International Wireless

“Long live Global Wireless newspaper.” That’s what one of our readers wrote to me in a letter recently (see facing page), and I liked it so much I decided to borrow his words. So at risk of sounding a bit …

BUCHAREST, Romania-A subsidiary of Canada’s Telesystem International Wireless (TIW) won the third Czech Republic mobile telephone license in September. The price tag for the GSM 1800 license was fixed at US$29 million. The license requires Cesky Mobile, the TIW subsidiary, …

BellSouth Corp. last week announced plans to restructure the company to better position itself to provide bundled services. The move comes just weeks after BellSouth failed in a bid to acquire Sprint Corp., which agreed instead to merge with MCI …

NEW YORK-During a quarter in which Bell Atlantic Corp. announced plans to create the largest U.S. wireless carrier via an agreement with Vodafone AirTouch plc, the company also posted favorable financial results. “This was a watershed quarter for Bell Atlantic,” …

Scandinavia As expected, the European Commission approved the merger of Telia of Sweden and Telenor of Norway. To secure the approval, the two companies have consented to sell their cable TV operations and eliminate overlapping activities in Sweden, Norway and …

MONTREAL-Microcell Connexions, Telesystem International Wireless and Ericsson Canada said they completed a multimedia call using Ericsson’s wideband Code Division Multiple Access solution for the North American 1900 MHz environment. Ericsson said while it already had established multimedia calls based on …

Italy Olivetti plans to split Telecom Italia, which it won in a takeover bid in May, into two operating companies under its Tecnost acquisition arm. Telecom Italia Mobile, TI’s mobile phone company, will transfer to Tecnost. The deal will help …

International joint ventures formed by manufacturing concerns, and the failure rates of these companies, have been well-documented over the years. The pioneering efforts of telecommunications service providers from developed countries, which have formed joint ventures to provide both goods and …

MONTREAL-Telesystem International Wireless Inc. announced its Global System for Mobile communications subsidiary in Romania, named MobiFon S.A., surpassed the 500,000 subscribers mark after only 28 months of commercial operations. MobiFon also is the first mobile operator in Romania to launch …

ATLANTA-BellSouth International Wireless Services launched BellSouth Net eXchange, a Web-based interface that facilitates the upload and download of customer data files, said the company. BellSouth Net eXchange can transfer encrypted data files, detailing carriers’ financial position with their cellular roaming …

BASINGTOKES, England-Dolphin Telecom, Basingstokes, England, has launched commercially its enhanced specialized mobile radio service in the United Kingdom. A subsidiary of Montreal-based Telesystem International Wireless Inc., Dolphin said it started taking deliveries of handsets early this month from its two …

France France Telecom said it signed a partnership agreement with the Sonae group in Portugal. The two already have a working relationship as stakeholders in Optimus, the third mobile operator in Portugal. The new partnership would be held 43.33 percent …

Western Wireless Corp. reported revenues for the second quarter ended June 30 of $136.6 million, an increase from the $98.4 million reported the same time the previous year. The company recorded a net loss of $47.9 million, or 63 cents …

NEW YORK-Heading into a scorcher of an Independence Day holiday, American stock markets closed in record-setting territory, thereby heating up the prospects for wireless sector companies seeking financing during the second half of 1999. By now it is a cliche …

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 …

WASHINGTON-The United States and South Korea posted the strongest gains in cellular and PCS net subscribers during the first three months of 1999, according to quarterly results from “Strategis dataBank: World Cellular/PCS Subscribers and Operators,” compiled by research firm The …

WASHINGTON-The Fixed Wireless Communications Coalition has asked the Federal Communications Commission to issue rules that will help terrestrial microwave fixed services more easily share spectrum with fixed satellite service operators. FCC rules provide that microwave and FSS share certain spectrum …

Authentix Authentix Network Inc. announced David Rowan and Raymond Szull joined the company as regional vice presidents in sales. Rowan will be based in Pennsylvania and will be responsible for eastern sales, and Szull will be based in Illinois, in …

TAMPA, Fla.-BellSouth International Wireless Services announced five North American carriers, including BellSouth Mobility, converted to the BSI-WS International Settlement and Exchange Service. The BellSouth service provides international wireless roaming date-clearing. It also provides a secure Web-based reporting system, which provides …

MONTREAL-Telesystem International Wireless Inc. announced its subsidiary, Dolphin Telecom plc, closed an offering of $295 million of 14-percent senior discount notes due 2009. The net proceeds were approximately $144 million, and interest payments will begin in 2004. The proceeds will …

MONTREAL-Dolphin Telecom plc said it completed the first trans-Atlantic third-generation wireless call using a wideband-Code Division Multiple Access network in Canada and Dolphin’s Trans European Trunked Radio network in the United Kingdom. Sven Borgstrom, chief technology officer of Telesystem International …

AT&T Corp. last week signed a definitive merger agreement with cable company MediaOne Group after cutting a deal with rival bidder Comcast Corp., which agreed not to try to outbid AT&T’s offer. Comcast and AT&T agreed to exchange various cable …

NEW YORK-Montreal-based Telesystem International Wireless Inc. announced April 29 that Dolphin Telecom plc, its London-based subsidiary, raised $210 million in private equity to help finance the rollout of an enhanced specialized mobile radio network in Europe. The company also began …

Motorola Inc. announced Office Depot will begin carrying the PageWriter 2000 two-way pager in more than 600 retail locations nationwide. TSR Wireless L.L.C. said it has built a ReFLEX 25 two-way messaging network on the West Coast, adding coverage in …

Brazil Telemig Celular said it plans to invest R$200 million-R$220 million (US$118 million-US$130 million) during 1999 to expand its services in the state of Minas Gerais, according to the Jornal do Comercio. Telemig is owned by Telesystem International Wireless and …