operator

DUBLIN, Ireland-Capacity constraints are an issue for almost every cellular operator, and some have turned to frequency-hopping techniques as an answer. But while these systems have increased capacity, their effect on data traffic has been less widely investigated. Any system …

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, …

BUCHAREST, Romania-The recent licensing of a third mobile operator in the Czech Republic has established more competition in the country’s wireless market than in the wireline arena. In addition to three cellular licenses, the country has one RDS and two …

Alcatel Poland. With Formus Polska to supply and implement its broadband wireless access network in Poland. Value: US$126 million Ericsson Canada. With Rogers Cantel to build a third-generation network as an evolution to the carrier’s existing TDMA network. Value: US$340 …

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-The four-week license hearings for the third cellular operator in South Africa held in September and October offered some of the best theatrical presentations ever seen on the African continent. For the sake of transparency, the hearings were …

HONG KONG-Even though the Chinese paging market is teeming with around 1,700 operators, the market remains heavily regulated. Even paging operators in the well-heeled southern and southeastern Chinese provinces of Guangdong, Fujian and Zhejiang continue to face the same strict …

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina-Following guidelines laid out during the PCS auctions in Argentina, mobile phone operator Miniphone ended operations on 1 October. Its 800,000 customers were divided between operators Unif

The next round in the fight to popularize voice paging has begun, this time in Latin America. Mexican paging operator RadioFlash this year became the first carrier to launch a voice paging service over a FLEX network using speech compression …

During the last five weeks, merger and acquisition announcements have flooded the telecommunications arena. Carriers in Asia, Europe and North America continue to jockey for positions in an industry that promises to exclude players without multinational footprints. Telia/Telenor The merger …

VeloCom Inc., which recently won “mirror” licenses to operate competitive telecommunications networks in Brazil, said it has acquired the Latin American assets of Argentina-based SLI Wireless S.A. and Brazil-based Taquari Participacoes S.A., in return for stock. The move gives VeloCom …

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina-Most foreign investment in the wireless market in South America has been directed at Brazil, Argentina and Chile in recent years based on their high wireless demand. However, several other countries in the region are experiencing strong wireless …

Finland. Sonera began offering High Speed Circuit Switched Data services to its data customers 6 September, but without available handsets. Sonera said it wanted to be ready when handsets are available later this year. France. At Telecom ’99 in Geneva, …

Tired of listening to the same dry quarterly conference calls? Try listening to Bob Price, chief executive officer of rural cellular operator Price Communications Corp. He’s sure to add some color to your life. Last week, the fiery CEO hammered …

Powertel Inc.’s stock tumbled nearly $12 last week after VoiceStream Wireless Corp. Chief Executive Officer John Stanton said his company has no immediate plans to acquire any more GSM operators in the United States. Powertel’s stock had been riding in …

AT&T Wireless Services Inc. said capacity problems and handset shortages constrained the company’s ability to add subscribers in the third quarter. The nation’s largest wireless operator added 269,000 subscribers in the third quarter, down 17.4 percent from the previous year …

Hungary Motorola Inc. said it is providing Hungarian mobile operator Westel 900 its Mobile Internet Exchange communications platform. The trial is Hungary’s first deployment of the Wireless Application Protocol. It will allow mobile users to access Internet content via Internet …

OSLO-Newly merged Telenor and Telia agreed to acquire a 30-percent stake in DiGi Swisscom Berhad, a Malaysian telecommunications group that operates a Global System for Mobile communications 1800 MHz network, said Telenor. The investment is valued at approximately $207 million. …

MUNICH-Siemens AG announced it won a contract to provide Global System for Mobile communications 900 MHz infrastructure equipment to Medi Telecom, the second GSM operator in Morocco. The contract is valued at more than US$100 million. Medi Telecom, which received …

ATLANTA-A BellSouth Corp.-led consortium won a $26 million license to provide nationwide wireless communications service in Guatemala. BellSouth and its Panama-based partner, Multi Holding Corp., expect to begin service in Guatemala, the largest Central American nation with a population of …

Nextel Communications Inc. announced customer additions of 458,000 in the third quarter, ending the three-month period with 4.05 million customers. “The third quarter was our best ever, with both domestic and international operations setting new records and reaching new milestones,” …

There was a time, not so long ago, when reasonably priced voice service with decent coverage delighted most wireless subscribers. But subscribers soon were demanding the same features-like voice mail, caller ID and three-way calling-offered on wireline phones. These features, …

Mannesmann AG, parent of Germany’s top mobile communications company, confirmed last week it made a bid to buy U.K. mobile carrier Orange plc, which Orange’s largest shareholder accepted. The bid values Orange, the United Kingdom’s third-largest mobile operator, at about …

The wireless industry is waiting to see how many customers are attracted to Sprint PCS Group’s wireless Internet services, but they will have to wait at least another quarter. Sprint PCS, which launched nationwide wireless Web service in late September, …

Nuevo Grupo Iusacell S.A. de C.V. seems to be making moves to establish a nationwide wireless presence in Mexico. Bell Atlantic Global Wireless Inc. confirmed it is in discussions regarding a combination or alliance that would involve Iusacell, in which …

GENEVA-Sonera, the Finnish telecommunications operator, announced it plans to enter the wireless portal business. The company said it initially will focus its efforts on Western Europe and the United States, competing head to head with U.S. firms such as Phone.com. …