Vodafone

TOKYO—Vodafone Group announced that its Spanish and Japanese subsidiaries completed what it called the world’s first third-generation (3G) roaming call. The call was made between an executive of Vodafone Spain, formerly called Airtel, and an executive of J-Phone Company in …

MADRID, Spain—Vodafone Group plc completed live international roaming calls using the UMTS 3GPP wireless standard between Vodafone’s operations in Madrid, Spain and J-Phone in Tokyo. The calls were made with a Qualcomm Inc. MSM5200 chipset-based handset using SIM technology from …

OXFORD, United Kingdom—Hutchison has signed a crucial network sharing deal with British Telecommunications’ former wireless division, mmO2. The agreement will allow Hutchison’s subscribers to make and receive calls using mmO2’s second-generation (2G) network when out of range of its own …

AUCKLAND, New Zealand—Vodafone New Zealand selected Nortel Networks to provide a packet backbone network that will connect Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington and allow the carrier to offer new secure services to more than 1 million subscribers. The US$2.8 million contract …

BEIJING—Two regulations banning foreign investment in China’s telecom carriers will be abolished on 11 December, when China effectively joins the World Trade Organization (WTO). The two regulations are the “Provisional Regulations on the Administration of Examining and Approving Telecommunications Business” …

BUCHAREST, Romania—Albania’s newest mobile telephone operator, Vodafone Albania, said it is building out its network at record speed. Vodafone Albania has extended its coverage since its August launch and is expected to cover 72 percent of the population within the …

OXFORD, United Kingdom-The Spanish cell-phone operators Telef

NEW YORK—Vivendi Universal has deployed MyNetonomy , developed by U.S.-based Netonomy, as the portal through which customers can purchase, activate and personalize services on Universal Music Mobile (UMM). Launched commercially in late September, the service delivers Vivendi Universal’s music-oriented content …

HELSINKI, Finland—Nokia won a contract from Vodafone Hungary as its sole supplier for a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) network. The system is expected to be operational in December. Nokia is Vodafone Hungary’s sole GSM supplier as well. Allgon reports …

OXFORD, United Kingdom—While Europe’s major cell-phone operators remain cautious about their launch plans for third-generation (3G) services, Hutchison Whampoa, which owns 3G licenses in the United Kingdom and Italy, has confirmed deployment plans for September 2002. According to Canning Fok, …

WOODBURY, N.Y.—Comverse has been chosen to provide its unified messaging solution to Portugal’s Vodafone, a mobile operator that has 2.6 million cellular customers and holds 35 percent of the market share in the country. Comverse’s solution gives consumers a “one-stop” …

HELSINKI, Finland—Nokia Corp. says that it has won a contract with Vodafone Hungary to supply its complete GPRS core network as well as the upgrade of both the existing radio access network and the network management system. “The system will …

BEIJING—U.K.-based Vodafone opened a representative office in Beijing on 9 November. Foreign operators must have a representative office for three years before they can set up a joint venture with a Chinese carrier after China’s accession to the World Trade …

BELLEVUE, Washington, United States—InfoSpace and Vodafone Australia announced they are extending their business agreement in a move to continue to work together to offer wireless Internet services in Australia. The companies began working together in April of last year and …

OXFORD, United Kingdom—News International, the vast media organization with outlets in most major countries, is preparing to unveil its proprietary mobile content delivery platform and a new strategy of forming direct relationships with operators, rather than working with intermediaries. The …

BEDMINSTER, N.J.—Verizon Wireless Inc. filed an updated registration statement relating to its potential initial public offering of common stock with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The statement notes that upon completion of the IPO, Verizon Wireless Inc. would be a …

FRANKFURT, Germany—Deutsche Telekom’s wireless unit T-Mobile added 1.7 million net subscribers during the third quarter, bringing the carrier’s worldwide wireless customer base to 45.6 million subscribers. VoiceStream Wireless, T-Mobile’s U.S. division, added 370,000 net subscribers, well below T-Mobile’s previous estimates …

LONDON—Vodafone said adoption of the single Vodafone brand by Portugal’s Telecel Vodafone and Spain’s Airtel Vodafone is complete, ahead of the original early 2002 schedule. Both companies supported the single brand through advertising campaigns. Vodafone said the subsidiaries can now …

TOKYO—J-Phone Group on 1 November consolidated four companies of the group into one company to compete with its two rivals NTT DoCoMo and KDDI. Due to the reorganization, the new J-Phone was born from J-Phone Communications, J-Phone East, J-Phone West …

NEW YORK-Vivendi Universal has worldwide ambitions, particularly in the area of wireless technology and interactive television, and equally important, it possesses a balance sheet to support its plans, said Jean Marie Messier, chairman and chief executive officer. “We believe we …

Carriers choose low-key number portability promotions MELBOURNE, Australia-With the advent of mobile number portability (MNP) in Australia, the forecasted marketing blitz has largely failed to materialize, despite some initial predictions that mobile-phone companies would spend big to draw customers away …

LONDON—Vodafone Group said its average revenue per user (ARPU) has begun to stabilize based on its end-September financial figures. The operator said its total inactive customer base in its controlled subsidiaries at the end of the third quarter was 10 …

DUBLIN, Ireland—Macalla Software said Eircell Vodafone will use its technology for the Online Store. The service allows customers to purchase Eircell Vodafone’s products using a PC or a mobile phone. Macalla built the software infrastructure for the m-payment part of …

LONDON—Vodafone Group plc has said its average revenue per user has begun to stabilize based on its end-September financial figures. The operator said its total inactive customer base in its controlled subsidiaries at the end of the third quarter was …

Editor’s Note: Since 1993, RCR Wireless News has chosen one person who most impacted the wireless industry that year. As part of our celebration of 20 years of covering the wireless industry, here is a look at past inductees: 1993