NEW YORK-Vodafone Group plc said it is paying $52 million to buy the 67 percent of reseller Talkland International (UK) Ltd. that it doesn't already own from Companie Generale des Eaux of France.Talkland is one of the United Kingdom's top resellers, reporting more than...
A stern letter from the European Commission has gone out to dozens of wireless operators and phone manufacturers in Europe about the use of SIM card locks."With this pressure, we are trying to head off any agreements or the establishment of such a standard,"...
Great Britain's Office of Telecommunications said it is exploring the possibility that wireless phone operators Vodafone plc and Cellnet are charging local telephone operator British Telecommunications plc unfair interconnect rates."Oftel is concerned that Cellnet and Vodafone may be exploiting the market power they enjoy...
A U.S.-owned company is up against competition in its bid for digital dispatch radio spectrum in the United Kingdom, while also facing implementation of the never-deployed TETRA standard.National Band Three Ltd. is wholly owned by Geotek Communications Inc. of Montvale, N.J. The four-year-old company...
The number of cellular subscribers in Africa and the Middle East increased 76 percent between 1990 and 1995, reported Pyramid Research Inc. in a recent study. Cellular subscribers totaled 1.8 million at the end of last year, and are expected to count 11.2 million...
NEW YORK-Orange plc, a British cellular carrier, sold an initial public offering of common stock March 27 that netted approximately $951 million.In January, Orange, Bristol, England, was formed as a holding company by Hutchison Whampoa Ltd., a Hong Kong company that is Orange's majority...
Four parties received licenses to provide personal communications services in Sweden. Nordiska Tele8 and current cellular operators Telia Mobitel, Europolitan and Comviq will build nationwide Global System for Mobile communications networks at 1.8 GHz, announced the National Post and Telecom Agency in Sweden.Cellular penetration...
The number of mobile phone subscribers is rising quickly in Europe, but an increasing proportion of low-volume users and competition among operators could wrench profits over the next decade, forecasts CIT Research Ltd."For the first time in 12 years, we are sounding a real...
At least one quarter of U.K. wireless telecom operator Orange plc will be floated next month through a global offering of common shares, announced Dewe Rogerson, which manages Orange's account.Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. currently owns about 68.5 percent of Orange, while British Aerospace...
STOCKHOLM-Only four parties submitted applications and down payments, due Dec. 11, indicating interest in operating Global System for Mobile communications digital wireless phone service at the 2 GHz frequency in Sweden.The participating parties, including the three current GSM cellular operators, each submitted $15,000 to...
Sweden's Post and Telestyrelsen, the national telecom agency, said it expects to license up to four operators for nationwide personal communications networks early next year.Cellular penetration is at about 25 percent of Sweden's nearly 9 million people, so while the country is home to...
Succeeding plans for a two-year network expansion project, Mercury One 2 One intends to launch a multimillion dollar marketing and advertising campaign today aimed at new customers, with three flagship calling packages the company said deliver "the lowest running costs of any mobile phone...
Mobistar, a partnership of Belgian telecommunications manufacturer Telinfo and France Telecom Mobile International, won the second license to operate a Global System for Mobile communications network in Belgium. Mobistar will pay $296 million for the license.Mobistar will compete against current cellular operator Belgacom Mobile,...
PALO ALTO, Calif.-Hewlett-Packard Co.'s OpenMail short messaging service now will be available to users of the Vodafone Group's Global System for Mobile communications cellular system, the companies announced. The agreement will make it possible for Vodafone subscribers to send and receive text messages on...
In concert with the European Union's directive to liberalize the telecommunications market in Europe, Austria plans to permit a second, privately owned mobile phone license by the end of the year.Austria's Ministry for Public Economy and Transport recently issued a tender for a Global...
NEW YORK-Globalstar Telecommunications Ltd. has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to make an initial public offering of 12 million shares of common stock, priced between $24 and $26 a share.Proceeds from the offering will be used to purchase a 25 percent general...
Motorola Inc.'s Cellular Infrastructure Group has been awarded a contract for more than $10 million to expand the narrowband advanced mobile phone service in the Dominican Republic. The contract with the private telephone company, Tricom Inc., will expand that company's cell sites to a...
