DUBLIN, Ireland-Utility companies across Europe are entering the mobile communications business, hoping to simultaneously grab a slice of an extremely lucrative market and diversify their operations. But analysts are undecided on whether the companies have the requisite technical expertise or resources to effectively compete...
Bidders in the U.K. third-generation license auction appeared to exceed their budgets last week. Bidding for the five licenses totaled an eye-popping $35 billion, and the auction will linger on into this week.The auction seems eerily reminiscent of the U.S. personal communications services C-block...
LONDON-The European Union Commission notified Vodafone AirTouch plc last week it received Phase 1 clearance for its acquisition of Mannesmann AG, moving the companies one step closer to creating a European telecom giant with more than 54 million customers in 25 countries."After what has...
WorldCom Wireless became the latest-and most high-profile-company to fall victim to the climbing bids for five Universal Mobile Telecommunications System licenses in the United Kingdom last week.WorldCom withdrew from the auction Thursday, reducing the number of active bidders to seven. The contest will end...
Skyrocketing bids forced five companies to drop out of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System auction last week, leaving eight companies to scramble for five licenses that now have a combined value of more than $22 billion.By the time round 106 was over, 3GUK, Crescent...
IRVINE, Calif.-Primal, a provider of Internet-enabled customer management software to the communications industry, signed an order to provide Metrocall Inc. with its customer care and billing system, Connect CCB.According to Primal, the new system is a Web-based, Internet Protocol and wireless customer care and...
HELSINKI, Finland-Nokia Corp. extended its infrastructure supply relationship with Orange in the United Kingdom by $316.2 million.The additional equipment to be delivered includes Global System for Mobile communications base station equipment, triple-mode Nokia UltraSite and MetroSite mobile multimedia solutions, and supply services covering network...
NEW YORK-The American wireless marketplace needs a healthy dose of innovation jump-started by foreign intervention to drive user penetration, said Hans R. Snook, chief executive of Orange plc.At the moment, Orange is otherwise engaged, so it cannot put momentum into this immodest proposal straight...
PARIS-France Telecom announced it will take a 28.5-percent stake in Germany's MobilCom, which provides mobile, wireline and Internet services, for about $3.6 billion. The German company has about 2 million wireless subscribers.In connection with the deal, the companies said they will create a joint...
NTL Mobile closed out the latest round of bidding in the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System auction last week in the United Kingdom with a $1.7 billion bid for license A, an increase of more than $855 million from the highest bid the week prior.None...
Furious bidding between Vodafone AirTouch plc and Orange plc on the final day of last week's Universal Mobile Telecommunications System auction in the United Kingdom drove the top bid for license B to $1.14 billion. For the second week in a row, Orange held...
After one week and 16 rounds of bidding, incumbent operator Orange plc led all third-generation license bids in the United Kingdom with a $632.9 million bid for License B. The auction for five licenses, which is expected to last another one to five weeks,...
TEL AVIV, Israel-In a country like Israel where the number of mobile phone lines surpasses fixed lines (2.9 million compared with 2.8 million), where there's intense competition among the three carriers and churn is high (sometimes 60 percent), and where price is less and...
Things are going well for most mobile companies around the globe. Penetration rates are increasing, subscriber numbers are reaching all-time highs and wireless data holds future promise for the industry. The last year has been especially profitable for wireless handset manufacturers.Nokia reported its strongest...
DENVER, United States-While Vodafone AirTouch recently advanced its merger with Germany's Mannesmann AG, the company indicated it may look to fill in its footprint with some smaller acquisitions.In particular, the company has been closing in on a bid for a stake in Spain's second-largest...
DUBLIN, Ireland-The news that Mannesmann has conceded defeat in its battle with Vodafone AirTouch merely underlines the momentum behind consolidation in the European mobile communications industry. However, few observers appear concerned at the concentration of market power in the hands of a relatively small...
Approximately 318.6 million new cellular connections will be added in Europe by 2007, of which 160 million will be Global System for Mobile communications connections, according to The Strategis Group's report, "Western European Cellular/3G Markets 2000-2007."As a result of these new customers, the average...
LONDON-The U.K. government said it qualified all 13 applicants for Universal Mobile Telecommunications System licenses to bid in a March auction."I am delighted that we have been able to qualify all the applicants and that we are on track for the auction beginning in...
While Vodafone AirTouch plc last week advanced its merger with Germany's Mannesmann AG, the company indicated it may look to fill in its footprint with smaller acquisitions.In particular, the company has been closing in on a bid for a stake in Spain's second-largest mobile...
BellSouth Corp. said last week it could issue a tracking stock for its highly successful Latin American operations by late April or early May, a move that will allow investors to more accurately value the company's international assets.BellSouth's Latin American business consists of properties...
After resisting a hostile takeover attempt by Vodafone AirTouch plc for more than two months, Germany's Mannesmann AG last week agreed to a revised friendly offer just days shy of the Feb. 7 deadline for Mannesmann shareholders to vote on the hostile bid.Mannesmann's supervisory...
ROSH HA'AYIN, Israel-Partner Communications Co., an Israeli Global System for Mobile communications operator, announced it gained 13 percent of the Israeli cellular market after one year of operation. The company began full commercial operations in January 1999 and had 355,000 customers at the end...
Thirteen groups have applied to bid in the United Kingdom's auction of third-generation mobile-phone licenses.The U.K. government by March plans to auction five licenses, with one license exclusively reserved for a player currently not represented in the U.K. market. Each bidder was required to...
LONDON-London-based telecommunication companies are riding the wave of increased demand for wireless communications with three companies reporting strong growth in new mobile phone customers during the fourth quarter of 1999.Vodafone AirTouch plc announced it received a record 3.98 million new customers in the fourth...
