BROWSING: Orange

HELSINKI, Finland—The uphill battle to meet Sweden's December 2003 national rollout deadline for third-generation (3G) networks has taken a significant new twist, after Sweden's leading mobile operators assigned Stockholm-based telecom consulting firm Teleca to deliver a technical solution and a macro-economic costing that will...

PARIS—France Telecom and its mobile subsidiary Orange said they terminated the cooperation framework agreement with MobilCom and Gerhard Schmid, which the companies entered in March 2000. France Telecom said the termination follows a series of breaches by Schmid and MobilCom.France Telecom said Schmid and...

LONDON—Orange SA said it accepted a UMTS license in Luxembourg following the country's "beauty contest" for licenses, making Orange a new entrant in the market when it launches a UMTS network.Last month, Tele2 said it also won a UMTS license in Luxembourg from the...

PARIS—France T

Permit issues could delay operator rolloutsHELSINKI, Finland-PTS, Sweden's telecom regulatory authority, appears to have accepted the general position adopted by operators that meeting the 2002 deadline for rollout of third-generation (3G) services will not be feasible. The position taken by PTS is significant, as...

DUBLIN, Ireland—The imminent launch of the XDA, an O2-branded mobile device manufactured specifically for that operator, is clear evidence that European operators are demanding more input into handset development. However, it is more likely to be an extreme but isolated example of operator control...

BOSTON—Netonomy announced a software supply and implementation agreement with Orange UK that will allow Orange to use the MyNetonomy Channel Activator to create a self-service portal for Orange retail staff and independent retailers.According to Netonomy, with the product, Orange can improve the customer support...

PARIS—The French telecom regulator has confirmed that only Bouygues Telecom applied for one of the two third-generation licenses on offer in France. Therefore, the three current mobile incumbent operators—Orange, SFR and Bouygues—will be the only 3G operators in the country.France awarded two of its...

OXFORD, United Kingdom—A joint venture between Orange and U.K.-based cable operator NTL should soon enable Orange cell-phone users to order digital content and have it downloaded via NTL's broadband connection to their homes. NTL said it is also planning to leverage its relationships with...

NEW YORK—Tele2 said it won a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) license in Luxembourg from the country's Ministry of Telecommunications.Tele2's Luxembourg operator Tango received the most points in the country's "beauty contest" for licenses, in which market newcomer Orange and P&T Luxembourg, also an...

DENVER, United States—The Slovak government announced three companies submitted bids for the country's three third-generation (3G) licenses. Incumbent operators Eurotel and Orange bid for the two individual 3G licenses on offer, while market newcomer Profinet.sk bid for the combined GSM and 3G license.The combined...

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 matters worse, its shares fell an additional 5 percent last week after Goldman Sachs...

PARIS—A French newspaper reported European mobile operator Orange is interested in launching a branded service in the United States and is currently in talks with a U.S. operator. Orange has denied the reports.The report said Cingular is currently the most likely partner after talks...

OXFORD, United Kingdom—The Polish telecom regulator, URTiP, has conceded that the three operators that purchased third-generation (3G) licenses will not be held to the contractual launch date due to the technical problems being experienced by equipment developers.The operators, Polska Telefonica Cyfrowa (PTC), Polkomtel and...

LONDON—Nortel Networks said it has signed a deal with Orange SA subsidiary Dutchtone to upgrade the carrier's wireless network with GSM and GPRS equipment."Our aim is to provide the best performing network in the Netherlands, which is why we are substantially investing in adding...

LONDON—Lucent Technologies Inc. said it has signed a three-year contract worth over $35 million to supply Orange SA with its MiLife VoiceXML Gateway solution."This project is at the heart of the OrangeWorld vision to develop a powerful Internet-based platform to provide the basis for...

TOKYO—NTT DoCoMo Inc., the largest mobile carrier in Japan, and Bouygues Telecom, the third-largest operator in France, announced they reached a license agreement over i-mode services in France. Following the technology transfer agreement, Bouygues Telecom, a telecom business unit of Bouygues SA, is going...

AUSTIN, Texas—Wi-Fi service provider Wayport Inc. will provide high-speed Internet access in the meeting facilities and common areas of eight Windsor Capital Group Inc.-managed Embassy Suites hotels, Wayport announced.The hotels are located in Orange County, Calif., Seattle, Las Vegas, Detroit, Portland, Ore., and Cincinnati.Wayport...

HELSINKI, Finland—TDC, the Danish telecom company that is currently the subject of attention from acquisitive Nordic neighbor Telia, is being linked as a "probable" contender to take over Cesky Telecom, which owns 51 percent of EuroTel Praha, the Czech Republic's fastest growing mobile operator.Deutsche...

LAUSANNE, Switzerland—Orange's Swiss operator has agreed to purchase Liechtenstein's Viag EuroPlatform, which owns licenses to operate GSM 1800 MHz and Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) networks. The value of the purchase was not disclosed.Ownership is expected to be transferred from German company Viag EuroPlatform...

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

NEW DELHI, India—TA Orange, the much-awaited GSM operator in Thailand, launched its commercial services on 27 March, amid confusion created by the row between DTAC and the Telecom Organization of Thailand (TOT) over payment of access fees to the government agency.TA Orange has set...

WATERLOO, Ontario—The BlackBerry is going to Asia under a deal between the maker of the wireless e-mail and mobile-phone device, Research In Motion Ltd., and Hong Kong wireless carrier Hutchison Telecommunications.Hutchison Telecom, which sports 1.7 million customers, will sell the device running over its...

LONDON—European wireless operators O2 and Orange said they are interested in bidding for one of Ireland's four third-generation licenses. The licenses, which run for 20 years, will be offered as one Class-A license for around $45 million and three Class-B licenses for $100 million...