December 1996

WASHINGTON-Neither federal regulators nor lawmakers are likely to approve sweeping pre-emption of local-state taxation of wireless licenses, according to sources, but policymakers could strike down discriminatory levies on a case-by-case …

WASHINGTON-Viking Dispatch Services Inc., whose 42 applications to build cooperative, non-profit private radio networks were rejected by the Federal Communications Commission’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau June 7, continues to fight for …

Clinton II and greener pastures are generating more exits, some through the infamous revolving door. Bob McNamara, chief of the FCC’s Private Wireless Division, is leaving the agency after 21 …

WASHINGTON-Despite it being the Number One wish on bidders’ holiday lists, there probably is little chance that the D-, E- and F-block personal communications services auction will conclude before the …

FRAMINGHAM, Mass.-Aviation officials and electronics experts are debating whether portable electronic devices, including cellular phones and pagers, should be banned during airline flights, according to an investigation conducted by Computerworld …

Omnipoint Communications Inc. has been granted access to the New York Power Authority’s structures and rights-of-way. Under the agreement, approved by the board of trustees of the New York Power …

Picture this. Down at the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Fla., the space shuttle Columbia sits on the launch pad. The astronauts have run tests for months in preparation …

STOCKHOLM, Sweden-L.M. Ericsson acquired the majority of the voting power in its Brazilian associate, Ericsson Telecommunicacoes S.A. Ericsson traded an equal number of preferential shares for voting shares with Matel …

WASHINGTON-If allowed to merge, British Telecommunications plc and MCI Communications Corp. promised to jump start local competition, keep interconnection prices low and promote the use of wireless technology for both …

CHICAGO-The CDPD Forum’s third-quarter report card states Cellular Digital Packet Data service is now available in 99 markets nationwide. The Chicago-based forum will not say how many users are on …

Less than a year since licenses were awarded, PCS is live in Canada. Microcell Telecommunications Inc. turned on its personal communications services network in Montreal and is offering service at …

GREENVILLE, S.C.- Conxus Communications announced it opened its PCS demonstration system for review and technical trials. In the last several weeks, the transmission quality of Conxus InFLEXion-based system has exceeded …

The Top 20 PCS Operators feature in the Dec. 2 issue of RCR should have included Dallas-based GWI PCS Inc., which reports 19.8 million pops in San Francisco, Miami, Atlanta …

BEACHWOOD, Ohio-NextWave Telecom Inc. agreed to purchase $50 million in wireless personal communications services products and services from The Allen Group Inc. The products will be used in NextWave’s national …

LITTLE CHUTE, Wis.-ClearSystems Inc. will provide its customer care and billing platform, Innoverse, to Airadigm Communications, a personal communications services license winner. Innoverse was designed using client/server object-oriented technology, the …

Qualcomm Inc. has granted Hitachi Ltd. rights to manufacture and sell Code Division Multiple Access infrastructure based on Qualcomm’s CDMA Interim Standard 95 technology. “We believe that this agreement with …

The transition from analog to digital handsets in the United States is finally taking off, says a new study published by Herschel Shosteck Associates Ltd. “After four years of false …

NEW YORK-Although Ericsson Inc. has filed a lawsuit against Qualcomm Inc. for alleged patent infringement, Ericsson said it believes the two manufacturers will work out their differences without the threat …

STOCKHOLM, Sweden-More than 3.5 million people sign up for digital wireless services each month, according to a study conducted by L.M. Ericsson. The company estimated 126 million people were wireless …

WASHINGTON-The Clinton administration’s 15-month-old executive memorandum mandating tower siting on federal lands not only is not being implemented quickly, it is being filibustered by land-management agencies, according to a Dec. …

WASHINGTON-In an effort to move closer to gaining the C-block personal communications services licenses it won last summer and to circumvent any talk of collusion, Dallas-based GWI PCS Inc. has …

The latest radio acquisition by Harris Corp. puts the company in the position to compete for a multimillion dollar government contract upgrading airport radio systems. Harris is buying the Digital …

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill.-Motorola Inc.’s International Cellular Infrastructure Group signed a contract to expand a Global System for Mobile communications network in Kuwait. Motorola values the contract at $7 million. When …

L.M. Ericsson said Digital Tuka Kyushu ordered equipment, including AXE switching and radio base station infrastructure, to expand its Personal Digital Cellular mobile telephone system. Ericsson values the contract at …

220 MHz operator US MobilComm Inc. said the conversion to digital technology by Nextel Communications Inc. is offering MobilComm a tremendous opportunity to capture customers. US MobilComm recently rolled out …