Word: telecoms
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Wisely -- and boldly -- the telephone company decided to scrap the whole system and start over. Investing $80 billion between 1975 and 1990, France . Telecom now claims the world's most digitized switching system, meaning that 75% of the lines use digitally transmitted signals for crisper connections. A telephone can be installed in a matter of days, dialing is swift, lines are clear. Public telephones are everywhere...
...revamped system is only part of the electronic wizardry on display at France Telecom. More than 5.5 million people have Minitel videotex terminals. The terminals, which are free, provide electronic access to services like home banking and do-it-yourself plane and train reservations...
...whose profits last year totaled $1 billion. The state has sold 20.4% of Telmex stock, which represents the majority of voting power, for $1.76 billion. The buyers: a consortium led by Grupo Carso, a Mexico City-based conglomerate headed by entrepreneur Carlos Slim and including Southwestern Bell and France Telecom. But the Federal Communications Commission in Washington is considering regulatory changes that could limit one of Telmex's most lucrative businesses, handling phone calls from the U.S. Salinas is also selling the country's two largest steel mills and a 66% interest in 18 commercial banks, the other shares...
While Motorola stands ready to supply the handsets (initial price: $3,500 apiece), the company will need investment partners to finance the estimated $2.3 billion cost of building and launching the network of 700-lb. satellites. The firm is negotiating a joint venture with British Telecom, as well as with potential investors in Japan, Australia and Hong Kong. Motorola estimates that Iridium will need 700,000 users to become profitable. While that is roughly equivalent to the Pittsburgh white pages, it is less than 1% of the 100 million people around the world who are expected to be using cellular...