Orange

FRANKFURT, Germany-Gerhard Schmid, former chief executive of German company MobilCom, is likely to lower the price at which he would agree to sell his MobilCom shares, paving the way for a takeover by France Telecom’s Orange subsidiary. International press reports …

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina-The Colombian government, headed by Andr

CINCINNATI-Convergys Corp. announced it has acquired the business and assets of bankrupt TelesensKSCL Ltd. of Edinburgh, Scotland, a subsidiary of TelesensKSCL AG of Cologne, Germany. TelesensKSCL, which was a developer and licenser of billing systems for voice and data services …

DUBLIN, Ireland-While other European countries wrestle with the dilemma of how to accommodate the new base stations and masts required for third-generation (3G) networks when objections to such developments have never been more vociferous, it seems the Swedes may have …

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia- The Telecommunications Office of the Slovak Republic awarded two of three available third-generation (3G) licenses to the country’s two current mobile operators, Orange and EuroTel Bratislava. Each operator will pay $33.8 million for the 20-year licenses. The only …

HELSINKI, Finland-Finnish supplier Tecnomen said it will begin multimedia messaging service trials in two countries, The Dominican Republic and Indonesia. The Dominican Republic trial will be with France Telecom Dominicana. The Orange operator has deployed Tecnomen’s integrated push feature. “The …

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-M-Cell, the listed telecommunications group that owns 100 percent of MTN, announced that turnover for the last 12 months has risen by 49 percent to US$1.24 billion. Contributions from operations outside of South Africa have risen to 19 …

VANCOUVER, British Columbia—Sierra Wireless, M499.com Ltd. and Hutchison Telecommunications Ltd. announced the launch of Sierra Wireless’s AirCard 750 GSM/GPRS wireless PC Card in Hong Kong. M499.com will distribute the AirCard 750 to Hong Kong mobile operator Hutchison Telecommunications, who in …

HELSINKI, Finland—The uphill battle to meet Sweden’s December 2003 national rollout deadline for third-generation (3G) networks has taken a significant new twist, after Sweden’s leading mobile operators assigned Stockholm-based telecom consulting firm Teleca to deliver a technical solution and a …

LONDON—Orange SA said it accepted a UMTS license in Luxembourg following the country’s “beauty contest” for licenses, making Orange a new entrant in the market when it launches a UMTS network. Last month, Tele2 said it also won a UMTS …

PARIS—France Telecom and its mobile subsidiary Orange said they terminated the cooperation framework agreement with MobilCom and Gerhard Schmid, which the companies entered in March 2000. France Telecom said the termination follows a series of breaches by Schmid and MobilCom. …

Permit issues could delay operator rollouts HELSINKI, Finland-PTS, Sweden’s telecom regulatory authority, appears to have accepted the general position adopted by operators that meeting the 2002 deadline for rollout of third-generation (3G) services will not be feasible. The position taken …

PARIS—France T

DUBLIN, Ireland—The imminent launch of the XDA, an O2-branded mobile device manufactured specifically for that operator, is clear evidence that European operators are demanding more input into handset development. However, it is more likely to be an extreme but isolated …

BOSTON—Netonomy announced a software supply and implementation agreement with Orange UK that will allow Orange to use the MyNetonomy Channel Activator to create a self-service portal for Orange retail staff and independent retailers. According to Netonomy, with the product, Orange …

PARIS—The French telecom regulator has confirmed that only Bouygues Telecom applied for one of the two third-generation licenses on offer in France. Therefore, the three current mobile incumbent operators—Orange, SFR and Bouygues—will be the only 3G operators in the country. …

OXFORD, United Kingdom—A joint venture between Orange and U.K.-based cable operator NTL should soon enable Orange cell-phone users to order digital content and have it downloaded via NTL’s broadband connection to their homes. NTL said it is also planning to …

NEW YORK—Tele2 said it won a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) license in Luxembourg from the country’s Ministry of Telecommunications. Tele2’s Luxembourg operator Tango received the most points in the country’s “beauty contest” for licenses, in which market newcomer Orange …

DENVER, United States—The Slovak government announced three companies submitted bids for the country’s three third-generation (3G) licenses. Incumbent operators Eurotel and Orange bid for the two individual 3G licenses on offer, while market newcomer Profinet.sk bid for the combined GSM …

Wireless stock prices around the world have taken a beating lately. Vodafone Group has most noticeably suffered investors’ wrath and is now trading at less than a pound. To make matters worse, its shares fell an additional 5 percent last …

PARIS—A French newspaper reported European mobile operator Orange is interested in launching a branded service in the United States and is currently in talks with a U.S. operator. Orange has denied the reports. The report said Cingular is currently the …

OXFORD, United Kingdom—The Polish telecom regulator, URTiP, has conceded that the three operators that purchased third-generation (3G) licenses will not be held to the contractual launch date due to the technical problems being experienced by equipment developers. The operators, Polska …

LONDON—Nortel Networks said it has signed a deal with Orange SA subsidiary Dutchtone to upgrade the carrier’s wireless network with GSM and GPRS equipment. “Our aim is to provide the best performing network in the Netherlands, which is why we …

LONDON—Lucent Technologies Inc. said it has signed a three-year contract worth over $35 million to supply Orange SA with its MiLife VoiceXML Gateway solution. “This project is at the heart of the OrangeWorld vision to develop a powerful Internet-based platform …

TOKYO—NTT DoCoMo Inc., the largest mobile carrier in Japan, and Bouygues Telecom, the third-largest operator in France, announced they reached a license agreement over i-mode services in France. Following the technology transfer agreement, Bouygues Telecom, a telecom business unit of …