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Crown Castle completes credit amendment

HOUSTON-Crown Castle International Corp. announced it has completed an amended $1.6 billion credit facility and made certain changes to its capital structure. "This leverage-neutral transaction simplifies our capital structure and provides our restricted borrowing group access to the operating cash flows of our U.K....

World Briefs

A Russian operator has begun a trial of CDMA2000 1X technology at 450 MHz using equipment from Nortel Networks Ltd. The trial is being conducted in Yekaterinburg, Russia's fourth-largest city, by UralWestcom, a joint venture between Russian Telecommunications Development Corp. and Ural Svyza Inform....

BT expands mobile offerings with family plan

LONDON-U.K. fixed-line operator British Telecommunications announced plans to focus on the consumer wireless market with a wireless product called BT Mobile Home Plan targeted at families. The carrier will resell wireless service from T-Mobile for the offering.BT also has a mobile virtual network operator...

BT rumored to be linking with T-Mobile on MVNO

LONDON-British Telecommunications plc, a fixed-line operator that spun off its mobile division as MmO2, is in its second mobile virtual network operator deal to get back into the mobile arena, according to international press reports.Last year, the company purchased airtime from MmO2 to provide...

Trash or treasure? Industry takes on wireless spam

Telemarketing calls and junk mail have evolved. Now that consumers are used to dodging junk e-mail and Internet pop-up ads on their desktops and wireless messaging and mobile marketing are becoming more mainstream, mobile phones are quickly becoming the next vehicle of choice for...

MmO2 takes $15.8B charge for fiscal year

LONDON-Analysts welcomed 2002 fiscal year results from European operator MmO2 plc even though the company wrote down the value of its third-generation licenses by taking a nearly $9.7 billion exceptional charge on the assets. With total exceptional charges of $15.8 billion for the year...

Crown Castle defers payment to BT

HOUSTON-Crown Castle International Corp. earlier this week filed an 8K announcing it has deferred a portion of the $78 million site access payment it was scheduled to pay British Telecom at the end of the first quarter of this year.Crown said it has paid...

IBN to create nationwide Wi-Fi network in U.K.

LONDON-LLG subsidiary Inspired Broadcast Networks has contracted with L.M. Ericsson to equip its coin-operated entertainment terminals at 3,000 locations in the United Kingdom with Wi-Fi access and related digital subscriber line backhaul.IBN, Ericsson, British Telecommunications plc and Intel Corp. also plan to develop a...

Cut-price 802.11b opens U.K. coffee shop wars

OXFORD, United Kingdom-Having seen the U.K. fixed-line incumbent British Telecommunications (BT) deploy nearly 100 Wi-Fi hot spots around the country, Internet Exchange, the European Internet caf

France Telecom establishes Wi-Fi initiative

PARIS-France Telecom has announced a Wi-Fi initiative, saying it plans to implement the technology to complement its current businesses, including mobile GPRS/UMTS services. The company said Orange will develop a network of hot spots with landlords, Wanadoo will offer Wi-Fi home solutions, and Oleane,...

BT disposes of SmarTone stake

LONDON-British Telecommunications plc said it will sell its nearly 21-percent interest in Hong Kong's SmarTone for $132 million to Sun Hung Kai. The U.K.-based operator said the sale is part of its plan to dispose of non-core assets and reduce its huge debt load.Sun...

Vodafone agrees to give Vivendi more time on Cegetel

LONDON-Vodafone Group plc has agreed with Vivendi Universal S.A on the dates during which Vivendi can pre-empt Vodafone's bid for stakes in French operator Cegetel held by British Telecommunications plc and SBC Communications Inc. In addition, the London-based global mobile operator renewed its cash...

Vodafone announces plan to take majority control of Cegetel

LONDON-Attempting to continue its acquisition path, Vodafone Group plc announced an agreement to acquire British Telecommunications plc's and SBC Communications Inc.'s stakes in French company Cegetel for about $6.2 billion in cash.Cegetel owns 80 percent of French mobile operator SFR. The buy would give...

Taiwanese supplier to enter European market

DUBLIN, Ireland-Handset manufacturer DBTEL, which already has contracts to produce phones for a number of leading European operators including British Telecommunications (BT), is to start selling phones under its own brand name in Europe.The Taiwanese company has targeted six of the largest European markets-including...

Esat BT makes mobile consumer move an option

DUBLIN, Ireland-Barely a week after its parent company British Telecommunications (BT) revealed plans to re-enter the U.K. consumer mobile market, there are indications that Ireland's number-two telecommunications provider Esat BT is considering a similar strategy.There have been rumors circulating in the Irish business community...

European telcos re-enter mobile market with WLAN

OXFORD, United Kingdom-U.K.-based British Telecommunications has launched three wireless local area network (WLAN) "hot spots" in London to provide personal digital assistant (PDA) and laptop users with high-speed Internet access. The company said it plans to have 20 sites operational by August, 400 by...

Crown defers payment to BT

HOUSTON—Crown Castle International Corp. said its subsidiary, Crown Castle UK Ltd., reached an agreement with British Telecommunications plc to defer paying until March 2003 approximately $71.9 million of a $143.7 million payment that was due March 2002 under a transaction relating to BT exchange...

Ireland receives 3G interest from 3 operators

DUBLIN, Ireland—Ireland's Office of the Director of Telecom Regulations received bids from three wireless operators for its four third-generation mobile licenses up for sale, including one "A" license covering 80 percent of the country's population and potentially extra spectrum to carry mobile virtual network...

MmO2 announces job cuts in UK, Germany

LONDON—MmO2, the mobile phone unit spun off from British Telecommunications last year, said it plans to cut 1,900 jobs in the United Kingdom and Germany as part of its restructuring efforts.The cuts will come during the upcoming year, for a savings of about US$100...

Mm02 announces job cuts in U.K., Germany

LONDON—Mm02, the mobile-phone unit spun off from British Telecommunications plc last year, said it plans to cut 1,900 jobs in the United Kingdom and Germany as part of its restructuring efforts.The cuts will come during the upcoming year, for a savings of about $100...

Blu attracts interest from rival Italian operators

OXFORD, United Kingdom—The five holders of Italian third-generation (3G) licenses have each expressed an interest in launching bids for Blu, the Italian mobile operator that failed to gain a 3G license, with a deadline of the end of January. All seven of Blu's shareholders...

Tele2 announces German MVNO agreement

STOCKHOLM, Sweden-Tele2 announced a mobile virtual network operator agreement in Germany with Viag Interkom. Tele2 will use Viag's mobile network to provide the air interface for Tele2's fixed-line customers.The agreement will allow Tele2 to offer combined fixed and mobile services. The service is expected...

Tele2 announces German MVNO agreement

STOCKHOLM, Sweden-Tele2 announced a mobile virtual network operator agreement in Germany with Viag Interkom. Tele2 will use Viag's mobile network to provide the air interface for Tele2's fixed-line customers.The agreement will allow Tele2 to offer combined fixed and mobile services. The service is expected...