Orange

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina-Mobile communications are vital to Israel. The permanent tension, caused by terrorist attacks, compels everyone to be in constant communication. Despite its conflicts and small population, Israel has been able to excel in wireless communications. Similar to several …

Alcatel China. With China Unicom for CDMA equipment for a national network. Value: US$157 million China. With Gansu Mobile, Shanxi Mobile and Ning Xia Mobile for GSM expansion contracts. Value: Undisclosed Thailand. With CP Orange for a nationwide GSM 1800 …

AMSTERDAM, the Netherlands-KPN, the Dutch telecommunications company, is reportedly in talks with Belgian national telecommunications operator Belgacom regarding a merger. KPN is facing mounting pressure about its expanding debt load and reports that it is planning a rights issue. According …

RadioFrame Networks Inc., a Redmond, Wash., provider of indoor wireless voice and data systems, has received $11 million in first- and second-round venture- capital financing from five investors, the company announced June 20. Participants included COM Investments, the personal investment …

PARIS-France Telecom said it will rebrand its mobile service brands in France, Itineris, Ola and Mobicarte, with the Orange brand. Along with the June 21 rebranding, new services will be offered, including international roaming for all users. France Telecom purchased …

LONDON-Wcities, a location-based information service provider, will offer mobile information on cities throughout the world to Orange subscribers. Wcities will provide continually updated information on local restaurants, hotels, sporting and special events, retail and shopping, entertainment and transportation over Orange’s …

LONDON-About 44 percent of all U.K. households had a mobile phone in 2000, but this year, 68 percent of U.K. households have a mobile phone, according to the “2001 U.K. Mobile Telephone Customer Satisfaction Study” from J.D. Power and Associates. …

NEW YORK-Wireless data is like a diamond in the rough, waiting for ways to smooth out its rough edges into sparkling facets that will attract growing numbers of consumers into increasing amounts of usage. Where there is a business problem, …

LONDON-U.K. cable company NTL and France Telecom’s Orange announced a partnership, whereby Orange will provide mobile-phone services to NTL’s 3 million residential customers. A contract is due to be signed by the end of May, the companies said. The deal …

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.-Openwave Systems Inc. will provide Hutchison Telecommunications Ltd. with its Openwave Download Fun WAP platform, a service that allows mobile users to download and personalize handsets with various ringing tones and characters. “In partnering with Openwave, Orange becomes …

GENEVA-How the mighty have fallen. British Telecommunications (BT), once ranked among the world’s most powerful carriers, is finding itself buckling under a crippling mountain of debt in a climate where raising equity in the telecom/information technology (IT) sector has hit …

Alcatel Brazil. With Telemar for a GSM 1800 network in the area from Piau

NEW YORK -Ten Square, San Jose, Calif., plans to expand its provision of wireless e-commerce services to 2,800 service stations and convenience stores in various cities by year-end. The privately held company, whose lead investor is Marconi Ventures, delivers interactive …

Amid the frenzy over a flagging economy and road bumps to the next generation of technologies, Nokia Corp. won a series of third-generation infrastructure contracts that gives the handset vendor coveted status as a network provider. The deals, including a …

In addition to being headquarters to a slew of businesses that have become known worldwide, including Microsoft Corp. and Starbucks, Seattle last week was ground zero for GSM technology as VoiceStream Wireless Corp. hosted the GSM Association’s 45th Plenary Meeting. …

BRUSSELS, Belgium-Belgium awarded three Universal Mobile Telecommunications System licenses to each of the country’s three incumbent operators, bringing in about $419 million for the government. The prices raised from the auction were just at the minimum prices set by the …

OXFORD, United Kingdom-While all the major European cell-phone operators have either launched or announced target dates for GPRS services, a growing number of technology developers are voicing concerns. One of the most recent to join the GPRS detractors is Ubinetics, …

NEW DELHI, India-The state-owned fixed-line provider MTNL has launched its GSM cellular phone service in Mumbai, India’s commercial capital, leading to a tariff war. The two incumbent private providers-BPL Mobile and Orange-have slashed their airtime tariff drastically. MTNL last month …

GENEVA-Despite a subdued initial public offering (IPO) that saw the company reap a modest US$9 per share-near the bottom end of an already hastily reduced US$8.7 to US$10 range-the future is looking good for Orange, the former U.K. operator that …

Belgium Belgium awarded three Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) licenses to each of the country’s three incumbent operators, bringing in about US$419 million for the government. The prices raised were just at the minimum prices set by the government. The …

AT&T Corp. is reported to be in “exploratory discussions” with Dobson Communications Corp. regarding a potential transaction between the two companies, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. The report cites an AT&T filing with the Securities and …

NEW YORK-Borrowing the vernacular of a traffic engineer, a financier compared the current capital market conditions for telecommunications companies to rush-hour congestion, but observed that the tie-up looks like it is slowly beginning to clear. Investors still are sorting out …

OXFORD, United Kingdom-Once again the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) has been consigned to the dust bin of failed technology by the U.K. consumer magazine Which?. The independent guide said the “concept of WAP was far more striking than the reality.” …

KARLSKRONA, Sweden-Europolitan and Hi3G, two companies granted Universal Mobile Telecommunications System licenses in Sweden last year, agreed to jointly build part of their UMTS infrastructure. The companies will form a common entity designated to build and provide UMTS infrastructure, mainly …

JACKSON, Miss.-Air2Lan said it acquired Orange Twine, a broadband provider in New Orleans, giving Air2Lan a significant presence there. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.