Europe Communications

Have you become so accustomed--or perhaps, addicted--to the convenience of your cell phone that you wouldn't go anywhere without it? Well, if you're headed out of the country, you'll have to change your tune. Your cherished gadget will be useless--reduced to dead weight in a pretty package.

Excite@Home Corp., owner of the popular Excite Web portal and the Excite@Home cable modem network, said it's hooking up with Dutch communications giant UnitedGlobalCom to deliver high-speed Internet access outside North America. The joint venture, to be called Excite Chello, will operate in 15 countries in Europe, Asia and Latin America--markets in which the new company will own exclusive cable modem rights to 30 million homes. Each company is contributing $93.

Have you become so accustomed--or perhaps, addicted--to the convenience of your cell phone that you wouldn't go anywhere without it? Well, if you're headed out of the country, you'll have to change your tune. Your cherished gadget will be useless--reduced to dead weight in a pretty package.

Datron Systems Inc. said it received a contract valued at more than $20 million to provide radio communications systems to a European Economic Community nation that was not identified. The Simi Valley-based company also announced the signing of an order for more than $2 million to deliver a Landsat satellite system to Taiwan. The system will be used for gathering earth resources data. The orders "illustrate Datron's strategic shift from dependence on the U. S.

I had just arrived in Madrid for a welcome cocktail party after a long day in Stockholm--a board meeting and a speech, followed by a long flight. And I had spent the night before in a plane from New York to Stockholm. So when Jorge Mata, chief executive of MyAlert.com, offered to do a demo of his wireless portal, my heart sank. You know the drill: Find a quiet place, a power source, open the laptop and power up.

NTT DoCoMo Inc., Royal KPN and Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. agreed to join forces in four European countries to win licenses for faster Internet access through mobile phones and share the cost of expansion. The alliance starts in Britain, where a unit of Hutchison, Hong Kong's largest conglomerate, already owns a license. DoCoMo, Japan's top wireless company, and KPN, the biggest Dutch phone company, will spend $3.2 billion to buy 35% of the unit.

Excite@Home Corp., owner of the popular Excite Web portal and the Excite@Home cable modem network, said it's hooking up with Dutch communications giant UnitedGlobalCom to deliver high-speed Internet access outside North America. The joint venture, to be called Excite Chello, will operate in 15 countries in Europe, Asia and Latin America--markets in which the new company will own exclusive cable modem rights to 30 million homes. Each company is contributing $93.

For homesick Italians, the television set at the bar of London's fashionable San Lorenzo restaurant is a tonic. Professional soccer matches and other favorites come through live on Radio Audizione Italia (RAI), the main Italian network. In deference to tennis-loving Britons, the restaurant's set sometimes is switched to West Germany's SAT 1 network, known for its saturation coverage of German stars Boris Becker and Steffi Graf.

NTT DoCoMo Inc., Royal KPN and Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. agreed to join forces in four European countries to win licenses for faster Internet access through mobile phones and share the cost of expansion. The alliance starts in Britain, where a unit of Hutchison, Hong Kong's largest conglomerate, already owns a license. DoCoMo, Japan's top wireless company, and KPN, the biggest Dutch phone company, will spend $3.2 billion to buy 35% of the unit.

I had just arrived in Madrid for a welcome cocktail party after a long day in Stockholm--a board meeting and a speech, followed by a long flight. And I had spent the night before in a plane from New York to Stockholm. So when Jorge Mata, chief executive of MyAlert.com, offered to do a demo of his wireless portal, my heart sank. You know the drill: Find a quiet place, a power source, open the laptop and power up.

U.S.-based Internet portals remain popular with residential Internet users in Europe's top three markets, but face entrenched competition from home-grown Web companies there, a market research report to be released today has found. The study by research firm MMXI Europe BV, the first broad-based survey of the fast-growing European market, tracked Web-surfing habits in Britain, France and Germany of 3,000 home-computer users in each country in October. "What we see is that the U.S.

Datron Systems Inc. said it received a contract valued at more than $20 million to provide radio communications systems to a European Economic Community nation that was not identified. The Simi Valley-based company also announced the signing of an order for more than $2 million to deliver a Landsat satellite system to Taiwan. The system will be used for gathering earth resources data. The orders "illustrate Datron's strategic shift from dependence on the U. S.

For homesick Italians, the television set at the bar of London's fashionable San Lorenzo restaurant is a tonic. Professional soccer matches and other favorites come through live on Radio Audizione Italia (RAI), the main Italian network. In deference to tennis-loving Britons, the restaurant's set sometimes is switched to West Germany's SAT 1 network, known for its saturation coverage of German stars Boris Becker and Steffi Graf.

Computer Sciences Corp. said Thursday that it has formed a "strategic alliance" with France, West Germany, Sweden, Belgium and Spain to share in ownership or operation of its international data-transmission system, Infonet. Some Pacific nations are expected to join the venture by year-end.

U.S.-based Internet portals remain popular with residential Internet users in Europe's top three markets, but face entrenched competition from home-grown Web companies there, a market research report to be released today has found. The study by research firm MMXI Europe BV, the first broad-based survey of the fast-growing European market, tracked Web-surfing habits in Britain, France and Germany of 3,000 home-computer users in each country in October. "What we see is that the U.S.

Computer Sciences Corp. said Thursday that it has formed a "strategic alliance" with France, West Germany, Sweden, Belgium and Spain to share in ownership or operation of its international data-transmission system, Infonet. Some Pacific nations are expected to join the venture by year-end.