fixed telephone network licenses. SmarTone is beginning...
SEOUL, South Korea-South Korea's major telecommunications operators are scrambling to reshape their businesses to secure a position ahead of the competition this year for the much-coveted third-generation (3G) licenses.However, the Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC), which will handle the licensing process, is far...
AlcatelCameroon. With Societe Camerounaise de Mobiles (SCM) for a GSM network for the area between the cities of Yaounde, Douala and Bafoussam.Value: US$21.15 millionChina. With Post and Telecommunications Administration of Hubei province for DECT wireless local loop systems.Value: US$20 millionMozambique. With Telecomunicacoes Moeis de Mocambique for...
DUBLIN, Ireland-At the beginning of the 1990s, analog was the dominant European cellular technology, but during the decade it has been superseded by GSM and soon will be phased out in many countries. However, there appears to be little prospect of third-generation (3G) mobile...
The two major developers of high-speed cellular data technology, Nokia and Ericsson, have opened a public argument over which has achieved the most success in terms of contract awards. The number of cellular operators that have placed orders for high-speed data infrastructure now amounts...
DUBLIN, Ireland-Service providers and mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) are viewed by many network operators as parasites feeding off their infrastructure investment. At the same time, many consumers view them as developers of value-added services that drive down costs in the market.Service providers do...
OXFORD, United Kingdom-The guys at the European Commission must be delighted. They battled for more than a decade to liberalize the telecommunications sector and create a single European market.Benefits from a common European identity remain elusive. That might be about to change. Ironically, it...
1999 is behind us, although it won't soon be forgotten. The last year of the 20th century brought tragedy to many locations around the world. It's comforting to know that our industry did its part to lessen the impact of such events on many...
SAO PAULO, Brazil-One year after the privatization of A-band cellular operators in Brazil and just shortly following the auctions that defined the B-band operators, the Brazilian wireless market is going through a period of consolidation. At this point, it is already possible to identify...
BANGALORE, India-While the Indian cellular industry generally has been battling rough weather recently, one cellular operator in the country has adopted a strategy that seems to have paid off: focusing on quality rather than numbers. The carrier, BPL Mobile, may use that same strategy as...
U.S.-based BellSouth has grandiose plans for its future in Latin America. Despite its recent moves in Europe with wireless operator E-Plus, BellSouth remains committed to Latin America as its primary international investment target.Currently a wireless service provider or licensee in 10 countries in Central...
TOKYO-Chubu Telemessage Inc., a paging carrier based in central Japan, will shut down its business by March 2000. The carrier's subscribers-109,000 at the end of September 1999-are expected to be taken over by NTT Tokai Mobil Communications Network, the regional operator of NTT DoCoMo.Like...
AustraliaTelecom New Zealand acquired an 80-percent stake in AAPT, Australia's third-largest phone company. AAPT is building LMDS and CDMA networks and resells GSM service.News Corp. said it agreed to invest a further US$127.2 million in One.Tel, increasing its stake to about 25 percent. News...
Kyocera Corp. hopes to do what no Japanese handset manufacturer has done to date. It wants to become a dominate global vendor.Kyocera needs to gain a significant share of the market in North America to accomplish this goal, analysts say. Kyocera has made some...
BUCHAREST, Romania-Telemobil, Romania's NMT 450 operator, is facing stiff competition from three GSM operators, each of which have both strong financial backing and national coverage. Similar to the experience of other NMT 450 operators in Europe, whether Telemobil will survive depends on how it...
A U.S. bankruptcy court has given ICO Global Communications final approval for $500 million in financing from an investor group led by Craig McCaw and Indian media magnate Subhash Chandra, who had challenged McCaw with a competing financing bid.Under the agreement, McCaw will provide...
ATLANTA-BellSouth Corp. became the first U.S. operator to enter the European wireless industry's recent merger and acquisition frenzy by exercising its right of first refusal to acquire 100 percent of E-Plus, Germany's third-largest mobile operator. As part of the deal, The Netherlands' KPN Telecom...
WARSAW, Poland-France Telecom placed a binding offer for a strategic stake in Poland's majority state-owned telecom operator Telekomunikacja Polska (TPSA), Reuters reported. Following SBC Communications Inc.'s withdrawal from the tender last month, the French operator is the only bidder for a 25-percent to 35-percent...
The Operators Harmonization Group began work more than a year ago as a loosely tied group of four operators trying to end the world's heated battle over third-generation technology standards. Today this ad hoc group, which now numbers 40 operators from around the world,...
HELSINKI, Finland-The Nokia Artus Developers Program, which covers Nokia Networks' developer activities, said it has advanced to play a major role in bringing top developers and Nokia operator customers together to offer concrete Wireless Application Protocol applications and other value-added services.The program is aimed...
