operator

HONG KONG-In January, the Hong Kong government awarded five licenses for wireless fixed telecommunications network services (FTNS), signaling a major advance in Internet access. The licensees will use base stations to transmit voice, data and video signals via microwave links …

Italy NEC and Telecom Italia Mobile said they have agreed to work together in technical trials in March for Universal Mobile Telecommunications Systems. Siemens also will cooperate in the trial. NEC will provide infrastructure and handsets. A series of further …

TEL AVIV, Israel-In a country like Israel where the number of mobile phone lines surpasses fixed lines (2.9 million compared with 2.8 million), where there’s intense competition among the three carriers and churn is high (sometimes 60 percent), and where …

BOGOTA, Colombia-The Colombian telecommunications sector has experienced growth over the last year despite the 1998-1999 economic recession. Although expectations that the sector would boom in 1999 were overshadowed by economic problems, several government initiatives promise to pave the way for …

Things are going well for most mobile companies around the globe. Penetration rates are increasing, subscriber numbers are reaching all-time highs and wireless data holds future promise for the industry. The last year has been especially profitable for wireless handset …

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina-With four operators competing nationwide, Chile boasts a wireless client base that grew 175 percent during 1999, thanks to the implementation of calling party pays. CPP also has facilitated a wireless-penetration rate that is now almost 15 percent. …

DENVER, United States-While Vodafone AirTouch recently advanced its merger with Germany’s Mannesmann AG, the company indicated it may look to fill in its footprint with some smaller acquisitions. In particular, the company has been closing in on a bid for …

The U.K. government in March began the auction of five licenses, with one license exclusively reserved for a player currently not represented in the U.K. market. The 13 bidders each submitted the required deposit of about US$82.3 million. More than …

DENVER, United States-SBC Communications said it will convert the remaining Ameritech wireless properties it owns from CDMA technology to TDMA technology. SBC and Ameritech merged last year and sold 20 Ameritech cdmaOne wireless properties in the United States, including Chicago …

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-The wireless market in Tanzania is gaining momentum with Vodacom’s pending rollout of a new GSM network. The new entrant is no small force to contend with and is likely to cause a few ripples. Vodacom South Africa, …

SINGAPORE-Singapore has fast-forwarded its liberalization plans for the telecommunications sector by a staggering two years, effectively throwing the industry wide open almost immediately. The move, which comes into effect on 1 April this year, is the island state’s boldest move …

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina-A change in the Argentine cellular telephony scene will take place in April when the current regional duopoly model is replaced by national competition among four operators. In April, Telefonica Unifon, CTI M

CANNES, France and HANNOVER, Germany-Visitors at the ever-expanding GSM World Congress, held in February in Cannes, France, could have mistaken the huge exhibition as focusing exclusively on Wireless Application Protocol (WAP). For the second year running, it appeared almost every …

DUBLIN, Ireland-The news that Mannesmann has conceded defeat in its battle with Vodafone AirTouch merely underlines the momentum behind consolidation in the European mobile communications industry. However, few observers appear concerned at the concentration of market power in the hands …

ATLANTA-BellSouth Corp. closed its joint-venture agreement with KPN Royal Dutch Telecom for ownership of E-Plus, the third-largest mobile operator in Germany. The venture calls for both companies to share equal control of E-Plus, with BellSouth having the option to convert …

L.M. Ericsson introduced a mobile Internet portal solution developed for wireless networks called the Ericsson WISE Portal. WISE was designed as a single point of access for various Internet-enabled devices, including personal computers, browser-enabled mobile phones and connected personal digital …

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina-Foreign investment in South America’s Southern Cone telecommunications sector has increased during the past decade thanks to new globalization, privatization and liberalization politics in the region. International investors, including a heavy U.S. contingent, have increased their presence in …

OYSTER BAY, N.Y.-According to a new study from Allied Business Intelligence Inc., a technology research company, the emergence of third-generation technology will lead to a boom in the wireless data market. The report, “3G Wireless: Global Data & Voice Networking …

MELBOURNE, Australia-In a part of the world that still relies on word of mouth as a means to keep in touch, cellular communications-both digital and analog-is continuing to spread through the Pacific Islands as greater numbers of people in the …

Approximately 318.6 million new cellular connections will be added in Europe by 2007, of which 160 million will be Global System for Mobile communications connections, according to The Strategis Group’s report, “Western European Cellular/3G Markets 2000-2007.” As a result of …

The U.S. General Accounting Office said it is precluded from investigating the Federal Communications Commission’s procedures in granting Nextel Communications Inc. enhanced specialized mobile radio licenses in the last decade because of a pending lawsuit regarding the 800 MHz auction. …

WASHINGTON-Yet another federal appeals court has been brought into the debacle known as the personal communications services C-block. Bankrupt PCS operator NextWave Telecom Inc. filed on Feb. 11 a petition for review with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the …

BOULDER, Colo.-SCC Communications Corp. announced an aggressive deployment schedule for its Phase I wireless 911 service with more than 1,000 public safety answering points scheduled for deployment in 18 states throughout the year. Denver and Colorado Springs, Colo.; Atlanta; Indianapolis; …

Most conversations regarding the wireless Internet in the industry today revolve around Wireless Application Protocol technology, but several companies are bucking this trend-aiming to extend Internet content to wireless phones using alternative means to WAP. Providing them the opportunity to …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission last week expanded its rules regarding telecommunications relay services to include speech-to-speech services, Spanish language service and quality of service rules. TRS is a telephone transmission service where a person with hearing difficulties calls a center …