operator

SEOUL, South Korea-The two largest mobile operators in Korea are considering discussions about a partnership to build a nationwide third-generation W-CDMA network, according to international press reports. KTF Chief Executive …

MANKATO, Minn.-Rural wireless operator Midwest Wireless launched a trial high-speed wireless network in a Mankato, Minn., Bagel Bros. Restaurant providing customers with Internet access. The free trial service uses Midwest …

STAMFORD, Conn.-Content deals continue to funnel through the pipe, with a range of handset makers, carriers and content companies announcing deals in the area. First, application provider SmartServ Online Inc. …

NIEUWEGEIN, Netherlands-Go Mobile, a wireless operator in Malta, will use technology from LogicaCMG to offer multimedia messaging services, the companies announced. “Launching MMS services marks the next stage in our …

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina-Porta, owned by Am

OSLO, Norway-Norway’s Reitan Group, a retail giant best known for its grocery chain and franchise holdings, made a bid for Sense Communications International, the country’s largest mobile virtual network operator …

OXFORD, United Kingdom-In what is being seen as an ill-disguised attempt to combat the European coverage afforded by Vodafone, three of Europe’s largest cell-phone operators have clubbed together to offer …

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina-The National Telecommunications Commission in Honduras prequalified BellSouth, Entel Chile and Megatel-EMCE for the band A personal communications services (PCS) cellular telephone license for which 18 companies had …

WARREN, N.J.-Mobile virtual network operator Virgin Mobile USA is looking to tap into the hype surrounding the Fox TV show “American Idol” with its own text messaging campaign. The move …

MUNICH, Germany-Siemens AG said it has signed a contract to build GPRS network for Thai operator Advanced Info Service plc. “This will allow AIS to offer its customers a large …

STOCKHOLM, Sweden-As expected, the merger of Sweden’s Telia and Finland’s Sonera will see layoffs in the second quarter of 2003, and TeliaSonera’s Swedish and Finnish operations said they have both …

STOCKHOLM, Sweden-Ericsson said Reliance Telecommunications awarded it a 1x contract worth US$145 million for a nationwide network in Nigeria. The operator is expected to launch 1x wireless local loop (WLL) …

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-Kenyan mobile network operator KenCell said it would like the government to abandon the 5-percent excise duty on airtime introduced in the 2002/2003 financial year budget. Phillipe Vandebrouke, …

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina-For the first time, Ericsson will not be the supplier to install a Telecom Personal network in Argentina, now that Alcatel has signed an agreement with the cellular …

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-Nigerian prepaid subscribers are reported to be facing an increased lack of top-up cards for their services. Subscribers have expressed dismay that the vouchers have become so scarce …

PARIS-Alcatel said Vietnam’s VinaPhone has contracted it to expand its GSM network under a “multi-million U.S. dollar contract.” When the expansion is complete, VinaPhone’s capacity will be 1.3 million subscribers. …

TOKYO-NTT DoCoMo Inc. announced that it has developed a wristwatch-type PHS terminal. The product will hit the market in April at the earliest, Japan’s largest mobile operator said. The initial …

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina-Irish company Digicel started cellular telephony services on the Caribbean island of Saint Luc

TOKYO-Japanese operator NTT DoCoMo announced plans for two new devices this week. DoCoMo said it has developed a wristwatch-type PHS terminal. The product will hit the market in April at …

LONDON-As the tender process for Bahrain’s second GSM license draws to a close, three candidates, including MTC Vodafone, Wataniya Bahrain and Kalaam, have been short-listed from the original list of …

SURABAYA, Indonesia-Following last year’s shareholding increase to 47.9 percent in Malaysia’s Celcom, government-owned telecommunication operator Telekom Malaysia offered US$1 billion to take over the rest of Celcom. Celcom’s remaining major …

MELBOURNE, Australia-Two of Australia’s national mobile carriers will do battle for third-generation (3G) subscribers by mid-year. Telstra introduced its cdma2000 1x network, an upgrade of its CDMA network, to consumers …

TOKYO and LONDON-Vodafone Group plc and J-Phone Co. Ltd. both announced strong subscriber numbers for their respective multimedia messaging services. Vodafone said it has met its target of 1 million …

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NEW DELHI, India–India, one of the fastest-growing wireless markets in the Asia Pacific region, is set for a churn. But it is unable to decide which way it will go–toward …