1997

CHICAGO-Aerial Communications Inc. unveiled its new marketing campaign of TV, print, radio and outdoor ads in Columbus, Ohio, the company’s first commercial personal communications services market. Aerial plans to launch …

WCS auction slows, could end early While bidding started out with a bang last Tuesday for the Wireless Communications Services auction, pledges round by round since that time have been …

Comsat Corp. said its offer to repurchase 8.13 percent debentures due April 1, 2004, was concluded April 9. The company repurchased $89.5 million of the $160 million in principal amount …

NEW YORK-Century Telephone Enterprises Inc., a Monroe, La., telecommunications firm, signed a letter of intent to purchase several cellular and personal communications services markets, primarily in the Midwest. The seller …

A new market research study released by Bellcore indicates interest in cellular and paging grows substantially when prospective subscribers learn about calling party pays services. Interest in calling party pays …

SAN FRANCISCO-MobiFon, the Romanian cellular venture of Telesystem International Wireless of Canada and AirTouch Communications Inc., launched commercial service less than five months after receiving a license. The network uses …

RIDGEFIELD PARK, N.J.-MobileMedia Corp. said it submitted to its lenders a business plan as required under its debtor-in-possession financing agreement with Chase Manhattan Bank. In separate news, the company’s symbol …

JACKSON, Miss.-SkyTel Corp. said it will introduce SkyWord Plus in the next few weeks, beginning at $25 per month for service and $10 per month to lease a Motorola Inc. …

WASHINGTON-In the final salvo of paperwork regarding NextWave Telecom Inc.’s opposition to its application for review, Antigone Communications L.P. and PCS Devco Inc. continue to maintain their push for, at …

HERNDON, Va.-Newbridge Networks won a contract to provide its MainStreetXpress 36170 Multiservices Switch for GTE Wireless’ Code Division Multiple Access network in the San Francisco Bay area. The switch provides …

Amid the sagging stocks and belt-tightening that characterizes today’s paging industry, one private company maintains rapid growth and is venturing into new markets. New York-based Affordable Message Center, a wholesaler …

Standard Telecom America Inc. said it will start shipping sample quantities of its Nixxo Swing alphanumeric pager in the next few weeks. Swing is Standard Telecom’s first alphanumeric pager to …

XIAN, China-Northern Telecom Inc. won a contract to expand Shaanxi Provincial Telecommunications Administration’s Global System for Mobile communications cellular network. Nortel values the agreement at $22 million. Nortel supplied the …

DALLAS-Northern Telecom Inc. signed a three-year supply agreement with Omnipoint Corp. for Nortel’s wireless handsets. The agreement includes Nortel’s PCS 1911 handset, which supports data, voice mail and messaging services. …

Tough competition from other operators has led to increased costs for cellular carrier Palmer Wireless Inc., fueling speculation that the carrier is up for sale. Fort Myers, Fla.-based Palmer won’t …

The Federal Communications Commission announced three appointments in the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau. David Horowitz was named chief of the Private Wireless Division of the Bureau, which he joined in 1995 …

BALTIMORE-A creditors’ committee made up of the seven largest owners of unsecured debt in C-block winner Pocket Communications Inc. was chosen by the U.S. Trustee’s Office in Baltimore April 16 …

OLYMPIA, Wash.-Illuminet Inc. said it began implementing its platform for local number portability. Under the first phase of local number portability, customers will be allowed to switch carriers without having …

LISBON, Portugal-Concert plc, the company formed as part of the merger of British Telecommunications plc and MCI Communications Corp., and Portugal Telecom announced Portugal Telecom will exclusively distribute Concert’s voice …

WEST POINT, Ga.-Personal communications services provider Powertel Inc., a subsidiary of InterCel Inc., reached an agreement with BellSouth Telecommunications Inc. for decreased and reciprocal interconnection rates as directed by the …

NEW YORK-Preferred Networks Inc., a carrier’s paging carrier headquartered in Norcross, Ga., announced April 15 an agreement to obtain between $15 million and $20 million in a private placement with …

Oh, the C-block PCS auction is becoming one of life’s little ironies. Consider this: Congress in 1993 demanded that spectrum be set aside for smaller companies that want to participate …

NEW YORK-Wall Street, once ebullient about wireless stocks, is somewhat gloomy these days about the prospects for new personal communications services carriers to raise public equity. A convergence of global …

WASHINGTON-As Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) examines replies due today from the Food and Drug Administration to questions on the agency’s oversight of a cellular industry-financed cancer research program that has …

WASHINGTON-A status report released at the third of a three-part series of open meetings between wireless industry players and government agencies outlined six critical issues that will form the basis …