Vodafone

LONDON-Vodafone AirTouch plc reported valid acceptance of its offer to acquire Mannesmann AG had been received and booked into Clearstream Banking AG, Frankfurt, in respect of a total of more than 480 million Mannesmann shares, representing approximately 95 percent of …

Furious bidding between Vodafone AirTouch plc and Orange plc on the final day of last week’s Universal Mobile Telecommunications System auction in the United Kingdom drove the top bid for license B to $1.14 billion. For the second week in …

NEW YORK-GTE Corp. is hopeful the Federal Communications Commission will approve its merger with Bell Atlantic Corp. before the 700 MHz spectrum auctions in May so the combined company can focus undivided attention on the bidding. “The 700 MHz auction …

SYDNEY, Australia-Hutchison Telecommunications (Australia) Ltd. joined three Australian mobile phone incumbents in securing spectrum in the 1800 MHz band. Proceeds of the spectrum auction totaled more than $809.5 million for the Australian government, with One.Tel Ltd., Telstra Corp. and Vodafone …

LONDON-Vodafone AirTouch plc said it received valid acceptance of the company’s offer for Mannesmann AG at the close of business March 3, with a total of more than 469.5 million Mannesmann shares, representing approximately 92.6 percent of the issued share …

HOUSTON-Crown Castle International Corp.’s subsidiary, Crown Castle Australia Ltd., signed a definitive agreement to purchase about 700 wireless communications towers from Cable & Wireless Optus for $135 million, including an exclusive right to develop all future tower sites for Optus …

Daniel R. Hesse, president of AT&T Wireless Services Inc., said he is leaving the company to head a Seattle-based Internet start-up called TeraBeam Networks. Mohan Gyani, AT&T Wireless’ chief financial officer and former CFO of AirTouch Communications, will replace him. …

After one week and 16 rounds of bidding, incumbent operator Orange plc led all third-generation license bids in the United Kingdom with a $632.9 million bid for License B. The auction for five licenses, which is expected to last another …

WASHINGTON-When wireless customers begin to really use their wireless phones to access the Internet, who will they use? An Internet service provider of their choice or will they be forced to use the mobile-phone company’s ISP? The answer Chris Gent, …

Canada Granite Systems Inc.’s Xpercom solution has been selected by Bell Mobility Inc. of Canada to provide network configuration management to all of the company’s sites. According to Granite, the Xpercom solutions automate network engineering and administration, including facilities assignment, …

NEW ORLEANS-The outlook for adoption of rules for calling party pays is now seen as murky by many of those who attended last week’s CTIA Wireless 2000 conference. Calling party pays is similar to long-distance toll calling where the person …

NEW ORLEANS-Just how wireless Internet access will explode may depend on how carriers work with Internet players, executives said at last week’s Wireless 2000 show. While Sprint PCS made one of the largest announcements at the show by teaming up …

NEW ORLEANS-Bell Atlantic and Vodafone AirTouch plc are on track to complete their joint venture April 1 with some aggressive plans for pushing wireless growth and a new nationwide brand. Chris Gent, chief executive of U.K.-based Vodafone AirTouch, told last …

MELBOURNE, Australia-The explosive growth in mobile telephony and the last chance to buy personal communications services (PCS) spectrum in the 1.8 GHz band have led to a fierce bidding war among Australian carriers. The auction for spectrum in all mainland …

DENVER, United States-Globalstar USA became the latest Globalstar L.P. partner to launch full commercial service, completing the company’s North American coverage for its mobile satellite phone service, perhaps Globalstar’s most important service region. Globalstar USA launched at the same time …

TOKYO-Three Japanese carrier groups are gearing up their efforts to launch IMT-2000 services-earlier than any other wireless carriers in the world. The three players are NTT DoCoMo Group, Japan Telecom (JT) Group and DDI Group. NTT DoCoMo plans to be …

Alcatel China. For GSM network extensions in Jilin, Zhejiang, Ningxia and Shaanxi provinces. Value: US$80 million Germany. With T-Mobil for a network extension. Value: US$71.2 million Kosovo. With the Kosovo Post Office and Telecommunications for a GSM Network with a …

DENVER, United States-While Vodafone AirTouch recently advanced its merger with Germany’s Mannesmann AG, the company indicated it may look to fill in its footprint with some smaller acquisitions. In particular, the company has been closing in on a bid for …

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-The wireless market in Tanzania is gaining momentum with Vodacom’s pending rollout of a new GSM network. The new entrant is no small force to contend with and is likely to cause a few ripples. Vodacom South Africa, …

DUBLIN, Ireland-The news that Mannesmann has conceded defeat in its battle with Vodafone AirTouch merely underlines the momentum behind consolidation in the European mobile communications industry. However, few observers appear concerned at the concentration of market power in the hands …

MELBOURNE, Australia-In a part of the world that still relies on word of mouth as a means to keep in touch, cellular communications-both digital and analog-is continuing to spread through the Pacific Islands as greater numbers of people in the …

Approximately 318.6 million new cellular connections will be added in Europe by 2007, of which 160 million will be Global System for Mobile communications connections, according to The Strategis Group’s report, “Western European Cellular/3G Markets 2000-2007.” As a result of …

MADRID, Spain-Vodafone AirTouch plc and British Telecommunications plc are negotiating a resolution to their battle for control of Airtel, Spain’s second-largest mobile provider. The negotiations could lead to an amicable BT exit from Airtel. In addition, Vodafone plans to use …

NEW YORK-In a Valentine’s Day announcement, Teligent Inc., a point-to-multipoint carrier based in Vienna, Va., and Mannesmann Arcor AG & Co., said they had partnered to provide fixed wireless voice and data communications in Germany. Mannesmann AG, which recently agreed …

LONDON-The U.K. government said it qualified all 13 applicants for Universal Mobile Telecommunications System licenses to bid in a March auction. “I am delighted that we have been able to qualify all the applicants and that we are on track …