Orange

In the sweepstakes of third-generation (3G) contracts, smaller equipment vendors hope to outplay the bigger names by taking advantage of their product strengths and delays in Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) rollouts. Companies like Motorola, Nortel Networks and Lucent Technologies …

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 their business subscribers common services and a simplified tariff structure. …

The promise of the converged wireless device is a reality, although exactly what it will look like is still being debated. Those in the industry have long preached the inevitable marriage of computers and mobile phones, and the current selection …

DUBLIN, Ireland-Ongoing concerns regarding the effects of mobile-phone mast radiation on public health in France has encouraged SFR and Orange France to suspend the operation of antennas on top of a school in Yvelines. The operators were quick to point …

PARIS-Orange announced Friday it will sell its 26.6-percent stake in Italian operator Wind to Enel for $1.37 billion plus a $210 million shareholders’ loan to be repaid to Orange. The price is subject to a post-closing upward adjustment should Enel …

LONDON-U.K. company AePONA said it signed a three-year agreement with Orange to supply its open services access product. The product allows mobile operators to simplify the creation and management of different services, features and functions, said AePONA. The product provides …

OSLO, Norway-An increasingly strident campaign to keep third-generation (3G) telephone masts out of protesting communities won surprising backing from Sweden’s regulator National Post and Telecom Agency (PTS), which now seems resigned to achieving less than 100-percent national 3G coverage. PTS …

REDMOND, Wash.-Action Engine, whose customers include Orange SA and MmO2, has closed a $15.5 million Series C round of venture financing, led by Baker Capital and including Cascadia Capital LLC, Intel Communications Fund, OVP Venture Partners, Northwest Venture Associates and …

PARIS-France Telecom and Orange France have entered into an agreement to deploy their Wi-Fi hot spots at 900 Accor hotels, including Sofitel, Mercure, Libertel, Suitehotel, Ibis, Etap and Formule 1. Among the 50 hotels targeted for hot-spot deployment during the …

HELSINKI, Finland-Sweden’s telecom regulator PTS has confirmed the receipt of a “written submission” from mobile operator Orange requesting transfer of its third-generation (3G) license to a new subsidiary company in Sweden. The PTS has described the petition as “strong and …

NEW YORK-Despite what he called, “one of the greatest brand launches ever and excellent results in brand awareness,” the Cingular Wireless name has “not delivered,” said Stan Sigman, chief executive officer, at last week’s Merrill Lynch & Co. “Communication Conference”. …

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-Computer hackers could use a text message to crash a Nokia Corp. 6210 mobile phone, said security company @stake Inc. in a security advisory. Attackers can manipulate the parameters of a vCard electronic business card so that if the …

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.- Bill Nguyen, the entrepreneur who sold Onebox.com (now Openwave Systems Inc.) to Phone.com for $850 million, is back at the head of wireless e-mail company Seven, just in time to see the company score European wireless giant …

CANNES, France-Operators and vendors alike expressed a quiet optimism for the upcoming year as the GSM community gathered for its annual global meeting last week in the south of France. The event focused less on when wideband CDMA launches would …

CANNES, France-Wireless operator Orange released sales figures and details about its business-oriented SPV device-the first wireless device to use Microsoft Corp.’s Smartphone operating system-and announced plans to offer a modified SPV aimed at consumers. Orange said it has sold 40,000 …

CANNES, France-L.M. Ericsson flexed its muscles within and outside the 3GSM Congress with a series of announcements from interoperability testing to deals with carriers and content providers as well as a former semiconductor partner. The Swedish vendor signed a contract …

CANNES, France-Wireless multimodal platform and solution provider Kirusa is demonstrating its multimodal technology at the 3GSM World Congress taking place this week in France. Kirusa’s technology allows wireless users to use voice and visual input and output at the same …

LONDON and PARIS-Two European telecommunications companies announced expansions of their GPRS Roaming Exchange programs. Cable & Wireless said it expanded its service into the Asia-Pacific region by connecting additional operators within the Vodafone Group. Cable & Wireless said it has …

MANILA, The Philippines-Smart Communications Inc. has become the second operator worldwide and the first in Asia to offer a Microsoft-powered smart phone, following Orange U.K. last year. Smart is the largest mobile operator in the Philippines. Smart said the “Smart …

LONDON-Orange SA has chosen Solomon Trujillo to lead the company as chief executive officer, replacing Jean Francois Pontal who resigned in December.Trujillo, who has been a member of the board at Orange since 2001, served as president and CEO of …

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.-Wireless corporate e-mail company Seven announced it scored Orange as a new customer, and that the carrier will offer Seven’s unique network-based corporate information product in the United Kingdom. Seven’s service, dubbed Office Freedom by Orange, gives mobile …

VANCOUVER-A global consortium of wireless Internet service providers (WISPs) and mobile operators have formed to implement a new authentication and payment platform that gives mobile-phone users access to high-speed hot spots. Users need only a mobile phone to use the …

OXFORD, United Kingdom-In an unexpected decision, Orange has named U.S. citizen Solomon Trujillo as its chief executive. Finance Director Simon Duffy announced his resignation following the chief executive appointment, which was expected to be an internal Orange executive. Trujillo will …

PARIS-France Telecom has announced a Wi-Fi initiative, saying it plans to implement the technology to complement its current businesses, including mobile GPRS/UMTS services. The company said Orange will develop a network of hot spots with landlords, Wanadoo will offer Wi-Fi …

CANNES, France-Emblaze Systems, which develops customized services and technologies for wireless carriers, will join Micorsoft, Nortel, LG and others to demonstrate third-generation (3G) technologies for mobile carriers at this year’s 3GSM World Congress in Cannes. Emblaze will demonstrate: Microsoft Internet …