Service Merchandise has agreed to add store-within-a-store facilities to 131 of its locations to sell Wireless Communication Centers Inc.’s wireless communications services and products. Wireless Communication Centers is a subsidiary of USCI Inc., a cellular and pager activation company. Bruce Hahn, chairman of USCI, said the company expects to open 22 stores by the end of the year.
The board of directors of Vanguard Cellular Systems Inc. authorized the repurchase of up to 2.5 million shares of its Class A common stock in open market or other transactions. Vanguard said it believes its stock is undervalued and is a good investment for the company and its shareholders.
Socket Communications Inc. completed the first closing of a convertible preferred stock private placement financing for $1.55 million. Socket said it will use the proceeds for working capital. The financing is being managed by H.J. Meyers & Co. Socket said it intends to seek additional financing under the offering. Socket develops and sells connection solutions for mobile computers, including serial PC cards, ethernet PC cards and PC card hardware, software and services for wireless messaging.
AirTouch Cellular introduced its “Answer” pay-as-you-go cellular service in Sacramento, Calif. Answer is a prepaid cellular calling card, available in increments of $30, the company said. The card and phone keep track of how many minutes remain and notify the user of the time remaining each time a call is placed. Local calls are 69 cents per minute during peak hours and 49 cents per minute during off-peak hours. Long distance calls are 20 cents extra per minute. The service is being marketed to parents who want their teenage child to have a cellular phone but want to control costs.
Data Critical Corp. closed its second round of investment capital financing for a total of $3.7 million. Proceeds will be used for product development, marketing of its Cardio-Pager and RhythmStat XL products and for a utilities application called MobileView, the company said. Contributing to the financing were Apex Investment, First Analysis, Merrill Lynch, Spencer Trask Securities Investors, Ace USA, The EnCompass Group and individual investors. “The market for wireless medical applications is growing at a rapid rate and this support will help us establish a leading edge within the industry,” said Jeff Brown, president and chief executive officer of Data Critical.
United States Cellular Corp. is rolling out its Carry Phone Home and Away service in western North Carolina and Tennessee. The service allows customers to use a wireless handset to make and receive calls on the same phone both at home and away from home, the company said. The phone acts as a cordless phone using landline service while inside a customer’s home, and switches to wireless networks away from home.
