NEW YORK -Ten Square, San Jose, Calif., plans to expand its provision of wireless e-commerce services to 2,800 service stations and convenience stores in various cities by year-end.The privately held company, whose lead investor is Marconi Ventures, delivers interactive content to consumers during the...
Amid the frenzy over a flagging economy and road bumps to the next generation of technologies, Nokia Corp. won a series of third-generation infrastructure contracts that gives the handset vendor coveted status as a network provider.The deals, including a $1.3 billion deal to supply...
In addition to being headquarters to a slew of businesses that have become known worldwide, including Microsoft Corp. and Starbucks, Seattle last week was ground zero for GSM technology as VoiceStream Wireless Corp. hosted the GSM Association's 45th Plenary Meeting.While the meeting is only...
BRUSSELS, Belgium-Belgium awarded three Universal Mobile Telecommunications System licenses to each of the country's three incumbent operators, bringing in about $419 million for the government. The prices raised from the auction were just at the minimum prices set by the government.The auction ended after...
OXFORD, United Kingdom-While all the major European cell-phone operators have either launched or announced target dates for GPRS services, a growing number of technology developers are voicing concerns.One of the most recent to join the GPRS detractors is Ubinetics, which is involved in GPRS...
NEW DELHI, India-The state-owned fixed-line provider MTNL has launched its GSM cellular phone service in Mumbai, India's commercial capital, leading to a tariff war. The two incumbent private providers-BPL Mobile and Orange-have slashed their airtime tariff drastically.MTNL last month launched its service under the...
GENEVA-Despite a subdued initial public offering (IPO) that saw the company reap a modest US$9 per share-near the bottom end of an already hastily reduced US$8.7 to US$10 range-the future is looking good for Orange, the former U.K. operator that now forms the cornerstone...
BelgiumBelgium awarded three Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) licenses to each of the country's three incumbent operators, bringing in about US$419 million for the government. The prices raised were just at the minimum prices set by the government. The auction ended after just one...
AT&T Corp. is reported to be in "exploratory discussions" with Dobson Communications Corp. regarding a potential transaction between the two companies, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.The report cites an AT&T filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission."As part of this...
NEW YORK-Borrowing the vernacular of a traffic engineer, a financier compared the current capital market conditions for telecommunications companies to rush-hour congestion, but observed that the tie-up looks like it is slowly beginning to clear.Investors still are sorting out a host of concerns that...
OXFORD, United Kingdom-Once again the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) has been consigned to the dust bin of failed technology by the U.K. consumer magazine Which?. The independent guide said the "concept of WAP was far more striking than the reality."The organization conducted consumer tests...
KARLSKRONA, Sweden-Europolitan and Hi3G, two companies granted Universal Mobile Telecommunications System licenses in Sweden last year, agreed to jointly build part of their UMTS infrastructure.The companies will form a common entity designated to build and provide UMTS infrastructure, mainly outside the three major metropolitan...
JACKSON, Miss.-Air2Lan said it acquired Orange Twine, a broadband provider in New Orleans, giving Air2Lan a significant presence there.Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
GENEVA-With the world's first third-generation (3G) mobile systems due to come online in Japan in less than a year, Europe's wireless operators are gearing up for an intense round of bidding for the right to be among the first to offer broadband wireless services...
BulgariaOte Telecom won Bulgaria's third mobile-phone license for US$135 million, beating out Telecom Italia Mobile through an auction. Ote plans to partner with Bulgarian Telecommunications Co. (BTC), the country's fixed-line provider, to build out the GSM network.FranceMartin Bouygues, chairman of Bouygues Telecom, called on...
As likely winners begin to emerge in the re-auction of NextWave Telecom Inc.'s PCS licenses, it looks like these permits will be used in large part by major wireless players to shore up more spectrum, either to meet capacity needs today or for third-generation...
PARIS-France Telecom announced plans to float up to 15 percent of its mobile subsidiary, Orange SA, in an effort to reduce its debt. The float will take place by the end of January on the Paris and London stock exchanges. The company also said...
LONDON-Vodafone Group plc added 13.2 million customers worldwide to its subscriber base during the quarter ended Dec. 31, helped by record sales in the United Kingdom and strong sales in Italy and Germany."These figures show strong underlying growth from virtually all of our networks...
ROSH HA'AYIN, ISRAEL-Partner Communications, the only GSM mobile telephone network operator in Israel, announced the launch of High Speed Circuit Switched Data service, named orange high speed. The service will provide subscribers with data speeds of up to 28.8 kilobits per second on their...
CHINAUnder a new deal, Comverse Technology Inc. will provide short messaging service, cell broadcasting and expanded voice mail to Chinese mobile operator Heilongjiang Mobile Communications Co. Ltd. Comverse will also provide a variety of value-added services, including text messages, mobile banking and location-based services....
The millennium is off to a good start for Vodafone Group.The U.K.-based carrier began 2000 with a hostile takeover of Mannesmann, parent of its rival Orange, and continued with a spending spree for third-generation (3G) licenses across Europe. The year also marked the finalization...
Band-XStephen Beynon was hired as Band-X's new chief executive officer. He was previously in a management position in the data and business services division of Cable & Wireless Optus.ElectrofuelPatrick R. McCool was appointed the vice president of sales for Electrofuel Inc. He was previously...
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...
