Vodafone

DUBLIN, Ireland—A contract awarded to Vodafone Group has become the subject of a formal appeal to the Irish telecommunications industry regulator. A 130 million euro (US$120.4 million) contract for the …

OVERLAND PARK, Kan.—Sprint PCS signed a letter of intent with eOne Global, an affiliate of electronic payment provider First Data Corp., to establish a mobile payment network enabling customers to …

LONDON—Vodafone Group plc said it increased it ownership of China Mobile Hong Kong to 3.27 percent from 2.18 percent by subscribing US$750 million for new ordinary shares in the Chinese …

STOCKHOLM, Sweden—Wireless giant Ericsson continued to lead the multimedia messaging service infrastructure industry through its new deal with T-Mobile. T-Mobile will use Ericsson’s MMS center to launch services in its …

Wireless stock prices around the world have taken a beating lately. Vodafone Group has most noticeably suffered investors’ wrath and is now trading at less than a pound. To make …

OXFORD, United Kingdom—European cell-phone operators seem in no rush to sign General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) roaming agreements with their counterparts over fears of technology mismatches. Given that GPRS services …

LUXEMBOURG—Mach said Omnitel Vodafone agreed to renew its contract for Mach clearinghouse and roaming. services. Omnitel has used Mach’s services since it launched service in Italy. The value of the …

OXFORD, United Kingdom—Following its successful cell-phone investments in Croatia and Slovenia, Mobilkom, part of the former state monopoly Telekom Austria, admitted that it is investigating further investments in Eastern Europe, …

OXFORD, United Kingdom—Looking to set an example to other European governments, Maurizio Gasparri, the Italian communication minister, has called upon European Union (EU) member states to consider third-generation (3G) bandwidth …

WELLINGTON, New Zealand—New Zealand plans to auction additional spectrum by mid-year for wireless local loop, local multipoint distribution services and cellular services under revised rules from the country’s last auction …

LONDON—Vodafone Group plc said it added 1.3 million proportionate net subscribers during the first quarter, ending the quarter with 101.1 million worldwide proportionate customers. The company noted the lackluster net …

TOKYO—J-Phone, a Vodafone Group operator in Japan, announced it will postpone its third-generation (3G) service launch until December to provide “global standard service.” J-Phone had previously planned to launch its …

TOKYO—Japanese wireless operator J-Phone, which is a subsidiary of Vodafone Group plc, said it was delaying the launch of its next-generation network until December citing delays in agreements on international …

TOKYO—KDDI, the second-largest telecom operator in Japan, on 1 April launched its third-generation (3G) service based on cdma2000 1x technology, entering the highly competitive Japanese high-speed data market. In Japan, …

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa—Safaricom, the joint venture between Telkom Kenya and Vodafone Group, has reported that the operator’s subscriber base has grown from 15,000 to 440,000 since re-launch in 2000. A …

GENEVA—General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) roaming exchanges (GRX) are rapidly emerging as a profitable new service niche in Europe and around the world, as mobile operators get serious about GPRS …

TOKYO—J-Phone, a Vodafone Group mobile carrier in Japan, became the country’s second-largest mobile service, exceeding au, a mobile service provided by KDDI, according to statistics released by Telecommunications Carriers Association …

HELSINKI, Finland—Norwegian telecom operator Telenor’s competitors in Scandinavia are puzzled by the Oslo-based operator’s decision to price at the high end for multimedia messaging services (MMS). Telenor intends to charge …

Nearly six months after United Kingdom-based Virgin Group and Sprint PCS announced they formed Virgin Mobile USA, the U.S. wireless industry continues to wait for the launch of the highly …

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa—South African mobile network operator Vodacom confirmed that the company has as yet not accepted the offer of a mobile license in Zambia. The operator was offered a …

TOKYO—KDDI, the second-largest mobile operator in Japan, launched third-generation (3G) service based on cdma2000 1x on 1 April. NTT DoCoMo, the leading mobile carrier in Japan, which launched its 3G …

LONDON—Vodafone Group plc acquired an additional 2.2-percent stake in Spanish wireless partner Airtel Movil S.A. following the exercise of a put option held by Torreal S.A. The purchase increases Vodafone’s …

BOSTON, United States—South Africa’s biggest cell-phone operator Vodacom may soon enter the Zambian cellular market by operating the fourth cellular network in the country. Official authorization has been granted for …

OXFORD, United Kingdom—Having sold two third-generation (3G) licenses for 619 million euros (US$538.8 million) each last year, the French government looks unlikely to attract more than one interested party for …

OXFORD, United Kingdom—Having turned his back on the mobile industry following the sale of the U.K.-based cell-phone operator Orange to France T