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Computers & Electronics 1997
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The information below comes from the UK Activity Report.
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Oftel, the telecoms regulator, has reached agreement with the main operators to allow subscribers to keep their telephone numbers when they switch between operators, thereby eliminating a major barrier to competition. 31-Dec-1997 Cellnet has announced price cuts of up to 40% for its remaining 800,000 analogue mobile phone customers, but has no plans for price reductions for digital subscribers. 30-Dec-1997 Dorling Kindersley is to refocus on multimedia learning packages and cut 80 permanent jobs from its CD-ROM workforce. 19-Dec-1997 BCO Technologies, the Belfast-based semiconductor company, is planning to create 100 jobs in a £7.5m investment programme following a recent placing. 18-Dec-1997 Delphi, the computer services company, has postponed plans to issue American Depositary Receipts on Nasdaq until the first quarter of 1998, due to the poor market conditions for new issues in the US. 18-Dec-1997 Vodafone is linking up with Racal Telecom to offer a package of mobile and managed fixed voice and data services to corporate clients. 16-Dec-1997 Acer Peripherals is planning to build a £25m computer monitor plant in Cardiff, creating 1,000 jobs. 16-Dec-1997 Psion has won a contract to supply credit-card sized modems to Dell Computers, which could be worth up to £20m next year. 16-Dec-1997 BICC has won two contracts worth a total £100m to provide cabling for Cable & Wireless Communications' TV and telecoms networks and for ESAT Telecom's network in Ireland. 15-Dec-1997 Vodafone is negotiating the acquisition of a majority stake in Libertel, the Dutch GSM phone operator and service provider in which it already holds 35%. 13-Dec-1997 Anite Group is negotiating the sale of its computer networking business to an unnamed company, and an announcement is expected soon. 13-Dec-1997 Calluna, the miniature disk drive company, is to raise £6m in a share placing and rights issue which will enable it to continue trading. 13-Dec-1997 Racal Electronics is planning to float its telecoms subsidiary, which is likely to be valued at around £600m, having failed to agree terms for a trade sale. 12-Dec-1997 Cadence Design Systems of the US has confirmed plans to build a chip design centre at Livingston in Scotland, creating 1,800 jobs by 2004. 11-Dec-1997 Seagate Technology is to close one of its Irish plants, probably Clonmel, and is delaying expansion in Londonderry. 11-Dec-1997 Hyundai is now expected to delay the opening of its microchip plant in Dunfermline for up to a year due to the problems with the Korean economy. 11-Dec-1997 British Telecom is setting up a joint venture with the Electricity Supply Board of Ireland in order to offer a range of telecoms services to Irish companies using ESB's digital microwave network. 10-Dec-1997 Airtech, the mobile telecoms company, is to seek a listing on the main market in order to gain increased flexibility for financing future growth. 10-Dec-1997 ADI Manufacturing of Taiwan is to set up a £10.5m computer monitor plant at Cramlington near Newcastle upon Tyne, creating 600 jobs. 09-Dec-1997 Gremlin Group, the computer games company, has agreed a deal with Fox Interactive to jointly publish sports titles in the US. 09-Dec-1997 Easynet, the internet service provider, is set to win a full public telecommunications operator's licence. 05-Dec-1997 Hong Kong Telecommunications, which is 54% owned by Cable & Wireless, is acquiring Pacific Link Communications, the Hong Kong mobile telephone operator currently owned by Vodafone and First Pacific, for £370m. 04-Dec-1997 Hyundai is delaying its £3bn investment in two semiconductor plants in Scotland because of the financial crisis in South Korea. 27-Nov-1997 Matsushita of Japan has announced a £15m expansion at its Cardiff plant, where it will create 160 jobs at a new research and development centre. 27-Nov-1997 Colt Telecom is planning to raise £198m in a share placing in order to fund further European expansion and establish fibre-optic networks in six more cities. 22-Nov-1997 DCS, the software concern, has acquired GFA and Autac, the suppliers of IT solutions for automotive dealers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, for £2.9m. 22-Nov-1997 Racal Electronics is setting up a joint venture with European Telecom to market Orchid, a vehicle tracking device that uses satellites and cellular systems. 21-Nov-1997 Ionica, the radio-based telecoms company, has seen its share price collapse due to a number of technology and marketing problems, including bad debts, software problems and delays to the roll-out of its marketing programme. 20-Nov-1997 BSkyB has launched a discount telephone service called SkyDial, which will work by enabling subscribers to dial into a Broadsystem exchange where their calls are then passed on to BT. 20-Nov-1997 Aran Software is to raise about £3.6m through a share placing on Aim, with about £1.9m earmarked to develop the business. 18-Nov-1997 Racal Electronics is considering a number of options for its telecommunications and data management operation, including a management buy-in and the creation of an alliance with Scottish Telecom. 18-Nov-1997 Computer Associates, the US software group, has chosen Datchet in Berkshire as the base for its European headquarters, where it will create an additional 500 jobs. 18-Nov-1997 Plasmec, the electronic components business, is in discussions that could lead to a bid being made for the company. 