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NEW YORK-Amid good news about resurging American investments in Latin American mutual funds and the gradual rebound of Brazil’s economy, Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette International announced it has started covering the region’s wireless telecommunications carriers. “In order to initiate coverage …

GENEVA-Late in the evening of 21 April, fax machines on the desks of night editors at Europe’s major dailies suddenly began to hum in unison, roused by a simple, one-page press statement. That single page would, within hours, rock the …

Lucent Technologies announced three technical initiatives designed to increase capacity in TDMA equipment. The company announced a series of software enhancements developed by Bell Laboratories to increase frequency re-use; as well as new PCS Minicell growth hardware designed to provide …

The government of India in March revealed a new telecommunications policy that aims, among other things, to rectify issues surrounding licensees of basic and cellular services, to redefine the competitive nature of the country’s telecom industry and to strengthen its …

BANGALORE, India-Although cellular operators in India fear revenue losses of as much as 25 percent due to a sharp increase in the monthly rental, or service charge, from US$3.90 to US$15, many in the industry hope the new tariff structure …

OXFORD, United Kingdom-If an Olympic games in cellular communications were ever staged, there is little doubt who would head the medals table. Finland would take gold in almost every event. The Finns take great pride in being first. Finland has …

Belgium KPN Orange launched GSM 1800 service in early April as the third mobile operator in Belgium. Ireland Esat Telecom Group confirmed it accepted an offer to acquire a pro rata share of 9 percent of Ireland’s GSM operator Esat …

BANGALORE, India-Although the growth of South Asia’s relatively new markets has temporarily slowed due to political and financial problems, increased competition and investment have made them extremely promising. With managed competition in India, minimal competition in Pakistan and a highly …

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-The potential bidders for the third cellular license in South Africa are determined to break the existing Vodacom-MTN duopoly. “We will be competing head-on with MTN and Vodacom for a slice of the lucrative market, believed to be …

HONG KONG-Mobile number portability (MNP) has been in effect in Hong Kong since 1 March, but there is no sign yet of a switching spree among cellular customers in the territory. Offers of free handsets, free airtime, cash rewards and …

TOKYO-Yoshiaki Shioda, senior manager for NEC, recently visited Kirgiz, a republic south of the Commonwealth of Independent States, to help local people get connected with each other. In Kirgiz, only one out of every 100 people have access to a …

DENVER, United States-May marks the first anniversary of the introduction of AT&T Wireless Services’ Digital One Rate plan, which has dramatically changed the face of the U.S. wireless industry. In an effort to leverage its national presence and win lucrative …

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-The trunked radio industry in South Africa is about to experience a revolutionary change with the introduction of new technologies and standards. An entirely new market is being unlocked, and old markets are about to be reshuffled to …

DUBLIN, Ireland-Many in the trunked radio industry view the rollout of mobile data services as the development that will drive their industry into the next millennium following the adoption last year of TETRA as the standard for next-generation trunked radio …

BEIJING-In early February, China’s Minister of Information Industry (MII) was apologetic about the prospects for CDMA in his country. The customers couldn’t care less which technology is used-as long as it works, said Wu Jichuan. And with the world’s largest …

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina-Chile, which became the first country in Latin America in 1998 to implement PCS, has just felt the tremor of three new events in its market that could impact growth and market positioning. Calling party pays (CPP) was …

DENVER, United States-Canada’s telecom market saw major changes recently as its four smallest telecom companies agreed to merge into one company and Bell Canada formed a strategic partnership with U.S.-based wireline and wireless Midwest operator Ameritech. Formation of AtlanticCo The …

SAO PAULO, Brazil-A little more than one year after auctioning B-band cellular licenses and less than a year after the Telebras privatization, the Brazilian government already is dealing with agreements and acquisitions that will change the country’s wireless market profile. …

Dear Editor: I read the Opinion section by Jeffrey Silva in the April 12th issue of RCR News. It finally exposes a railroad company spinoff known as Catellus that is attempting to “trade” old railroad properties for money-producing mountain-top electronic …

Just when Telecom Italia Spa seemed to have no defense left to ward off the hostile takeover bid from rival Italian telecom operator Olivetti Spa, its seemingly hopeless plea for a white knight to save the day was answered by …

Wireless broadband service has finally received attention from the likes of big telecom players Sprint Corp. and MCI WorldCom Inc. The race is on to access the local market and cheaply bypass connection to regional Bell operating companies. Sprint announced …

Sprint PCS is expected to announce its next round of contract awards this week for the third phase of its personal communications services network buildout. Lucent Technologies Inc., say analysts, will receive the bulk of the contract. The new contracts …

Intellicell Intellicell Corp. announced Mike Hedge and Michael King, both previously with CellStar Corp., are heading up Intellicell’s sales and marketing group. Hedge will be responsible for the implementation of an overall strategic growth plan to increase revenues and King …

European telecom operators made headlines last week with involvement in several potential mergers and buyouts. The United Kingdom’s largest cellular operator, Vodafone Group plc, said it agreed to buy the mobile phone unit of Cable & Wireless Communications plc, M.C. …

“To see what competitive telecommunications will look like tomorrow, look at wireless today,” read a banner at CTIA’s Wireless ’99. That’s not the way Ernest Kelly, president of the Telecommunications Resellers Association, sees it. “I wish I had more encouraging …