April 1996

WASHINGTON-President Clinton signed appropriations legislation Friday to fund the Federal Communications Commission and scores of other government agencies for the rest of fiscal 1996, ending a bloody budget battle between …

SEATTLE-Bob Ratliff has left AT&T Wireless Services Inc. to return to active politics, but said he will continue to work beside cellular baron Craig McCaw. For the next month, Ratliff …

WASHINGTON-Alexandria, Va.-based Metrocall Inc. made good on its promise to “add strategic geographic and synergistic acquisitions during the first half of the year” by signing definitive agreements to purchase two …

If only Theodore Kaczynski, the Unabomber suspect accused of blowing up those he believes responsible for polluting America with high technology, had gotten out of his wooden shack in Montana, …

Safco Corp.’s Electronic Systems Division has opened a third satellite office in Boca Raton, Fla., to serve the Latin American market. David Neumann will lead the new office. Neumann joined …

CHICAGO-Three-sixty Communications Corp. has agreed to acquire the cellular operations of Independent Cellular Network, giving Three-sixty interests in 20 more markets with a collective 3.2 million pops. The new properties …

NEW YORK-Cellular Communications of Puerto Rico Inc.’s board of directors has authorized the repurchase of up to an additional 750,000 shares of CCPR’s common stock through open market purchases as …

NEW YORK-The success of Bell Atlantic Nynex Mobile played a key role in prompting the recent merger agreement between Bell Atlantic Corp. and Nynex Corp., said Lawrence T. Babbio, Jr., …

WASHINGTON-The Clinton administration, having shuffled around key leadership in the aftermath of the plane crash that killed Commerce Secretary Ron Brown and 34 others during a Balkan trade mission, is …

MONROE, La.-Century Telephone Enterprises Inc. said it has acquired Ringgold Telephone Co. in exchange for cash, common stock and convertible preferred stock. Century has headquarters in Monroe, La. Ringgold is …

At one-month-old, my daughter has discovered how to kick off the covers. This delights her and she does it often, leaving her mother obsessed with room temperatures and blankets. According …

SEOUL, South Korea-Samsung Electronics Co. announced an agreement with Sprint Spectrum L.P. to provide 1.3 million Code Division Multiple Access personal communications services terminals for the U.S. market. Value of …

NEW YORK-As the 1996 campaign season gets into high gear, wireless providers might do well to consider this profile when looking for loyal customers most likely to vote early and …

CALGARY, Alberta, Canada-Isotel Research and Steinbrecher Corp. announced Isotel has been selected to provide digital cellular software based on the North American Interim Standard-136 Time Division Multiple Access technology for …

Opportunity looms for the Canadian kin of PageMart Inc. and Paging Network Inc. Both companies recently activated service in Canada where market penetration is only 3 percent, or about 1 …

NEW YORK-AVIC Group International Inc. and the Government of Hebei Province jointly announced an agreement to develop and construct a 1.6 million subscriber fixed wire telephone network in Hebei Province, …

APRIL 28-1 IEEE Vehicular Technology Conference ’96, by IEEE Vehicular Technology Society. The Westin Peach-tree Plaza, Atlanta. (908) 562-3870. 30 The Telecom Act of 1996: Myths and Markets, by Creamer …

The fusion of wireless telecommunications and computer processing power into a device that fits your hand ought to be a slam-dunk proposition. It lets time-critical information go unobtrusively to where …

WASHINGTON-Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) has pledged to continue fighting for expanded wireless resale, saying his position on the issue has been reinforced over the past year despite lack of support …

May day, May day! Air-to-ground communications has just flattened out. That is, GTE Airfone Inc. is introducing flat rate pricing of $15 per call on any domestic call including voice, …

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Canada-PCS Wireless Inc. has appointed Rob Milne director of engineering. Milne formerly was head of product marketing at Motorola Inc.’s Wireless Data Systems Division. Prior to joining …

NEW YORK-American Portable Telecom, a personal communications services subsidiary of Telephone and Data Systems Inc., Chicago, sold an initial public offering April 25 of 12.25 million shares of common stock …

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill.-Motorola Inc.’s Pan American Wireless Infrastructure Division announced it has been awarded contracts valued at more than $30 million for the expansion of its analog cellular telephone system …

The Telecommunications Industry Association wrote the standard for authentication technology five years ago and in March 1995, Tom Berson, a noted cryptologist and president of Anagram Laboratories, completed a study …

A new flurry of rumors regarding a full-blown marriage between Bell Atlantic Corp. and Nynex Corp. circulated last week with rumblings that the two former Bells are on the verge …