15-Nov-1997 Vodafone has finalised a deal to offer fixed-line phone services provided by Energis, giving Energis access to 3m Vodafone customers. 14-Nov-1997 Cable & Wireless is planning to raise £1bn from the sale of businesses where it has no operational control, and this could include stakes in telecoms companies in France, Latin America, eastern Europe, South Africa and Japan. 13-Nov-1997 Cap Gemini has won a £400m information technology outsourcing contract from British Steel, and will take over the employment of about 600 British Steel staff. 13-Nov-1997 Electrocomponents is considering plans to launch its catalogue-based electronic parts distribution business in Japan. 13-Nov-1997 Hays is acquiring TTN Geodata Services, the Norwegian tape storage and remastering company, for £3.2m, as well as a small membrane production facility from Ionics of Massachusetts for £6.9m. 12-Nov-1997 British Telecom has sold its 20% stake in MCI Communications for $7bn and agreed to end their merger pact, as the US telephone company is now arranging a $37bn takeover by WorldCom. 11-Nov-1997 Danka Business Systems has signed a deal to distribute and service Hewlett-Packard's printers and scanners in the US, and the alliance may be extended to cover the whole world. 11-Nov-1997 CRC Group, the computer services company, is planning to raise £2.2m in a listing on the Alternative Investment Market, which would value the group at £11.5m. 10-Nov-1997 Cable & Wireless Communications has won a contract from the Education and Research Network Association to set up a new network to link up universities and polytechnics, which will be called SuperJANET 3. 10-Nov-1997 British Telecom is to test launch the equivalent of an ISDN connection over ordinary telephone lines, which will provide fast internet connections for home users, in a service called Home Highway. 08-Nov-1997 Parity, the computer services company, is to acquire New York-based TelTech and PSI, its IT recruitment business, for an initial £22m. 07-Nov-1997 Colt Telecom is considering plans to raise £190m, partly through a share offering, in order to fund the expansion of its networks. 06-Nov-1997 Workplace Technologies, the computer network company, is to float next week with a value of £50.7m, raising £7.7m to strengthen its balance sheet and improve finances. 06-Nov-1997 CRT is to invest up to £70m in its Career IT programme in order to recruit and train up to 2,000 IT personnel and ensure that it has enough skilled people to meet demand. 06-Nov-1997 BCO Technologies is planning to raise over £7m in a flotation, in order to help fund a Belfast factory that will make its electronics substrate and create 200 jobs. 03-Nov-1997 Memory Corporation has signed a licensing agreement with Hsin-Lin Computer of Taiwan for its Microlock security chip, which helps prevent the theft of chips from computers. 01-Nov-1997 Danka is planning to grow its business systems business with the acquisition of suppliers in mainland Europe and Latin America. 31-Oct-1997 Network Technology is acquiring Bits Per Second, the Brighton-based computer graphics concern, for about £300,000. 30-Oct-1997 Azlan's shares are back on the market following a four-month suspension due to accounting irregularities. 29-Oct-1997 Colt Telecom is to build a £34m fibre optic cable system in Berlin in order to expand its network. 29-Oct-1997 ADI Corporation of Taiwan is expected to announce plans to set up a computer monitor factory in the north-east of England, creating 600 jobs. 28-Oct-1997 Workplace Technologies, the computer services concern, is planning to raise £10m in a flotation next month in order to fund expansion and reduce debt. 23-Oct-1997 British Telecom is to invest $20m in the ICO Global Communications consortium, which is setting up a major network of communication satellites in low earth orbit. 22-Oct-1997 Betacom, the consumer electronics company, is changing its name to Amstrad, its recently-dismantled parent company, and will also use the Sinclair, Fidelity and Integra brand names for audio, TV, and telecoms products. 22-Oct-1997 Fayrewood is acquiring ComputerLinks Computerhandle, the German computer networks company, for £1.7m plus shares. 18-Oct-1997 Recognition Systems Group, the software developer, has launched a £1.9m rights issue to help fund expansion in the US. 16-Oct-1997 GTE Corporation has offered $28bn to acquire MCI Communications of the US, thus outbidding WorldCom, and prompting speculation that British Telecom, who have an agreement to purchase the remaining 80% of MCI, might be prepared to negotiate a three-way deal. 16-Oct-1997 Electrolux, the consumer electronics company, is to cut 1,300 UK jobs over the next 18 months, with the closure of its Luton vacuum cleaner factory and the transfer of refrigerated products production from Spennymoor to other European sites. 15-Oct-1997 Cellnet is launching a traffic information service in conjunction with Trafficmaster, which will warn drivers of traffic problems within a 12-mile radius. 14-Oct-1997 Silvertech International, the electronic controls and safety systems company, is to raise £3.5m in a flotation on Aim in order to fund its expansion programme. 13-Oct-1997 Azlan, the troubled computer products company, is planning a rescue rights issue in order to raise £24m to strengthen its balance sheet and restore confidence. 11-Oct-1997 United Utilities is linking up with Nortel of Canada to trial a new technology which will enable people to access the internet via their electricity supply. 