operator

Nordic Mobile Telephone 450 MHz operators can choose to deploy Global System for Mobile communications or Code Division Multiple Access technology as the NMT MOU voted to give NMT 450 operators a choice in migrating to digital technology. Terrestrial trunked …

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 …

GENEVA-The GSM Association announced it plans to establish a roaming forum to address roaming issues among wireless protocols. Approval of the World Roaming Forum will be discussed at a GSM Association meeting in Montreal next week, said Michael Stocks, chairman …

Wireless Application Protocol pioneer Phone.com Inc. introduced a WAP 1.1 compliant UP.Link Server, and announced a major strategic agreement with Motorola Inc. for both its server and microbrowser products. Release 4 of the UP.Link Server is fully WAP 1.1 compliant, …

Poland L.M. Ericsson said it signed an $80 million contract with Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa to expand its Global System for Mobile communications network in Poland. Ericsson will deliver base stations, base station controllers, Mini-Link microwave transport solutions and services, as …

Now that small and rural cellular operators have become an integral piece of large operators’ nationwide calling plans and consumers demand more advanced services, many small carriers could feel pressure to move to third-generation-type technologies faster than anticipated. Smaller carriers …

MCI WorldCom Inc. and Sprint Corp. last week agreed to a definitive merger agreement that will combine the second- and third-largest U.S. long-distance carriers and give MCI WorldCom a much-needed nationwide wireless presence. According to the agreement, each share of …

Rural cellular operators are reaping generous roaming revenues from nationwide operators. As such, larger players have become willing to pay top dollar to acquire these companies and eliminate the high roaming fees they pay to them. AT&T Corp. and rural …

Got a scandal? You a friend of Gore? Who ya gonna call? Stan Brand, of course. Stan the Man is the go-to guy for Dems in decline. Brand helped Tennessee developer Franklin Haney escape unscathed from the FCC-Portals probe. Now …

Lucent Technologies Inc. will be noticeably absent when the Personal Communications Industry Association kicks off its 2000 showcase next September in Chicago. The infrastructure vendor has told PCIA it plans to stop exhibiting at its future shows in North America, …

The Federal Communications Commission once again must address rules surrounding the now-defunct pioneer’s preference process, a program riddled with controversy throughout this decade. Omnipoint Corp. and VoiceStream Wireless Corp. last week filed an opposition to Qualcomm Inc.’s petition that the …

BANGALORE, India-Finally, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has received the Telecom Commission’s OK to offer cellular services in 17 cities across the country. With Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTNL)-an offshoot of DoT- slated to offer services in the two major metros-New …

OXFORD, United Kingdom-Most cellular operators now recognize that to ensure their businesses continue to experience breakneck growth, they must compete more directly with fixed operators. According to industry analysts, this battle for the telephone user will take place over the …

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-Six cellular phone companies, including a consortium led by South Africa’s MTN, have been prequalified by Kenya’s Communications Commission to bid for a second mobile phone license in the country. However, mixed signals about deregulation are being conveyed …

Alcatel’s recollection of 1995, the year of the last Telecom show, was of GSM coverage being patchy in most European countries, with network designers basing their plans on handsets with power outputs of 8 watts, which appears very strange in …

TOKYO-While operators and venders successfully found a way to interconnect two different systems for third-generation services, NTT DoCoMo and its vendors are now gearing up to develop equipment for wideband-CDMA (W-CDMA). NTT DoCoMo in April selected a total of 11 …

What we see today as third-generation technology has nothing to do with what 3G will be, predicts Carlos Hirsch of Iusacell, a CDMA cellular operator and PCS licensee in Mexico. “3G is now presented as the big bandwidths’ hero-2 Megabits …

U.S. TDMA operators must make some critical decisions about competing in the wireless data market during the next year as they witness their CDMA counterparts begin to launch circuit-switched data services on a large scale. TDMA operators-which in the late …

Contrary to what many equipment developers proclaim, Hans Snook, chief executive officer of U.K.-based cell phone operator Orange, says that things were not simpler in 1995. He claims that it was not easy to build the networks or sell the …

DUBLIN, Ireland-There has been much debate over the future of satellite-based communications. Indeed, regular readers of the financial press might wonder if it has any future in the new millennium as they follow stories of operational difficulties, disappointing subscriber figures …

TORONTO-Research in Motion (RIM) of Waterloo, Ontario, a small Canadian company far from Silicon Valley, has developed some of the hottest wireless technology in the world. In just a short time, RIM has transformed itself into a market leader in …

Nokia believed that it was alone at Telecom ’95 in promoting cellular data and demonstrating Internet Protocol (IP)-based technology. Olli Oittinen said that while it was not pushing IP with the same intensity as today, it was talking about the …

OXFORD, United Kingdom-The phrase on everyone’s lips within the cellular industry at Telecom ’99 will be value-added services, a world apart from the talk at the 1995 exhibition. This simple dictate is being touted as the only way for operators …

Australia ACCC, Australia’s corporate regulator, rejected Telstra Corp.’s proposed terms and conditions for other carriers to interconnect with its analog and digital mobile networks. The decision followed another decision by ACCC to reject Telstra’ proposed terms and conditions for interconnect …

Several global telecommunications players announced alliances or considerations for mergers during the last few weeks. AT&T and British Telecom announced a strategic alliance designed to create seamless mobile communications services worldwide. AT&T’s and BT’s new alliance, named Advance, will provide …