LISBON, Portugal-Portugal Telecom increased its economic interests in Brazilian mobile operator Telesp Celular Participacoes from 29.92 percent to 41.23 percent.Telesp Celular completed a public auction at the Sao Paulo, Brazil, stock exchange, issuing about 27 million preferred shares and 14.5 million common shares at...
MADRID, Spain-Telefonica Moviles and Microsoft Corp. extended their current agreement to deploy next-generation mobile Internet services for corporate and consumer customers. The companies are establishing a joint executive advisory team to assess and plan new mobile products and services for Telefonica Moviles customers.The joint...
SCHAUMBURG, Ill.-Motorola said it reached a definitive agreement to sell its four cellular companies in northern Mexico to Telefonica Moviles for $1.79 billion. The agreement was first announced earlier this month.With the acquisition, Telefonica gains assets in the one large Latin American market where...
MADRID, Spain-Spain's Telefonica has finally added Mexico to its Latin American footprint with the acquisition of Motorola's Mexican mobile-phone assets. The $2.5 billion acquisition is also an important stepping stone for the pending listing of Telefonica's mobile subsidiary, Telefonica Moviles, in Spain and on...
HELSINKI, Finland-Spanish wireless operator Telefonica Mobiles Espana agreed to implement Nokia Corp.'s General Packet Radio Service core solution into its commercial mobile network, supporting more than 12 million subscribers.Nokia also announced that Swiss operator DiAx activated the first nationwide GPRS mobile network in Switzerland...
MT. PROSPECT, Ill.-Illinois Superconductor Corp. said Spanish wireless operator Telefonica Moviles will deploy the company's HTS filter system.Telefonica made the decision after conducting field trials of ISC's SuperRx tower-mounted HTS system in two live GSM sites in Cordoba, Spain."To my knowledge, this is the...
Being the new kid on the block is always a challenge. Besides trying to keep your own sense of identity, there is the pressure of trying to fit in to an unnatural surrounding that may or may not receive you graciously.A few years ago,...
One of the largest wireless companies in Latin America is considering a technology flip for the next generation.Sources close to BellSouth International Inc. say the carrier wants to convert TDMA systems in its Latin American markets to CDMA-based 1XRTT technology, a third-generation standard offering...
MADRID, Spain-The Telefonica Group, comprised of the company's many telecom holdings, reported increased revenue for the first half of 2000, led by large gains in the group's wireless businesses.As a whole, The Telefonica Group posted operating revenue of $11.8 billion from January to June...
Brazil's national telecom agency Anatel said it received 35 proposed from companies, entities and individuals on the proposal of guidelines for implementation of the personal communications services (PCS), submitted to the public for consultation. All the comments are available on the agency's Internet Web...
FranceFrance released details of its plan to award four 3G wireless phone licenses based on a beauty contest. Bidders, given a 31 January, 2001, deadline to submit proposals, will be judged on the strength of their business plans, before being selected to pay US$4.5...
NEW YORK-The number of licenses awarded, not the prices paid for them, likely will lead Standard & Poor's Corp. to downgrade the debt ratings of many winning bidders in Germany's recent third-generation wireless auctions."The total paid, 50.5 billion euros ($45.85 billion), conforms to our...
ROME-Eight groups stepped forward to vie for one of five Italian Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) licenses. The government will announce which bids are accepted by Sept. 2, and business plans and technical details will be due Sept. 11.The country's four incumbent operators, Blue,...
LONDON-Yahoo! Europe announced two new wireless partnerships this week, including one with a handset manufacturer and one with a mobile operator.Yahoo! Europe and Trium, a Mitsubishi subsidiary, said Yahoo! will provide a range of content and services to Trium's WAP-enabled mobile phones. The handsets...
In a surprise ending, six groups walked away with Universal Mobile Telecommunications System licenses in Germany at a total cost of $45.85 billion, the largest amount raised yet in a third-generation spectrum auction, hitting the ceiling of most analyst predictions.Each of the winners-Deutsche Telekom...
SAO PAULO, Brazil-Anatel should allow the current operators of cellular mobile service in Brazil the option of choosing the frequency for additional spectrum for operating PCS. Some operators want the additional frequencies at 1.8 GHz and some at 1.9 GHz.Brazilian telecom regulator Anatel has...
Bids in the German auction of Universal Mobile Telecommunications System licenses have jumped substantially during week two, with the total bid amount standing at around $22 billion at the end of nine days and 115 rounds. The price tag thus far is nearly 65...
NEW YORK-Israeli wireless broadband equipment companies have been strutting their stuff on Wall Street lately.Floware Wireless Systems Ltd. sold its 4.5 million-share initial public offering Aug. 1. Credit Suisse First Boston served as lead underwriter for the Nasdaq-listed stock sale, which priced at $13...
GENEVA-Second-ranked Spanish carrier, Retevision, is taking to the air waves with plans to build one of the world's largest networks based on point-to-point and point-to-multipoint fixed wireless access technology.The company, which became Spain's first new market entrant following the liberalization of the Spanish market...
LISBON, Portugal-Portugal Telecom announced a contract with Telefonica International to swap Portugal Telecom's stake in Brazil's Telesp Particpacoes, a fixed-line carrier, for Telefonica's stake in Telesp Celular Participacoes, a mobile carrier.The contract calls for the swap of Telefonica's 35.8-percent direct and indirect stake in...
AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands-KPN, the former telecommunications monopoly in the Netherlands, plans to offer a new issue of shares to the public this year. The Dutch government currently holds a 43.5-percent stake, which will be reduced through the sale, in KPN.Funds from the sale will...
NEW YORK-Merger and acquisition activity involving American companies shed some of its recent hyperactivity, slowing down last quarter to its lowest level since early 1998, Mergerstat L.P., Los Angeles, reported.Among companies releasing the dollar amount of their transactions, aggregate deal value dropped to $248.1...
MADRID, Spain-Telefonica Moviles and Terra Networks set up Terra Mobile, a new company charged with developing and operating the Telefonica group's global mobile Internet portal.Telefonica Moviles will control 51 percent of the new company, with Terra Networks controlling the remaining 49 percent.The Internet portal...
FRANKFURT, Germany-WorldCom Inc. formally pulled out of the German auction for third-generation licenses. The company is the third bidder to withdraw from the process before the auction officially begins July 31.France's Vivendi and Talkline, an SBC Communications Inc. and Tele Danmark joint venture, dropped...