09-Oct-1997 Comino, the software company, has acquired Excelsis, for £2.25m. 08-Oct-1997 Diploma, the electronic components and steel products company, is forming an alliance with Marshall Industries of the US and Electronique International of France in order to combine their purchasing power and integrate their logistics and IT activities. 07-Oct-1997 Quality Software Products is raising £1.6m in a share issue in order to invest in its international sales and marketing programme. 07-Oct-1997 Viglen has agreed a deal in which Microsoft will brand its computers and its products will be sold through Dixons outlets. 02-Oct-1997 WorldCom of the US has launched a $30bn counter-bid for MCI, casting uncertainty over British Telecom's planned merger with the company. 02-Oct-1997 Delphi, the computer services company, is to seek a listing on Nasdaq in order to further its expansion in the US market. 01-Oct-1997 Workplace Technologies, the computer network installation company bought out from ICL, is planning a flotation later this year to raise £10m to repay debt. 29-Sep-1997 Filtronic Comtek is launching a £7m bid for Mitec, the Australian microwave electronics company, in order to provide a platform for expansion into the Asia Pacific. 27-Sep-1997 JBA Holdings, the business software company, is looking for bolt-on acquisitions in Europe in order to help it win multi-country projects in product licensing. 26-Sep-1997 Morgan Stanley Capital Partners is acquiring a 26% stake in First Telecom for £15m, and the investment will be used to develop infrastructure and expand into Europe. 25-Sep-1997 Advanced Telecommunications Modules of Cambridge has agreed a major deal to supply new technology to Hayes of the US which will increase modem download speeds by a factor of 100. 23-Sep-1997 Cable & Wireless has sold its remaining 3.9% stake in NetCom Systems of Sweden to a group of Swedish institutions for £37m. 23-Sep-1997 Aran Software, the supplier of building blocks that enable other companies to write their own software, is planning to raise up to £5m with a flotation on Aim. 22-Sep-1997 Mercury Asset Management is acquiring a 37% stake in New World Payphones, which runs 6,700 payphones at various private sites around the UK, at a cost of £12m. 22-Sep-1997 Orange is reducing the price of international phone calls for its mobile phone customers, undercutting British Telecom by 20%. 22-Sep-1997 NBS Retail Systems, the retail software consultancy, is planning to raise £4m with a flotation on Aim. 22-Sep-1997 D-link, the Taiwanese computer networking products company, is looking to acquire a European competitor over the next two years. 22-Sep-1997 Volex has won a major contract to supply cable assemblies to Ericsson, which will lead to the creation of 100 jobs in Manchester and 100 jobs in Ireland. 20-Sep-1997 Xaar, the printer technology company, is to raise about £10m in a share placing next month in order to help it accelerate its growth rate. 19-Sep-1997 Science Systems, the software company, is to raise £1m of new capital with a flotation on Aim later this month, which is expected to value the company at up to £25m. 17-Sep-1997 Getty Communications is acquiring Photodisc, the Seattle-based distributor of images over the internet, and will set up a US-registered company called Getty Images. 17-Sep-1997 Cable & Wireless Communications is planning to spend about £1bn a year until 2001 on the development of its cable network and the modernisation of Mercury's long-haul telephone network. 16-Sep-1997 IBM is considering plans to open a telephone-based service centre for its European computer business in Northern Ireland. 16-Sep-1997 Energis has awarded Northern Telecom of Canada a £63m contract for the supply of telecommunications switches, in a flexible agreement that is designed to smooth Nortel's manufacturing cycle and ensure that Energis can quickly increase transmission capacity. 15-Sep-1997 ComputerLand UK, the computer reseller, is to raise £1.5m on the Alternative Investment Market to fund the expansion of its remote support business. 13-Sep-1997 EDS, the US computer services company, is to help set up a global accounting centre for British Airways, which will result in 290 job losses over the next three years. 12-Sep-1997 Siemens has shortlisted Thomson-CSF and a joint bid from British Aerospace and Daimler-Benz Aerospace to acquire its defence electronics business, thereby eliminating Alcatel and General Electric Company. 12-Sep-1997 Psion has licensed its EPOC32 operating system to Philips for use in a range of pocket-sized data and messaging products. 11-Sep-1997 GPT has won a £22m contract to supply advanced telecommunications equipment to Moscow's telephone network. 10-Sep-1997 Memory Corporation is planning to raise £1.95m through a share placing in order to support its development expenditure. 06-Sep-1997 Sema has restructured its shareholder register in order to win approval for a big sales push into the US computer services market, where it plans to acquire computer companies that serve the telecoms sector. 05-Sep-1997 Plasmon is to withdraw from the production of recordable CDs by closing its factory near Cambridge, due to rapidly falling market prices. 02-Sep-1997 Cable & Wireless is moving its Asia Pacific headquarters from Hong Kong to Australia in order to use its 49% owned Optus Communications business as the vehicle to expand in the region. 30-Aug-1997 NCR of the US has won a contract to make ATMs for Citibank at its Dundee factory, thus ending Citibank's in-house design and production of ATMs. 29-Aug-1997 Kalamazoo, the computer services group, has agreed to the acquisition of a 26.5% stake in itself by Reynolds & Reynolds of the US for £17.7m, a move seen by some as a rescue package following a troubled period. 