Mergers and acquisitions are proliferating worldwide, with the strongest mark being made in Western Europe. Carriers are scrambling to maintain their footholds, while looking to the next potential market investment.Vodafone/MannesmannThe battle between Vodafone AirTouch and Mannesmann continues, as Vodafone AirTouch revealed its wireless data...
At the end of each year, the RCR editorial staff looks back on the news events that made RCR headlines and decides which were the most significant, industry-impacting stories of the past 12 months. Here are our picks for 1999 in chronological order.1. Jan....
LONDON-BT Cellnet, Britain's second-largest mobile phone operator, teamed with Freeserve, the United Kingdom's largest Internet service provider, to develop information services for wireless Internet access. The two companies signed a strategic agreement to collaborate on developing sports, entertainment and financial services for cellular phone...
LONDON-Standard & Poor's said it lowered its long-term ratings on Mannesmann AG from A to BBB, and its short-term ratings from A-1 to A-2, following Mannesmann's announcement that it has received acceptances in respect to 75 percent of Orange plc's issued share capital and...
Vodafone AirTouch plc Friday launched a hostile takeover bid for Mannesmann AG after the German company flatly rejected an earlier all-stock bid of about $106 billion."We made a friendly approach to Mannesmann last Sunday," said Chris Gent, Vodafone AirTouch's chief executive officer. "That proposal...
LONDON-Vodafone AirTouch plc acknowledged speculation circulating last week that it was interested in making a bid for Germany's Mannesmann AG and hinted that a future tie-up of the two could occur."Vodafone AirTouch and Mannesmann are long-standing partners in three of Europe's largest wireless markets...
United KingdomBritish Telecommunications plc is close to a deal with Viag, the German utility, that would give it access to the Austrian telecom market and more control in Switzerland, the Financial Times reported. BT will take a 50-percent stake in a new holding company,...
Following Orange's launch of a $15.5 million promotional campaign in July of the Wildfire voice-activated personal assistant, the carrier said 20,000 subscribers have signed onto the service. Orange, the United Kingdom's third-largest carrier with nearly 3 million customers, expects between 50,000 and 100,000 Wildfire...
DUBLIN, Ireland-Northern Ireland is a complex country with an intriguing cellular industry. As part of the United Kingdom, it is covered by the same mobile networks (BT Cellnet, Vodafone AirTouch plc and Orange plc) as the rest of the United Kingdom. Yet those three...
LONDON-Orange, the United Kingdom's third-largest mobile operator, announced just prior to Global Wireless press time that it is offering a new prepaid package, called Just Talk, that makes clear all conditions and charges upfront and offers existing prepaid subscribers the option of switching to...
During the last five weeks, merger and acquisition announcements have flooded the telecommunications arena. Carriers in Asia, Europe and North America continue to jockey for positions in an industry that promises to exclude players without multinational footprints.Telia/TelenorThe merger of Telia of Sweden and Telenor...
LONDON-Orange, the United Kingdom's third-largest mobile operator, announced it is offering a new prepaid package, called Just Talk, that makes clear all conditions and charges upfront and offers existing prepaid subscribers the option of switching to a contract tariff, while still being able to...
Mannesmann AG, parent of Germany's top mobile communications company, confirmed last week it made a bid to buy U.K. mobile carrier Orange plc, which Orange's largest shareholder accepted.The bid values Orange, the United Kingdom's third-largest mobile operator, at about $32 billion.Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa,...
United KingdomBritish Telecommunications plc announced it licensed PocketScience Inc.'s PocketMail mobile e-mail service via a revenue sharing agreement that allows BT's Internet and Multimedia Services Division to exclusively license and market PocketMail in the United Kingdom. PocketMail is a service that allows users to...
OXFORD, United Kingdom-Most cellular operators now recognize that to ensure their businesses continue to experience breakneck growth, they must compete more directly with fixed operators. According to industry analysts, this battle for the telephone user will take place over the provision of voice and...
Contrary to what many equipment developers proclaim, Hans Snook, chief executive officer of U.K.-based cell phone operator Orange, says that things were not simpler in 1995. He claims that it was not easy to build the networks or sell the handset and voice service,...
OXFORD, United Kingdom-The phrase on everyone's lips within the cellular industry at Telecom '99 will be value-added services, a world apart from the talk at the 1995 exhibition. This simple dictate is being touted as the only way for operators to achieve the future...
NEW YORK-Deutsche Telekom, which bought England's One-2-One last month, considers its 10-percent stake in Sprint Corp. too minuscule a toehold in the burgeoning and beckoning American market, company executives said at a press conference Sept. 9.Make no mistake, the German giant is pleased with...
The U.K. government has decided to appeal a recent court decision that determined the Department of Trade and Industry could not force existing wireless operators to grant roaming rights to a new entrant under proposed third-generation licensing rules.Such a move could delay the government's...
AustriaThe Austrian telecom control and licensing authority has started consultations with telecom providers on introducing third-generation systems. Austria must license at least one 3G standard to the UMTS specifications, according to an EU directive. The authority has not decided on the number of licenses...
AustraliaThe Australian government will auction a further 30 megahertz of paired spectrum in the 1.8 GHz band early next year. The auction, which will be conducted by the Australian Communications Authority (ACA), is expected to reap up to $200 million (US$130 million). The government...
The U.K. government is determined to keep its third-generation licensing time frame despite a ruling from a London High Court judge, who said the government could not force existing wireless operators to grant roaming rights to a new entrant.The government plans to auction 3G...
HONG KONG-Smart-card solution provider Schlumberger said Hong Kong mobile operator Sunday plans to upgrade its subscribers' phones to user-programmable multiservice terminals using Simera 32 Java-compatible subscriber identity modules and an Aremis application management server, both from Schlumberger. The system would allow subscribers to download...
