AirTouch Communications Inc. reportedly is close to awarding a new contract to Nortel Telecom Inc. to replace existing Motorola Inc. Code Division Multiple Access equipment in Los Angeles.Industry sources indicate the two still are negotiating terms of the contract. The sticking point is AirTouch...
OXFORD, United Kingdom-The "Year 2000" problem has become a priority item on the agenda of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), reflecting the reality that the global network is only as strong as its weakest link. In the telecommunications sector, tackling the Year 2000 problem,...
The Argentine government, in an attempt to proceed with the PCS auctions currently in judicial limbo, is considering selling two PCS licenses each for the northern and southern regions of the country, excluding the greater Buenos Aires area. This maneuvering would speed up the...
WASHINGTON-The old adage maintains it's all about location, that the success of an investment depends on locale. And Latin America has been the locale of choice for investors looking for incredible growth rates and high demand for service. With several countries in the region...
NTT Mobile Communications Network Inc. and Japanese trading group Itochu have readjusted their ownership schemes in a consortium led by Spain's Telefonica, which successfully bid for Brazilian A-band cellular operator Tele Sudeste Celular Participacoes.DoCoMo, which initially had an 8.5-percent stake in the consortium, reduced...
L.M. EricssonArgentina. With Telecom Personal to expand its D-AMPS/AMPS network.Value: up to US$77 millionArgentina. With Telefonica Comunicaciones Personales to expand its D-AMPS IS-136/AMPS network.Value: US$45 millionBosnia. With PTT Bosnia and Herzegovina for 30,000 GSM mobile lines (and fixed equipment).Value: US$59 millionChile. With CTC-Startel for expanding its D-AMPS...
WASHINGTON-Almost 500 years after Columbus visited, Portugal and Spain are back on Latin American shores; this time, it isn't sugar cane or gold they are after, but rather the potentially lucrative telecom sector. Telefonica de Espana and Portugal Telecom were the most aggressive bidders...
The Australian Communications Authority has invited applications for an auction of previously unsold 800 MHz and 1.8 GHz PCS spectrum.Bids closed on 31 August for the partial privatization of Telekom Austria. The Austrian government is looking to sell a 25-percent stake in the company,...
SAO PAULO-Telefonica del Peru ordered the first phase of a digital cellular network expansion from Motorola Inc.'s Cellular Infrastructure Group designed to extend service beyond the capital city of Lima into Peru's western provinces between the Pacific Coast and the Andes mountains.The Code Division...
The government of Peru and telecommunications company Telefonica del Peru earlier this month agreed to end the company's monopoly on conventional telephone service, according to published reports.Telefonica del Peru provides local, long-distance, wireless, paging and cable TV services in the country. Its monopoly on...
The high bids placed for Brazil's eight A-band cellular companies late last month may cause some consortia members to rethink their positions.Reports already indicate Japan's NTT DoCoMo and Japanese trading group Itochu Corp. are reviewing their participation in a consortium led by Spain's Telefonica,...
TAMPA, Fla.-GTE Telecommunication Services Inc. said it agreed to provide its Access clearinghouse services to Telefonica del Peru.Prior to the agreement, Telefonica del Peru offered its customers one-way, manual roaming from Peru to the rest of South America, with manual settlement between operators, said...
The government of Puerto Rico last week elected to stay with a bid made by a GTE Corp.-led consortium for Puerto Rico Telephone Co., after receiving a competing bid from Spain's Telefonica Internacional S.A.A spokeswoman for GTE confirmed the government's decision.GTE in May signed...
STOCKHOLM, Sweden-L.M. Ericsson announced it won a $45 million order to expand the digital Advanced Mobile Phone Service network operated by Telefonica Comunicaciones Personales in central and southern Argentina.This is TCP's largest expansion order since the original network was purchased in 1995, said Ericsson....
WASHINGTON-After a three-day delay due to legal challenges, the government of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, sold a controlling 50.1-percent voting stake in the Companhia Riograndense de Telecomunicac
WASHINGTON-Brazilian Minister of Communications Luis Carlos Mendonca de Barros set the minimum price for the 12 Telebras system holding companies of US$11.7 billion for the 18.2-percent stake owned by the government. He expects the eight cellular companies to draw a high premium, up to...
On 10 December 1997, the frequency auction for trunking services concluded, resulting in 580 channels being auctioned and raising almost US$40 million.Argentina Wireless Telecomunicaciones paid more than US$27 million for 140 channels in Buenos Aires, 60 in Santa Fe/Paran , and 100 each in...
WASHINGTON-They announced it, delayed it, set deadlines and then extended them-each one of these at least once and often amid accusations of scandal and preferential treatment. Currently, the tender process for two 1.9 GHz PCS (Personal Communications Services) licenses to serve a 100-kilometer area...
MADRID-Spain's incumbent mobile phone operators Telefonica and Airtel could have some competition soon, as the country prepares to award a third license this month.Involved in the auction is the mobile arm of the Spanish fixed-line operator Retevision, called Retevision Movil-owned in part by Telecom...
Despite uncertainties surrounding the process, the Brazilian government is pushing ahead with plans to sell its stake in telecommunications giant Telebras.The sell-off, originally slated for July 15, now has been pushed to July 29. Telebras is scheduled to split into 12 regional holding companies...
ISTANBUL-Motorola Inc.'s Cellular Infrastructure Group announced what it called the world's single-largest Global System for Mobile communications infrastructure contract to date.The company signed an exclusive $500 million contract with Telsim, a GSM operator in Turkey, to enhance the carrier's network countrywide. Motorola said it...
OXFORD, England-Both Cable & Wireless plc and Telecom Italia have been searching long and hard for an international partner. Now the search may be over. The two operators intend to join forces in a global alliance to strengthen their international operations.Cable & Wireless claims...
OXFORD, England-In March, shareholders of the privatized Spanish operator Telefonica approved a new group structure as well as a proposal to raise Pta 600 billion (US$3.97 billion) through the largest-ever rights issue by a Spanish company. Approval was granted at the shortest-ever meeting in...
