AirTouch to Apply for Swiss Cellular License.SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 11, 1998--Furthering its goal of pursuing promising global opportunities, AirTouch Communications (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :ATI (ATI Technologies Inc., Markham Ontario, http://ati.amd.com) A leading manufacturer of graphics chips and display adapters. Founded in 1985 by K. Y. Ho, Benny Lau and Lee Lau, ATI chips and boards are widely used by OEMs. ) has formed a consortium called for::tel to apply for a cellular license in Switzerland. Other members of the consortium are Mannesmann Eurokom, and two Swiss partners whose principals are the Sandoz Foundation and Thomas Schmidheiny Thomas Schmidheiny (born ca. 1946) is a billionaire as a result of inheritance and entrepreneurship. Net Worth: $4.4 billion as of 2006.
The government will issue two nationwide digital cellular licenses this spring. Licenses will be awarded to the applicants with the strongest credentials and cellular experience. Unlike other recent government awards of spectrum, Switzerland is not holding an auction. Switzerland, with over 7 million people, currently has only one cellular operator and about one million cellular subscribers, for a 15 percent penetration rate. "We are very excited about this wonderful opportunity," said Arun Sarin Arun Sarin (Hindi:अरुण सरीन) (born October 21 1954, in Pachmarhi, Madhya Pradesh, India) is the CEO of the world's biggest mobile phone company (by revenue), Britain's Vodafone Group plc. , president and chief operating officer Chief Operating Officer (COO) The officer of a firm responsible for day-to-day management, usually the president or an executive vice-president. of AirTouch Communications. "Switzerland has among the highest GDP GDP (guanosine diphosphate): see guanine. per capita [Latin, By the heads or polls.] A term used in the Descent and Distribution of the estate of one who dies without a will. It means to share and share alike according to the number of individuals. in the world. It is centrally located in Europe, where, through our eight ventures, AirTouch is the largest cellular carrier. We think our consortium offers the right mix of cellular expertise and local know-how needed to develop the Swiss cellular market." He added that if for::tel's application is successful, Switzerland will expand AirTouch's European footprint, which already includes Belgium, Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, and Sweden. The consortium plans to tailor its service to the regional characteristics and customer requirements in Switzerland. Visually, the company logo will feature four squares, one for each of the four language regions of the country Mannesmann Eurokom is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mannesmann AG, based in Dusseldorf. AirTouch and Mannesmann together own D2, Germany's leading cellular network, with 3.5 million customers. They are also partners in Omnitel, Italy's fast-growing cellular venture. The Sandoz Family Foundation was formed by Edouard Marcel Sandoz, son of the founder of Sandoz, the Swiss pharmaceutical giant. Its recent investments focus on technology-based sectors creating new technical skills and employment. Thomas Schmidheiny is a private Swiss investor who owns a majority interest in Holderbank, the world's largest cement company, and has other private investments. AirTouch is the largest company in the world focused on wireless communications wireless communications System using radio-frequency, infrared, microwave, or other types of electromagnetic or acoustic waves in place of wires, cables, or fibre optics to transmit signals or data. , with a market capitalization Market Capitalization A measure of a public company's size. Market capitalization is the total dollar value of all outstanding shares. It's calculated by multiplying the number of shares times the current market price. This term is often referred to as market cap. exceeding $22 billion. In addition to Switzerland, the company is pursuing cellular licenses in Egypt and the Netherlands. AirTouch Communications is a global wireless communications company, with interests in cellular, paging, and personal communications services See PCS. in the United States, Belgium, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Poland, Portugal, Romania, South Korea, Spain, and Sweden, as well as an interest in the Globalstar satellite system. The company, based in San Francisco, serves nearly 11 million proportionate customers worldwide. -0- Note to Editors: For a fax copy of this or other recent AirTouch press releases, please call 1-800-344-7531 or visit our web site at www.airtouch.com. CONTACT: AirTouch Communications Susan Rosenberg, 415/658-2209 Kathy Reinhart, 415/658-2042 |
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