28-Aug-1997 British Telecom is to set up a £9m telephone-based sales centre in Belfast, which will also offer contract teleservices for other companies, creating 750 jobs. 27-Aug-1997 Toshiba is to expand production of microwave oven components and TV sets at its Plymouth factories, creating up to 100 jobs. 26-Aug-1997 Tatung of Taiwan is to double output at its factory in Telford, where it has started making a combined TV set and computer monitor, creating up to 100 jobs. 25-Aug-1997 Xaar, the ink jet printing technology specialist, is planning a flotation this autumn in order to raise up to £12m of new finance. 25-Aug-1997 British Telecom has renegotiated its merger with MCI of the US, reducing the value of MCI by 15% to $23.7bn following last month's profits warning. 23-Aug-1997 Granada is planning to sell its computer services business to a management team for about £80m. 20-Aug-1997 GPT has won a £100m contract to support the Ministry of Defence's new fixed telephone system, creating 100 jobs in Coventry. 20-Aug-1997 National Grid is considering plans to float a minority stake in Energis, its telecoms business, later this year. 18-Aug-1997 Orange is planning to double its capital expenditure over the next two years to £800m, increasing the number of cellular phone base stations from 2,900 to 6,000 by 1999. 15-Aug-1997 Scottish Widows has ended its Electronic Market joint venture with Phonelink, which was designed to market the Tel-Me electronic trading platform, and the two companies will now develop electronic commerce systems independently. 15-Aug-1997 Cellnet has admitted that it may have to make a £40m provision to cover losses from the development of a mobile phone billing system. 14-Aug-1997 Altatron of the US is to set up a £4.9m printed circuit board factory at Hamilton in Lanarkshire, creating 300 jobs. 12-Aug-1997 Compel is acquiring Computer Microrentals, previously Thorn EMI's computer rentals business, for £1.6m. 12-Aug-1997 Virtual Presence is acquiring VR Solutions, the software company that has developed a virtual reality supermarket, for about £0.5m, and the combined company will target the retail and medical industries. 11-Aug-1997 Oftel, the telecommunications industry watchdog, is launching an inquiry into the provision of undersea cable capacity to telecoms operators, following concern that new companies are not being offered fair terms. 09-Aug-1997 The government has given the go-ahead for a £1.5bn semiconductor plant on a greenfield site north of Birmingham which could create up to 4,800 jobs, and Philips is said to be one of the front-runners to invest at the site. 09-Aug-1997 DCC is to open a Chinese office offering computer services as part of a strategy to set up a global business supplying the hardware and software industry. 09-Aug-1997 Eidos, the computer games developer, has been dropped by its auditor, Coopers & Lybrand, for failing to implement corporate governance rules set out in the Cadbury report. 08-Aug-1997 Racal Electronics may float off its US data products business following a strategic review, but this will depend on the business returning to profit this year. 07-Aug-1997 BG, formerly British Gas, has awarded a £160m five-year contract to ICL for the outsourcing of part of its telecommunications business. 06-Aug-1997 Bowthorpe is in discussions to acquire an unnamed UK telecommunications and aerospace business for about £15m. 06-Aug-1997 Persona Group is to change its name to Ilion Group. 06-Aug-1997 Network Technology is planning to transfer from the Alternative Investment Market to the main market and raise £5m in a share issue. 04-Aug-1997 Orange has a 17.5% stake in a consortium called Connect Austria that has just been awarded a £109m mobile phone licence to set up a GSM 1800 network in Austria. 02-Aug-1997 Colt Telecom has reached an interconnect agreement that will give it access to France Telecom's national network, putting it in a strong position for next year's liberalisation of telecoms in the EU. 02-Aug-1997 British Telecom is now conducting an in-depth review of MCI, its US merger target, following the unexpected profits warning issued by MCI last month. 01-Aug-1997 Radius is acquiring assets and rights to the marketing and support of the Powersolve and Prosper software packages from ICL for £1m. 31-Jul-1997 EDS is to close the social security computer centre in Swindon with the loss of up to 200 jobs, but says the move will secure jobs at its three other centres. 31-Jul-1997 Kingston Communications, the Hull telephone company, is to undergo a further investigation by Oftel, the industry regulator, following allegations that it is cross subsidising its services and could be breaching its licence conditions. 30-Jul-1997 ISA International, the distributor of toner cartridges and floppy disks, is in discussions to acquire dealers in Denmark and Austria. 30-Jul-1997 One 2 One, the mobile phone operator owned by Cable & Wireless and US West, is to launch a "pay as you go" service next month, which will enable customers to buy airtime vouchers from supermarkets instead of paying monthly rental charges. 29-Jul-1997 Network Technology is acquiring Nextus, the US maker of plotters, for about £374,000. 29-Jul-1997 ITNet, the Birmingham-based provider of information technology services, has won a £70m contract for the outsourcing of the London borough of Hackney's revenues and benefits service. 