BROWSING: British Telecommunications

Bidders in the U.K. third-generation license auction appeared to exceed their budgets last week. Bidding for the five licenses totaled an eye-popping $35 billion, and the auction will linger on into this week.The auction seems eerily reminiscent of the U.S. personal communications services C-block...

Looking to join the wireless portal game, Internet infrastructure software firm Inktomi Corp. inked several deals last week with industry players in an effort to collect all the pieces necessary to build wireless portals for carriers and others.Inktomi provides Internet backbone technology like traffic...

Furious bidding between Vodafone AirTouch plc and Orange plc on the final day of last week's Universal Mobile Telecommunications System auction in the United Kingdom drove the top bid for license B to $1.14 billion. For the second week in a row, Orange held...

The European Commission said it will extend its investigation into the proposed merger between MCI WorldCom and Sprint Corp. by another four months.MCI WorldCom and Sprint last fall agreed to a $130 billion definitive merger that will combine the second- and third-largest U.S. long-distance...

VoiceStream Wireless Corp. announced plans to invest in Canadian Global System for Mobile communications operator Microcell Telecommunications Inc., a move that sets the stage for a seamless North American footprint.VoiceStream will invest $275 million to purchase 9.59 million newly issued Class A shares of...

MADRID, Spain-Vodafone AirTouch plc and British Telecommunications plc are negotiating a resolution to their battle for control of Airtel, Spain's second-largest mobile provider. The negotiations could lead to an amicable BT exit from Airtel.In addition, Vodafone plans to use Airtel to expand its wireless...

While Vodafone AirTouch plc last week advanced its merger with Germany's Mannesmann AG, the company indicated it may look to fill in its footprint with smaller acquisitions.In particular, the company has been closing in on a bid for a stake in Spain's second-largest mobile...

MADRID, Spain-Six groups submitted bids to the Spanish government for four Universal Mobile Telecommunications System licenses in Spain to be awarded in March.Telefonica Moviles, the country's largest cellular provider, and Retevision, the third-largest mobile operator in Spain, are said to be the front runners.Airtel,...

At the end of each year, the RCR editorial staff looks back on the news events that made RCR headlines and decides which were the most significant, industry-impacting stories of the past 12 months. Here are our picks for 1999 in chronological order.1. Jan....

Vodafone AirTouch plc Friday launched a hostile takeover bid for Mannesmann AG after the German company flatly rejected an earlier all-stock bid of about $106 billion."We made a friendly approach to Mannesmann last Sunday," said Chris Gent, Vodafone AirTouch's chief executive officer. "That proposal...

NEW YORK-Through an underwriting syndicate led by Salomon Smith Barney, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. plans to sell up to 982,000 shares of stock, the Japan Ministry of Finance announced late last month.The sale, which is to include 131,000 shares sold in the United...

It could have been an isolated path for TDMA operators going forward as they struggled for economies of scale in their businesses, but with a new agreement with the GSM Association, the Universal Wireless Communications Consortium hopes to gain access to the worldwide equipment...

NEW YORK-AT&T Corp. and British Telecommunications plc announced their new global venture will be called "Concert.""Initially, Concert-which was the name of BT's wholly-owned business-was just one of hundreds we considered," said David Dorman, chief executive officer of the planned company. "Our findings revealed that...

Motorola Inc. released a new communications platform last week called Mobile Internet Exchange, or MIX, with the goal of giving users the ability to access Internet information by either voice or data on a mobile basis."Motorola expects that by 2005, 1 billion people will...

The need to add a wireless play in global telecommunications alliances became clearer last week as AT&T Corp. and British Telecommunications plc announced a strategic alliance designed to create seamless mobile communications services worldwide."In general, we've seen a lot of domestic consolidation," said Bob...

CHICAGO-Duff & Phelps Credit Rating Co. raised Rogers Cantel Inc.'s senior secured debt rating from "BB+" to "BBB," and the rating of Cantel's subordinated public debt from "BB-" to "BBB-." Both ratings were removed from Rating Watch-Up and their outlook is stable, said DCR.The...

NEW YORK-AT&T Corp. and British Telecommunications plc completed their deal to jointly buy 33.3 percent of Canadian telecommunications company Rogers Cantel Mobile Communications for $1.4 billion, said AT&T.AT&T also said British Telecom closed its deal to acquire 30 percent of AT&T's 31-percent stake in...

Nissan Motor Co. said last week it will sell its stakes in nine Japanese cellular operators, a move that is sure to pave the way for consolidation in a wireless industry crowded with eight operating groups, say analysts.Choosing to focus on its ailing automotive...

The worldwide wireless industry is expected to pass a significant milestone sometime during 2000.With total mobile subscribers at the end of last year of about 315 million and a growth rate of nearly 8 percent this year, mobile subscribers are expected to surpass the...

Qualcomm Inc. placed 6.9 million shares of its common stock in a public offering at $156.50 per share for total net proceeds of about $1.1 billion.Conductus Inc. said its common stock will remain listed on the Nasdaq SmallCap Market thanks to an exception freeing...

The U.S. Department of Justice cleared the planned global venture between AT&T Corp. and British Telecommunications plc, said AT&T. In July 1998, AT&T and BT announced their intentions to form a global venture to serve the communications needs of multinational business customers and carriers....

Asia-Pacific countries are beginning to emerge from the severe economic problems that have gripped them for two years, and mobile phone carriers are finding they desperately need cash to expand services.Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines took the hardest economic hits after the Thai...

MONTE CARLO, France-Nine global wireless communications companies formed a focus group to promote an Internet protocol-based wireless system for third-generation mobile communications technology.The group, called 3G.IP, consists of AT&T Wireless Services Inc., British Telecommunications plc, Rogers Cantel Inc., L.M. Ericsson, Lucent Technologies Inc., Nokia...

GENEVA-The ferocious competition that has characterized the $40 billion German telecommunications market since the introduction of full telecom competition a year and a half ago shows no signs of abating, with the country's four cellular operators all promising more price cuts and the introduction...