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...
NEW YORK-Following similar moves a few weeks earlier by Spain's Telefonica Moviles and Telekom Austria, Telenor ASA of Norway had to discount its initial public offering in order to get the deal sold Dec. 4.In a transaction lead managed by Goldman Sachs & Co.,...
BIENNE, Switzerland-The auction of Universal Mobile Telecommunications System licenses in Switzerland ended quickly last week, with only four companies bidding on four licenses, raising $120 million for the government.Swisscom; dSpeed, the combined diAx and Sunrise Telecom; and Team 3G, a consortium including Telefonica, Sonera...
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,...
BIENNE, Switzerland-Two of the five companies left to bid in a Swiss third-generation license auction merged, causing the Swiss government to postpone the auction of four licenses. Four companies are left in a race for just four licenses."Virtually all candidates have undergone major changes...
LONDON-Vodafone Group plc and France Telecom's Orange both acquired stakes in the Swiss wireless market ahead of the country's Universal Mobile Telecommunications System auction, set to begin next week.Vodafone Group acquired 25 percent of the equity of Swisscom Mobile for $2.6 billion from Swisscom....
BERNE, Switzerland-Only five bidders will compete for four Universal Mobile Telecommunications System licenses in Switzerland, as three contenders dropped out late last week, down from an original 10 interested companies.The licenses could bring a much lower amount than originally anticipated, with only one more...
VIENNA, Austria-Europe's fifth auction of Universal Mobile Telecommunications System licenses ended after less than two days of bidding. All six participants gained licenses to operate UMTS systems in Austria, drawing about $728 million, much less than anticipated.The auction came to a halt for five...
VIENNA, Austria-The Austrian auction of third-generation licenses began today, amid investigations into illegal activities among some of the already-completed European 3G auctions.In Austria, six bidders are competing for 12 licenses. Companies are expected to acquire up to three licenses.After six rounds of bidding, bid...
BERNE, Switzerland-The Federal Communications Commission of Switzerland canceled the auction of additional frequencies for mobile services based on the GSM standard. The agency accepted applications from the three remaining candidates and will distribute the frequencies according to an allocation procedure.The auction had been postponed...
WASHINGTON-The chief wireless regulator in the United States has been spreading the message of auctions as a key licensing tool in various overseas trips during the last year."You are struck when you travel that people are interested in the perspective of the U.S. government....
AlcatelEurope. With Orange as a strategic supplier for its third-generation networks throughout Europe.Value: UndisclosedItaly. With Wind Telecomunicazioni as a preferred third-generation network supplier.Value: UndisclosedEricssonChina. With China Telecom and Guangdong Mobile Communications to build a fixed network and expand Guangdong mobile networks.Value: US$550 millionChina. With China Mobile for...
BURLINGAME, Calif.-NewsTakes Inc. introduced a service that repurposes existing Web content for various wireless devices last week, naming Dow Jones and Orange as customers.Dow Jones Newswires chose the technology to extend its content to wireless users, while Orange has integrated it to support its...
LONDON-France Telecom and Orange said they will delay the initial public offering of Orange until early 2001. The Orange IPO originally was scheduled to launch by the end of the year."The process of combining the mobile assets of France Telecom with Orange to create...
CAMBRIDGE, England-Interest group Cambridge3G was launched to establish Cambridge, England, as a leading test bed in Europe for the early rollout of third-generation mobile services.The initiative is backed by Cambridge-based telecommunications companies including Analysys, 3G LAB, Cambridge Positioning Systems, Cambridge Silicon Radio, Smart421 and...
LOS ANGELES-AT&T Wireless Services Inc. kicked off its Safe School Program in Orange County, Calif., by donating wireless phones, airtime and school supplies to Edison Elementary School in Santa Ana, Calif., as part of a partnership with the Orange County Rescue Mission's Backpack Program.The...
OXFORD, United Kingdom-The developers of third-generation (3G) infrastructure technology are complaining that mobile operators, which have spent billions acquiring licenses, are demanding heavy discounts on equipment deals.The major manufacturers are saying big pan-European operators are running parallel negotiations with up to six bidders and...
Until you have actually bought a good or service using a mobile device, it is difficult to comprehend the sheer power of the phone as an electronic wallet. In Europe, recent initiatives by innovative carriers such as Sonera allow users to buy candy, to...
MELBOURNE, Australia-Hutchison Telecommunications (Australia) had more than 18 months to sweat on its marketing. That is how long it took the wireless carrier, with Samsung, to develop a "revolutionary" wireless local loop (WLL) technology using CDMA mobile-phone infrastructure.Claimed by the carrier as a world-first,...
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...
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...
NEW YORK-At the suggestion of a franchise owner-operator, McDonald's Corp., Oak Brook, Ill., has decided to add wireless electronic payment to its menu at several restaurant drive-up windows in Southern California.The trial should be encouraging to wireless industry observers and participants who believe mobile...
