WELLINGTON, New Zealand-The cellular operators in New Zealand have released their third-quarter subscribers figures. Telecom New Zealand, owned 25-percent by Bell Atlantic Corp., reported 760,800 as of Sept. 30, while Vodafone New Zealand Ltd. had 293,000. The current cellular penetration rate in the country...
DUBLIN, Ireland-Northern Ireland is a complex country with an intriguing cellular industry. As part of the United Kingdom, it is covered by the same mobile networks (BT Cellnet, Vodafone AirTouch plc and Orange plc) as the rest of the United Kingdom. Yet those three...
American Tower Corp. reported strong third-quarter results, including improvements in net income and increases in revenues.The company said its revenues increased 121 percent to $67.5 million for the third quarter, ended Sept. 30, from revenues of $30.5 million for the same quarter last year....
American Tower Corp., the tower industry's heavyweight with nearly 10,000 towers in its portfolio, began as something of an afterthought."Our tower roots go back to my cable television days when companies like Motorola started coming to us looking to lease space on our towers,"...
The term "consolidation" is now applied continually to the wireless telecoms industry. Yet it seems inadequate to describe a situation in which European telecom companies are disappearing at a rate of up to three a week.The dynamics are clear. Europe's former state-owned PTTs and...
GreecePanafon and France Telecom announced recently they are holding discussions regarding a possible offering or an issue of an exchangeable bond by France Telecom of all or part of its remaining 20-percent equity stake in Panafon. France Telecom sold a 15-percent stake in November...
During the last five weeks, merger and acquisition announcements have flooded the telecommunications arena. Carriers in Asia, Europe and North America continue to jockey for positions in an industry that promises to exclude players without multinational footprints.Telia/TelenorThe merger of Telia of Sweden and Telenor...
VoiceStream Wireless Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Stanton said the carrier is likely to complete its mergers with Omnipoint Corp. and Aerial Communications Inc. in the first quarter as the companies wait for government approvals.Three parties have lodged protests with the Federal...
IRVING, Texas-GTE Corp. reported revenues for the third quarter ended Sept. 30 of $6.4 billion, an increase of 8 percent from the $6 billion reported for third-quarter 1998.The company recorded net earnings of $952 million, or 97 cents per share, a 14-percent increase over...
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 values Orange, the United Kingdom's third-largest mobile operator, at about $32 billion.Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa,...
NEW YORK-France Telecom last week proceeded toward its goal of becoming a pan-European provider of seamless mobile, wireline and Internet communications through an agreement to acquire controlling interest in E-Plus, Germany's third-largest wireless carrier.After the E-Plus acquisition, France Telecom will have about 17 million...
NEW YORK-During a quarter in which Bell Atlantic Corp. announced plans to create the largest U.S. wireless carrier via an agreement with Vodafone AirTouch plc, the company also posted favorable financial results."This was a watershed quarter for Bell Atlantic," said Ivan Seidenberg, Bell Atlantic's...
GENEVA-Globalstar officially announced at Telecom '99 a phased launch of its mobile satellite service. The phased launch begins with user trials, followed by a soft launch that will allow the company to work out quality issues. Commercial service should begin in early 2000.User trials...
INDIANAPOLIS-Brightpoint Inc. announced its subsidiaries in Australia and New Zealand entered into agreements with subsidiaries of Vodafone AirTouch plc in those markets.Under terms of the Australian agreement, Brightpoint will assist Vodafone in managing its accessories programs for its retail channel in Australia. Brightpoint also...
LONDON-Vodafone AirTouch plc announced Thursday its wholly owned subsidiary AirTouch Communications Inc. is acquiring a 5.5-percent stake in Polkomtel S.A. from Stalexport S.A. for $145 million.Vodafone AirTouch currently owns 19.25 percent of Polkomtel, which operates the Plus GSM network in Poland. It was awarded...
NEW YORK-"We've done the really easy stuff, and now the fun begins," Ivan Seidenberg, chairman and chief executive officer of Bell Atlantic Corp., said in a keynote address Oct. 7 at Fall Internet World '99.The Internet has evolved rapidly from its genesis as a...
PARIS-France Telecom said it reached an agreement to buy Vodafone AirTouch plc's 17.24-percent interest in E-Plus Mobilfunk GmbH, Germany's third-largest mobile carrier, for $1.86 billion.Vodafone was required to sell its stake in E-Plus as part of its agreement to buy AirTouch Communications Inc. earlier...
LONDON-Cable & Wireless plc said it agreed to sell its mobile telephony interests in Japan to Vodafone AirTouch plc for $411 million in cash.Cable & Wireless sold its shareholdings in the Digital Phone Group on Sept. 22, and has completed a definitive agreement to...
The worldwide wireless industry is expected to pass a significant milestone sometime during 2000.With total mobile subscribers at the end of last year of about 315 million and a growth rate of nearly 8 percent this year, mobile subscribers are expected to surpass the...
Talk about mega-mergers! Vodafone AirTouch secluded in talks with Bell Atlantic. BT and AT&T pushing back the boundaries of their courtship. All quoting figures of thousands of dollars per subscriber leading to potential deals of tens of billions of dollars.Such high-level financial deals create...
AustraliaACCC, Australia's corporate regulator, rejected Telstra Corp.'s proposed terms and conditions for other carriers to interconnect with its analog and digital mobile networks. The decision followed another decision by ACCC to reject Telstra' proposed terms and conditions for interconnect with its fixed network. Mobile...
Several global telecommunications players announced alliances or considerations for mergers during the last few weeks.AT&T and British Telecom announced a strategic alliance designed to create seamless mobile communications services worldwide.AT&T's and BT's new alliance, named Advance, will provide a new mobile global account services...
NEW ORLEANS-The fiery politics that once characterized the third-generation standards-setting process is rapidly dying, members of a 3G panel said at the PCS '99 show last week in New Orleans, but concerns remain over worldwide acceptance of the new standards."In order for 3G to...
NEW YORK-Bell Atlantic Corp. confirmed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Sept. 13 its engagement in discussions to forge a mobile telephony alliance with Vodafone AirTouch plc.Bell Atlantic at first refused to comment on this possibility when the British carrier acknowledged the negotiations...
