Maura Ginty

Quepasa.com Monday added online auctions to its line-up of bilingual offerings. Quepasa.com (PASA) purchased eTrato.com for an undisclosed amount, and will integrate the trading community into its suite of services. eTrato.com offers the usual array of auction features, such as English and Dutch auctions, reverse auctions and sealed bid auctions and classifieds. For its cross-border […]

Bolstering its global brokerage empire, Charles Schwab Corp. Monday forged a partnership with local Internet player ecorp Ltd. to bring an online trading joint venture to Australia. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The new brokerage expected to open for business in the first quarter of next year. The new company will offer online […]

Partner Communications and Israeli Internet player Walla! recently inked a deal to create the country’s first portal specifically for cellular users. Partner (PTNR), which offers Orange cellular service in the region, and the popular portal will bring the content through the phone’s screen. E-mail, scheduling tools, chat and other online features are expected to be […]

Venture capital firm Garage.com has decided to set up shop in Israel, calling the move the first of a series of new market expansions. Guy Kawasaki, Garage.com’s chief executive officer, called Israeli startups “among the best in the world today.” The new office is part of a new global strategy based on incubating new ventures […]

With the goal of adding an e- before its consulting services, PricewaterhouseCoopers Thursday acquired a 50 percent stake in a Belgium Web design company. The professional services giant bought Evisor for an undisclosed sum. The design firm specialized in Web design and e-commerce applications, as well as Internet consulting. The two companies aim to combine […]

Marconi PLC Thursday won a $1 billion contract to deploy its fiber equipment for BellSouth‘s network, which will allow the carrier to offer ATM-based broadband services. BellSouth (BLS) will add the new build to new houses and its existing fiber-to-the-curb system in its nine-state area of operation, a system which has a total subsciber base […]

Targeting a total new user group of 18 million, Microsoft Corp. Wednesday added three new language versions to its MSN Hotmail e-mail services. The popular Web-based e-mail site will now be available in Spanish, Portuguese and Italian. The company said the move is part of its “Everyday Web” strategy which stresses the fact the Internet […]

Grabbing a ring in the optical technology market, Nortel Networks Wednesday bought ultra-long-reach optical network startup Qtera Corp. in a $3.25 billion stock deal. Nortel (NT) expects that the new optical technology will greatly enhance Internet performance, with a network capable of sending signals as far as 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometers) in optical form. The […]

Ericsson Tuesday inked a $200 million deal to build a pan-Latin American wireless broadband network for Diginet Americas Inc. The Swedish equipment maker and Diginet previously shook hands on a $100 million network agreement. The expanded relationship will include Ericsson’s MINI-LINK wireless systems and its AXD 301 ATM switch for multiservice networks, all of which […]

With an eye to what it calls a $7 billion market, KPNQwest Tuesday outlined plans to roll out DSL services throughout Europe. The joint venture between Qwest Communications (QWST) and KPN will start the initial DSL rollout in Germany by the middle of next year. By the end of the deployment, KPNQwest (KQIP) expects to […]

AboveNet Communications Inc. Monday extended its network into Japan through a new joint venture with Marubeni Corp. and Trans Cosmos Inc. Marubeni will own 50 percent of the venture, AboveNet will control 40 percent, while Trans Cosmos holds the remaining 10 percent. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed. AboveNet Japan K.K. will serve […]

Yahoo! Inc. Monday expanded its alliance with CheckFree Corp. by introducing a free online payment service for its registered users. Yahoo! E-Bills, the newest addition to Yahoo!’s financial services portfolio, allows users to receive bills online. The new function will connect to Yahoo! Bill Pay, making it possible for users to complete their monthly bill-paying […]