Title: This is the JanuaryJuly 1999 edition of the Wireless Industry Newsletter covering mostly the America
1This is the January-July 1999 edition of the
Wireless Industry Newsletter covering mostly the
Americas continent and news related to key
Americas organizations such as the UWC (Universal
Wireless Communications), GSM MOU and CDG (CDMA
Development Group).
Contents 1. US PCS Update 2. US Cellular
Update 3. Survey 4. Country Development 5.
Standard Development 6. Other Development
2- 1. US PCS Update
- 1.1 Powertel
- Selling Cellular DivisionSell cellular division
for 89 million to Public Service Cellular Inc. - Group Billing PlanThis new plan requires
businesses and organizations to pay a 10 per
user monthly charge with wireless airtime billed
at 10 cents/min including long distance, for
calls made from the companys 12 state Powertel
network. - The plan
- Includes a group airtime minimum of 40 per line
(400 minutes). If the 40 per line group
minimum is not met, a billing adjustment will be
made. - Require the account to include at least five
lines (collective 2,000 minutes for five people
to meet the above 40 minimum) - Will be set up as a single account and receive
one bill1Q99 resultsIn 1Q99 Powertel added
about 43,000 customers of which 27,000 were
prepaid. Powertel expect 50 of its net additions
to consist of prepaid customers going forward. - ARPU for prepaid customers was 52.99,
significantly higher than ARPU of 40.00 for
post-paid customers. The higher prepaid ARPU is
attributed to competitive pricing and extended
coverage for prepaid customers. Prepaid customers
are replenishing their prepaid cards at a high
rate. - In 1Q99 Powertel reinstating activation feed and
increasing handset prices from 49 to 99. The
activation fee has helped increase ARPU and
reduce churn on postpaid from 4.1 to 3.4 in the
first quarter of 1999. - Internet SalesCustomers can now buy handsets
and wireless services on the companys newly
redesigned Web site www.Powertel.com. Subscribers
can buy up to two handsets by transaction and
select rate plans and enhanced services. Powertel
is providing the customers with a dedicated
e-mail address and a toll free number for
additional support. - The customers will receive the handsets with UPS
within three business days of placing the order.
Powertel sell cellular division
New Group plan from Powertel
Powertel 1Q99 results
Buying via Internet
31. US PCS Update 1.2 Western Wireless Corp
(Cellular One).Rural ServiceThe town of
Regent, North Dakota, becomes the first rural
community in the country where consumers have the
opportunity to receive ALL their telephone
services wirelessly. New LaunchLaunched new
Wireless Service (GSM) in Spokane and Seattle, to
complement Northwestern Markets that include
Portland, Oregon and Boise, Idaho. Spin off
VoiceStream WirelessThe company completed the
spin-off of its 80.1 ownership in VoiceStream
Wireless Corp. The two companies in Bellevue,
Washington, will operate under separate
management, with VoiceStream focusing on the 1900
MHz GSM business and Western focusing on rural
cellular operations (analog only), which operate
under the Cellular One brand name. Western
Wireless also include the International and the
companys paging business. ARPU is 45/month and
the average subscriber uses 350-400
min/month 1.3 VoiceStream Wireless Corp.Will
merge with Omnipoint Corp. in a deal valued at
1.7 billion. The combined company has licenses
in 17 of the top 25 major wireless markets (serve
together 900,000 subs.) and will provide service
to more than 1 million customers. The
transaction is expected to close in 4Q99. In
addition, Hutchison Telecommunications Ltd. Of
Hong Kong, a major shareholder in VoiceStream,
has agreed to invest 957 million in the newly
company. VoiceStream has also agreed to invest
150 million in Omnipoint prior to the close of
the merger, including approx. 100 million to be
provided immediately. Including assumed debt, the
entire transaction can be valued at 4.5
billion. In a further component of the deal, Cook
Inlet Region Inc., a native Alaskan corporation,
is to invest in a joint venture to acquire
certain licenses held by Omnipoint. Cook Inlet
Region will own 50.1 of the venture, and
VoiceStream will own the remainder. John W.
Stanton will remain chairman and CEO of
VoiceStream following the merger. Dough Smith,
currently chairman of Omnipoint, will become vice
chairman of the combined company and will focus
on developing the new companys wireless data
strategy. What will happen to George Schmitt, CEO
of Omnipoints PCS operation. ? The Hutchison
investment will raise its ownership to 30 of the
combined company. Prior to the merger, Hutchison
owned 24 of VoiceStream.
Rural community receive all their telephone
service wirelessly
- New GSM market launched by VoiceStream
- Western Wireless to spin off VoiceStream
VoiceStream merger with Omnipoint
4- 1. US PCS Update
- 1.4 Sprint PCSChicagoLaunched service in
Chicago, in a market with 27 penetration rate.
Including the Chicago market, Sprint PCS now
operates in 260 metropolitan markets
cost-to-coast. - AtlantaLaunched service in Atlanta and the
surrounding communities. - Sprint PCS AffiliatesHas signed on 16 affiliate
companies that will use Sprint PCS brand name and
adhering to company and network performance
standard. The affiliate companies will lease the
license from Sprint PCS for 20 years. Sprint will
not take an equity interest in the affiliate
companies - SMSAnnounced SMS service to its wireless
customers. All PCS customers who have voice mail
have the additional option of receiving numeric
pages directly on their phone at no extra charge. - Text messages up to 100 characters are
- 2/month for up to 30 messages/month
- 10/month for up to 500 messages/month.Hawaii
MarketSprint PCS completed its acquisition of
PrimeCo Hawaii licenses and property (launched
cdmaOne service in 1996), giving Sprint PCS
coverage of all 50 of the MTAs in the U.S. The
service is limited to the Honolulu area with
roaming capabilities on other Islands. Sprint PCS
already had a license for Honolulu, but decided
not built out its network, but instead buy The
PrimeCo properties and licenses. - Other operators in Hawaii includes- GTW
Wireless Inc.- Western Wireless Corps,
VoiceStream Wireless- Honolulu Cellular
Telephone Co.- Hawaiian Wireless Co- ATT
Wireless Services Inc.- Nextel Communications
Inc.- United States Cellular Wireless
Communications Inc. (the big island of Hawaii
only)Wireless Penetration rate on Hawaii is
approx. 30
Sprint PCS new launches in Chicago and Atlanta
Sprint PCS affiliate program
Sprint PCS announced SMS
Sprint PCS acquiring PrimeCo Hawaii licenses
5- 1. US PCS Update
- 1.4 Sprint PCS (cont.)
