Telenor

BIENNE, Switzerland-The auction of Universal Mobile Telecommunications System licenses in Switzerland ended quickly last week, with only four companies bidding on four licenses, raising $120 million for the government. Swisscom; …

OSLO, Norway-British Telecom and Telenor agreed to extend Telenor’s put option on Irish mobile operator Esat Digifone from Dec. 7 to Feb. 7, 2001. Under an agreement between BT and …

OSLO, Norway-The Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications announced the winners of the country’s four Universal Mobile Telecommunications System licenses, which were awarded through a beauty contest. The license winners …

NEW YORK-Despite the hope and hype around consumer and corporate use, vertical applications remain today’s stronghold for wireless data, said Jeffrey Schlesinger, wireless technology analyst for UBS Warburg. Recognizing this …

NEW YORK-Room33 AB has opened its doors here to tap into the city’s content creation hub and give the Stockholm-based company easier access to potential American customers for its mobile …

SPAIN Telefonica M

BERNE, Switzerland-Only five bidders will compete for four Universal Mobile Telecommunications System licenses in Switzerland, as three contenders dropped out late last week, down from an original 10 interested companies. …

BERNE, Switzerland-The Federal Communications Commission of Switzerland canceled the auction of additional frequencies for mobile services based on the GSM standard. The agency accepted applications from the three remaining candidates …

BELFAST, United Kingdom-With a mobile penetration of just 1.4 percent, less than that of many third-world countries, the Russian mobile segment appears to offer little excitement. At closer glance, however, …

BUCHAREST, Romania-As of 1 March, 2001, Telenor will close down its NMT 900 analog mobile network. Norwegian authorities agree with Telenor the digital GSM system is a fully acceptable alternative …

OSLO, Norway-Seven groups plan to participate in Norway’s selective tender or “beauty contest” process to award four Universal Mobile Telecommunications System licenses. The licenses will be awarded by the end …

In a surprise ending, six groups walked away with Universal Mobile Telecommunications System licenses in Germany at a total cost of $45.85 billion, the largest amount raised yet in a …

Alcatel. Benin. With Office des Postes et Telecommunications (OPT) for a GSM network, along with fiber-optic and switching equipment. Value: US$32.8 million Kenya. With KenCell for a 50,000-subscriber capacity GSM …

OSLO, Norway-Norway’s Telenor entered an agreement to acquire 53.5 percent of the shares in Sonofon, the second-largest mobile operator in Denmark, from GN Great Nordic for about $1.7 billion. Telenor …

BIEL, Switzerland-Ten companies submitted applications to bid for four third-generation licenses in Switzerland in November. Switzerland’s Federal Office of Communications will decide by the end of August which of the …

OSLO, Norway-Telenor AS announced it entered an agreement to acquire a 30-percent stake in Thai mobile carrier Total Access Communication Public Co. Ltd. and up to a 24.9-percent stake in …

KPN Telecom is said to be in discussions with Spain’s Telefonica regarding a possible US$54 billion merger. At press time, international reports said the companies had agreed in principle to …

KPN Telecom is said to be in discussions with Spain’s Telefonica regarding a possible US$54 billion merger. At press time, international reports said the companies had agreed in principle to …

ISTANBUL, Turkey-All four consortia vying for Turkey’s fourth Global System for Mobile communications license withdrew from the auction without bidding. A company owned by Telecom Italia and Turkey’s Isbank grabbed …

STOCKHOLM, Sweden-The Swedish government plans to sell about 30 percent of Telia, the state-owned telecommunications company, by this summer, according to international press reports. Reports value Telia at about $46.5 …

Motorola and Psion agreed to build products, expected to be released in the first half of 2001, using a new platform from Symbian. Symbian announced a wireless computing platform for …

L.M. Ericsson introduced a mobile Internet portal solution developed for wireless networks called the Ericsson WISE Portal. WISE was designed as a single point of access for various Internet-enabled devices, …

The inexorable drive toward consolidation in the European telecommunications industry has moved a stage further with the $2.5 billion acquisition by British Telecom plc of Esat Telecom, Ireland’s second-largest telco …

LONDON-British Telecommunications plc and Telenor AS announced they have reached an agreement regarding Ireland’s Esat Telecom and its wireless arm Esat Digifone. BT is acquiring a 49.5-percent stake in Esat …

DUBLIN, Ireland-Esat Telecom continued its defense against a hostile takeover attempt by Telenor Ireland AB. The company posted its second defense document on its Web site, urging shareholders to reject …