VIENNA, Austria-Europe's fifth auction of Universal Mobile Telecommunications System licenses ended after less than two days of bidding. All six participants gained licenses to operate UMTS systems in Austria, drawing about $728 million, much less than anticipated.The auction came to a halt for five...
WASHINGTON-Qwest Communications International Corp. was able to emerge from the union negotiating table without agreeing to allow the Communications Workers of America to have access to its wireless employees, something that neither Verizon Communications nor SBC Communications Inc. were able to do.Qwest announced Oct....
VIENNA, Austria-The Austrian auction of third-generation licenses began today, amid investigations into illegal activities among some of the already-completed European 3G auctions.In Austria, six bidders are competing for 12 licenses. Companies are expected to acquire up to three licenses.After six rounds of bidding, bid...
ZURICH, Switzerland-Deutsche Telekom and Vodafone Group are competing to buy a minority stake in Swisscom's wireless operations, according to international press reports. The Swiss company has been has reportedly been seeking a partner for its mobile operations.Swisscom owns 75 percent of German mobile reseller...
AUCKLAND, New Zealand-Clear Communications, has entered New Zealand's auction of third-generation and second-generation wireless spectrum.The auction has been going on since mid July. As of round 208, the total bid amounts in the auction were $42.7 million.Clear's bids totaled $8.4 million for four separate...
Mobile satellite services will shortly be available across the Middle East via the Thuraya network. United Arab Emirates-based Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications has announced the launch of its Thuraya-1 satellite. The turnkey mobile satellite communications system was provided by Boeing Satellite Systems as part of...
WASHINGTON-The chief wireless regulator in the United States has been spreading the message of auctions as a key licensing tool in various overseas trips during the last year."You are struck when you travel that people are interested in the perspective of the U.S. government....
TOKYO-The third-generation (3G) business plans and service strategies of three Japanese cellular carriers are becoming more concrete. NTT DoCoMo and J-Phone Group, the mobile business of Japan Telecom, are going to launch 3G services based on wideband-CDMA (W-CDMA) technology in 2001, and the country's...
BUCHAREST, Romania-Although most of the third-generation (3G) licensing attention in Europe is focused on Western Europe, Eastern European countries are also moving forward with licensing plans. The region, with lower wireless penetration rates than many Western European countries and improving economies, promises to hold...
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-Orascom Telecom (OT) is emerging as the winning titan in the conquest of cellular operations in Africa and the Middle East. With GSM cellular licenses firmly secured in the last few weeks in the Cameroon and Niger, Orascom now boasts more than...
Hong KongHong Kong's Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) will use a "hybrid" method-a prequalification followed by an auction-to allocate four third-generation (3G) mobile services licenses early next year. New market entrants must compete with Hong Kong's six incumbent operators. Hutchison Telecom, Pacific Century...
ROME-The results of the Italian third-generation license auction are unfortunate for the Italian government and British Telecommunications plc, while most opportune for the five companies that have unofficially won licenses at prices much lower than anticipated.After just two days of bidding among six mobile...
ROME-The Italian auction for five Universal Mobile Telecommunications System licenses began last Thursday. Italy is Europe's largest cell-phone market, with six groups participating in the auction process, which is expected to raise around $21 billion.The German UMTS auction, which ended in August, drew nearly...
SAO PAULO, Brazil-Vodafone Group and British Telecommunications announced committees focused on the auction of new-generation cellular telephony licenses in Brazil in the C, D and E bands.William Kiever, president of Vodafone for America and Asia, said the company does not rule out an eventual...
FORT WORTH, Texas-Travelocity.com launched a mobile flight-booking tool with rebooking capabilities for customers using various types of wireless devices.The service allows travelers to buy airline tickets via their devices, as well as rebook previously purchased tickets if necessary. The service is available to subscribers...
LONDON-Irish telecom company Eircom confirmed it is in preliminary discussions regarding the sale of all or part of its mobile subsidiary, Eircell. International press reports said Eircom is talking with Vodafone Group plc about a possible sale.Eircell, Ireland's largest mobile operator, has more than...
BEIJING-Vodafone, the world's largest mobile-phone operator by total subscriber numbers, is set to take a 2-percent stake in China Mobile (Hong Kong), the listed subsidiary of parent China Mobile Telecommunications in Beijing. Vodafone agreed to purchase shares valued at $2.5 billion in China Mobile...
NEW YORK-Verizon Wireless added 806,000 new customers during the third quarter of this year, a 35-percent increase in net additions compared with third quarter results last year from the combined U.S. wireless properties of Bell Atlantic Corp., Vodafone Group and GTE Corp.The additions put...
HONG KONG-China Mobile Hong Kong is buying seven mobile-phone networks from China Mobile Communications, its parent company, for about US$33 billion. China Mobile Hong Kong will sell US$2.5 billion of shares to Vodafone Group plc to help pay for the acquisition, giving Vodafone a...
NEW YORK-Telecommunications carriers worldwide are under significant pressure due to the bandwidth explosion, rising capital expenditures, competition from new players and delays in commercial rollout of new technologies."I take a cautious view of the telecommunications services world at the moment, although I believe there...
NEW YORK-Telecommunications is like chess, because the grand masters emerge as victors by controlling the center of the board, Ivan Seidenberg, president and co-chief executive officer of Verizon Communications Inc., said."In our case, the move to center means four platforms: robust local access, local broadband,...
CAMBRIDGE, England-Interest group Cambridge3G was launched to establish Cambridge, England, as a leading test bed in Europe for the early rollout of third-generation mobile services.The initiative is backed by Cambridge-based telecommunications companies including Analysys, 3G LAB, Cambridge Positioning Systems, Cambridge Silicon Radio, Smart421 and...
IndiaThe government-owned Department of Telecom Operations (DTO) will start its cellular mobile service in some cities by March 2001. It will soon float a tender for the supply and installation of about 1.5 million lines of GSM equipment on a turnkey basis.The service would...
Until you have actually bought a good or service using a mobile device, it is difficult to comprehend the sheer power of the phone as an electronic wallet. In Europe, recent initiatives by innovative carriers such as Sonera allow users to buy candy, to...
