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DENVER, United States—Verizon Wireless became the first nationwide U.S. carrier to commercially launch cdma2000 1x services this week as it unveiled its Express Network in a select number of markets. …

ATLANTA, United States—Cingular Wireless and AT&T Wireless said they will form a joint venture allowing both carriers to more quickly and cost effectively expand their buildout of GSM/General Packet Radio …

HONG KONG—Wireless enthusiasts in Hong Kong will be the first in the world to see the commercial availability of U.S. vendor Handspring’s new wireless Treo device. The company announced it …

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina—Following the postponement until May of the personal communications services (PCS) and third-generation (3G) licenses auction, Uruguay has added the possibility of a plebiscite to decide on the …

AMSTERDAM—Dutch telecommunications giant KPN will buy the remaining 22.5-percent interest in German mobile-phone operator E-Plus from U.S.-based BellSouth Corp. for about $1.06 billion in KPN stock, giving KPN full control …

NEW DELHI, India—Bharti Telecom will launch its cellular services in Mumbai in May, Bharti Group Chairman Sunil Mittal announced on Wednesday in Mumbai. Bharti Group’s mobile telephonynetwork covers 56 percent …

NEW DELHI, India—The regional mobile satellite operator Thuraya Satellite Communications Company has signed a license agreement in Pakistan to provide its dual-mode GSM/satellite telephony services. Pak Telecom, Thuraya’s service provider …

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa—Cellular service provider B Clear, a subsidiary of Australian company B Digital, has reported that it may leave the South African mobile market. The company recently announced it …

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina—Despite the strong devaluation of the national Argentine currency—28.6 percent in the official price and almost 100 percent in the free market—cellular telephony tariffs will remain the same …

OXFORD, United Kingdom—Two European operators with third-generation (3G) licenses have quietly confirmed that their services will not be ready for commercial launch this year. Netherlands-based KPN Orange and Cegetel in …

BEIJING—Only five of the 19 authorized vendors of CDMA handsets in China have released their models on the Chinese market. The latest was Datang, which launched its DT618 handset priced …

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia—The development of the pan-Russian Megafon project of St. Petersburg-based Telecominvest holding has prompted a series of acquisitions, as the initially “virtual” project reported 1 million clients in …

DENVER, United States—The government of Slovakia announced a tender to sell three third-generation (3G) mobile telephone licenses by mid-year for around US$31.6 million each through a “beauty contest,” according to …

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa—Zimbabwean telecommunications company TeleAccess is reported to be involved in negations to purchase Telecel International, the mobile network operator with services in 13 African countries including Zimbabwe. TeleAccess …

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NEW YORK—A trio of wireless carriers tapped the deep well of the debt markets last week, collectively raising nearly US$2 billion. Korea Telecom was first out of the starting gate, …

LONDON—The Lebanese government has come to an agreement with mobile operator Cellis to defuse a long-running legal battle that led it to cancel the company’s operating contract last year. According …

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa—After years of uncertainty and a lack of clear policy, the South African Department of Communications has opened the way for Global Mobile Personal Communications by Satellite (GMPCS) …

BEDMINSTER, N.J.—Verizon Wireless acquired the business assets of CDMA operator Alabama Wireless Inc., expanding the carrier’s footprint throughout a seven-county area stretching from Birmingham to Huntsville and Florence in northern …

TOKYO—DDI Pocket, Japan’s largest PHS operator, is going to launch a 128 kilobits per second (kbps) data transmission service on 26 March, the carrier announced on 17 January. DDI Pocket, …

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina—Cellular operator Smartcom PCS has launched its 2.5-generation (2.5G) service in the city of Santiago de Chile using 1XRTT technology. Thus, Smartcom PCS follows the path initiated by …

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 …

HELSINKI, Finland—Orange Europe, the France T

LONDON—The GSM Association announced GSM-CDMA inter-standard international roaming has been achieved between its Global Roaming Forum, Korean CDMA operator KTF and French GSM 1800 MHz network operator Bouygues Telecom. This …