Hutchison

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil-About 15 companies submitted bids last week for ten B-band cellular licenses in Brazil. One source reported that bids ranged from $200 million for more desolate Amazon basin states to at least $600 million for Sao Paulo …

Brazil is in the wireless spotlight. Demand is high, penetration is low and growth in all sectors is being fueled by deregulation and a stronger economy. Brazil’s current annual cellular growth rate is about 70 percent. The number of subscribers …

Four years ago Systems/Link Corp. introduced RoamEx, which “allowed carriers with fraud problems in big cities access to what was going on,” said Diane Sammer, president of Systems/Link. Today RoamEx is rapidly becoming the ticket to global roaming. RoamEx exchanges …

Korean telephone service provider Shinsegi Telecomm Inc. awarded Lucent Technologies Inc. a contract to supply and install a Code Division Multiple Access-technology based cellular network in the southern cities of Pusan and Kyungnam. Lucent said it immediately will begin installing …

The abundance of new wireless licenses in Indonesia could have as much to do with politics as market opportunity, said a Pennsylvania State University college professor who specializes in international telecommunications. “Many of the ruling elite have recognized the value …

Nexus Telecommunication Systems Ltd. of Givatayim, Israel, announced it has signed an agreement with Academy D.O.O., a Yugoslavian security services company, to deploy Nexus’ automatic vehicle location and tracking system in Yugoslavia. Deployment will begin during second quarter 1997, said …

Hong Kong’s dominant cellular operator Hongkong Telecom said it deeply regrets that the government failed to award it one of six new wireless licenses, and intends to discuss the matter with Hong Kong officials. Fourteen companies bid for the 10-year …

ALLAS-Paging Network Inc. announced the United Kingdom government will grant it a nationwide European Radio Messaging Services channel. The company plans to build out the frequency in 1997, initially offering local paging service in selected major cities and eventually expanding …

SINGAPORE-Numerous announcements about Code Division Multiple Access technology came out of last week’s CDMA World Congress in Singapore. The event was attended by about 600 people from 40 countries. Motorola Inc. has formed a joint venture with two Chinese entities …

“This is not a race,” said AirTouch Communications Inc. about its controlled rollout of digital cellular service in northern Los Angeles. “It’s about getting the right customers transitioned,” explains AirTouch spokeswoman Amy Damianakes. The “right” customers, to the California-based cellular …

Motorola Inc.’s Advanced Messaging Group announced that PacLink has become the first to launch Motorola’s FLEX paging protocol and distribute FLEX protocol-based pagers in Thailand. PacLink is investing more than $1 million in the FLEX protocol-capable infrastructure system and plans …

Code Division Multiple Access has been touted as a success story in Seoul, South Korea and in Hong Kong. Many U.S. personal communications services licensees have based their access technology decision on CDMA’s reported superior performance, high capacity and low …

One answer arrived this week on “the question of Hong Kong” that confirmed China’s intention of allowing open competition in wireless, despite a hold-up in the licensing process. Hong Kong reverts back to the authority of China in 1997, following …

NEW YORK-Orange plc, a British cellular carrier, sold an initial public offering of common stock March 27 that netted approximately $951 million. In January, Orange, Bristol, England, was formed as a holding company by Hutchison Whampoa Ltd., a Hong Kong …

At least one quarter of U.K. wireless telecom operator Orange plc will be floated next month through a global offering of common shares, announced Dewe Rogerson, which manages Orange’s account. Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. currently owns about 68.5 percent …

Motorola Inc. pulled out of equipment negotiations with Sprint Telecommunications Venture last week, saying financial and commercial terms proposed by Sprint were extraordinary. “We made every effort to reach an agreement, and put our best and final offer on the …

This may be the year that Code Division Multiple Access technology becomes a commercial reality for cellular operators, with one system already running in Hong Kong and four nearing completion in the United States. Systems launched today are deployed with …

In the Oct. 9 issue of RCR, a story about Hutchison Telephone Co. Ltd. introducing commercial digital phone service based on Code Division Multiple Access technology in Hong Kong stated the incorrect number of cell sites and switch es. Those …

Seventeen companies interested in providing 1.9 GHz personal communications services in Canada met Industry Canada’s Sept. 15 deadline for submitting detailed business plans. The Canadian government plans to grant up to six licenses by the end of the year, three …

Knowing that network efficiency and service quality will be key differentiators in the new arena of wireless competition, and having cut its teeth on the fast-growing digital systems in Europe and Asia, Metrica Inc. now is introducing its network performance …

Fueled by increasing safety concerns and customer demand, the cellular market has become the fastest-growing segment for speech-recognition use in the United States, according to industry analysts. Being able to command a cellular phone to “call office”-instead of requiring users …

Marking the first phase in licensing personal communications services in Canada, 18 consortia said they are interested in offering next-generation wireless services. Parties that wanted to participate in the licensing process were required to file expressions of interest with Industry …

HONG KONG-Brite Voice Systems Inc. said it now provides cellular voice dialing in Hong Kong for Hutchison Telephone Co. Ltd. The system, valued at more than $1 million, is running on Hutchison’s Global System for Mobile communications network. Hutchison hopes …

Although Motorola Inc. has been actively refining its worldwide focus to be solely an equipment manufacturer, the Schaumburg, Ill.-based company holds ownership interests in cellular operating companies in three blooming Asian markets-Pakistan, Thailand and Hong Kong. “Our objective in opportunities …

By awarding licenses for public cellular and paging services earlier this month, the Telecommunications Authority of Singapore joins the growing tide of countries sweeping the Asia-Pacific region to bring competition to telecommunications and liberalize the economy. Coming out on top …