BROWSING: Vodafone

Portugal-Portuguese company Sonae.com has approached EDP regarding an acquisition of its telecom subsidiary Oni Group, which owns a third-generation license in Portugal. Sonae owns 45 percent of Portuguese mobile operator Optimus, and Oni operates a fixed-line network in Portugal as well.Utility EDP held a...

MELBOURNE, Australia-Commercial interest is growing in wireless Internet in Australia with news of a $A25 million (US$14 million) national rollout of an i-BURST mobile wireless broadband network beginning in Sydney. In charge of the rollout is CKW Wireless, a wholly owned subsidiary of U.S.-based...

OXFORD, United Kingdom-Saturated market conditions are being blamed by cell-phone operators for a 50-percent drop in handset sales for the first six months of 2002 compared with last year. According to statistics provided by the companies, only 1.4 million cell phones were sold in...

CINCINNATI-Convergys Corp. announced it has acquired the business and assets of bankrupt TelesensKSCL Ltd. of Edinburgh, Scotland, a subsidiary of TelesensKSCL AG of Cologne, Germany.TelesensKSCL, which was a developer and licenser of billing systems for voice and data services to 19 million telecommunications customers...

MADRID, Spain-Telef

LONDON-A new mobile virtual network operator service launched in the United Kingdom through One.Tel, which is leasing capacity from Vodafone Group plc. The group is touting its service, priced at less than

OXFORD, United Kingdom-By 2007, the number of cell-phone users in South Africa will be 19 million-double the current number-claimed the country's largest operator, Vodacom. The company, which recently responded to the entry of a third operator by drastically cutting prices, currently connects almost six...

SAN JOSE, Calif.—Arraycomm Inc. announced that its Australian subsidiary has formed a consortium that includes Vodafone Australia to launch its I-Burst mobile broadband Internet access system in Australia. The commercial rollout of the service is scheduled to start in mid-2003.The $14.3 million consortium includes...

BUDAPEST, Hungary—Euronet Worldwide Inc., provider of electronic financial transaction solutions, and Vodafone Hungary announced the implementation of Euronet ATM Recharge, which will enable Vodafone subscribers to purchase prepaid airtime at Euronet-branded ATMs throughout Hungary.Euronet now offers the service to all three GSM mobile operators...

DUBLIN, Ireland—There is some confusion in the European mobile sector about the likely impact of the European Commission's decision to authorize governments to change the parameters of third-generation (3G) licenses.The debt burdens created by the billions of dollars spent by operators, such as Vodafone...

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...

OXFORD, United Kingdom—In an effort to promote the use of multimedia messaging service (MMS), Vizzavi Deutschland, the wireless portal jointly owned by Vodafone and Vivendi Universal, has requested Alatto Technologies to supply consumer applications that will be delivered via the local Vodafone's MMS offering....

OXFORD, United Kingdom—While the cost of integrating a camera into a cell phone is only US$10, silicon chip developer STMicroelectronics has complained that European terminal makers are resisting the move to multimedia messaging service (MMS). The company, which recently acquired the camera-on-a-chip pioneer Vision...

DUBLIN, Ireland—The pressure on dominant Irish mobile operator Vodafone Ireland has intensified with the revelation that Vodafone Group is expecting its Irish operation to improve its performance in line with that of its sister companies in other parts of the world. Vodafone spent more...

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...

WAKEFIELD, Mass.—The worldwide field of mobile payments continues to grow—albeit more slowly than previously forecast—with increasing interest in standards bodies and payment services popping up.The Mobile Payment Forum, which was formed late last year by several major credit card companies, announced it added board...

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...

DUBLIN, Ireland—Some trends are beginning to emerge in the European multimedia messaging service (MMS) market following the launch of services by several operators. However, there is still a distinct split between those charging per message and operators adopting volume pricing models similar to those...

NASHUA, N.H.—Octave Communications said Vodafone New Zealand is performing market and technical trials with its instant group conversation platform, Octave Improv."Our trials indicate that there is strong demand for instant group calling features," said Derek Collier, technical specialist for Vodafone New Zealand. "The Octave...

BERNE, Switzerland—Swisscom Mobile said it will begin offering multimedia messaging services on June 3, following MMS launches from Telecom Italia Mobile and Vodafone Telecel in Portugal last week.Swisscom Mobile will provide the service free during its launch phase until the end of September. Beginning...

TOKYO—NTT DoCoMo Inc. said it is launching on June 1 its i-shot service, which allows users to transmit still images taken with mova SH251i mobile phones with built-in digital cameras.The photos can be edited prior to sending, and users will be able to attach...

CHICAGO—U.S. Cellular Corp. said it entered into contracts with multiple parties relating to its ownership of more than 10 million shares of Vodafone AirTouch plc American Depository Receipts. The carrier said initial proceeds of the approximately $160 million in cash it expects from the...

HELSINKI, Finland—Telecom Italia Mobile (TIM), the Italian mobile operator, has met its May deadline for the launch of multimedia messaging services (MMS) over its General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) network in Italy. Nordic vendors Ericsson and Nokia are the main infrastructure suppliers for TIM's...

OXFORD, United Kingdom—Looking to build on the runaway success of short message service (SMS), two more European mobile operators have joined in the rush to be among the first to launch multimedia messaging services (MMS). Vodafone Telecel in Portugal and Telecom Italia Mobile (TIM)...