- Going after the Business UsersToday 85 of
Sprint PCS customers are consumers. Sprint PCS
believes it has a strong enough wireless
footprint to begin aggressively targeting
business users. A push to add high-end business
users will strengthen growth and average revenue
per user numbers. Sprint PCS plans to more
aggressively compete with ATT DOR and
mobile-phone and two-way radio offerings from
Nextel. - Sprint PCS unveiled the Sprint PCS Clear Wireless
Workplace, a suite of wireless solutions
featuring PCS-to-PCS calling minutes, off-network
calling minutes and text messaging services. - The Team option includes 600 local PCS-PCS
calling minutes and 500 text messages/month - The Travel option includes a bundle of
off-network calling minutes and 500 text
messagesThe Team and Travel option options are
open to Sprint PCS business customers and may be
added to any Sprint PCS Free Clear plan for
business contracted at 50 and up for another
20/month. Customers can opt for one-to three
year contract and receive discounts on their
handsets accordingly. - Sprint PCS My Yahoo?Announced an agreement to
offer customers Yahoo Incs Web content and
services. Under the agreement the two companies
will jointly provide a range of co-branded Sprint
PCS My Yahoo? Services to both companies users.
The service is expected to be available in 4Q99. - Yahoo users will have wireless access to
personalized content delivered by two-way
interactive services and notifications to their
Sprint PCS phones. - The new service includes the following features
- Yahoo? Mail users will be able to view,
originate, reply and delete e-mail messages - Yahoo? Address Book will offer full search and
retrieval functionality - Yahoo? Calendar preferences will be accessible
to add, edit or delete scheduled appointments. - Yahoo? News will provide search capability
through categories such as business,
technology, politics, sports and science.
New subscriber segment for Sprint PCS
Sprint PCS offering Yahoo Web content and services
6- 1. US PCS Update
- 1.4 Sprint PCS (cont.)
- Sprint Spectrum (former APC)Sprint PCS announced
it will convert its Sprint Spectrum GSM customers
(approx. 100K) in Washington, D.C., and Baltimore
to its nationwide Sprint PCS network. Beginning
in July, Sprint Spectrum customers will receive
information on how to switch to Sprint PCS
service. Customers will have to exchange their
current phones and accessories for similar
CDMA-compatible equipment free of charge. Some
customers may have to switch phone numbers.
Sprint PCS plans to have all customers on the
Sprint PCS network by Nov. 1, 1999. - A class-action suit helped helped prompt the
above upgrade from GSM to CDMA. The suit filed in
July 1997, asserted that Sprint falsely
advertised the Spectrum features when it
initially marketed its Spectrum network in
November 1995. Sprint misled customers to believe
that they would be able to use the phones
nationwide as well as globally. - 1.5 Aerial
- Sonera threatens lawsuit over Aerial spin-off.
- 1.6 Amica Wireless Phone ServiceLaunched
service in central Illinois with CDMA access
service and holds 13 BTAs in Illinois and Iowa.
The company only have ONE rate plan - 25/month service charge including 100 minutes
- The next 200 minutes cost 20 cents/each
- The next 100 minutes are free
- The 300 minutes above that level are 15
cents/min followed by 200 free minutes - All additional minutes cost 10 cents/min
- 1.7 Tritel Communications, Inc.Signed a 300
million contract with Ericsson for TDMA
infrastructure. The system will be deployed
throughout Mississippi, Alabama, as well as parts
of Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana and Georgia.
Sprint PCS shutting down their GSM system in
Washington D.C Baltimore, leaving the area
without GSM coverage
Sonera upset with Aerial spin-off
Amica launched new CDMA service
Tritel contract with Ericsson
71. US PCS Update 1.8 Omnipoint A
GPRSSigned an agreement with Ericsson for GPRS
trial and launch in the U.S. The trial will take
place during 1999 with commercial launch expected
by mid 2000. The GPRS technology will allow
Omnipoint to offer wireless access to Internet
and other IP-based services at speeds up to 115
kbps. GPRS is also an important step toward
3G. Several users will share GPRS radio
resources, thus using channels and spectrum more
efficiently. Packet data also has the benefit of
allowing users to remain connected to the data
network while paying only for the data volume
received and/or sent. B The OmniRates
International Calling OptionAccess to One
country 2.99/month add-on plan, Omnipoint GSM
customers will get reduced tariffs for
International calling. Tariff is 29 cents/min for
Group 1 countries (Denmark, France, U.K., Japan,
etc.) and 50 cents/min for Group 2 countries
(Brazil, Mexico, Taiwan, etc.). Call to a list
of 40 countries 10.00/month and pay either 29
cents or 59 cents/min, depending on the group the
country belongs to. Without the above calling
option, the calls to Group 1 is 99 cents/min and
calls to Group 2 is 2.99/min The above charge
compares to ATT Wireless, flat rate of 2.00/min
for calls to Europe and Asia. Omnipoint is the
first GSM carrier to eliminate roaming and long
distance charges on GSM networks in the United
States and Canada.
Omnipoint to trial GPRS
Omnipoint new International calling plan
8- 1. US PCS Update
- 1.8 Omnipoint (cont.)
- C Prepaid OfferingOn May 1, Omnipoint
introduced new prepaid plans in its New England
and Mid-Atlantic markets, being position as U.S.
lowest prepaid service, just beating AirTouch
April 21 announcement. Prepaid in their South
Florida market is even lower priced than the
North East market. - Prepaid Pricing
- 99 (49 for handset and 50 deposit)Prepaid
Airtime New England and mid-Atlantic markets - 100 for 300 min (33 cents/min)
- 50 for 125 min (40 cents/min)
- 25 for 50 min (50 cents/min)Prepaid
Airtime in South-Florida markets - 200 for 900 min (22 cents/min)
- 50 for 150 min (33 cents/min)Prepaid Long
Distance - Free for calls to any location in the U.S.,
Canada or Virgin IslandsPrepaid Roaming - Not availablePrepaid Service included
- Voice mail, automated balance warnings, call
waiting, and news headlines, among other
servicesPrepaid of Total - 62 of total subscribers as of April 1, 1999 are
prepaidD NPI WirelessOmnipoint is teaming up
with NPI Wireless in an operating partnership.
They plan to jointly design, deploy and market
GSM in the cities of Mt. Pleasant, Muskegon and
Gaylord.
Omnipoint prepaid offering
Omnipoint teaming up with NPI Wireless
91. US PCS Update 1.9 PacBell WirelessWill
start testing Ericsson GSM on the Net wireless
IP-based multimedia services on its GSM network
in the second quarter of 1999. The University of
California at Berkley will investigate open
interface applications for the system. GSM on the
Net uses small Radio Base Stations to add local
are GSM coverage to office LANs, giving users
what is, in effect, their own mini GSM network
with one-number access. Then fully developed and
deployed, it will ensure local and global
mobility, multimedia capabilities, and advanced
IP-based applications for businesses and other
group users.
PacBell to test Ericsson GSM on the Net
1.10 TeleCorp Acquiring ATT Puerto Rico PCS
license. Will be affiliated with ATT and offer
their SunCom service which combine a digital
phone, voice mail, e-mail and pager in one
device. TeleCorp just hired Raul Burgos as VP and
GM for Puerto Rico operations. Burgos has served
with Motorola Inc., ATT Wireless and most
recently with Nextel, where he was the GM and VP
of operations for Nextel International in Sao
Paulo, Brazil.