28-Jul-1997 Vodafone is planning to offer fixed telecoms services to its mobile phone customers by selling the services of Energis, while Energis is negotiating a similar deal in which it would offer Vodafone mobile services to its corporate customers. 28-Jul-1997 Interoute Telecommunications has bought the remaining 20% of its French division for a nominal sum. 25-Jul-1997 British Telecom is under pressure from Oftel, the industry regulator, to certify that it will not neglect domestic customers in its quest for international expansion, and this may become a new condition on the company's licence. 25-Jul-1997 Oki Electric of Japan is to focus production of plain paper faxes at its Cumbernauld factory near Glasgow, creating several hundred jobs. 22-Jul-1997 McDonnell Information Systems is planning to raise £23m in a share placing, as part of a rescue package for the company whose shares were suspended earlier this month. 19-Jul-1997 Onwa Electronics is to invest over £5.5m at its South Shields printed circuit board factory, creating 150 jobs. 18-Jul-1997 Gremlin Group, the computer games company, has raised £8m in a share placing, some of which will be used to fund development of new games. 18-Jul-1997 Internet Technology Group is launching a joint venture with Wave Systems for the distribution of the WaveMeter silicon chip which will enable internet content providers to charge small fees. 18-Jul-1997 Stentor, the Irish telecommunications company, is to raise about £6m in a share placing to invest in its network. 16-Jul-1997 British Telecom may be considering a move to renegotiate its planned $20bn merger with MCI of the US, following the revelation that MCI could lose $800m on its US domestic expansion plans. 12-Jul-1997 GPT has won a £50m order to supply telecommunications equipment to Belgacom of Belgium. 10-Jul-1997 ICL has bought a 42% stake in its South African subsidiary from Malbak, and plans to grow the networking and outsourcing operations. 08-Jul-1997 Sema has announced a capital restructuring plan in which it will merge with Financiere Sema, its largest shareholder, which should help it expand its US operations. 08-Jul-1997 Memory Corporation is linking up with Hsin Lin Computer of Taiwan to develop and market new memory products. 08-Jul-1997 Vodafone is launching a new corporate identity by cutting many of its separate brands and using a unified billing system, while it also plans to refurbish its 300 high street stores. 07-Jul-1997 Delcam, the computer software group, hopes to raise about £1.7m with next month's flotation on Aim, which will be invested in product development and marketing. 03-Jul-1997 Cable & Wireless is increasing its stake in Optus Communications of Australia to 49% at a cost of £445m, giving it management control and strengthening its position in the Asia Pacific region. 02-Jul-1997 McDonnell Information Systems has sought a suspension of share dealings having failed to organise a cash injection before the deadline to present its 1996 accounts. 02-Jul-1997 Akhter Group, the personal computer maker, is postponing its stock market debut due to difficult market conditions. 27-Jun-1997 Ionica has announced details of a share placing which will raise up to £144m to develop its radio telephone network. 26-Jun-1997 Energis has won a £27m five year contract to provide a data transmission network linking the 1,300 locations of Boots' retail outlets and warehouses. 25-Jun-1997 Delcam, the software company, is planning a flotation in the Alternative Investment Market, which is expected to value it at up to £15m, in order to raise funds for overseas marketing and product development. 23-Jun-1997 Lynx has withdrawn from talks to acquire Kalamazoo Computer Group, apparently due to uncertainty about the status of Kalamazoo Trust, which owns 40% of the company's shares and may not be entitled to sell them. 20-Jun-1997 Datrontech, the computer components company, has announced 25 redundancies due to a fall in personal computer sales. 19-Jun-1997 Microsoft has confirmed plans for a £50m computer science research laboratory in Cambridge, where it will also invest £10m in small high-tech start-ups. 18-Jun-1997 Azlan, the computer products distributor, has asked for its shares to be suspended while it resolves a number of accounting issues that could have a major impact on its financial results. 14-Jun-1997 Logica, the computer services group, has issued a profits warning caused by the strength of sterling and problems recruiting extra staff to cope with growing orders. 14-Jun-1997 Seagate Technology is to set up a $220m computer disk drive factory in County Cork, Ireland, creating 1,000 jobs. 13-Jun-1997 Johnson Matthey has announced a licensing agreement with Kyocera of Japan which will give it access to Kyocera's "flip chip" technology for attaching chips to printed circuit boards. 13-Jun-1997 Ionica is planning to raise £125m in a flotation in order to fund the expansion of its network and become the "principal national alternative consumer telephone service". 12-Jun-1997 Akhter Group, the PC maker, is planning a flotation which will value the company at about £60m. 10-Jun-1997 AIT Group, the provider of software systems to the retail financial services sector, is planning a flotation which will provide £2m for new facilities and enable it to take on larger projects. 09-Jun-1997 Seagate is to invest £149m in the expansion of its wafer fabrication plant in Londonderry, creating 1,125 jobs. 07-Jun-1997 Rank Group has sold its 20% stake in Rank Xerox to Xerox of the US, its partner in the office equipment joint venture, for £1bn. 07-Jun-1997 Cable & Wireless is to give up control of its Hongkong Telecom subsidiary to China Telecom, and in return will become the main telecoms investor in a new venture in China. 