SFR

OXFORD, United Kingdom—Sweden’s state-owned Vattenfall has called for the launch of third-generation (3G) services to be delayed until consumer demand can be more accurately measured. The company is also concerned …

PARIS—The standoff between the French government and mobile-phone operator SFR, which is backed by Vivendi Universal, was at least delayed this week, with SFR paying the initial US$566 million payment …

Alcatel Paris. With Orascom Telecom for the supply and installation of GSM solutions in the Middle East and Africa. Value: Undisclosed. Brazil. With Telemar for a GSM 1800/GPRS network in …

PARIS-Nokia Corp. said it signed a letter of intent to deliver its advanced third-generation network solution to French operator Groupe Cegetel, including infrastructure for radio access and core networks as …

Alcatel Egypt. With MobiNil for an extension of its GSM network. Value: US$37.1 million France. With Cegetel for the supply of a UMTS network. Value: Undisclosed Ericsson Canada. With Rogers …

Bulgaria Ote 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 …

GENEVA-The sky-high third-generation (3G) license fees generated by the United Kingdom’s May auction are having serious repercussions for European operators seeking a pan-regional presence. Governments on the mainland are rejigging …

Alcatel. Benin. With Office des Postes et Telecommunications (OPT) for a GSM network, along with fiber-optic and switching equipment. Value: US$32.8 million Kenya. With KenCell for a 50,000-subscriber capacity GSM …

PARIS-The French government has decided not to auction third-generation licenses later this year and will instead award the licenses through a “beauty contest.” The government still will raise nearly $19 …

PARIS-The French government said it will issue this month calls for tender for four Universal Mobile Telecommunications System phone licenses, Reuters reported. The third-generation licenses will be granted through a …

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 …

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 …

GENEVA-As any one of the tens of thousands of visitors who thronged the halls of February’s GSM World Congress knows, the latest word in GSM services is Wireless Application Protocol …

Unwired Planet Inc. took another step toward making its vision of Wireless Application Protocol devices and services a commercial reality by providing interoperability testing between its WAP-enabled UP.Link Server and …

GENEVA-Stop in for a lunchtime croque monsieur at any of the bistros that line the Boulevard St. Germain in Paris, and you’ll hear a new sound mingling with the clink …

WOODBURY, N.Y.-Societe Francaise du Radiotelephone selected Comverse Network Systems to supply a voice/text messaging system for the SFR network in France, announced Comverse. The N.J.-based company completed an initial phase …

Competition strategies used by France Telecom may change a little now that the national company has become a private entity, researchers say. “As a private company, they have to be …