TeleCorp acquiring ATT Puerto Rico PCS license
10- 1. US PCS Update
- 1.11 PrimeCoHow to reduce churnWireless
carriers can improve retention rate by making
customers feel appreciated and by providing
services that are simple to use and valuable to
own. - Following data is derived from a controlled
experiment done by PrimeCo in the Illinois
region - They took a cross section of customers and
separated the group in thirds. - Two-thirds received letters stating the
customers value to the company and inviting
them to attend a Chicago Clubs baseball game - One-third did not receive the letterPrimeCo
monitored churn among the groups for six months - Churn rates dropped 50 among subscribers
receiving the letter but declining the
invitation - Not one subscriber who took advantage of the
free ball game dropped service during the six
months - Churn rates remained at industry levels among
those who did not receive the letter 1.12
FCC PCS C-Block Re-auctionThe total bid was
412.8M, or about 3.60/pops. With the exception
of New Orleans (went to Viper Wireless, ATT
affiliate and TDMA), all of the major GSM market
holes in the nationwide GSM system are likely to
have a GSM service provider, within the next
coupled of years (approx. 18 months to built-out
a market). GSM committed companies will have
licenses covering 99 of the U.S. population.
Some of the big winners are - Cook Inlet/VoiceStream 28 licenses
192M GSM - Key Markets Chicago, Dallas - OPCS Three (Omnipoint) 34 licenses
45M GSM - Key Markets St. Louis, Detroit - Viper Wireless Inc. (ATT) 6 licenses
32M TDMA - Key Markets New Orleans, San Juan,
PR - ABC Wireless (ATT) 64 licenses 30M TDMA -
Key Markets Las Vegas - Leap Wireless 36 licenses 19M CDMA
PrimeCo reducing churn
The result of the PCS C-block re-auction
11- 1. US PCS Update
- 1.13 Cricket CommunicationsU.S. Subsidiary of
Leap Wireless International, Inc. - Announced a new concept comfortable wireless
in the Chattanooga, Tenn. Market - Customers
pay a low flat rate of 29.95/month for
unlimited local calling - The price also
includes voice mailbox and Caller ID - No
contract - No credit check - cdmaOne phone
retail for 99.95 - Customers can make long
distance calls by purchasing prepaid calling
cards at Cricket stores - No roaming onto
other networks outside the Chattanooga area - Leap Wireless is launching Cricket together with
ChaseTel and under ChaseTel control. Pending
approval from FCC, Cricket will acquire
ChaseTel licenses and its markets (Chattanooga,
Nashville, Knoxville and Memphis) - Plans to roll out comfortable wireless to
other markets in Tennessee and beyond - Conventional PCS service is no longer being sold
under the ChaseTel brand name
Fixed Line replacement from Cricket Communications
121. US PCS Update 1.14 US West WirelessNew
WAP based serviceUS West Wireless expect to
introduce new commercial text-based internet
access service using WAP during the fourth
quarter of 1999. US West already have an ISP,
delivering Internet service through a number of
access points. What they will be doing is
allowing those same Internet services to be
accessed through the CDMA PCS phone, meaning that
landline and wireless access will have the exact
same set of services. With the built-in WAP
browser, users will be able to access text-based
information from various Web sites (a growing
number of Internet sites are becoming WAP
accessible). Users will also have access to
features such as an e-mail service that can
receive, display and store e-mail as well as fax
mailbox that will be able to receive and store
faxes, allowing wireless customers to forward the
data to any fax machine for printing. US West
plans to offer Qualcomm Inc.'s Thin Phone this
month for 140, which already have
Internet-enabled technology built in. Pricing has
not been set yet, but will be higher than
landline Internet access. US West is interested
in creating mobile IP services compatible with
corporate networks.
WAP based services from US West
132. US Cellular Update 2.1 AlltelAnnounced
merger with Aliant Communications Inc. in a deal
valued at 1.5 billion. Aliant covers the
entire state of Nebraska with its cellular
operations and has wireline operations in Lincoln
and 22 counties in the southeast part of
Nebraska. Merger DataAliant- Wireless
subscribers 303,000 (YE98) Combined company-
Wireless POPS 52 million- Wireless subscribers
4,312,000 (YE98) Liberty CellulalarBuying
Liberty Cellular, a privately held company
operating under the name Kansas Cellular. The
deal is valued at 600 million.Libertys wireless
properties are adjacent to properties Alltel owns
in Missouri as well as markets Alltel is in
process of acquiring from Aliant Communications
in Nebraska. The Liberty acquisition will add
about 150,000 subscribers in 15 rural service
areas in Kansas. Liberty is using TDMA and Alltel
CDMA. 2.2 Centennial cellularClosed its 1.9
billion merger with CCW Acquisition Corp. CCW now
has a 92.9 stake in Centennial Cellular for a
580 million investment. 2.3 The Marketing
GameMore and more operators use animals in their
advertising to position the operator as friendly
and a comfortable service provider. Examples are
Microcell Fido the dog, BellSouth Mobility DCS
Ralph the dog and Omnipoint Parrot. Some even
use their own staff as the carriers focus on
real people, humor and a dash of attitude
(Aerial).
Alltel merge with Aliant Communications
Alltel buying Liberty Cellular
Centennial bought by CCW Acquisition Corp.
Using animals in advertising
Fido
142. US Cellular Update 2.4 AmeritechSelling
PropertiesSeeking offers for its cellular phone
business in Chicago with a price tag of 2.5
billion. With the merger with SBC, either
Ameritech cellular operation or SBC Cellular One,
will have to be sold, because the FCC regulation
ban one company from holding two licenses in the
same market. Flat-rate CallingAnnounced
flat-rate calling plan, including roaming and
long distance charges for calls made from an
Ameritech home market anywhere in the Midwest.
The flat rate also include long distance calls to
Canada in addition to anywhere in United States.
The price for the flat rate is 75 for 10 hours
(600 minute), which is competitive with ATT
Wireless, except that ATT Wireless Digital One
Rate is NATIONWIDE. For calls made outside
Ameritechs home market, the subscriber will pay
a flat rate roaming fee of 39 cents/min and will
also have to pay extra for long distance. Phone
based e-mail ServicesStarted offering
phone-based e-mail services. Users of the
services call a toll-free number or local
number, enter an identification number and then
can have their e-mail read to them through a
text-to-speech program. The service is called
e-Listen and is priced at 9.95/month for up to
60 minutes of e-mail with additional minutes at
15 cents/min. Bell CanadaAmeritech plan to
invest 3.4 billion for a 20 stake in Bell
Canada.
