October 1998

KANSAS CITY, Mo.-Sprint PCS introduced a handset with a built-in mouse, manufactured by Denso Wireless Systems America, and a headset from Plantronics Inc. The Sprint PCS Touchpoint handset has a …

Philips Electronics NV could announce this week plans to scrap its consumer communications joint venture with Lucent Technologies Inc. A decision about the fate of Philips Consumer Communications is expected …

WASHINGTON-Frustrated with failing to make progress after months of negotiations with European officials, Qualcomm Inc. last week declared war by formally invoking intellectual property rights to five third-generation wireless standards …

LAS VEGAS-Microsoft Corp. announced last week at Wireless I.T. in Las Vegas plans to create a microbrowser designed specifically for handheld wireless devices to access Web content. According to Cameron …

PrimeCo Personal Communications L.P. has sold its major trading area license and operations in Hawaii to Sprint Corp.-a deal that PrimeCo says has been in the works for nearly 15 …

ORLANDO, Fla.-To paraphrase a Bell Atlantic commercial, “wild things are happening” in dispatch radio, according to speakers at the recent PCS ’98 show. Just outside the spotlight, which is focused …

TAMPA, Fla.-BellSouth Corp. announced it launched its personal communications services network in the Tampa, Fla., market, offering bundled-billing wireless and local service, paging and wireless long-distance service. The Tampa Bay …

Count one less player in the specialized mobile radio game. As of Oct. 18, Geotek Communications Inc. will be but a memory of yet another start-up with a good idea …

SAN DIEGO-Willtech Inc. has licensed Qualcomm Inc.’s cdmaOne technology in a royalty-bearing agreement allowing the South Korea-based company to design and develop Code Division Multiple Access test equipment, said Qualcomm. …

While Nextel Communications Inc. remains the darling of the wireless industry these days, other specialized mobile radio operators are beginning to build successful businesses on plain old two-way dispatch voice …

Patents are a common thread running through the great debates of the day concerning strongest/adequate signal, E911 federal land antenna siting, 3G, prepaid calling and other telecom issues. This should …

WASHINGTON-Whether spectrum used by the private wireless industry will be included in future auction plans remains a murky matter as the Federal Communications Commission gets ready to debate a proposed …

DENVER-MobileMedia Communications Inc. again requested-and received-an adjournment of the bankruptcy court hearing to rule on its disclosure statement, scheduled for Oct. 14. MobileMedia spokeswoman Krista Grossman said the company’s lawyers …

An article in the Oct. 5 issue of RCR should have indicated Sprint PCS expects to raise $604 million with its initial public offering. Also, due to incorrect information supplied …

Amidst growing pressure from the Clinton administration, Japan’s Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications is set to begin studying other third-generation radio transmission technology proposals-namely cdma2000 technology-besides the W-CDMA proposal it …

ATLANTA-Eric Ensor has resigned as president of BellSouth Mobility DCS, BellSouth Corp.’s Global System for Mobile communications operation, effective Oct. 31. Ensor will become president and chief operating officer of …

IBM Corp.’s Microelectronics Division last week introduced its first standard, high-volume chip based on the company’s silicon germanium manufacturing process. The company said the new standard chips can be used …

DENVER-Under the direction of its new chief executive-Osmo Hautanen, formerly of Philips Consumer Communications and Nokia Corp.-start-up firm Formus Communications Inc. has made steady progress in its mission in the …

Austria Kyro Corp.’s Tecnomen Group announced Mobilkom Austria selected it to supply a new messaging system for Mobilkom’s Global System for Mobile communications network expansion. The new system will add …

WASHINGTON-International Mobile Telecommunications Association President Alan Shark urged Malaysian telecommunications officials to adopt a flexible approach in wireless equipment standard requirements instead of restricting the types of technologies that can …

While many personal communications services licensees have become disillusioned with the PCS market in the United States and have opted to bow out of the game, Leap Wireless International Inc. …

Nextel Communication Inc.’s third-quarter operating results indicated it reached the financial milestone of achieving domestic positive operating cash flow, but investors clearly focused on other aspects of the financials, as …

NEW YORK-Cable & Wireless Optus, Australia’s second-largest multiservice telecommunications carrier, plans to raise about $600 million in a stock sale Nov. 16, its initial public equity offering. Merrill Lynch & …

NEW YORK-NTT Mobile Communications Networks Inc. plans to raise $18.4 billion when its 545,000-share initial public offering begins trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Oct. 22. The carrier, which does …

An open letter praising the UWCC To the Editor: I feel compelled to write a letter of congratulations to the entire UWCC organization. It is the first time in my …