WOODBURY, N.Y.-Comverse, a unit of Comverse Technology Inc., announced its Intelligent Short Message Service Center (ISMSC) was selected by Airtel Mobil, a mobile operator in Spain and part of the Vodafone Group.Airtel will implement Comverse's short message service solutions, which is based on a...
Deutsche Telekom's recent acquisition of U.S.-based GSM operator VoiceStream Wireless Corp. again showed the ever-shrinking nature of the wireless industry. Including United Kingdom-based Vodafone Group plc's partial ownership stake in Verizon Wireless and Japan's NTT DoCoMo's interest in AT&T Wireless Services Inc., international telecommunications...
Monopoly claims on Microsoft Corp. might go out the window in the wireless space as major vendors, developers and operators expect to leverage both the software giant's .NET and Java 2 Enterprise Edition platforms for third-generation Web services, according to industry watchers."The evolution to...
NEW YORK-Vodafone Group plc introduced international roaming for its prepaid mobile-phone customers on its networks across Europe. The service, already available to Vodafone's postpaid customers, follows the launch of Vodafone Eurocall and Home Services international prepaid roaming services.The new international prepaid service, introduced recently...
FRANKFURT, Germany-In a win for new entrants in Germany's mobile market, RegTP, the German telecom regulator, said it would allow the country's six Universal Mobile Telecommunications System license holders to share parts of their new 3G networks. The ruling will certainly ease the cost...
Worldwide rollout of next-generation wireless services went 2 for 1 last week as both Japanese operator NTT DoCoMo and U.K.-based Vodafone Group plc introduced handsets for high-speed data services, while Finnish operator Sonera said it was delaying its rollout due to a lack of...
After a year in which its global customer base increased from 53 million customers to a staggering 83 million customers, U.K.-based Vodafone Group plc said it will turn its attention this year from rounding up more subscribers to making money off the ones it...
Most in the wireless industry are convinced that for wireless Internet access to succeed wireless operators have to tear down their current walled-garden plans that limit customer access to a set number of wirelessly enabled Web sites. Some wireless operators have heeded said advice...
BRAZILTranscrypt International Inc.'s subsidiary, EFJohnson Co., has been awarded a $2 million contract to supply its LTR-Net communication system to the State of Santa Catarina Police Department in Brazil, linking the majority of Brazil's large metropolitan areas.IRELANDThe offer that UBS Warburg Ltd. made on...
In a dramatic move to bolster its value and trim debt, British Telecom said last week it would spin off its wireless unit, BT Wireless, as a separately traded company, and temporarily suspend dividend payments. The telecom giant said it expects the moves to...
If teens remain `talkaholics' and have fun doing it, Voyant Technologies wants to provide the fuel.With an instant voice-messaging solution in a next-generation environment, the company thinks it is ready to bring new spice to voice communications when it launches the product by the...
LONDON-Vodafone Group said it agreed to sell its 100-percent equity stake in Austrian telecommunications company tele.ring for an undisclosed amount to U.S.-based Western Wireless International. Vodafone said the value of the net assets being disposed represents less than 1 percent of Vodafone's net assets.The...
LONDON-Vodafone Group plc has agreed to pay $6.9 billion total for British Telecommunications plc's interests in Japan and Spain.The sale includes BT's 20-percent stake in Japan Telecom and its 20-percent stake in J-Phone Communications, JT's mobile subsidiary, making Vodafone the largest shareholder of JT...
TOKYO-Vodafone Group, the largest mobile carrier in the world, announced in May it will acquire British Telecommunications' (BT) entire stake in Japan Telecom Group (JT) for 652.3 billion yen (US$5.4 billion). Following the deal, Vodafone Group will hold a 45-percent stake in Japan Telecom...
GENEVA-How the mighty have fallen. British Telecommunications (BT), once ranked among the world's most powerful carriers, is finding itself buckling under a crippling mountain of debt in a climate where raising equity in the telecom/information technology (IT) sector has hit an all-time low. In...
OXFORD, United Kingdom-The announcement by NTT DoCoMo of a five-month delay to its wideband-CDMA (W-CDMA) launch must have been music to the ears of Irwin Jacobs, the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Qualcomm. While the major wireless operators in Europe have remained...
In Beijing, it is uncivilized for a lady to talk on a mobile phone while walking, according to a report on the Beijing Evening News. It seems cultural rules of society can be seamlessly translated to the mobile industry and should be given adequate...
AustraliaAustralia's third-generation (3G) spectrum auction fell well short of the federal government's budget forecasts of A$2.6 billion (US$1.3 billion). Six bidders paid a total of almost A$1.17 billion (US$577 million) for spectrum in the 2 GHz band. The auction felt an early blow when...
STOCKHOLM, Sweden-Dutch operator Libertel Vodafone selected Ericsson as its sole supplier for a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System network through a $45 million contract. The contract includes hardware, software and services.The carrier plans to begin commercially offering 3G services by the end of 2002.
NEW YORK-Not surprisingly, the number and size of mergers and acquisitions for which a dollar value was made public declined markedly in all industries when compared to the same period a year ago, Los Angeles-based Mergerstat reported.Announced transactions involving U.S. companies totaled 2,224, down...
FREMONT, Calif.-Vodafone Global Platform and Internet Services (VGP), a division of Vodafone Group plc, has launched Vizzavi, a wireless Web portal based on software infrastructure provider Clickmarks' software platform.The portal allows Vodafone wireless subscribers to received personalized content and information on their wireless phones....
NEW YORK-Vodafone UK said it successfully conducted a live call over its third-generation network in the Thames Valley."Our announcement of the first 3G voice call marks yet another significant milestone in the development of our multimedia services and forms part of our rollout plans...
TOKYO-Toyota Motor Corp. sold its stakes in three regional wireless companies to Japan Telecom for an undisclosed amount, international press reports said. J-Phone Communications is Japan's second-largest mobile carrier and is owned 54 percent by Japan Telecom.Toyota held 1.97 percent of J-Phone East, 1.98...
