December 1998

SPRINGFIELD, Ill.-Amica Wireless Phone Service said it expects to begin offering digital wireless calling Dec. 14 in Bloomington, Champaign, Dectaur and Springfield, Ill., using Code Division Multiple Access technology. Among …

L.M. Ericsson’s offer to compromise on third-generation technology may not change the International Telecommunication Union’s action on Dec. 31. The ITU is likely to halt any work on Code Division …

Olivetti S.p.A. and Mannesmann AG last week signed an agreement to acquire U.S.-based Cellular Communications International Inc., giving the companies an increased stake in Italian mobile operator Omnitel-Pronto Italia S.p.A. …

Northeast Communications of Wisconsin Inc. announced it acquired U.S. Cellular’s Marathon County operations. Cellcom, the company’s wireless subsidiary, will provide cellular and paging services. Marathon County will be the fifth …

ATLANTA-Telecom Wireless Solutions Inc. announced it obtained $17 million in financing for strategic acquisitions, new ventures and product development initiatives. As a part of this strategy, TWS also added four …

FORT WORTH, Texas-Motorola Inc. announced it licensed its FLEX protocol decoder chipset to Korean equipment manufacturer Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. The agreement is expected to speed the transition from POCSAG …

WASHINGTON-A Government Accounting Office report says the U.S. Postal Service has “put on hold” plans to expand an antenna-siting program, which could have significant impacts on efforts to get antenna-siting …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau will begin immediately using the Universal Licensing System for all licensing activity in the cellular radiophone service. Use of ULS for the cellular …

MALVERN, Penn.-Triton PCS Inc. selected Lightbridge Inc. to provide integrated solutions for customer activation, retail management and fraud prevention. Triton PCS is building and will operate a digital wireless network …

Unwired Planet Inc. announced it reached an agreement with Siemens Information and Communication Networks Group of Munich, Germany, to integrate its Wireless Access Protocol compatible software into Siemens AG’s Global …

JACKSON, Miss.-SkyTel Communications Inc. announced its two-way messaging subscribers can send text messages from their pagers to any telephone in the country, using text-to-speech technology to read the message to …

The semiconductor industry is showing signs it could be emerging from a slump that has plagued it this year. The Asian economic crisis, coupled with a glut of semiconductor products …

NEW YORK-The boundaries between internal and external computer networks are disappearing due to the warp-speed incursion of the Internet, raising security concerns within enterprises that want to exploit this promising …

MELVILLE, N.Y.-In-Touch Management Systems Inc. and TSR Wireless announced the In-Touch II system has been successfully installed in 17 markets for TSR Wireless. The integration benefits TSR Wireless by giving …

BOSTON-American Tower Corp. and Triton PCS announced they entered into a contract in which American Tower will build 115 build-to-suit tower-development sites in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. In …

Sierra Wireless said it has brought together 17 other companies in an alliance formed to work together to offer more complete solutions so the general public will adopt wireless data …

NEW YORK-Moody’s Investors Service Inc. assigned speculative grade ratings to $1.4 billion of planned new debt that will be used to refinance outstanding debt and to fund the buyout and …

FORT LEE, N.J.-MobileMedia Corp. announced the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware approved its disclosure statement, allowing the company to move forward with its plan to merge with …

Metawave Communications Corp. last week expanded its SpotLight 2000 product line to include a Code Division Multiple Access/Advanced Mobile Phone Service smart antenna system that works with Motorola Inc.’s SC …

WASHINGTON-The battle over whether major local telephone companies will be allowed to merge-expected to be debated again today at the Federal Communications Commission-is tied to spectrum caps more than most …

WASHINGTON-Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) late Friday blasted Federal Communications Commission Chairman Bill Kennard and his press office for staff statements to the press suggesting the agency might …

BURLINGTON, Mass.-Lightbridge Inc., a provider of customer acquisition and retention solutions for the global communications industry, said it opened a new call center at its Broomfield, Colo., office. The Colorado …

Convergys extends pacts with carriers CINCINNATI-Convergys Corp. said it extended its contracts with L.A. Cellular and Houston Cellular well into the next century. Convergys’ new outsourced billing and customer care …

NEW YORK-Sun Microsystems Inc., Palo Alto, Calif., released the Java 2 platform, which it said provides significant performance improvements, a flexible security model and a complete set of applications programming …

HOUSTON, BEDMINSTER, N.J.-Bell Atlantic Mobile and Crown Castle International Corp. announced an agreement to form a joint venture company that will own, operate and actively advance the leasing space on …