March 2001

HONG KONG- Nokia Corp. has set up a third-generation applications center in Hong Kong to help local industry develop end-to-end mobile multimedia applications. “The early and rapid development of mobile multimedia applications in fast growing economies like Hong Kong are …

ATLANTA-iMedeon, a provider of wireless Web applications for mobile work force management, announced rural utilities in areas lacking ubiquitous wireless coverage can benefit from its applications through the use of 220 MHz private networks. iMedeon will launch its first utility …

PHOENIX-High speed, fixed wireless company Aerial Telecom said it selected Internet service solution provider Aperian Inc. to host and provide bandwidth for Aerial’s wireless antennas across the nation.

The idea sounds compelling. With Web-enabled cellular telephones, users can dial up their favorite merchants to make automated purchases. It’s called mobile commerce, but for skeptics like Lawrence Steinert, it’s more a promise than reality. When it comes to new …

ATLANTA-Veriprise Wireless Corp., which provides wireless platforms and solutions, announced an agreement with Datavision-Prologix, a company involved in wireless systems integration and networking solutions. The companies will offer the Veriprise Wireless Platform, a wireless data management solution for the health …

CARLSBAD, Calif.-Indicast Corp., a provider of voice portal services, and Centennial Wireless, an independent wireless telecommunications service provider, have launched *100 News, a voice portal service that allows Centennial subscribers to hear the latest content from the Web by calling …

SINGAPORE-The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore released details of the final bid package for its third-generation (3G) license auction to be held in April, reducing the reserve price from S$150 million (US$85.4 million) to S$100 million (US$57 million). In addition, …

CANNES, France-Sema, an information technology and business services company, announced Mobile E-mail, its new messaging service offering for telecom operators. The product allows operators to offer interactive Internet e-mail services, so users can choose how to send and retrieve e-mails, …

STOCKHOLM, Sweden-FortuneCity’s WapDrive portal integrated mobilePosition’s friendPosition service, a mobile location technology. The technology enables users to locate friends via their mobile phones. People voluntarily sign up for the service and give approval for their mobile phones to be located.

SAO PAULO, Brazil-Brasil Telecom is looking to acquire part of Vesper, its rival that uses wireless local loop technology to offer basic telephone service, according to international press reports. The potential deal is in the early negotiation stage, according to …

COLUMBIA, Md.-Paratek Microwave Inc., a manufacturer of electronically tunable components and scanning antennas, has finalized its third round of funding totaling $24 million from a group of leading companies and venture capitalists. New investors Morgenthaler Ventures, Investor AB, and JPMorgan …

SAO PAULO, Brazil-Opportunity sold its participation of 12.3 percent in the capital shares of Americel and Telet to Bell Canad International (BCI), one of the Telecom America members. Opportunity will receive about $9.7 million for the sale. Telmex and U.S.-based …

GREAT RIVER, N.Y.-ThinkersGroup, a leading wireless development company, has announced that its subscribers can now access optimized Web content through a wireless portal that organizes information into categories such as finance, shopping, new, and sports. Subscribers can also search and …

KANSAS CITY, Mo.-Sprint PCS will feature Forbes.com Inc. content on its wireless Web service, allowing access to Forbes.com’s daily new stories covering business, technology, investing and lifestyle.

CANNES, France-Amdocs, a provider of customer-care, billing and order-management, introduced Amdocs 3G, a platform designed to assist carriers as they adapt to third-generation wireless services. According to the company, Amdocs 3G is made up of five integrated application suites with …

NEW YORK-Droplet Inc., an Internet infrastructure company, and Girlzilla Inc., a usability research and design firm, have joined forces to create software development standards for front-office productivity applications that can be delivered wirelessly to mobile workers. Because applications developed with …

MONROE, La.-CenturyTel Inc.’s board of directors voted to increase the company’s quarterly cash dividend from 4.75 cents per share to 5 cents per share payable on March 23 to shareholders of record on March 12.

PALO ALTO, Calif.-The Fantastic Corp., a software solutions provider in Switzerland, and Hewlett-Packard Co. announced a reseller agreement that allows HP to offer Fantastic software for content delivery as part of its overall broadband service offering to network and telecommunication …

PETAH TIKVA, Israel-InnoWave ECI Wireless Systems Ltd., a provider of fixed wireless access solutions, has signed an $11 million contract with Telmex Mexico to deliver wireless local loop solutions. According to the contract, InnoWave’s MultiGain Wireless Systems will be deployed …

HELSINKI, Finland-Nokia Networks signed a contract to provide a GPRS core system to Dutch telecommunications company Dutchtone N.V. As part of their agreement, Nokia will also provide Connecting@care support for integration of the GPRS core network into the existing service …

SYDNEY, Australia-Cable & Wireless Optus confirmed it has received revised proposals from parties interested in buying the Australia-based carrier. Vodafone Group plc, Singapore Telecommunications and Telecom New Zealand are understood to be interested in buying the carrier, which has mobile, …

LONDON-XACCT Technologies said Manx Telecom has selected its technology for deployment throughout its network. The platform will capture network and application use data for all of Manx’s services.

MOSCOW-The Russian government banned mobile phone-in-hand driving from April 1, 2001, after traffic police reported an increased number of accidents. Only hands-free devices are now allowed while at the wheel, according to a resolution signed by Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov. …

PARIS-France Telecom priced its $16.4 billion multi-tranche, multi-currencies bond transaction. The proceeds will be used to refinance existing debt through seven tranches. The transaction increased from $7 billion to $416.4 billion to meet investor demand, the company said. It is …

MUNICH, Germany-Siemens said it and Openwave were chosen by China Mobile Communications as the main suppliers to build out China Mobile’s WAP-based services in China. Siemens will provide the complete WAP solution using Openwave’s WAP-compatible UP.LinkServer technology. Initially, capacity is …