07-Jun-1997 Cable & Wireless is linking up with Maersk Data to launch a telecoms service for the container transport industry. 06-Jun-1997 Amstrad is to be broken up into two separate companies - Betacom, the consumer electronics business, and Viglen Technology, the personal computer manufacturing and direct sales business. 04-Jun-1997 Racal Electronics has announced plans to cut 1,000 jobs, and has appointed advisers to help decide the future of the data products business and the telecoms network services, prompting speculation that Racal may be broken up. 04-Jun-1997 Kalamazoo Computer Group, the computer services and printing concern, is in talks with Lynx which could lead to its takeover. 04-Jun-1997 Royalblue, the supplier of software to City brokers, is to raise £5.2m in a flotation in order to fund acquisitions. 04-Jun-1997 National Grid has decided against selling a large stake in Energis, its telecommunications business, having now set up a series of commercial arrangements with other telecoms companies. 04-Jun-1997 International Management Resources of Florida is to set up a software development centre in Belfast, creating 311 jobs for software professionals over the next three years. 03-Jun-1997 GPT, the telecoms equipment joint venture between GEC and Siemens, is looking to recruit 400 staff, including analysts, software developers and field engineers, in response to rising demand for advanced transmission systems at its sites in Coventry, Poole, Liverpool and Nottingham. 03-Jun-1997 Microsoft is planning to set up a research centre in Cambridge in collaboration with the university, its first such project outside the US. 02-Jun-1997 British Telecom is to launch a virtual private network service in Hong Kong by the end of July, following moves to deregulate the local telecoms market. 02-Jun-1997 Gremlin Interactive is planning to raise up to £12m in a flotation in order to fund acquisitions and the development of new video and computer games. 26-May-1997 Cellnet is planning to launch a new product called Genie in the autumn, which will integrate mobile phone sets with the internet and enable people to receive a stream of customised information while on the move. 24-May-1997 Vodafone is linking up with Qualcomm of the US to develop a "world phone" which can be used in Europe, the US and Asia. 23-May-1997 Interoute Telecommunications has acquired Viacom of Spain for an initial £250,000 to set up links with other parts of its European network. 22-May-1997 Mercury Telecommunications has won contracts worth up to £100m from the government's Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency, covering voice, data and mobile services. 21-May-1997 Racal Network Services has pulled out of the bidding for the £1.5bn Public Safety Radio Communications Project, which is the next generation of police radio. 21-May-1997 Parity has acquired Dedicate Group, the Dutch IT solutions company, for an initial £7.4m. 20-May-1997 Eidos has increased its stake in Opticom, the Norwegian polymer-based optical storage company, to 14% at a cost of £8.2m. 20-May-1997 Amstrad is considering plans to give its majority holding in Betacom, the telephone equipment maker, to its investors in an effort to improve shareholder value. 17-May-1997 CompuServe is planning to reposition itself as a supplier of content rather than an online service provider, in response to the threat from telecoms carriers that are now offering internet access. 15-May-1997 Cable & Wireless is joining a consortium that includes Hongkong Telecom, The Keppel Group and Singapore Press Holdings, to bid for Singapore's second national telecommunications licence. 14-May-1997 Amstrad has been awarded £57m in damages against Seagate Technology, who it complained had supplied it with defective disk drives in the 1980s. 10-May-1997 Infobank International, the electronic commerce systems company, is acquiring Software Corporation, the software retailer based in York, for £8.2m. 08-May-1997 Ericsson, the Swedish mobile phone company, is moving its Business Unit Transport & Cable Networks business from Stockholm to Horsham, West Sussex. 07-May-1997 FI has won a £13m contract from the Department for Education and Employment for the outsourcing of its computer systems. 07-May-1997 Reed Elsevier is to form a strategic alliance with Microsoft, paying £18m to use Microsoft Commercial Internet Systems and other developments. 07-May-1997 Unipart has won a contract to manage the logistics for the UK replacement parts business of Bull, the French computer company. 06-May-1997 Easynet, the internet service provider, is to raise £2.5m with a share placing in order to fund acquisitions. 03-May-1997 Deltron Electronics, the components distributor, has acquired Conelec of Denmark for £2.5m. 02-May-1997 British Telecom is launching a managed data service called Enterprise Solutions, which it claims will save smaller companies up to 40% of the costs involved in setting up and maintaining computer networks. 01-May-1997 Micro Focus has acquired Millennium UK, the year 2000 consultancy, for £4m. 01-May-1997 Demon Internet, the internet service provider, is looking for investors to acquire a 49% stake in the company, in order to help finance a UK marketing campaign and expand into other European countries. 29-Apr-1997 Computacenter, the computer systems and services concern, has announced plans to create a further 400 jobs this year, and it also aims to set up subsidiaries in France and Germany. 