Ameritech seek a buyer for its Chicago market
New flat rate calling plan from Ameritech
Phone based e-mail service
Ameritech to invest in Bell Canada
152. US Cellular Update 2.5 GTEScale back
expansion plansWill scale back its nationwide
expansion plans and cut 600 million annually
from its budget starting early 1999. The company
said increased competition in its wireless
business, along with rising cost of gaining new
customers in new market, had stymied its
expansion plans. New Flat-rate national calling
planAnnounced new flat-rate national calling
plan targeting the Bay Areas. The GTEs National
AmericaChoice plan is divided into three tiers
ranging from 95/month for 650 minutes to
155/month for 1500 minutes with no roaming and
long-distance charges. Buying Ameritech
PropertiesAnnounced plans to purchase 20
Ameritech Corp. wireless properties in the
Midwest, which SBC and Ameritech had to divest
because the two companies overlapped in Illinois,
Indiana and Missouri, exceeding the FCC spectrum
cap rules. GTE will pay 3.27 billion cash for
the properties, which covers 1.7 million
subscribers and more than 12.9 million total
pops. The transaction represent about half of
Ameritechs wireless subscribers. Market YE98
Subs. Chicago Cellular 1,082KCentral Illinois
Cellular 156KMissouri Cellular
427K------------------------------- ---------Tot
al 1,665K The wireless properties initially will
be managed as a stand-alone subsidiary owned 93
by GTE and 7 by Davenport Cellular
Communications L.L.C., which is a wholly owned
company of Georgetown Partners.
GTE scale back its expansion plans and new
Flat-rate national calling plan
GTE to buy 20 Ameritech wireless properties
162. US Cellular Update 2.6 SBCAnnounced it
will buy Comcasts cellular operation for 1.67
billion. SBSC who has 6.5 million customers will
pay 400 million in cash and assume 1.27
billion in debt for Comcast Cellular, which has
800,000 customers. The acquisition is expected to
close 3Q99. CCPRWill team up with Telmex to buy
Cellular Communications Inc (CCPR) of Puerto Rico
for 464 million in cash and the assumption of
350 million in long-term debt. CCPR has more
than 330,000 subscribers and is very successful
with prepaid service. Telmex will own 25 of
CCPR. SBC will operate CCPR and CCPR will
continue using the Cellular One brand
name. TelmexThere are some speculation that SBC
will take full control of Telmex over the next 18
months. (France Telecom owns about 7, Carso
Global Telecom SA owns about 21 and SBC about
9.6). Telmex agreed to pay 57.5 million for a
controlling interest in Miami prepaid wireless
provider Topp Telecom.
SBC to buy Comcast Cellular
Acquiring CCPR
Telmex future
17- 2. US Cellular Update
- 2.6 Southwestern Bell Wireless Inc. (SBW)
- Announced new rate plan package Talk Across
Texas, which includes packages of local airtime,
statewide roaming and intrastate long-distance
service. - Monthly Charge 25 35 50 75 100 150
- Included Home Airtime 60 min 180 min 400 min 650
min 1,100 min 1,700 min - Additional Home minutes 45 cents 37 cents 32
cents 25 cents 20 cents 20 cents - Weekend Local Airtime- 1 Year Contract --------F
ree Unlimited Local Weekend for 6
months-------------------- 2 Year
Contract --------Free Unlimited Local Weekend
for 12 months ------------------- Unlimited
Local Weekend ---------------------------------
9.95/month --------------------------------- - Across Texas Roaming min. 30 min 60 min 90
min 120 min 150 min 180 min - Intrastate L.D. minute incl. 60 min 60 min 60
min 60 min 60 min 60 min - Additional Roaming/L.D./min 65 cents 665 cents 65
cents 65 cents 65 cents 65 cents - With unlimited weekends, all packaged minutes
become weekday minutes - Family ties option available for 24.95/month
and allows the subs. to share the the incl.
in-plan min. - Standard Features included in Talk across
Texas- Caller ID, Voice Mail, Three-way
Calling and Call Waiting - Get Talk across the Nation for just
10.00/month and get Nationwide roaming L.D.
calling - The rate plan stem from customer demand and
usage pattern. - Of Dallas/Forth Worth SBW customers who roam,
60 do so within Texas border. - 75 of SBW customers do not roam.
- One- or two year contract must be signed
182. US Cellular Update 2.7 ATT Wireless
AffiliatesATT Wireless Service Inc.
affiliates, Triton PCS Inc., TeleCorp PCS Inc.
and their new colleague, The Tritel
Communications Inc. will use a single, new brand
name and marketing themselves as SunCom, a
member of the ATT Wireless Network, that is
tightly linked with ATT . They plan to begin
service in 1Q99 in selected cities of adjoining
footprints that eventually will blanket much of
Southeast. All three affiliates are independent
companies but will boast a combined footprint
offering seamless service in 16 states covering
more than 25 million POPs in much of Southeast
plus parts of Midwest and Northeast. CDPDTo
launch CDPD in Los Angeles in 4Q99. Honolulu
CellularATT Corp. plans to purchase Honolulu
Cellular Telephone Co. from BellSouth Corp.. The
transaction is expected to close in the second
half of 1999 and will expand the ATT Wireless
footprint by 900,000 pops, helping keep down cost
on its Digital One Rate plan. Dobson
Communications CorpATT Corp. will buy about
3.2 of the company for 20M in stock. L.A.
CellularNow part of ATT Wireless and will help
increase the pops covered by ATT Wireless
Digital One Rate Digital One Rate (DOR)ATT
Wireless added 378,000 subscribers in 1Q99. ARPU
increased 15 in 1Q99, reaching 60.60/month
compared to less than 40/month U.S. average.
Revenue growth of 446 million far exceeded the
growth in off-net roaming cost, mainly from DOR
subscribers. To reduce the off-network expense,
ATT Wireless will increase its footprint more
aggressively through building out new 1900 MHz
markets, acquisitions and affiliate carriers. The
company also plans to negotiate better reciprocal
roaming agreements leveraging its intelligent
roaming capability, the ability to move minutes
from carrier to carrier in a given market. ATT
Wireless supports more than 1 million DOR
customers, of which 80 are new users. More than
60 of the carriers customers are digital
subscribers and ATT Wireless expect more than
80 of its customers to use digital service by
the end of 1999.
New ATT Wireless affiliates
- ATT Wireless
- CDPD launched in L.A
- Purchased Honolulu Cellular Telephone
- Buying 3.2 of Dobson Comm.
- L.A. Cellular now part of Digital One Rate.
