January 1997

ATLANTA-BellSouth Cellular Corp. deployed its Mobile America prepaid calling card program in Bakersfield, Calif., and Mobile, Ala. The program allows consumers to purchase a Mobile America prepaid card in 10-, …

WASHINGTON-On the day before the first anniversary of the bidding error that plunged C-block personal communications services applicant PCS 2000 L.P. into the lion’s den of licensing problems, the Federal …

The Feb. 10 issue of RCR will feature the Top 20 specialized mobile radio carriers. If you would like your company included in our survey, please fax the following information …

NEW YORK-Moody’s Investors Service Inc. announced Jan. 22 it had downgraded to B3 from B2 its speculative grade rating on $450 million in outstanding Omnipoint Corp. 10-year notes. Moody’s estimated …

MANILA, Philippines-Smart Communications Inc. reported its subscriber base increased 172 percent last year from 113,000 subscribers at the end of 1995 to more than 308,000 at the end of 1996. …

The Failure Group Inc. acquired Broadcast Communications Systems Inc., a company that designs, installs and maintains wireless communications networks. Broadcast Communications has erected communications towers and provided related training and …

SPOKANE, Wash.-Itron Inc. said Public Service Company of Colorado installed its one millionth Itron automatic meter reading module in the Denver area. Public Service Co. contracted with Itron in August …

WASHINGTON-A settlement is believed near that would have Teledesic Corp. pay to relocate Associated Communications L.L.C. fixed wireless facilities to the 24 GHz band, though it is unclear whether the …

ACC Corp., through its wholly owned subsidiary ACC TelEnterprises Ltd., signed an agreement with Paging Network of Canada Inc., a paging company affiliated with PageNet in the United States, to …

WASHINGTON-Unlike most of the other auctions sanctioned by the Federal Communications Commission, the sale of 14 unserved cellular areas concluded Jan. 21 with no fanfare after 35 rounds and only …

A California federal judge dismissed a proposed settlement between AT&T Wireless Services Inc. and minority owners of AT&T cellular markets after the court discovered AT&T signed an employment agreement with …

NEW YORK-Advanced Radio Telecom Corp., a 38 GHz provider of wireless local loop service that went public last year, has registered to sell a public offering of debt and stock-purchase …

WILSONVILLE, Ore.-Wireless reseller Northwest Communications, a division of Skylink Communications Corp., announced a prepaid wireless program called Pay-N-Talk. The service is available at grocery stores, gas stations and other consumer …

While one arm of U S West Inc. prepares to roll out pocket phone service later this year, another arm, U S West Media Group’s cellular division, is slated to …

The European Commission said it has given the Spanish government three months to inform the EC on the steps it will take to create a level playing field for the …

CLAYTON, N.J.-With a gaggle of journalists and public officials present, the first user trial of an automatic location system for analog cellular 911 calls began with a flourish Jan. 22 …

DSP Communications Inc. expects to see continued growth in 1997 and 1998, when the company may reap rewards from its new product, a wireless branch exchange system. The company reported …

LONDON-Orange plc of the United Kingdom and T-Mobil of Germany will head up a consortium to bid on a Digital Cellular System 1800 license in the Netherlands, announced Orange. The …

NEW YORK-After trimming the size and price of its initial public offering, Transcrypt International Inc. went public Jan. 22 by issuing 2.9 million shares of common stock at $8 each. …

“Why does Detroit not design these cars with phone holders, just like cup holders?” asked Federal Communications Commission Chairman Reed Hundt when he called National Public Radio’s popular Car Talk …

The first half of 1997 is full of promises for narrowband personal communications services, and as a few industry leaders fix and fine tune, Wall Street waits to see what …

NEW YORK-Under an agreement with BellSouth Corp. that became effective Jan. 1, Bell Atlantic Nynex Mobile has become the first cellular carrier doing business in the Carolinas to collect call …

The Federal Communications Commission terminated 402 paging applications and licenses held by MobileMedia Corp. because the company failed to build sites under the license terms, which require construction to be …

ATLANTA-National Data Corp. announced it has signed an agreement with Bell Atlantic Nynex Mobile to provide transaction processing services for Bell Atlantic Nynex customers who want to use credit cards …

NEW YORK-PageStar Inc. is ramping up for full-scale production this Spring of a new generation of wireless vehicle location devices designed to put car owners in the driver’s seat when …