Comsat Corp. announced it completed the sale of Comsat RSI Inc. to a subsidiary of TBG Industries Inc. for $116.5 million. CRSI designs, manufactures and integrates earth stations and wireless and advanced antenna systems. Comsat will use proceeds for the sale to repay its short-term debt. The sale was an item of the company’s “agenda for change,” announced last year, which includes divesting non-core assets and deregulation of Comsat’s largest business unit. The company also is in the process of privatizing its Inmarsat satellite interest.
American Cellular Corp. said it completed its merger with PriCellular Corp. Trading of PriCellular shares on the American Stock Exchange ceased June 26, at the opening of trading.
Brightpoint Inc. acquired the business and certain net assets of Communicaciones ASBE S.A. de C.V., Mexico City-based provider of wireless communications equipment. ASBE sold about $4 million in wireless products and services last year, said Brightpoint.
Standard & Poor’s Corp. boosted Nokia Corp.’s long-term credit rating to A from A- and affirmed the company’s short-term corporate credit and commercial paper ratings of A-1. The long-term outlook is stable. Nokia generated substantial cash flow and rapidly increased revenue growth through its strong position in the mobile phones and networks industry, which is reflected in the rating action, S&P said.
Alltel Corp. announced it will expand its wireless data messaging capabilities by deploying Aeris Communications Inc.’s MicroBurst technology. MicroBurst uses control channels of existing wireless networks to transmit primarily telemetry-based data applications.
DSC Communications Corp. said it plans to launch a small-scale Time Division Multiple Access cellular system based on its existing Advanced Mobile Phone Service platform, which is designed for emerging markets with few subscribers. The new system, capable of handling up to 10,000 subscribers, is scheduled to undergo field trials early next year and be commercially available by mid-1999, said DSC.
