January 1999

MELVILLE, N.Y.-Northeast Digital Networks Inc. announced it signed a letter of intent with All Points Telecom Inc., which plans to purchase 80 percent of Northeast Digital’s common stock, on a …

WASHINGTON-The first Federal Communications Commission employee to be detailed to a congressional office, Mark Rubin, will be working on issues of more interest to the mass media than the telecommunications …

On Monday, it’s Vodafone-AirTouch. Wednesday, it’s SBC-Comcast. Friday must mean BellSouth. (Actually, it’s Thursday as I write this so if anything has happened to BellSouth, I should be on Wall …

SALT LAKE CITY-AT&T Corp. has established a fund for AT&T Wireless Services Inc. employee Anne Sleater, who remains in critical condition after being wounded in a random shooting at the …

WASHINGTON-The Clinton administration, invoking powerful references to the World Trade Organization, competition and convergence, last week said the European Commission’s response to U.S. concerns about potential trade barriers to third-generation …

Chief Executive Officer: Chris Gent Chairman: Sam Ginn Deal value: $97 per share Combined current market capitalization: $100 billion Equity split: about 50-50 Terms: AirTouch shareholders receive firve new ordinary …

Just as paging carriers look to two-way paging as a means of differentiation into the next millennium, so do paging manufacturers. In the past, a one-way pager was pretty much …

NEW YORK-Using funds from a bank credit facility, Metrocall Inc., Alexandria, Va., paid $16.2 million to buy back all outstanding shares of its Series B junior preferred stock. The repurchased …

WASHINGTON-The wireless industry could be headed for an unexpected headache caused by the dreaded millennium bug. Insurance companies are telling wireless carriers they need additional liability insurance to cover lawsuits …

DUBLIN, Ohio-SmarTalk TeleServices Inc. announced it has signed a definitive agreement to sell substantially all of its assets to AT&T Corp. for up to $192.5 million in cash, subject to …

NEW YORK-Significant progress has been made toward the still unrealized goal of full minority participation in the telecommunications industry, according to speakers at the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition’s recent conference, “Building Trading …

Sprint Corp.’s PCS Group added about 830,000 subscribers during the fourth quarter, positioning itself to top the industry in customers additions for the second consecutive quarter. Though most carriers are …

NEW YORK-L.M. Ericsson announced several endeavors that will provide handsets with increasing degrees of global utility. The Swedish-based manufacturer said it is forming a “groundbreaking initiative” with four companies to …

NEW YORK-With more than 7,700 transactions valued at $1.2 trillion announced, the domestic mergers and acquisitions market for 1998 crushed by 84 percent its previous record of $650.7 billion, set …

ARLINGTON, Texas-FWT Inc. announced it released Chief Executive Officer Douglas A. Standley and other executives as part of significant operational and management changes in an effort to better serve customers …

The Supreme Court declined to hear appeals by three Baby Bells challenging the 1996 telecom act’s requirement that local competition precede Baby Bell entry into the long-distance market. “This decision …

PRINCETON, N.J.-Intek Global Corp. unveiled a new initiative to maximize resources and capital, focus on consolidation, reduce operating costs and divest non-core assets. The strategic plan is called “Intek Millennium.” …

Research In Motion Ltd. introduced a wireless e-mail solution, called BlackBerry, designed to allow Microsoft Exchange users mobile access to their desktop e-mail. BlackBerry is an end-to-end solution that combines …

The Australian Communications Authority has decided to require pre-selection for calls originating on a fixed network and terminating on a mobile network. The ACA, which is responsible for regulating telecommunications …

OSLO, Norway-The Norwegian Minister of Transport and Communications Odd Einar Dorum and the Swedish Minister of Industry Bjorn Rosengren have signed a letter of intent to merge Norway’s Telenor and …

After years of slowly gathering the needed partnerships with cellular operators across the country, Cellemetry L.L.C. today can offer its cellular control channel transmission technology across more than 90 percent …

WASHINGTON-The U.S. wireless industry, responding to the global proliferation of media coverage of mobile phone health concerns and to Internet-savvy activists, is leading an effort to create a worldwide information-sharing …

Companies already are feeling the pinch from Brazil’s falling currency, which, at RCR press time, had lost about 20 percent of its value against the U.S. dollar since Brazil’s central …

WASHINGTON-As parties in the never-ending fight over the implementation of the digital wiretap act prepare to file reply comments this week with the Federal Communications Commission, two federal lawsuits filed …

After the embarrassing $1 license sales in the Wireless Communication Service auction two years ago and the C-block personal communications services bankruptcies, some began to question whether spectrum still had …