Update on ATT Wireless DOR
192. US Cellular Update 2.7 ATT Wireless
(cont.) Group CallingAnnounced Group Calling, a
business offer with- Unlimited calling among a
wireless group of 5 to 50 subscribers -
Unlimited airtime to as many as five landline
numbers at three fixed rates within a
designated group calling area.- Limited free
minutes for calls made within the home calling
area. The service is designed for local, mobile
businesses such as sales and service, delivery
and distribution, dispatch and contractors that
operate within a specific area. Monthly IncludedC
harge Local Min. Add. min 49.99 0 30
cents/min 69.99 300 25 cents/min 89.99 600 20
cents/minFeatures IncludedVoice mail, digital
messaging and caller ID.Long Distance 10
cents/minRoaming 60 cents/min
New Group Calling from ATT Wireless
20- 2. US Cellular Update
- 2.8 AirTouchA Prepaid Offering April 21,
1999AirTouch introduced new prepaid packages
with airtime as low as 35cents/min available to
consumers in a variety of distribution outlets in
all of the carriers markets in 17 states.
Customers can purchase prepaid phones at
7-Eleven, Circle K, Radio Shack and Best Buy
stores, as well as in AirTouch Cellular stores
and through regular AirTouch distribution
channels. - The prepaid rates are designed not to go so low
that it will steal people from its postpaid
plans. Its almost comparable but not quite. - Prepaid Pricing
- 80 which includes Audivox analog phone and 30
min prepaid card - 30 if you already have a phone and comes with
60 min prepaid cardPrepaid Airtime - 100 for 285 min (35 cents/min)
- 50 for 125 min (40 cents/min)
- 30 for 60 min (50 cents/min)Prepaid Long
Distance - 20 cents/minPrepaid Roaming
- 1.95/min (incoming calls cant be received
while roaming)B New simplified digital pricing
planThe new plan will allow its customers to
travel throughout Washington, Oregon, northern
Idaho, Colorado and Wyoming and call anyplace in
the 50 states for one monthly fee. - The AirTouch Statewide Toll and Roaming calling
plans provide 400 anytime minutes for 50/month
or 650 anytime minutes for 80/month. A one
year-service agreement and AirTouch One-Bill long
distance service are required. -
AirTouch prepaid
AirTouch new simplified post-paid tariff
21- 2. US Cellular Update
- 2.8 AirTouch
- National Home Rate PlusFor new and existing
Southern California customers using their phones
within the region or throughout the country. -
National Home Rate Plus is available for Digital
600, 1200 and 1500 Plans only- Subscribers can
use their bundled minutes while roaming- The
first minute of incoming calls will be free of
airtime charges while roaming anywhere in the
U.S.- National Home Rate Plus is incl. at no
extra charge with Digital 600, 1200 and Digital
1500 plans.- Toll and long distance charges may
apply - Digital 600 minutes for 74.99/month
Post-package per-minute rate 0.25/min - Digital 1200 minutes for 124.99/month
Post-package per-minute rate 0.20/min - Digital 1500 minutes for 149.99/month
Post-package per-minute rate 0.20/min - The subscribers also receives
- Caller ID, Call Waiting, Call Forwarding and
Conference Calling
2.9 Dobson Cellular SystemsIs using CDPD and
Cellemetry to offer wireless data service to its
markets, which are primarily rural areas.. 2.10
Vanguard CellularThe shareholders approved the
merger of Vanguard into a wholly owned subsidiary
of ATT Corp. 2.11 Frontier Cellular Signed a
70 million contract with Lucent Technologies for
CDMA infrastructure. 2.12 Calling Party Pays
(CPP)FCC declared that if and when CCP service
is authorized, it will be a nationwide optional
service, a ruling the wireless operators are
delighted with.
Dobson to launch CDPD
Vanguard shareholders approve merger with ATT
Corp.
Frontier Cellular CDMA contract
U.S. and CCP
222. US Cellular Update 2.13 BellSouth Cellular
Corp. Software designed handsetsAnnounced it
will invest in designing software-defined radio
technology. The end product will be a handset
that can operate on any air interface regardless
of technology. BellSouth is partnering with
QuickSilver Technology Inc., a semiconductors
company in Campbell, California. The product will
be a Adaptive Computing machine technology that
will allow a wireless phone to automatically
change its configuration to work on different
networks. Trial will start in late 2000 or early
2001. All-In-One (sm) Rate PlansThis is
BellSouth response to ATT Wireless Digital One
Rate. Plan Price Minutes/month Extra minutes
89.95 600 min/month 25 cents/min 119.95 1000
min/month 25 cents/min The subscribers can call
from virtually anywhere in America and pay the
same low rate. The Tariff include Call Waiting,
Caller ID and Voice Mail. The above rate plans
includes Roaming and Long Distance as long the
subscriber subscribe to BellSouth Long Distance
Service and live in the BellSouth Mobility local
calling area. Require 12 month contract.
Software designed handsets
BellSouth response to ATT Wireless DOR
23- 2. US Cellular Update
- 2.14 Bell Atlantic MobileInternetOffering a
new flat-rate plan for wireless internet access
based on its AirBridge Internet access service.
For 25/month , customers receive unlimited
e-mail access and for 40/month full internet
access. - Share-A-MinuteIntroduced Share-A-Minute, a new
digital service plan that allows wireless phone
users to activate up to three separate lines and
share a large bank of minutes every month.
Customers may select a two- or three-line plan.
Both plans include 600 local airtime minutes of
shared talk time each month, free voice mail and
caller ID, and the first incoming minute free.
The plans are priced at 75 and 90 respectively. - AirBridge CDPD ServiceOffering CDPD service to
corporate customers using Inet Spider modem, a
PCMCIA card with integrated RF and antenna. The
modem sells for 499 (typically sells for 639
but is subsidized by BAM) and is the lowest
priced CDPD modem offered by BAM. - CDPD Pricing
- 34.95/month for unlimited wireless e-mail,
Internet connection and access to corporate
Intranet with a two year contract - 54.95/month for the above service but with One
Year contract - 24.95/month for simple e-mail access and one
year contractCustomers using AirBridge CDPD
service outside BAMs home footprint pay an
additional 8 cents/Kilobyte sent or
received.BAM annual revenue generated from
wireless data has increased 200 each year since
1997 and CDPD traffic during the same period have
increased as much as five times on the BAN
network. - IDC/Link states that more than 25,000 customers
in U.S. subscribed to data-only CDPD service in
1998 and projects the number to grow to 499,000
by 2003. Customers combining voice and CDPD
services numbered more than 30,000 in 1998 and
IDC/Link expect that number to grow to 7.8
million by 2003. - In 1998, 9 million subscribers received SMS.
- Bell Atlantic
- New flat rate Internet access service
- Subscribers to share minutes
New CDPD service from BAM
24- 2. US Cellular Update
- 2.15 Shared Technologies Cellular Inc.
(STC)Began selling its MCI WorldCom Inc. branded
prepaid cellular service on the Home Shopping
Network (HSN). The 129.99 HSN package includes a
Philips ISIS cellular phone (Analog) and a
60-day, 30 phone card with 10 in bonus minutes,
or about 50 minutes of airtime at 79 cents/min. - STC provides the initial activation, line
replenishment and a carrier network it claims has
96 coverage. Viewers place initial orders and
purchase ongoing airtime via HSNs toll-free
number. - Its initial foray onto HSN last year moved about
8,500 packages of its Cell-Ease prepaid service
in three weeks, but returns were high. Customers
did not understand they had to buy ongoing usage.