29-Apr-1997 JBA Holdings is planning to acquire Presys, the French AS/400 distributor, for £10.8m. 22-Apr-1997 Emerging Markets Data is acquiring eMisis Infocom, the information and wireless technology software company, for up to £16.5m. 21-Apr-1997 Royalblue, the software and computer services company specialising in financial trading systems, is planning a flotation in order to raise about £5m. 21-Apr-1997 Compaq is to set up a £15m telephone call centre in Glasgow, creating 250 jobs. 19-Apr-1997 British Telecom and MCI have announced an alliance with Telefonica of Spain, in a move that could have a dramatic effect on the balance of power in the world telecoms sector. 19-Apr-1997 Memory Corporation is to link up with Sumitomo to market its semiconductor technology in Japan and the Pacific Rim. 18-Apr-1997 European Telecom is acquiring Euro Point Communications, the Dutch cellular phone distributor, for £1.9m and Town and Country, the Surrey-based mobile phone repair centre, for £350,000. 18-Apr-1997 Action Computer Supplies is planning to start making acquisitions as it aims to triple in size over the next three years. 18-Apr-1997 British Telecom and MCI are to become the strategic partners of Portugal Telecom. 15-Apr-1997 British Telecom is to withdraw a service which enables hotels to calculate guests' telephone bills unless the hotels replace their old equipment, in a move which will prevent hotels from making mark-ups on the bills. 14-Apr-1997 British Steel has rejected IBM's proposal for a £350m contract to take over its computing work, and will instead look to other companies such as EDI and Cap Gemini. 11-Apr-1997 British Telecom is linking up with NTT Data and MCI to set up a global internet dial-roaming service to enable subscribers to access the internet in foreign countries. 11-Apr-1997 Ionica, the telecommunications company that provides telephone services based on fixed radio links, is to set up a customer call centre in Birmingham with the creation of 600 jobs. 10-Apr-1997 Cellnet is acquiring a 40% stake in The Link, the consumer electronics chain owned by Dixons, for £25m. 09-Apr-1997 Compaq is to create an additional 200 jobs at its Erskine computer plant near Glasgow. 09-Apr-1997 British Telecom is to set up two new telemarketing centres - in Doncaster and North Tyneside - each employing 1,000 people. 08-Apr-1997 Internet Technology Group has acquired Xara Networks for £2.65m. 08-Apr-1997 SDX Business Systems has bought Objective Science Group, the telecommunications systems reseller, for £1.26m. 08-Apr-1997 GEC's planned approach for Thomson-CSF, the French defence electronics company, has been rejected by the French government due to "national security concerns". 05-Apr-1997 Vodafone has reached an agreement with Internet Technology Group which will enable users of its GSM mobile phones to receive email. 04-Apr-1997 GEC is planning to join the bidding for Thomson CSF, the French defence electronics company that is being privatised, and will be in competition with Alcatel and Lagardere Group. 03-Apr-1997 Samsung is launching a recruitment drive to fill 200 new jobs at its three Teesside plants, which make microwave ovens, televisions and computer monitors. 03-Apr-1997 Racal Electronics is planning to improve its position in the network services market by looking for equity partners, including overseas telecoms operators and UK cable companies. 01-Apr-1997 Vodafone has agreed a £13m sponsorship deal with English cricket. 27-Mar-1997 British Telecom and Vodafone and Cellnet have been ordered by Oftel to reduce the cost of making calls to mobile phones by about 30%. 26-Mar-1997 France Telecom says it is interested in acquiring a stake in Cable & Wireless Communications in order to set up a UK relay station for its alliance with Deutsche Telekom and Sprint. 20-Mar-1997 Bowthorpe, the electrical components maker, is planning a reorganisation that will result in the closure of 3 non-core businesses in order to focus on telecommunications and power. 20-Mar-1997 Ionica has raised £215m to expand its radio-based telecommunications network, and expects to float later this year. 20-Mar-1997 British Telecom is planning to link up with Telefonica of Spain by acquiring a stake in Telefonica Internacional, which has stakes in some South American operators. 19-Mar-1997 British Telecom is to take a 51% stake in a joint venture with Marubeni of Japan, in order to offer direct access to global services. 19-Mar-1997 British Telecom is linking up with NTT of Japan to bid for Singapore's second national telecoms licence. 14-Mar-1997 Delphi Group, the computer contractor and consultancy, is acquiring a strategic stake in Groupe Decan of France, for £3.4m. 14-Mar-1997 Amstrad has developed a handheld mobile phone that can be used on both sides of the Atlantic without modification, and expects to launch it later this year. 12-Mar-1997 Psion is to launch two new handheld computers that use 32-bit technology later this year, with one of them capable of wireless digital communications. 11-Mar-1997 Kalamazoo has acquired CFS International, a US company that trades in the UK as Coin Financial Systems and provides computer solutions to the finance sector, for £3.5m. 11-Mar-1997 Cable & Wireless is planning to merge its Russian telecoms operations with those of US West in order to compete with the large domestic operators. 07-Mar-1997 British Telecom has been ordered by Oftel to stop a marketing campaign which was said to be aimed at winning back customers who have switched to cable operators. 