1997

BEIJING-Northern Telecom Ltd. was awarded a contract from the Tianjin Posts and Telecommunications Administration to increase the capacity of its existing Global System for Mobile Communications network. The expansion will …

BRISTOL, England-Orange plc is introducing a number of communications services packages that address multiple user groups. The new services, which will be available within the next month, include simultaneous voice …

BALTIMORE-Major investor and creditor Pacific Eagle Investments Ltd. has pledged another $5 million infusion to Pocket Communications Inc. to keep the C-block personal communications services licensee going until mid-December. This …

MINNEAPOLIS-AirTouch Cellular launched its prepaid cellular service in Minnesota, which is targeted at customers who have been denied service for credit reasons and those customers wanting to control costs. “As …

BEACHWOOD, Ohio-Allen Telecom Inc. acquired the outstanding minority interest in Forem SpA, giving Allen complete ownership of the company. The acquisition also gives Allen effective ownership of Forem’s 62 percent-owned …

Over the past couple years, telecom lawmakers were known to have taken a shot or two at budgeteers if the subject of spectrum auctions happened to come up. The quips …

Century acquires Pacific Telecom The recent string of blockbuster telecom acquisition announcements continued this week as Century Telephone Enterprises Inc. signed a definitive purchase agreement with PacifiCorp June 13 to …

When AT&T Wireless Services Inc. introduced its Digital PCS brand name in 40 digital cellular markets last October, many carriers expressed anger at the attempt to steal the thunder of …

KIRKLAND, Wash.-AT&T Wireless Services Inc. introduced two new ways to send messages to AT&T Digital PCS, AT&T PocketNet and AT&T Paging customers. The new services, which include Internet e-mail messaging …

BOULDER, Colo.-AT&T Wireless Services Inc. said it has entered final negotiations with SCC Communications Corp., which would make SCC the primary vendor to deploy enhanced 911 services in AT&T’s wireless …

WASHINGTON-The House Commerce Committee approved expanded spectrum auction legislation last week amid an uproar over signs the bill falls well short of the five-year, $26.3 billion target negotiated by congressional …

Motorola Inc.’s Cellular Infrastructure Group and Coral Systems Inc. reached an agreement to allow Motorola to offer its customers Coral Systems’ FraudBuster fraud management system as part of its IN2 …

In a number of “hot” markets around the country, a tidal wave of demand for new personal communications services is swamping some companies’ customer service departments-forcing scores of would-be customers …

Congress last week approved an $8.6 billion disaster relief bill. Relief, that is, for states throughout the country humbled, yet not humiliated, by floods, tornadoes, mud slides and other natural …

LAS VEGAS-Easy Cellular Inc. began prepaid residential and long-distance services in Miami. The company said it received more than 1,000 inquiry calls and 70 service activations. Last month, Easy Cellular …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission has proposed a rulemaking that would allow almost limitless foreign ownership of U.S.-based telecommunications carriers. The commission, however, vowed to retain certain safeguards that would restrict …

CHARLOTTE, N.C.-Glenayre Technologies Inc.’s Integrated Network Group signed a letter of intent with Northern Telecom Ltd. to jointly market Glenayre’s MVP modular voice processing system with Nortel’s new DMS-Programmable Services …

Euristix Ltd. and Tellabs are working together to develop Tellabs’ Titan 550 Element Management System using the Euristix Raceman EMSX platform development toolkit based on Windows NT. The companies said …

WASHINGTON-According to a June 3 petition filed at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland, C-block personal communications services licensee Pocket Communications Inc. is courting a white knight …

NEW YORK-PriCellular Corp. announced June 3 that it acquired the Wisconsin 5 RSA, which consists of three eastern Wisconsin counties. The Wisconsin 5 RSA borders PriCellular’s Eau Claire, Wis., MSA; …

TORONTO-Qualcomm Inc. said it signed an 18-month contract to supply Code Division Multiple Access digital handsets to Bell Mobility, a Canadian wireless services provider. Qualcomm values the agreement at $70 …

NEW YORK-After more than two years of effort, standards for interoperability of smart cards for U.S.-based personal communications services received approval May 30. “It represents a breakthrough. This is one …

Smartalk Teleservices Inc. rocketed into the prepaid calling card big leagues last week, virtually doubling in size with the acquisitions of GTI Telecom Inc. and SmarTel Communications Inc. “The purchase …

NEW ORLEANS-Now that all three of soon-to-be-former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Reed Hundt’s Telecommunications Act of 1996 implementation goals-universal service, access-charge reform and interconnection-have been completed in at least bare-bones …