Sonera

NEW YORK-Citigroup and Sonera Ltd. announced last week they are taking an undisclosed ownership stake in 724 Solutions, a Canadian software company that is hardly a household name but could …

The economy is rolling along, wireless subscriber additions are climbing and merger and acquisition activity is heating up. This is good news for the personal communications services industry, which last …

Poor financial results continue to plague personal communications services operator Aerial Communications Inc., and its spinoff from parent company, Telephone and Data Systems Inc., is moving slower than anticipated. Analysts …

Alcatel Austria. With Tele.ring for its new GSM 1800 network. Value: US$298 million Ericsson Brazil. With Telecom Italia Mobile to expand its TDMA network. Value: US$100 million China. With China …

NEW YORK-Turkcell, the largest Global System for Mobile Communications operator in Turkey, said June 8 it has asked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for permission to go public later …

As Telephone and Data Systems Inc. pursues a spinoff of personal communications services operator Aerial Communications Inc., it is dealing with sticky issues involving Sonera Ltd.’s investment in Aerial. Aerial …

OXFORD, United Kingdom-If an Olympic games in cellular communications were ever staged, there is little doubt who would head the medals table. Finland would take gold in almost every event. …

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-The potential bidders for the third cellular license in South Africa are determined to break the existing Vodacom-MTN duopoly. “We will be competing head-on with MTN and Vodacom …

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-The trunked radio industry in South Africa is about to experience a revolutionary change with the introduction of new technologies and standards. An entirely new market is being …

The Finnish government moved swiftly to award four third-generation mobile phone licenses. All four companies plan to use the European Telecommunications Standards Institute’s chosen 3G standard, the Universal Mobile Telecommunications …

Helsinki-based Sonera Group plc, Finland’s largest telecommunications carrier, plans a $1.1 billion issue of medium term notes to help finance its expansion plans. The partially privatized carrier, owned 78 percent …

U.S. Global System for Mobile communications carriers took a financial beating in 1998, but analysts expect 1999 to look brighter for these carriers as they look to butter up their …

CANNES, France-CNN Interactive last week announced at the GSM World Congress its CNN Mobile service, a mobile telephone news and information service using a platform it co-developed with Nokia Oy. …

As the end of the millennium approaches, it is worth pondering whether the recent bout of mergers and acquisitions are precedents to some colossal event of biblical proportions or merely …

NEW YORK-Responding to a crescendo of allegations of improper inside dealing related to Sonera’s November initial public offering, the board of directors of the Finnish telecommunications carrier last week fired …

The State Department late last month urged the European Commission to allow U.S. third-generation wireless equipment and service providers a fair opportunity to compete in Europe. In a letter sent …

Finnish minister of communications Matti Aura resigned following the dismissal of Pekka Vennamo, chief executive of Sonera. Vennamo was fired by the Sonera board on 4 January for failing to …

LONDON-The Baltic region covers an area of 174,000 square kilometers, with approximately 8 million people generating US$13 billion in gross domestic product (GDP). But while Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania may …

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-As Africa enters the threshold of the African Renaissance and progresses toward privatizing and liberalizing its telecommunications sectors, powerful alliances are being forged in the wireless arena. “The …

Telephone and Data Systems Inc. said Friday it would pursue a spinoff of its personal communications services business Aerial Communications Inc., a segment that has been a continual drag on …

SINGAPORE Motorola Inc.’s Cellular Infrastructure Group signed a contract valued at $23 million to upgrade M1’s digital wireless telephone network in Singapore. In addition to its SC 4852 base transceiver …

NEW YORK-Venture capital-backed investments in the third quarter of 1998 reached an all-time high of $3.77 billion, a nose ahead of the $3.73 billion record set during the second quarter …

OXFORD, United Kingdom-Cellular penetration rates now exceed 50 percent in Finland. But real penetration rates are much higher if you ignore the very old and the very young. Pretty well …

The incorrect ownership structure of Hungary’s Pannon GSM was printed in the July-August issue. The correct ownership structure is KPN Telecom B.V. (26.79%), Telenor Invest A/S (23.43%), Sonera Holding N.V. …

NEW YORK-The government of Finland plans to sell a 20-percent stake in Sonera Ltd. through an initial public offering of stock Nov. 17 that it hopes will raise between $1 …