Global operator strategies - 23/05/07

ATT withdrew the ‘Cingular’ brand and logo with a new ATT one.

Alltel (US), the fifth domestic mobile operators, has been bought for $27bn by equity firm TPG and bank Goldman Sachs.

Swisscom will reorganize its structure into three main divisions: Private Clients, SMEs and Corporate; it will also reshuffle its Executive Board: Swisscom Mobile CEO Adrian Bult will leave the company, CFO Mario Rossi will become CFO of Fastweb, while Ueli Dietiker will overtake the CFO position. Christian Petit will head the Private Clients division, Heinz Herren was named to lead the SME business division, and Urs Schaeppi will take control of the Corporate business division.

FT' s CEO told the annual shareholders meeting that it plans to make more acquisitions, though of a prudent and selective nature.

TOT (Thailand) start fighting on deal conditions observation. Ericsson and Siemens that failed to deliver 565k PSTN lines on time, will be given another chance with an extended deadline. If they failed again, they will be blacklisted and banned from bidding on any future TOT projects.

Orange and Microsoft have announced the "Business Together with Microsoft" collaborative solution.

Chunghwa Telecom and Microsoft are forming a strategic alliance to expand their various services and gain exposure to SMBs in mainland China.

Microsoft acquires internet ad group aQuantive for $6bn.