- This year STC spent two weeks training HSNs
order-takers and on-camera hosts. During each
18-minute spot, an HSN host and an MCI WorldCom
representative describe prepaid cellular
applications - For cost control
- For security
- For students returning to college
- As a second phoneThe HSN hosts will
demonstrate the handset, noting important issues
such as no dial tone. They also cover how and
when to replenish the phone card. - STC believes that TV will represent probably 25
of their business volume in 1999. - HSN reaches 70.3 million households and has 5
million active customers, mostly aged 28 to 54
with an average household income over 40,000
75 are females. This viewership is not
well-educated and selling to this group via HSN
is less intimidating. Visiting Radio Shack for
wireless could be too intimidating for these
people.
Selling prepaid service via Home Shopping Network
253. Survey 3.1 CTIA Semi-Annual Data Survey -
Dec. 1998
US of Wireless Subscribers - Annualized Results
of Subscribers (M)
69.2M
US Wireless Average Monthly Bill History
ATT WirelessDigital 90, 3Q98
39.43
Source CTIA Semi-Annual Data Survey
264. Country Developments 4.1 Europe 4.1.1
UK A Vodafone Prepaid customers Pay as You
Talk 1998Prepaid YE97 4Q98 12/98 YE98 Gro
wth Subscribers 175K 755K 500K 1,175K 1,000K Overs
eas subscribers- 4Q98 new customers 862K-
YE98 4,259K (100 growth) B Number
Portability On January 1, 1999 UK will implement
number portability, which let customers keep
their phone numbers when they switch to another
mobile network. It is not expected to see a
massive migration between networks, because many
customers are still locked into contracts with
operators. If a customer switch, the operator can
levy a one-time switching fee of about 25 pounds
(42). The customers are still going to look at
price, service, coverage in choosing an operator.
For Orange and One2One who only controls 30 of
the UK market, number portability could help lure
customers by removing a drawback to leaving the
more established networks. It can be expected to
see incentives from the smaller operators to
customers who switch network. One2One plans to
offer 100 pound to induce people to switch
network. Number portability will be introduced in
1999 by Sweden and Italy, with Switzerland to
follow in 2000. Most other European countries
will wait until after 2001.
Vodafone prepaid
UK Number portability
274. Country Developments 4.1 Europe 4.1.1 UK
(cont.) C BTRumored to by Securicors 40
stake in Cellnet Ltd. The 40 could fetch 2
billion pounds ( 3.3 billion). Before this can
happen the Government will have to lifts its ban
on BT buying Securicors stake in Cellnet.
Gained government approval to buy Securicors
40 stake in Cellnet. BT and ATT are considering
a transatlantic mobile phone link to challenge
Vodafone Groups proposed takeover of AirTouch
Communications D OrangeD1 E-PlusIn talk
with E-Plus in Germany. The deal could involve
Orange bidding for a controlling stake in E-Plus,
which is currently thought to be worth up to 15
billion, or Orange could become a virtual
network Operator in Germany by bulk-purchasing
several billions minutes of air time from E-Plus
and resell them under the Orange brand. E-Plus is
maybe loosing two large shareholders - Vodafone
and BellSouth. Orange is looking to expand its
European base, inspired by the AirTouch/Vodafone
merger. Another potential operator could be
Bouygues in France. D2 WildfireOrange to
deploy Wildfires network voice-activated virtual
assistant. First application will be messaging
and contact list capabilities. Orange is the
third carrier to deploy Wildfire (Bell Mobility
and PacBell Wireless) E CellnetWill deploy
GPRS wireless data network supplied by Motorola
Inc.s Network Solution Sector, in a 50 million
deal. Motorola will deliver the network via an
agreement with Cisco Systems Inc., in which
Motorola will incorporate Ciscos IP technology
in its network solutions. Cellnet and Barclaycard
will test mobile electronic cash machines - where
shoppers could download Visas version of digital
cash through their cell phones onto a credit or
debit card. The service uses a dual card Motorola
StarTAC D GSM phone, using a chip embedded
modified Barclaycard in the second slot of the
phone and using SMS to deposit the money on the
card.
BT rumored to buy Securicor 40 stake in Cellnet
BT and ATT
Orange expansion in Europe
Orange to deploy Wildfire
Cellnet to deploy GPRS
284. Worldwide Country Developments 4.1
Europe 4.1.1 UK (cont.) F First Quarter 1999
subscriber numbers
PrepaidOperator 1Q99 Add Total 1Q99
Total Vodafone 700,000 5,570,000 1,800,000 C
ellnet 479,000 4,200,000 70 Orange
370,000 2,530,000 65 One-2-One 329,000
2,250,000 70 Total 1,878,000 14,550,000 UK
Penetration rate now at 25 after 1Q99.
UK 1Q99 subscribers
29- 4. Worldwide Country Developments
- 4.1 Europe
- 4.1.1 UK (cont.)
- G One2One
- G1 Yearly SpendingCustomer yearly spending on
mobile service - Contract customers 480 pounds
- Prepaid customers 200 poundsG2 New
PricingAnnounced new single-digit pennies per
minute prices, slashing consumer call rates to
16 cents/min peak and 3 cents/min off-peak. The
price cut represent a 50 reduction over average
rates before Christmas. - Vodafone responded with a round of inclusive
minutes increases, and Cellnet is expected to
follow. Orange, stated it has a price matching
policy, and will match any competitors rates. - Vodafone dont believe they should compete
directly on price. Customers want value and
service, and in Vodafones case its about more
bundled minute. Customers have saved an average
240 on their rate plan over the last 18 months. - One big issue is UK is still the price for calls
to mobile phone originating from BTs fixed
network. BT charges 50 cents/min for these calls
and until the price dropped to single digits, the
mobile market will never reach the kind of levels
of usage it could. - Cellular penetration in UK moved beyond 25 in
1Q99 and is expected to reach 40 at the end of
1999. - G3 Market ShareHow will One2One achieve its
slice of the mobile action? Coca-Cola doesnt
think about fighting with Pepsi. Coca-Cola thinks
about the share of thirst. Whenever theres a
thirst sensation, Coca-Cola wants that. Its the
same with One2One. Whenever anyone needs to
communicate, One2One want that
One-2-One customer spending
New prices from One2One
How to achieve market share
30- 4. Country Developments
- 4.1 Europe
- 4.1.2 Italy
- A Telecom MarketEnd of 1998, the total
subscriber number was about 20 million, which
equal a 35 penetration rate. - The 1997 Italian teledensity based on data from
ITU is less than 45 lines per 100 inhabitants
(compared with 52 in the UK and 55 in Germany).
