January 2003

BRUSSELS, Belgium-The European Commission launched an investigation into a $9.7 billion loan to France Telecom by the French government last year. The commission said that because the state support is …

NEW YORK-To reflect “the remarkably stable operating and financial performance” of Nextel Communications Inc., Moody’s Investors Service has upgraded its outlook to stable from negative on the carrier’s $15 billion …

BEDMINSTER, N.J.-Verizon Wireless unveiled a text-messaging contest allowing customers to enter for a chance to win a trip to Cancun, Mexico; one of 40 Motorola Inc. T720 handsets; or one …

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.-Alltel Corp. launched its Simple Freedom prepaid wireless service in more than 1,500 Wal-Mart stores nationwide. The plan, which includes voice mail, caller identification, call waiting and text …

DALLAS-Alcatel Corp. said Irish operator Meteor Mobile Communications will use its equipment to deploy mobile number portability functionality across the country. The technology allows subscribers to maintain the same phone …

STOCKHOLM, Sweden-L.M. Ericsson said it has conducted what it described as the first Internet Protocol Version 6 over UMTS network, using a medical emergency system that moves among different types …

IRVINE, Calif.-Continuing their 10-year relationship, billing company Primal Solutions Inc. said it signed a new $13 million agreement with paging and messaging carrier Metrocall Inc. for customer care and billing …

VANCOUVER, British Columbia-Wireless modem maker Sierra Wireless reported earnings ahead of company expectations, with revenues clocking in at $22.5 million and profits of $1.3 million. “We are pleased to report …

PARIS-Smart card maker Gemplus said it suffered an operating loss of $17.8 million in its fourth-quarter report, before restructuring costs. The company said its full-year revenue was $101.6 million on …

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.-Research firm Dell’Oro Group said the mobility infrastructure market encompassing GSM/GPRS/EDGE, TDMA, CDMA and wideband CDMA will decline this year, adding that the space will experience slow growth …

HELSINKI, Finland-Nokia Corp. has thrown its support behind the OMAPI standard initiative announced by STMicroelectronics and Texas Instruments last December to boost open standards for 2.5-generation and third-generation mobile phones, …

VIENNA, Austria-Telekom Austria said its mobile subsidiary, Mobilkom Austria, increased its stake in Croatian operator VIPnet from 71 percent to 80 percent. Mobilkom Austria acquired a 9-percent stake from Croatian …

The Bush administration and industry reached agreement supporting a global allocation of 5 GHz spectrum for unlicensed wireless technologies that would operate at power levels that do not interfere with …

WASHINGTON-Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Thursday reintroduced legislation designed to promote diversity in the telecommunications industry by giving tax breaks to companies that sell wireless and wireline …

BOCA RATON, Fla.-Tower owner and operator SBA Communications Corp. said its chief financial officer John Marino will resign effective March 31, 2003. Merino will return to the banking industry, which …

SINGAPORE-Singapore Telecommunications Ltd., which has embarked on a regional expansion of its mobile subsidiary, said it increased its wireless subscribers by 64 percent in 2002 compared with the year before. …

FALLS CHURCH, Va.-The world’s top four handset makers-Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, and Siemens-managed to increase their total market share from 69 percent in 2001 to 74 percent last year, according to …

WASHINGTON-Verizon Communications said it will file a motion to stop a court ruling requiring the carrier to reveal the identity of an Internet user accused of pirating music. “The recording …

BERLIN-The wireless industry may not witness any mergers among the big vendors, according comments Rueters attributed to Frank Dunn, Nortel Networks Ltd. Chief Executive. “I don’t expect consolidation in the …

OSLO, Norway-Norway’s Telenor said it sold its 49-percent stake in Russian regional operator StavTeleSot to Russian mobile company VimpelCom for $20.9 million. VimpelCom now has 90 percent of StavTelesot. Telenor …

BEIJING-Chinese analysts expect the country’s PHS services will increase sharply in the first half of the year because the Ministry of Information Industry (MII) has postponed the issuance of third-generation …

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-Mobile network operator MTN Nigeria announced it will begin to bill its prepaid customers based on seconds. Adrian Wood, chief executive officer of MTN Nigeria, said the board …

TOKYO-KDDI, the second-largest Japanese mobile operator, said it would launch a new handset with BREW capabilities in February. BREW is a data application download service developed by Qualcomm. It will …

HAYWARD, Calif.-Wireless enterprise company AvantGo Inc. reported revenues for its fourth quarter of $5.3 million and a net loss of $737,000. In the same quarter last year, the company reported …

OXFORD, United Kingdom-As more smart phones appear on the market and reach the hands of end users, European cell-phone operators could lose more than 10 billion euro (US$10.7 billion) if …