December 1998

At the end of each year, the RCR editorial staff looks back on the news events that made RCR headlines and decides which were the most significant, industry-impacting stories of …

PCIA The Personal Communications Industry Association appointed Brent Weingardt vice president of government relations. Weingardt previously was regulatory counsel for Iridium LLC where he gave legal advice on regulatory matters …

WASHINGTON-With a panoply of prickly issues tied to major telecom policies of local competition, disability access, spectrum management and digital wiretap compliance, the future could not be cloudier for the …

M/A-Com M/A-COM, a division of AMP Inc., announced a new family of DC-2 GHz GaAs Field Effect Transistor Microwave Monolithic Integrated Circuit digital attenuators with integral Application Specific Integrated Circuit …

SCHAUMBURG, Ill.-Motorola Inc. announced it signed a multiyear contract with United States Realty & Investment Co., New York, to provide antenna-site management for some of its properties. Under terms of …

DALLAS-Paging Network Inc. announced it is in the final stages of field testing its advanced messaging network and plans to launch commercial service in the upcoming first quarter. PageNet said …

After months of aggressive buildout-beginning in late June with the Texas launch-PageMart Wireless Inc. announced its two-way, ReFLEX 25-based narrowband personal communications services network is available nationwide. The $310 million, …

WASHINGTON-Oral argument in the appeal of the Federal Communications Commission’s 1996 radio-frequency radiation exposure guidelines has been postponed until February or March. The case, Cellular Task Force v. FCC, had …

The Palm VII personal digital assistant, announced this month by 3Com Corp. and Palm Computing Inc., continues to generate news and speculation, even though the product is not expected to …

MURRAY HILL, N.J.-Lucent Technologies Inc. will integrate SignalSoft Corp.’s suite of wireless location services with its Wireless Intelligent Network platform to broaden the range of services available on the platform, …

SCHAUMBURG, Ill.-In an agreement with IBM’s software group, Motorola Worldwide Data Solutions Division said it now will be able to offer IBM’s eNetwork Emulator Express, eNetwork Web Express and eNetwork …

NEW YORK-Echoing Rodney Dangerfield’s complaint, wireless carriers continue to say, “I don’t get no respect” as they fight skirmishes over local exchange carrier interconnection fees while the decisive battle is …

SEATTLE-Go to any trade show where mobile phone operators congregate, and you will hear grumbling about how AT&T Wireless Services Inc.’s Digital One Rate pricing plan has wreaked havoc on …

Three Granger Telecom employees and an independent contractor have been killed in Chechnya, a breakaway republic of Russia located north of Georgia. Granger Telecom employees Darren Hickey, Rudolph Petschi and …

WASHINGTON-Paging Network Inc. was expected last week to complete the last of 13 interconnection agreements with Bell Atlantic Corp. “We are pleased that PageNet and Bell Atlantic have been able …

WASHINGTON-The most conservative member of the Federal Communications Commission last week said the current microscopic review of telecommunications mergers is unfair given the lack of attention the FCC is expected …

As a call to arms goes out to prepare for cyberterrorism, we now know at least a few ways vital U.S. infrastructure can be shut down. There are errant construction …

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill.-Motorola Inc.’s Cellular Infrastructure Group plans to shut down its plant in McHenry, Ill., that housed analog base station equipment manufacturing functions. Sue Frederick, a spokeswoman for Motorola …

NEW YORK-Olivetti S.p.A. and Mannesmann AG commenced a tender offer of $65.75 per share for all of the outstanding shares of Cellular Communications International Inc.’s common stock. Olivetti and Mannesmann …

WASHINGTON-The Clinton administration progressed in getting more telecommunications and information technology products shielded from tariffs, but last week acknowledged problems persist in convincing China to open its market and hinted …

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-The number of cellular and personal communications services subscribers in Southeast Asia will grow from more than 8.5 million this year to more than 19.8 million by 2003, according …

WASHINGTON-The Industrial Telecommunications Association warned the Federal Communications Commission not to use a pending proceeding involving Nextel Communications Inc. to make a de facto ruling that private wireless spectrum should …

HELSINKI, Finland-Nokia Corp. signed a definitive agreement to acquire Vienna Systems, a privately held Internet Protocol telephony company of Kanata, Ontario, for about $90 million. Vienna Systems designs and manufacturers …

DALLAS-Cellular One celebrated its 15th anniversary Dec. 16. On the same day in 1983, Cellular One initiated wireless service in Washington, D.C. “Before cellular technology, there could only be a …

WARREN, N.J.-Anadigics Inc. has joined the Bluetooth Special Interest Group. Anadigics manufacturers gallium arsenide integrated circuits for high-volume communications applications, such as mobile phones.