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European operators quietly line up pornography services

OXFORD, United Kingdom-While publicly denying they have any plans to offer soft porn via their next-generation networks, deals are being signed that will see an increasing level of adult services become available over European mobile networks. All of Europe's major cell-phone operators, increasingly keen...

Verizon credit ratings affirmed by Fitch

NEW YORK-Fitch Ratings affirmed its A+ senior unsecured rating for Verizon Global Funding and A+ implied senior unsecured rating of Verizon Communications Inc., noting progress Verizon made last year in delevering its balance sheet as well as further prospects for continuing that effort in...

MSN Mobile launches U.K. picture messaging service

LONDON-MSN Mobile in the United Kingdom launched a new picture text messaging service through a partnership with FunMail Inc. and conVISUAL.The service will be available to subscribers of Orange UK, Vodafone UK, MmO2 and T-Mobile UK."We think FunMail is a great application that will...

MmO2 reported to be in talks on Dutch unit sale

AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands-According to international press reports, MmO2 is in talks with several operators, including Vodafone Group plc and T-Mobile International, for the sale of its Dutch subsidiary. The unit is reported to be worth around $210 million, although the price could increase with...

London cabs to be fitted with wireless hailing service

OXFORD, United Kingdom-The frustration of trying to find a London taxi cab should shortly be greatly reduced, according to the makers of the vehicles, Manganese Bronze Holdings, who say they have reached agreements with Vodafone and MmO2 to introduce the Zingo taxi hailing service.The...

J-Phone to nationally unify price plans

TOKYO-J-Phone said it has requested permission from the Japanese regulator to unify its regional company price plans into six national price plans and seven discount services for its PDC networks, which will be nationally unified beginning Feb. 1.All price plans come with free calls,...

Cricket, anyone?

The exit of Sir Christopher Gent from the chief executive post at Vodafone marks a milestone for the company and the industry. Unlike many of his counterparts, Gent is stepping down from his post rather than being forced out. Gent, named RCR Wireless News...

J-Phone to nationally unify price plans

TOKYO-J-Phone said it has requested permission from the Japanese regulator to unify its regional company price plans into six national price plans and seven discount services for its PDC networks, which will be nationally unified beginning Feb. 1.All price plans come with free calls,...

Cricket, anyone?

The exit of Sir Christopher Gent from the chief executive post at Vodafone certainly marks a milestone for the company and the industry. Unlike many of his counterparts, Gent has chosen to step down from his post rather than being forced out. Gent has...

J-Phone to nationally unify price plans

TOKYO-J-Phone said it has requested permission from the Japanese regulator to unify its regional company price plans into six national price plans and seven discount services for its PDC networks, which will be nationally unified beginning Feb. 1.All price plans come with free calls,...

Gent to step down from Vodafone next year

LONDON-Following on a promise he made earlier this year, Vodafone Group plc chairman and former RCR Wireless News Person of the Year Christopher Gent said he would retire from the world's largest wireless company on July 30 immediately following Vodafone's annual general meeting.Vodafone announced...

Redknee to supply Vodafone U.K. with prepaid billing

LONDON-Vodafone U.K. has chosen Redknee to supply a comprehensive prepaid data solution for enabling General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) services. Using the technology, Vodafone can offer pricing for prepaid data services using real-time routing and mediation capabilities.

IP Wireless to deliver network Down Under

NEW YORK-Walker Wireless, which owns spectrum throughout New Zealand, has contracted with U.S.-based IPWireless to build a broadband wireless network that covers the country's three largest cities and about half its population.IPWireless did not disclose a dollar amount for the deal. IPWireless also...

Orange Sweden plans ‘last call’ talks with regulator

HELSINKI, Finland-Orange Sweden, the Stockholm-based mobile subsidiary of debt-troubled France T

Swedish operators fire first shots in MMS price war

SAN JOSE, California, United States-Swedish mobile operators TeliaSonera and Vodafone Sweden have entered into a price battle over their recently launched multimedia message services (MMS) services. The newly merged TeliaSonera has set the pace by announcing prices that undercut Vodafone by nearly 20 percent.In...

Vodafone indicates interest in Hutchison’s Australian business

MELBOURNE, Australia-Vodafone indicated this week it is interested in buying Hutchison Telecommunications' A$3 billion (US$1.7 billion) third-generation (3G) mobile-phone network in a bid to get an early foothold in Australia's wireless data market.The managing director of Vodafone Australia, Grahame Maher, was reported as saying...

Ericsson job losses rouse Sweden: When only cuts impress

OSLO, Norway-Ericsson's mid-November confirmation that its sweeping restructuring and job slashing would lead to a 50-percent reduction in its research and development (R&D) staff struck a raw nerve in Sweden. By the end of 2003, Ericsson will halve its R&D staff to 12,000, with...

Meteor loses market share in Ireland

DUBLIN, Ireland-There was some bad news this week for supporters of greater competition in the Irish mobile-phone market, when the latest sectoral report revealed that third operator Meteor has lost market share, even though the overall number of subscribers has increased.Figures from ComReg, the...

Vodafone confirms cell-phone bug

OXFORD, United Kingdom-Having deployed several thousand Panasonic GD87 cell phones, Vodafone Germany has confirmed the handsets can make billable calls without users being aware. The company said the software bug within the device could lead to fraud or unwanted charges.According to Vodafone, which has...

J-Phone targets 1 million 3G users by end-2003

TOKYO-J-Phone, a Vodafone Group company in Japan, will launch third-generation (3G) service in Japan on 20 December, J-Phone announced. By launching a dual terminal that will be able to be used for both GSM and W-CDMA services, J-Phone is aiming to win 1 million...

OniWay looks to retreat from Portuguese UMTS market

DUBLIN, Ireland-The majority backers of Portuguese Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) hopeful OniWay have decided to pull the plug on the venture. However, two other shareholders-Telenor, which controls 20 percent, and Spanish utility Iberdrola with 8 percent-have refused to support the decision. A Telenor...

Vivendi plans purchase of Cegetel stake

PARIS-Vivendi Universal said it plans to buy BT Group's 26-percent stake in Cegetel for $3.985 billion, removing control from Vodafone.In response, Vodafone withdrew its previous $6.75 billion offer to buy Vivendi's 44-percent interest in Cegetel.

UMTS spending rises: Europe, Japan enjoy majority of buys

In spite of mammoth debt, operators are beginning to loosen their purse strings to buy equipment again, according to a report by market research firm Dell'Oro Group.The report said Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) equipment revenue jumped fourfold to about US$800 million in the...

ArrayComm subsidiary begins trial of i-Burst service in Sydney

NEW YORK-CKW Wireless Pty Ltd., an Australian subsidiary of ArrayComm Inc., San Jose, Calif., has launched a pre-commercial trial in Sydney of the i-Burst personal broadband system.ArrayComm's patented IntelliCell technology, based on fully adaptive smart antennas, is the foundation for the i-Burst system, which...