Vodafone

NEW YORK-Telstra Corp. Ltd. debuted with a bang Nov. 17 on the Australian Stock Exchange, and trading began on the New York Stock Exchange a day later. The hugely oversubscribed initial public offering of 4.3 billion shares of common stock …

BETHESDA, Md.-Personal communications services provider American Personal Communications, which operates as Sprint Spectrum in the Washington, D.C., area, announced international roaming agreements covering six new countries in European countries. The agreements are with Mobilkom in Austria, Tele Danmark in Denmark, …

LONDON-Code Division Multiple Access technology is playing a key role in several leading technology contenders for third-generation wireless networks in Europe, but back-to-back industry shows held here last week underlined just how convoluted and contentious Europe’s standards process has become. …

Following intense negotiations with the United Kingdom’s mobile phone operators, the country’s telecommunications regulator extended to Jan. 1, 1999, its number portability requirement for the mobile phone industry. In August, the Office of Telecommunications (Oftel) announced U.K. mobile phone operators …

NEW YORK-Despite recent volatility in the equities markets and lawsuits against it by six competing carriers, Telstra, Australia’s largest telecommunications company, apparently still plans to proceed by mid-November with its initial public stock offering. Besides its wireline business, Telstra operates …

AT&T Corp.’s board of directors unanimously elected C. Michael Armstrong chairman and chief executive officer of the company, effective Nov. 1. AT&T was widely viewed to be under pressure to partner with someone after its nearest rival in the long-distance …

The Australian Communications Authority has postponed its planned auction of spectrum for personal communications services until early 1998 to clear up key policy issues that may be ambiguous to potential market entrants. The ACA was preparing to auction spectrum in …

SINGAPORE-An air of triumph permeated last week’s second annual CDMA World Congress as the supporters of Code Division Multiple Access celebrated the past year’s network launches, announced a unified branding plan and prepared to enter the next millennium with a …

TORONTO-Microcell Telecommunications Inc. signed a handful of new roaming agreements with European operators, and announced its Fido personal communications services network will be active in Toronto starting next week. Microcell Connexions Inc., the network subsidiary of Microcell Telecommunications, signed roaming …

Today is the deadline to submit bids for a Digital Cellular System 1800 MHz license in Austria. A winner could be announced next month. The tender was announced about two months ago, at which time Waltraud Augesky, a commercial specialist …

NEWBURY, U.K.-Vodafone Group plc and Qualcomm Inc. said they will conduct a field trial in the United Kingdom starting the fourth quarter to demonstrate how Code Division Multiple Access wireless access technology can be integrated into a Global System for …

China will have more than 20 million cellular subscribers by 2000, predicts a report released by International Technology Consultants Inc., titled Wireless Communications Markets: China. By 2000, China’s Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications plans to install 150 million switching lines …

Greece’s government telephone provider said it has collected bids from more than 15 equipment manufacturers for mobile phone equipment, and has narrowed its search for non-Greek partners to three companies, which includes a U.S. company. The Hellenic Telecommunications Organization, OTE, …

NEW YORK-Globalstar Telecommunications Ltd. plans additional financing to help build and launch 56 low-earth-orbit satellites for digital wireless voice and data service covering most of the world by mid-to-late 1998. Headquartered in New York, Globalstar is a limited partnership led …

As expected, the partnership of British Telecommunications plc and Viag AG, E2 Mobilfunk, received a license to operate a fourth mobile phone network in Germany. E2 Mobilfunk was the sole applicant for the Digital Cellular System 1800 personal communications network …

Vodafone Group plc agreed to purchase Data Bank of Greece S.A. through its subsidiary Vodafone Europe Holdings Ltd. Vodafone said the principal asset of Data Bank is a 10 percent share in Panafon S.A., one of two Global System for …

ACC Corp., through its wholly owned subsidiary ACC TelEnterprises Ltd., signed an agreement with Paging Network of Canada Inc., a paging company affiliated with PageNet in the United States, to resell PageNet services under the ACC brand name. The paging …

Only one personal communications network license will be awarded in the Netherlands this year, reported the American Embassy in The Hague. However, the Dutch Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications is expected to issue a second license once more spectrum is …

California Microwave Inc.’s Microwave Network Systems division won a contract from Cellcom Israel Ltd. to expand its Time Division Multiple Access cellular network. California Microwave said it values the contract at $2 million. Cellcom previously purchased 300 links of 34 …

NEW YORK-As 1996 drew to a close, the impact of the Internet on wireless communications manifested itself in a flurry of announcements from an array of providers. “It’s all about making the Internet easier to use. The customers coming on …

Panafon SA, Athens. Global System for Mobile communications cellular system built by L.M. Ericsson. Owned by Vodafone (45 percent), France Telecom (35 percent), Data Bank of Greece (10 percent), Intracom (10 percent). Service began July 1993. STET Hellas, Athens. GSM …

In response to customer discontent and criticism among consumer groups, WaveTech Ltd. of the United Kingdom introduced Happy Talk. The service is a new way to do wireless, expected to accomplish what its name implies. Lengthy service contracts and stringent …

Orange plc, one of the United Kingdom’s two 1800 MHz personal communications providers, announced it established a roaming agreement with the Swiss Post, Telephone and Telegraph. Concurrently, Colin Tucker, group technical and operations director, said he believes dual band phones, …

From Wall Street to Main Street, the outlook for the cellular industry remains positive, especially for major players abroad and minor players at home that exploit markets with lower competition and penetration levels. The new Telecommunications Act has unleashed forces …

NEW YORK-Cellhire Global Phone Rental plc, headquartered in York, England, will open its first office outside the United Kingdom, Aug. 1, on Broadway near Wall Street in the financial district of New York City. The wholly owned American subsidiary, Cellhire …