Even the 5 million lines planned for the next
five years will only bring Italy up to the UKs
1997 level. - Telecom Italia has more than 90 of the fixed
line market today, but competition is coming. The
Ministry of Communications has an 41-page list of
operators that have been granted various licenses
to compete in Italys telecomms market. - B The Mobile Market
- TIM is now the worlds number two mobile
operator, in revenue terms, behind only NTT
DoCoMo - By the end of 1998, TIM will have 4x as many
subscribers as Vodafone - TIMs only rival to date now has more than 5
million subscribers - and thats more than
Cellnet, One2One and Orange put together. - MOU for Italy is 130 minutes
- 90 of new subscriptions are now pre-paid, which
can hurt the operators in terms of customer
churn, but saves the operator a fortune in bad
debts and credit checks - TIM signed up 3.4 million customers the first 9
months of 1998 and 850,000 in December of this
213,000 were registered on Christmas Eve. TIM
ended 1998 with 14.3 million subscribers. - Omnitel Pronto Italia has implemented an
extraordinary quality charter - if the company
fails to deliver on guaranteed services, it
offers cash compensation of up to L40,000 (24)
per day. - Wind, the third cellular operator, will enter
the Italian market in 1999 and offer both fixed
and mobile services. Wind is backed by Enel.
Italys big electricity utility, and France
Telecom and Deutsche Telekom. Wind will invest
1.5 billion a year in its networks and is
predicting a subscriber base of 8 million in
the next 10 years.
Italy Telecom data
Italy mobile market - TIM - Omnitel Pronto
Italia - Wind
314. Country Developments 4.1 Europe 4.1.2
Italy (cont.) C Omnitel Pronto ItaliaC1
YE1998 Results 1997 1998 1999Revenue Lit.
1,835 billion Lit. 4,471 billion Net
Profit/Loss- Net loss Lit. 140 billion -
Net Profit Lit. 781 billion Subscribers -
Net Add 3.7 million- Market share 42.6- Feb.
1999 6.5 million C2 Bell AtlanticBell
Atlantic ups its stake in Omnitel from 19.7 to
23.1. Other shareholders are-
Mannesmann 53.7- Bell Atlantic 23.1-
AirTouch 17.8- Other 5.4 D
OlivettiOffered 52.6 billion euros (59
billion) to buy Telecom Italia SpA. Telecom
Italia rejected the offer and plans to defend
itself. If the offer goes through, Mannesmann
will be buying Olivettis controlling stake in
Omnitel Pronto Italia SpA cellular network and
Infostrada SpA, a fixed line service, for 14.9
billion deutsche marks (8.3 billion) Olivetti
said it intends to sell part of Telecom Italia
60 stake in TIM (will retain about 20 to 25)
if its bid for Telecom Italia succeeds. More to
follow on this takeover attempt E TIMReached
15 million subscribers March 29, 1999 with 1.5
million using dual-band phones.
Omnitel 1998 Year end results
Bell Atlantic ups its stake in Omnitel
Olivetti bidding for Telecom Italia SpA.
TIM reaches 15 million subscribers
324. Country Developments 4.1 Europe 4.1.3
Germany Year End 1998 Subscriber Data YE
1998 YE 1999 1998Operator Subscribers Forecast M
arket ShareMannesmann 6,000,000
8,500,000 44 T-Mobil 5,500,000
7,700,000 41 E-Plus 2,000,000
4,000,000 15 Viag Interkom
800,000-------------------- -------------- ------
-------- --------Total Germany 13,500,000 21,000,
000 100 The 13,5 million wireless subscribers
compares to 44 million fixed-line customers
Operator prediction
Germany wireless subscriber data
334. Country Developments 4.1 Europe 4.1.4
France A Year End 1998 Subscriber Data YE
1998 1998 1998Operator Subscribers Net
gain Market ShareFrance Telecom
5,500,000 573,300 49 Cegetel
4,250,000 500,100 38 Bouygues Telecom
1,400,000 247,700 13 -------------------- -------
------- -------------- --------Total
France 11,150,000 1,321,100 100 Year End 1998
penetration rate 19.2 Official figures from
telecoms regulator ART B SFR WAP-based
ServiceAfter successful trial of WAP-based
service since October 1998, SFR will launch its
commercial Emedi_at_ WAP-based service and predicts
to have 100,000 customers at the end of 1999. The
service will use Alcatel One Touch Pocket
phone. C France Telecom WAP-based ServiceWill
launch its own WAP based service sometime in the
middle of 1999. The new service will run on
Nokias new WAP oriented 7110 handset. 5 million
of France Telecoms 6 million subscribers already
use SMS, and they should find it easy to make the
move to WAP.
France wireless subscriber data
SFR WAP based service
France Telecom WAP based service
344. Country Developments 4.1 Europe 4.1.5
Sweden A TeliaA1 Telia and Telenor
(Norway)The two companies has signed an
agreement to merge and is now waiting for the
parliaments of the two country to approve the
merger. Initially the Swedish Government will
hold 60 of the new company and Norway 40. In
connection with the part-privatization, the
stakes of the two government will be reduced to
33 each, sometime after 2000. Jan Stenberg,
Chairman of Telia will become chairman of the new
group, while Tormod Hermansen, currently CEO of
Telenor, will become its CEO. The group will have
its main headquarters in Sweden,while the
headquarters for the international operations
will be located in Norway. A2 New Rates for
fixed to mobile callsWill lower its rates for
calls made from fixed line to cellular phones by
19. Time of Day New Old8AM - 6PM weekdays 3.50
Kr/min 4.31 Kr/minAll Other 2.50 Kr/min 2.88
Kr/min A3 Telia and OracleTelia and Oracle is
working on a prototype utility, Panama, designed
to transfer Internet content to any mobile
device. The Panama project improves the WAP
standard, by dealing with some of the limitations
with WAP today. WAP cannot manage security at
this stage and also suffers from the fact that
there is no WAP content available on the Web.
Panama can be used to create services based on
any internet site, including secure SLL sites,
allowing the user access all the value adding
service available on the Web, such as real-time
flight reservation, Internet banking services and
personal account services.