04-Mar-1997 Samsung is to extend its microwave oven factory in Teesside creating a further 35 jobs, and expects total employment at the electronics complex to rise from 800 to 3,000 by 2000. 28-Feb-1997 Nokia is to set up a £20m research and development facility in Farnborough, creating 600 jobs. 28-Feb-1997 Siemens has told staff that it is looking for a partner for its defence electronics business and may even consider selling the business following a fall in government defence spending. 28-Feb-1997 London Bridge Software, the credit management software concern, plans to raise £10m from a flotation in order to fund expansion. 25-Feb-1997 Siemens has set up a joint venture with GEC which will represent the second largest supplier of private telecommunications systems in the UK. 20-Feb-1997 The government is setting up an industry group to help plan the future for mobile communications in the UK. 14-Feb-1997 Bull is launching an apprentice scheme in Norwich for systems engineers and plans to recruit at least 150 this year. 14-Feb-1997 Division has introduced five new software modules aimed at designers and engineers, including a free virtual reality internet viewer. 13-Feb-1997 Cable & Wireless has sold over half its stake in NetCom Systems of Sweden for a profit of £40m, reducing its holding to 4.6%. 13-Feb-1997 Amstrad is developing a combined mobile phone and hand-held computer which it will launch early next year. 12-Feb-1997 Motorola is creating a further 300 jobs at its Swindon mobile communications factory following a rise in worldwide orders. 07-Feb-1997 British Telecom's Viag Interkom joint venture in Germany with Viag is to be strengthened when Telenor of Norway acquires a 10% stake. 07-Feb-1997 Virtuality, the virtual reality company, has requested the suspension of its shares as it tries to sort out cashflow problems following a decline in its arcade games business. 07-Feb-1997 TVX of Colorado is to acquire Active Imaging, the computer imaging company which is valued at about £19m. 05-Feb-1997 Pace Micro Technology is linking up with Hitachi to develop a PC satellite data broadcasting card which will provide high speed internet access. 05-Feb-1997 British Telecom and Viag have jointly won a contract for Germany's fifth mobile phone licence. 05-Feb-1997 Cellnet has cut digital mobile phone tariffs in order to move customers away from analogue services. 01-Feb-1997 Telecom Eireann is considering a flotation over the next three years, and is also discussing an acquisition in South America. 31-Jan-1997 Misys is looking to spend up to £18m on acquisitions in order to improve its position in the market for banking software. 30-Jan-1997 Sage has developed a program that will link Midland Bank's electronic banking service to other software, thus enabling companies to send payment instructions to the bank without the need for rekeying. 27-Jan-1997 Esprit Telecom is expected to launch an international public offering in London and New York in order to raise about $100m to invest in fibre-optic cable in London and switching equipment for expansion in Europe. 27-Jan-1997 Hutchison Whampoa is to provide financial support to Orange's plans for the overseas expansion of its mobile phone business, an undertaking which will reassure investors over the effect it will have on Orange's UK business. 25-Jan-1997 TT Group has decided against making a bid for Roxboro Group, the maker of electronic components, and has sold its 8% stake. 25-Jan-1997 Telewest Communications is in discussions with telecoms companies about setting up a network to link its UK cable TV franchises, in order to improve margins by bypassing British Telecom. 23-Jan-1997 British Telecom is discussing a link-up with NTT of Japan in order to invest £300m in the French telecoms sector, with NTT following BT's lead in acquiring a stake in Cegetel. 23-Jan-1997 Psion has announced a licensing agreement with Citrix Systems of the US which will enable it to incorporate Windows-based programmes in future versions of its handheld computers. 17-Jan-1997 Orange is to join a consortium to bid for a licence to run a mobile phone network in the Netherlands. 16-Jan-1997 British Telecom is cutting international telephone charges to 33 countries by between 10% and 37% from February 19th. 15-Jan-1997 British Telecom is acquiring a 22.5% stake in Bharti Cellular, the Indian mobile phone operator, for £60m. 11-Jan-1997 IMS, the provider of automated telephone services, is to undergo a £45m flotation next month, and plans to use the funds to acquire a number of UK rivals. 11-Jan-1997 Kingston Communications is to cut back 300 of its 1,530 staff in an effort to improve its competitiveness in the domestic telecoms market. 09-Jan-1997 AEA Technology is acquiring Advanced Scientific Computing, the Canadian software company, for £6.7m, in order to improve its position in the market for computational fluid dynamics. 08-Jan-1997 ICL has sold Design to Distribution, its contract electronic manufacturing business, to Canadian-owned Celestica, for undisclosed terms. 08-Jan-1997 ICL has sold its S Print print operations to Continua, in a deal which will see Rank Xerox acquire a 50% stake. 08-Jan-1997 Computer Associates International is planning to set up a £100m European headquarters in Slough, which should create a "substantial" number of new jobs. 08-Jan-1997 Rolls-Royce has contracted out its computer services to EDS of the US, in a £300m contract which will make the company EDS's largest UK client. 07-Jan-1997 The information below comes from the UK Activity Report. 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