Qualcomm Inc. announced Pegaso Comunicaciones y Sistemas S.A. de C.V., a wholly owned subsidiary of Pegaso Telecomunicaciones, S.A. de C.V., a Mexican wireless operator now owned by Telefonica Moviles, has prepaid in full its outstanding loans owed under an equipment loan facility. The payment was $192 million, including a 2-percent discount for the early prepayment. As a result, Qualcomm’s revised guidance for its strategic initiatives segment for fiscal 2004 is a net cash investment of $60 million, as opposed to its previous guidance of $250 million.
Ukraine
Turkcell said it entered the Ukrainian mobile market by establishing a new company with the current shareholders of Digital Cellular Communication, which holds a GSM 1800 MHz license in Ukraine. Through Turktell, a wholly owned subsidiary of Turkcell, the Turkish company will contribute $50 million and acquire a 51-percent stake in the new company. Five mobile operators offer service in the Ukraine, and DCC had about 80,000 subscribers at the end of September.
Italy
Italy’s Telecom Italia Mobile launched a new service that connects a cellular phone’s subscriber identity module and wireless local area networks using SIM-based authentication. The service is targeted at the corporate market and offers speeds of up to 11 megabits per second, along with TIM’s GPRS network applications and services. Two companies, Logotel and Inres Coop, have already adopted the service, TIM said. Employees can access their company intranets or the Internet from their offices or from public hot spots soon to be available.
Nicaragua
America Movil said the Nicaraguan government accepted its bid in a public auction for a 49-percent stake in Empresa Nicaraguense del Telecomunicaciones S.A. (Enitel). The bid price was $49.6 million. Enitel holds a CDMA 1900 MHz license in Nicaragua, but does not currently offer service. It also offers fixed and other services.
