Vodafone

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.-As President Clinton stated in his Economic Forum speech, “The United States is unambiguously committed to open markets and trade as the best engine we know of to lift living standards, reduce environmental destruction and build shared prosperity.” …

The Federal Communications Commission approved the merger of VoiceStream Wireless Corp. and Omnipoint Corp. last week and noted the Department of Justice and the FBI delayed its decision, a problem that may grow as U.S. operators hook up with international …

DUSSELDORF, Germany-In line with its recent agreement with Vodafone AirTouch plc, Mannesmann AG said it will accelerate the initial public offering of its automotive and engineering division “during the upcoming weeks” under a new name. The company announced it would …

Crown Castle International Crown Castle International Corp. announced Michael G. Ramke has been named vice president of business development for the United States and Philip M. Kelley has been named vice president of business development internationally. Ramke served as vice …

ESPOO, Finland-Vodafone New Zealand agreed to trial Nokia’s General Packet Radio Service core network solution and Wireless Application Protocol platform. Nokia said it will deliver its Internet Protocol core network infrastructure, including the company’s Serving GPRS Support Node, Gateway GPRS …

Rumors of a merger between Telecom Italia Mobile and Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobil wireless network emerged again last week, with the Italian press reporting such a move is being considered by Telecom Italia’s chief executive officer. Ever since Deutsche Telekom lost …

In an unprecedented move to bring the Internet to mobile phone users, AOL Europe announced last week it entered into agreements with Nokia Corp. and L.M. Ericsson to develop and trial its “AOL Anywhere” mobile service based on the Wireless …

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

BellSouth Corp. said last week it could issue a tracking stock for its highly successful Latin American operations by late April or early May, a move that will allow investors to more accurately value the company’s international assets. BellSouth’s Latin …

After resisting a hostile takeover attempt by Vodafone AirTouch plc for more than two months, Germany’s Mannesmann AG last week agreed to a revised friendly offer just days shy of the Feb. 7 deadline for Mannesmann shareholders to vote on …

NEW YORK-Extraterrestrial wireless received good news when Globalstar Telecommunications Ltd. sold a $245 million secondary stock offering Jan. 26. In preparation for Globalstar Telecommunications’ secondary offering last week, Bernard L. Schwartz, chairman and chief executive officer, took an unusual step …

BOSTON-American Tower Corp. is having a busy start to the new millennium, announcing a new merger and adding more towers to its portfolio. The merger, with Galaxy Engineering Services, will provide American Tower with a global turnkey provider of engineering …

CANNES, France-Several well-known firms in the Internet and wireless industries have come together to form the Mobile Wireless Internet Forum with the intent to accelerate the deployment of open, Internet-based standards for mobile wireless devices. The group said it hopes …

NEW YORK-Bell Atlantic Corp., GTE Corp. and Alltel Corp. signed an agreement last week to exchange wireless interests in 13 states, eliminating the overlapping cellular properties that would result from the combination of Bell Atlantic and Vodafone AirTouch plc, announced …

LONDON-Vodafone AirTouch plc announced it will not trade its single-A credit ratings for Mannesmann AG control by offering downgrade protection on some outstanding debt. The company said it added covenants and events of default attached to the upcoming global bond …

SYDNEY, Australia-After four rounds and two days of bidding for Australia’s 1800 MHz wireless phone licenses, the total of standing high bids was $64.4 million. The licenses will provide extra network capacity in the country’s five largest cities. According to …

LONDON-Vodafone AirTouch plc is prepared to increase its bid for Mannesmann AG if the German company agrees to discuss a deal, according to international reports. Chris Gent, the U.K. group’s chief executive, was quoted as saying Vodafone AirTouch also is …

NEW YORK-Communications companies dominated merger and acquisition activity in 1999, accounting for $304.8 billion in transactions and 21.5 percent of the dollar amount of deals whose dollar values were disclosed. The communications sector also moved up a notch to first …

New sales records of all kinds were set during last year’s fourth quarter, reinforcing the importance of the last three months of the year for the wireless industry. “In the cellular market, the battle for market share is won and …

LONDON-The Radicchio initiative announced 16 new companies have joined the group, which hopes to set a Public Key Infrastructure standard for secure e-commerce transactions over wireless networks. The new members include security notables like Baltimore Technologies Inc., Entrust Technologies and …

The Operators Harmonization Group maintains its informal status as members continue to discuss the possibility of becoming an official group. OHG, which began work more than a year ago as a loosely tied group of four operators trying to end …

In what has been called primarily a preening gesture for Mannesmann AG shareholders, Vodafone AirTouch plc announced plans last week to launch an Internet portal designed for wireless Internet and mobile data services, delivering data, audio, graphics and video to …

Thirteen groups have applied to bid in the United Kingdom’s auction of third-generation mobile-phone licenses. The U.K. government by March plans to auction five licenses, with one license exclusively reserved for a player currently not represented in the U.K. market. …

NEW YORK-i3 Mobile Inc., which distributes customized information to wireless devices, and NeoPoint Inc., which does double duty as a handset maker and Internet portal, both plan their debuts as public companies. i3 Mobile, formerly known as Intelligent Information Inc., …

MADRID, Spain-Six groups submitted bids to the Spanish government for four Universal Mobile Telecommunications System licenses in Spain to be awarded in March. Telefonica Moviles, the country’s largest cellular provider, and Retevision, the third-largest mobile operator in Spain, are said …