Telia and Telenor merger
New lower rate for calls from fixed to mobile
Panama Internet project from Telia and Oracle
354. Country Developments 4.1 Europe 4.1.5
Sweden (cont.) E EricssonE1 GMSSAnnounced
it was forming a satellite air interface standard
named GMSS (Geostationary Mobile Satellite
Standard) with U.S. Lockheed Martin, U.K. Matra
Marconi Space and satellite operators Asia
Cellular Satellite and Euro-African Satellite
Telecommunications. GMSS will be derived from GSM
and enable mobile phone users to communicate in
all parts of the world where the standard is
working. E2 ob losses- 8,500 job cuts in
Network Operators unit (incl. The former
Infocom). This unit is Ericsson biggest with
approx. 68,000 employees- 1,300 job cuts in
Enterprise Solutions unit- 500 job cuts in
the consumer products (mobile phone)- 1,300 job
cuts in General Administration and other
operations- Of the total, 3,500 will go in
Sweden. Some 5,000 jobs will be shed in 1999
and 6,000 jobs in 2000 E3 T28 HandsetIntroduced
its new T28 dual-band GSM phone. The phones
function include- Voice control, automatic
world clock, full graphic display and new
batteries using lithium polymer technology-
Profile feature that allows users to program the
phone to automatically accept or decline
certain calls or adjust the ring signals and
volume in certain situations- Talk time is 4.5
hours and standby time is up to 200 hours- Will
be available in volume by mid 1999 E4 First
live WCDMA multimedia callsEricsson has
conducted the UKs first public demonstration of
live WCDMA multimedia calls for 3G mobile
communications. The call was made at the opening
of its UK WCDMA center outside London. Ericsson
demonstrated over the air all-WCDMA wireless
multimedia, including video calls and links to
the companys WCDMA system in Sweden.
Ericsson new satellite standard GMSS
Ericsson job losses
First live WCDMA call in UK by Ericsson
364. Country Developments 4.1 Europe 4.1.5
Sweden (cont.) E Ericsson (cont.)E5 Ericsson
E-commerceAcquired a GSM e-commerce solution
from Swedish Postgirot Bank, offering superior
security for financial transactions. The solution
makes it possible for customers, to in a secure
way, pay bills and access their bank accounts
from their mobile phone. The new technology will
be integrated with Ericsson wireless e-commerce
solutions. Postgirot Bank will use the solution
for the mobile service ePostgiro. For several
years, Postgirot Bank customers have used a
keycard to generate random access codes, together
with a smart card, to secure their transaction
with asymmetric encryption over modem connections
to the bank. With mobile Postgiro, the mobile
phone becomes the only device they need. F
TelenordiaMay lose Swedish Mobile license
received in 1996 because the company hasnt begun
to build a network. A clause in the license
required Telenordia to cover at least 50 of the
population within four years. The company has
been unable to reach agreement with any of the
existing operators to gain access to their
network. The merger between Telenor and Telia
also complicates Telenordia decision. Telenordia
is a joint venture between Tele Danmark, BT and
Telenor. B Tele1 EuropeWon the countrys
fourth mobile phone license and will provide its
services over Telia ABs existing GSM network.
The network will be operational from the second
quarter of 1999. C Operator market
shareTelia 61NetCom Systems
AB 26Europolitan Holdings AB 13
Ericsson acquired GSM e-commerce solution
Will Telenordia loose its Swedish license
New operator in Sweden
Operator market share in Sweden
374. Country Developments 4.1 Europe 4.1.6
Russia A SubscribersRussian mobile phone
companies lowered their charges to attract new
clients and retain existing customers. The
companies lost clients last autumn because of the
countrys financial crisis. 1998 subscriber
increase- Vimpelcom 12- MTS 50- MSS 13 B
Penetration RateCellular phone penetration
stands at less than 1, with less than half of
all user choosing GSM. No nationwide license
exist, resulting in a large number of
incompatible standards, hindering the growth of
the cellular market.4.1.7 BelgiumAmeritech
wants to increase its stakes in companies in
Belgium (Belgacom) and the Nordic region
(Telenordia) to maintain its standing as the
largest foreign investor in European
telecommunications. 4.1.8 Austria Max
MobilDeutsche Telekom AG increasing its stake
in Max Mobil, Austrias No. 2 cellular carrier,
from 25 to 81. Max Mobil year end 1998
subscriber numbers 800,000 (36 market
share) Telekom Austria AGs has 1.28 million
customers and a 64 market share
Russia wireless subscriber data
Cellular penetration in Russia
Ameritech focus on Europe
Deutsche Telekom AG increase stake in Max Mobil
384. Country Developments 4.1 Europe 4.1.9
Finland A UMTS LicensesThe Finish Transport
and Communications ministry said it received 15
initial applications for a maximum of four
operating licenses for 3G mobile service, each of
which will run for up to 20 years. The winning
operators will pay a negligible license fee to
cover the governments administration costs. The
government has not ruled out the use of air
interface standards other than Europes preferred
UMTS. Some of the applicants are Sonera Oyj,
Telia, Finnet and RSLCom, Tele2 AB of Sweden and
Telenordia, the joint venture of Telenor
(Norway), BT and Tele Danmark. Vodafone Group Plc
has also lodged its interest. Of the 15
applicants, 10 want a national license and five a
regional license. The government is asking the
applicants to form consortia before submitting
their full applications, due within the next
three months. B NokiaDiamond Lane
CommunicationsNokia agreed to buy Diamond Lane
Communications Corp. of U.S. for 125 million.
Diamond specializes in so-called multi-service
digital subscriber line access multiplexes, or
DSLAM, which enables up to 125 times faster
internet access. Nokia 7110 WAP GSM phoneThe
new phone is compatible with WAP and can access
specially prepared text information broadcast
over the internet, such as news, weather reports,
stock prices, email, flight schedules, wireless
banking, etc. CNN joined Nokia in the
announcement and unveiled a WAP-powered news
service, CNN Mobile, that can be accessed with
the Nokia 7110 for headline updates on the go.
Nokia 7110 available 2Q99. C Saunalahden
ServeriAn Independent Internet operator applied
for a 3G license based on CDMA 2000 (cdmaOne
technology). The company is one out of twelve
other companies seeking 3G license in Finland.
Vodafone and Telenordia withdrew from the race
for a 3G license.
15 applications received in Finland for 3G service
Nokia to buy Diamond Lane Communications
New Nokia 7110 WAP GSM phone
Finish Operator applied for 3G license based on
cdma2000
39- 4. Worldwide Country Developments
- 4.1 Europe
- 4.1.9 Finland (cont.)
- D 3G LicensesAwards as the first country in
the World, four new national licenses for 3G
spectrum and services. The Licenses was given to - Sonera Oyj
- Radiolinja Oy
- Telia AB
- Finish consortium comprised of 41 regional
telecommunications companiesE Sonera 1Q99
Results - 50 of its sales comes from Mobile
- Controls 2/3 of the Finish Digital cellular
market - Just under 1/3 of the fixed line market. Most
fixed line calls operated by regional telephone
companies - Sales generated from text message service
tripled from the first-quarter last year and
amounted to 7 of total sales - 50 of Soneras sales came from cellular
subscribers, compared to 47 at the end of the
same period last year - Digital subscribers are 1.661 million compared
to 299,157 analog users - Booked an 8 million loss from its U.S.
affiliate Aerial Operating Co. F Mobile phone
usage - Waitress using mobile phone to call the kitchen
to order food - Telephone book is going the way of the dinosaur.
When people call for directory information, the
operator sends the number in the form of a text
message a touch of a key on the cell phone will
save it in memory.
3G licenses awarded in Finland
Sonera 1Q99 results
New usage of mobile phones in Finland
40