operator

DUBLIN, Ireland-Service providers and mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) are viewed by many network operators as parasites feeding off their infrastructure investment. At the same time, many consumers view them as developers of value-added services that drive down costs in …

OXFORD, United Kingdom-The guys at the European Commission must be delighted. They battled for more than a decade to liberalize the telecommunications sector and create a single European market. Benefits from a common European identity remain elusive. That might be …

1999 is behind us, although it won’t soon be forgotten. The last year of the 20th century brought tragedy to many locations around the world. It’s comforting to know that our industry did its part to lessen the impact of …

SAO PAULO, Brazil-One year after the privatization of A-band cellular operators in Brazil and just shortly following the auctions that defined the B-band operators, the Brazilian wireless market is going through a period of consolidation. At this point, it is …

BANGALORE, India-While the Indian cellular industry generally has been battling rough weather recently, one cellular operator in the country has adopted a strategy that seems to have paid off: focusing on quality rather than numbers. The carrier, BPL Mobile, may …

U.S.-based BellSouth has grandiose plans for its future in Latin America. Despite its recent moves in Europe with wireless operator E-Plus, BellSouth remains committed to Latin America as its primary international investment target. Currently a wireless service provider or licensee …

TOKYO-Chubu Telemessage Inc., a paging carrier based in central Japan, will shut down its business by March 2000. The carrier’s subscribers-109,000 at the end of September 1999-are expected to be taken over by NTT Tokai Mobil Communications Network, the regional …

Australia Telecom New Zealand acquired an 80-percent stake in AAPT, Australia’s third-largest phone company. AAPT is building LMDS and CDMA networks and resells GSM service. News Corp. said it agreed to invest a further US$127.2 million in One.Tel, increasing its …

Kyocera Corp. hopes to do what no Japanese handset manufacturer has done to date. It wants to become a dominate global vendor. Kyocera needs to gain a significant share of the market in North America to accomplish this goal, analysts …

BUCHAREST, Romania-Telemobil, Romania’s NMT 450 operator, is facing stiff competition from three GSM operators, each of which have both strong financial backing and national coverage. Similar to the experience of other NMT 450 operators in Europe, whether Telemobil will survive …

A U.S. bankruptcy court has given ICO Global Communications final approval for $500 million in financing from an investor group led by Craig McCaw and Indian media magnate Subhash Chandra, who had challenged McCaw with a competing financing bid. Under …

ATLANTA-BellSouth Corp. became the first U.S. operator to enter the European wireless industry’s recent merger and acquisition frenzy by exercising its right of first refusal to acquire 100 percent of E-Plus, Germany’s third-largest mobile operator. As part of the deal, …

WARSAW, Poland-France Telecom placed a binding offer for a strategic stake in Poland’s majority state-owned telecom operator Telekomunikacja Polska (TPSA), Reuters reported. Following SBC Communications Inc.’s withdrawal from the tender last month, the French operator is the only bidder for …

The Operators Harmonization Group began work more than a year ago as a loosely tied group of four operators trying to end the world’s heated battle over third-generation technology standards. Today this ad hoc group, which now numbers 40 operators …

HELSINKI, Finland-The Nokia Artus Developers Program, which covers Nokia Networks’ developer activities, said it has advanced to play a major role in bringing top developers and Nokia operator customers together to offer concrete Wireless Application Protocol applications and other value-added …

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.-Siemens AG and Phone.com Inc. announced that Spain’s Airtel Movil selected Siemens to provide a commercial Wireless Application Protocol platform for wireless Internet-based services. Airtel, the second-largest wireless operator in Spain, plans to begin providing wireless Internet services …

Motorola Inc. found a third operator in the United States willing to deploy its proprietary integrated Digital Enhanced Network technology and more may follow. Specialized mobile radio operator Pacific Wireless Technologies Inc. announced plans to offer iDEN technology in central …

DUBLIN, Ireland-Newtel AB, the newly formed company resulting from the merger of Telia AB of Sweden and Telenor AS of Norway, has launched a hostile bid for Ireland’s Esat Telecom, offering $1.59 billion in cash. Telenor already owns 49.5 percent …

PARIS-French cellular operator Cegetel will work with Nortel Networks to develop third-generation services based on the Universal Mobile Telecommunications Services standard, according to the equipment maker. The deal is subject to Cegetel’s success in obtaining a license for UMTS radio …

THE HAGUE, The Netherlands-KPN Telecom of the Netherlands and Telia of Sweden announced they will sell their stakes in Eircom, the Irish telecom operator that owns Eircell, Ireland’s largest wireless operator. The decision follows the European Commission’s requirement that the …

Mobile-phone dealers in Michigan are suing personal communications services provider Omnipoint Communications Services L.L.C., claiming the operator entered into bogus master dealer agreements with them. Three dealers have filed lawsuits against Omnipoint in a Michigan circuit court. The lawsuits filed …

The Canadian wireless market has seen a run-up in stock prices this year as tremendous growth and recent consolidation activity have driven increased interest in the sector. “1998 was not a bad year, but it was a little wishy-washy,” said …

WASHINGTON-Nextel Communications Inc. late last month quietly settled a lawsuit with Charles Dascal, an ex-Miami dispatch operator who claimed Nextel Vice Chairman Morgan O’Brien stole his idea for a nationwide wireless system when O’Brien represented him as a communications lawyer …

Nextel Communications Inc. finally found another vendor willing to manufacture handsets incorporating Motorola Inc.’s proprietary iDEN technology. Nextel and Kyocera Corp. signed a letter of intent last week calling for the Japanese vendor to produce a small high-end integrated Digital …

About 10 years ago Qualcomm Inc. had a goal-to ensure CDMA technology’s success by heavily promoting it, investing in companies that would deploy it and entering the equipment supplier business. Now total worldwide Code Division Multiple Access subscribers number more …