TOKYO—Vodafone Group, world's largest mobile operator, on Friday said it successfully purchased 693,368 shares, which represents 21.7 percent, of Japan Telecom. Due to the purchase, Vodafone's stake in Japan Telecom, the third-largest mobile operator in Japan, will increase to 66.7 percent. Also Vodafone's stake...
STOCKHOLM, Sweden—Using PipeBeach's VoiceXML platform, Europolitan Vodafone's customers are now able to download and listen to ring tones simply by using their voice.Europolitan Vodafone launched its Voice Portal in the spring, and the company said it has been gaining in popularity ever since.
TOKYO—NTT DoCoMo, the leading mobile carrier in Japan, achieved rapid business expansion by gaining a 59.6-percent market share of new customers in September. J-Phone, now owned by the world's largest mobile carrier Vodafone Group, had expanded its share significantly in July and August, while...
HELSINKI, Finland—Nokia began shipping its General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) phones in Europe on 28 September, barely making the third-quarter deadline it had set for itself for commercially offering GPRS handsets. Competing handset vendors Motorola and Ericsson already have several GPRS models on the...
LONDON—Vodafone Group plc added 2.5 million worldwide proportionate subscribers during the third quarter, bringing the wireless giant's proportionate customer base to 95.6 million subscribers.Vodafone said it added 713,000 subscribers in Northern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, including 251,000 in the United Kingdom; 252,000...
HELSINKI, Finland—Nokia began shipping its GPRS phones in Europe on Sept. 28, barely making the third-quarter deadline it had set for itself for commercially offering GPRS handsets. Competing handset vendors Motorola and Ericsson already have several GPRS models on the European market.According to international...
TOKYO—Chris Gent, president of Vodafone Group, said that Vodafone is going to send a new president to Japan Telecom in January. Vodafone is in the process of raising its stake in Japan Telecom from its current 45 percent to 66.7 percent.Due to the reshuffle...
OXFORD, United Kingdom—The 50 short message service (SMS) content channels being offered by the German cell-phone operator D2 Vodafone are being seen as the precursor for other service providers looking to encourage mobile data traffic use. The Yankee Group claimed that D2 is the...
WELLINGTON, New Zealand—Econet Wireless New Zealand, a subsidiary of Zimbabwe-based Econet Wireless, said it will enter New Zealand's duopoly mobile market. Econet Wireless formed a partnership with New Zealand company Hautaki, which holds third-generation spectrum.Hautaki has given Econet Wireless New Zealand access to the...
LONDON—U.K. telecom regulator Oftel imposed price controls on the country's four mobile operators, saying British consumers would save $1.2 billion during the next four years. The controls will reduce revenues for the carriers by about $884 million, Oftel said.The controls are less stringent than...
NEW YORK—Any plans to take the J-Phone wireless business of Japan Telecom public must wait until the performance of its parent improves, said Chris Gent, chief executive of Vodafone Group, which recently announced its offer to acquire a controlling interest in the Japanese carrier."Chairman...
Any plans to take the J-Phone wireless business of Japan Telecom Co. Ltd. public must wait until the performance of its parent improves, said Chris Gent, chief executive of Vodafone Group plc, which recently announced its offer to acquire controlling interest in the Japanese...
OXFORD, United Kingdom—By the end of 2003, Chris Gent, the chief executive officer of Vodafone, expects 3G handsets to be available that will enable its customers to seamlessly roam between the two main 3G standards. The company is reported to have requested handset manufacturers...
WOODBURY, N.Y.-Comverse today announced Swedish mobile carrier Europolitan Vodafone will trial Comverse's multimedia messaging service over its GPRS network.Comverse's announcement comes a week after the company released the results of a study it conducted to determine user interest in multimedia messaging services. The company...
LONDON-Vodafone Group plc launched an advertising campaign, featuring television, movie, print and outdoor media. Each version of the campaign will feature the carrier's "How Are You?" tagline. The campaign started on national television in the United Kingdom and on Pan-European television Sept. 1, with...
OXFORD, United Kingdom—While it's been generally accepted within the industry for some time, Vodafone's public admission that its third-generation (3G) network would provide much lower data speeds than originally anticipated is being seen by some industry analysts as a ploy to squeeze equipment manufacturers....
LONDON—Vodafone Group plc launched its first global advertising campaign, featuring television, movie, print and outdoor media. Each version of the campaign will feature the carrier's "How Are You?" tagline.The campaign started on national television in the United Kingdom and on pan-European television 1 September,...
WOODBURY, New York, United States—Comverse announced Swedish mobile carrier Europolitan Vodafone will trial Comverse's multimedia messaging service over its General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) network.Comverse's announcement comes a week after the company released the results of a study it conducted to determine user interest...
LA JOLLA, Calif.—Bitfone Corp. released the company's flagship product, iBroker, in an effort to tap into the growing multimedia messaging market.Bitfone said its product allows users to send multimedia content using pictures and animations stored on a carrier's database, or users can wirelessly access...
LONDON—Vodafone Group plc launched its first global advertising campaign, featuring television, movie, print and outdoor media. Each version of the campaign will feature the carrier's "How Are You?" tagline.The campaign started on national television in the United Kingdom and on Pan-European television Sept. 1,...
HONG KONG-On the face of it, Hutchison Whampoa is a great success story. The company is among the leading international wireless operators and part of the giant Cheung Kong (Holdings), which in May announced after-tax profits of US$8 billion on a market capitalization of...
