MOSCOW—Sonic Duo, which has the third GSM license in Moscow, received the first frequencies shared by its major competitor Mobile TeleSystems (MTS). The news was followed by a change of Sonic Duo's major shareholder. The carrier is to launch commercial operations in the third...
HELSINKI, Finland—The government of Iceland has set out a timetable for its sale of a 49-percent equity stake in state-run telecoms group Landssimi Islands, in an offering that values the company at more than US$700 million. The move represents the largest privatization in Iceland's...
OSLO, Norway-Telenor has acquired 100 percent of Pannon GSM in Hungary by acquiring the stakes held by KPN Telecom, Sonera and Tele Danmark Communications for a total $877 million. Telenor held 25.78 percent of the Hungarian carrier before the acquisition.Pannon GSM has net debt...
If GSM plus TDMA equals GAIT, some software providers want to ensure that the calculus makes sense.Last week, Schlumberger Sema and Sonera SmartTrust said they had received an order to provide a GAIT Over-The-Air solution for Cingular Wireless networks.GAIT, which stands for GSM/ANSI 136...
HELSINKI, Finland-There is an old saying in Norway that declares "true arrogance is a city inhabited by Swedes." However generalized and over the top that expression may be in the 21st century, it still retains general currency status as to how Sweden's Nordic neighbors,...
HELSINKI-Nokia Corp. and Finnish operator Sonera said they have conducted tests that determined data packets could be transmitted through Sonera GPRS Roaming Exchange on Nokia's UMTS platform.
HELSINKI, Finland-Kaj-Erik Relander, president and chief executive officer of Sonera Corp., has resigned effective Aug. 1. He will continue as an adviser to the chairman of the board of the company until the end of 2001.The Finnish operator is currently in discussions with Sweden's...
FRANKFURT, Germany-In a win for new entrants in Germany's mobile market, RegTP, the German telecom regulator, said it would allow the country's six Universal Mobile Telecommunications System license holders to share parts of their new 3G networks. The ruling will certainly ease the cost...
BOSTON-Mobile services company Sonera Zed U.S. Inc. announced it plans to offer a variety of ring tones and icons in addition to its WAP and short message service offerings for mobile phones."There are a lot of great wireless services on the horizon, and carriers...
Worldwide rollout of next-generation wireless services went 2 for 1 last week as both Japanese operator NTT DoCoMo and U.K.-based Vodafone Group plc introduced handsets for high-speed data services, while Finnish operator Sonera said it was delaying its rollout due to a lack of...
HELSINKI, Finland-European wireless operator Sonera Corp. sold 17.4 percent of its interest in VoiceStream Wireless Corp. to Germany's Deutsche Telekom for approximately $319 million.Sonera said it would use the proceeds from the sale to reduce its debt. Sonera also said it plans to sell...
BUCHAREST, Romania-Streaming video is a technology that is often mentioned in conjunction with third-generation (3G) networks, but users may see its possibilities sooner than 3G network rollouts.Streaming media is the ability to receive video alerts, wireless games, short video clips, and news and sports...
PLANO, Texas-OracleMobile, the mobile products and services division of Oracle Corp., and Sonera SmartTrust Ltd. will together offer a secure solution for mobile transactions on GSM networks.The Oracle9i Application Server Wireless Edition will support SmartTrust's security solution for public key infrastructure technology for fixed...
LAS VEGAS-Sonera's zed portal service won a major victory last week as wireless carrier Vodafone U.K. adopted the services for use in the United Kingdom. Vodafone Group plc offers its own portal service to carriers in conjunction with Vivendi, called Vizzavi, and the carrier...
InfowaveThomas U. Koll was appointed Infowave Software Inc.'s new chief executive officer. He previously was vice president of Microsoft's Network Solutions Group and was responsible for the company's worldwide business with telecommunications companies in wireline and wireless markets. Koll also served as general manager...
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...
GERMANYSonera is looking to reduce its stake in Group 3G, the consortium that won a third-generation license in Germany last year. Sonera, which currently holds 42.8 percent of the consortium, would like to reduce its stake to around 20 percent, according to international press...
AirNetUnited States. With MBO for a GPRS system.Value: UndisclosedAlcatelGambia. With Gamtel for a turnkey GSM network to be installed in the greater Banjul area.Value: UndisclosedPortugal. With TMN for a high speed mobile data service on its GPRS commercial network.Value: UndisclosedPortugal. With TMN for UMTS technology in the...
Even more nascent than the wireless Internet industry, the wireless multimedia industry is expected to represent a good portion of next-generation wireless Internet services.PacketVideo Corp.-which develops wireless streaming video and audio solutions-last week introduced a showcase of streaming video media applications available on today's...
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...
WASHINGTON-As the Federal Communications Commission frantically prepared to re-auction 422 C- and F-block personal communications services licenses beginning tomorrow, the agency on Dec. 1 released the names of those planning to participate in the auction and those that had been rejected.Of the large companies...
SOFIA, Bulgaria-Five companies have submitted applications to bid for a 15-year GSM license in Bulgaria. The minimum price for the license, to be awarded Dec. 15, is $40 million.Vodafone Bulgaria, a partnership between Vodafone Group plc and United Bulgarian Bank; TIM International, the mobile...
HELSINKI, Finland-Sonera Corp. said it will be the first operator in the Nordic countries to launch a GPRS network when its commercial service begins Dec. 11. Initial service will be in the Helsinki area, as well as Turku, Tampere and Oulu. Early next year,...
