Just when Telecom Italia Spa seemed to have no defense left to ward off the hostile takeover bid from rival Italian telecom operator Olivetti Spa, its seemingly hopeless plea for a white knight to save the day was answered by Deutsche Telekom.The German operator's...
Crown Castle International Corp. sealed its second deal to manage a large wireless carrier's tower portfolio with last week's announcement that BellSouth Corp. is selling 1,850 towers to the company for $610 million in cash and common stock.Crown in December formed a joint venture...
ItalyThe Italian government requested a communications ministry committee be formed to oversee the auction of its planned fourth cellular license. The action marks the next step toward awarding that license, the winner of which will join incumbent operators Telecom Italia Mobile, Omnitel and the...
PolandPoland may call tenders for three new mobile phone licenses for Global System for Mobile communications 900 MHz and 1800 MHz systems during the first half of next year. Reuters reported that the country's telecommunications minister Marek Zdrojewski said the tenders would be issued...
LAS VEGAS-Microsoft Corp. announced last week at Wireless I.T. in Las Vegas plans to create a microbrowser designed specifically for handheld wireless devices to access Web content.According to Cameron Myhrvold, vice president of the company's Internet consumer unit, this microbrowser will support such Internet...
Italy's Communications Minister Antonio Maccanico was reported in foreign press as saying the country may engage in yet another auction for a fourth mobile phone license, possibly before the end of the year.Maccanico said the growth rate for the mobile phone industry in Italy...
Nextel Communications Inc. recently offered a farmer in South Coventry, Pa., a new $70,000, 105-foot silo if the wireless phone company could put an antenna inside of it to fill a gap in its coverage.This is just one example of the extremes companies will...
L.M. EricssonArgentina. With Telecom Personal to expand its D-AMPS/AMPS network.Value: up to US$77 millionArgentina. With Telefonica Comunicaciones Personales to expand its D-AMPS IS-136/AMPS network.Value: US$45 millionBosnia. With PTT Bosnia and Herzegovina for 30,000 GSM mobile lines (and fixed equipment).Value: US$59 millionChile. With CTC-Startel for expanding its D-AMPS...
TOKYO-The Japanese government is funding research for a 1 trillion yen (US$6.85 billion) Skynet project, scheduled to be ready for commercial launch in 2002, that would use up to 200 airships floating in the stratosphere as base stations for cellular networks.While the Iridium mobile...
Bell Atlantic Mobile is expected to announce next month rate plans competitive with AT&T Wireless Services Inc.'s Digital One Rate plan-a move that could trigger price wars for valuable high-end users.Sources indicate BAM's airtime plans will eliminate roaming and long-distance charges like AT&T's plans,...
STOCKHOLM, Sweden-L.M. Ericsson announced it signed a three-year framework agreement with the Wind consortium, which recently won Italy's third mobile cellular license. The agreement with Wind establishes Ericsson as the company's primary supplier of both mobile and fixed network equipment in Italy, said Ericsson.Under...
AustraliaThe Australian Communications Authority said it prepared a recommendation to the Minister for Communications, the Information Economy and the Arts, for a nationwide reallocation of spectrum in the 3.410 GHz to 3.6 GHz band. The intent of the proposal is to support the government's...
OXFORD, United Kingdom-Originally scheduled for fall 1996, Italy's third GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) license finally was awarded in June. The winning WIND consortium is 51-percent owned by the state-controlled electricity utility Enel, together with partners Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom. WIND recently...
The Italian government named the Wind consortium the winning bidder for the country's third mobile phone license, bringing to a close a tender process that began in the fall of 1996.The Ministry of Communications made the announcement June 10, the day its adviser, Italian...
MADRID-Spain's incumbent mobile phone operators Telefonica and Airtel could have some competition soon, as the country prepares to award a third license this month.Involved in the auction is the mobile arm of the Spanish fixed-line operator Retevision, called Retevision Movil-owned in part by Telecom...
NEW YORK-In its five-year history, Sales Staffers International Inc., Andover, Mass., has carved an unusual niche in the broader market of outsourced services for large corporations.Companies like AT&T Corp., Microsoft Corp., GTE Corp. and Bell Atlantic Corp. deploy its staff of veteran sales people...
This year's El Nino phenomenon has brought unseasonably mild weather to some parts of the nation while slamming others with sudden bizarre weather, including flooding in California, ice storms in the Northeast and tornadoes in the South.The strange weather has effected some wireless systems....
WASHINGTON-Attorney General Janet Reno, amid indications of coming legislation, told Congress last week she will order the Federal Communications Commission to intervene in mid-March if the deadlock between the FBI and the telecom industry over digital wiretap implementation is not resolved by then."We may...
Motorola Inc.'s Cellular Infrastructure Group is struggling to keep PrimeCo Personal Communications L.P. from giving future contracts to another vendor for more personal communications services equipment.PrimeCo reportedly is dissatisfied with the performance of Motorola's Code Division Multiple Access equipment currently installed, but contrary to...
Although the Italian government awarded fixed telephony licenses last week to two companies, confusion and frustration continue to surround the decision to bestow a much-delayed third mobile phone license.The Italian Senate is said to have set a May 31 deadline for the Ministry of...
The Strategis Group predicts despite the industry's hardships to date, the commercial mobile data business can expect a rash of subscribers and revenues in the immediate years to come.In a report titled, "U.S. Mobile Data Marketplace: 1997," the Washington-based consulting company predicts there will be...
Ameritel Communications Inc., a wireless reseller owned by USCI Inc., has quickly and quietly become a weighty presence in the resale industry. The company, which began last year with fewer than 1,000 subscribers, now estimates it supports about 40,000.At the end of the third...
Matrix Systems introduced the Model 7000 Series Coaxial Relay Modules, designed to maintain coaxial switching continuity over a wide range of critical and severe environments and applications. The relay modules feature two to 24 throws, and offer DC up to 800 MHz depending on...
NEW YORK-Playing to a packed house, speakers at a recent New York Society of Security Analysts "Invest in Africa '97" conference said countries and companies on the continent deserve a look by investors."It is encouraging to see the audience here. It is a sign...
