March 1999

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.-Unwired Planet Inc. and Matsushita Communications Industrial Co. Ltd. announced a licensing agreement for MCI to integrate Unwired Planet’s UP.Browser in its upcoming mobile phones expected to support …

CHICAGO-Safco Technologies Inc. introduced a Code Division Multiple Access version of its Portable VoicePrint product, which automatically collects and analyzes call quality data on both the forward and reverse paths. …

Germany Siemens’ Information and Communication Networks Group, T-Mobil and Unwired Planet Inc. announced they will participate in a field trial to integrate Wireless Application Protocol compatible software from Unwired Planet …

This week marks the first anniversary of the Federal Communications Commission’s Phase I enhanced 911 deadline, and by most accounts, not much progress has been made. SCC Communications Corp., which …

WASHINGTON-Rural America may be left out of the re-auction of personal communications services licenses. At the end of round six on Thursday, 37 percent of the C-block licenses had not …

HANNOVER, Germany-Lucent Technologies Inc. introduced a wireless platform that will enable TIme Division Multiple Access network operators to offer third-generation services such as seamless global roaming and converged voice, video …

Modeling important in MPE solution Dear Editor, In your article, “Countdown to MPE rules” (RCR, March 15), the reader is left with the impression that field-testing is the ultimate solution …

AO PAULO, Brazil-Samsung in mid-March opened its first manufacturing operations for cellular handsets outside of South Korea. The company began manufacturing a Code Division Multiple Access handset for the Brazil …

It was an unprecedented event. Qualcomm Inc., the biggest defender of CDMA technology, and L.M. Ericsson, the largest naysayer of the technology, embraced last week, ending more than 10 years …

BURLINGTON, Mass.-Lightbridge Inc. announced Sprint PCS will deploy Lightbridge’s Retail Management System and consulting services. According to Lightbridge, RMS will help Sprint PCS to incorporate a more efficient selling process …

DALLAS-PageMart Wireless Inc. announced it has obtained a new $100 million senior secured credit facility through Bankers Trust Co. and Morgan Stanley Senior Funding Inc. The new facility replaces the …

Early cellular carriers did it. Early paging carriers did it. Mobile data carriers are doing it now, and according to analyst Tim O’Neil of SoundView Technology Group Inc., Iridium L.L.C. …

NEW YORK-“With respect to the status of our strategic partnering, we are pleased to say we have received written proposals from four (companies) and may receive more shortly,” Douglas G. …

SAN DIEGO-Qualcomm Inc. announced the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office reaffirmed the validity of one of its key Code Division Multiple Access patents. The patent office will issue a Re-examination …

DALLAS-Metrocall Inc. has begun participating in America Online Inc.’s AOL Rewards Program, according to Digital Marketing Services Inc., which provides incentive programs for the Internet service provider. Under the program, …

The announcement last week that Comcast Corp. and MediaOne Group signed an agreement to merge in a $60 billion deal driven by broadband cable networks could affect the wireless industry …

Qualcomm decides to sell its infrastructure division to archrival Ericsson. VLSI rejects Philips’ takeover bid, but says it will explore others. Four Canadian carriers join forces. Cable & Wireless and …

WASHINGTON-Telecom mergers are not just about mergers anymore. Multibillion-dollar deals have become the jumping-off-point for activism on labor rights, civil rights, regulatory reform, consumer protection, globalism, politics and a slew …

WASHINGTON-As the private wireless industry prepares to enter the battle against auctioning spectrum, competing private wireless groups are fighting over how spectrum should be coordinated. At the middle of two …

Conxus Communications Inc. confirmed it had conducted a series of layoffs last week as part of a “strategic refocus” that will affect employees at its headquarters in Greenville, S.C., and …

Reuters reported that Italy’s Ministry of Communications approved the auction process for a fourth cellular license there, scheduled to get underway in June or July. Next, the details of the …

PEORIA, Ill.-Rohn Industries Inc. said its previously announced merger with PiRod Holdings Inc., which was expected to close in the first quarter, has been postponed because of current adverse industry …

Canada’s telecom market saw major changes last week, as its four smallest telecom companies agreed to merge into one company and Bell Canada formed a strategic partnership with U.S.-based Ameritech …

FCC Chairman Bill Kennard now says the agency has an open mind on the question of private wireless auctions. It wasn’t always that way. The FCC, going back to the …

ATLANTA-Preferred Networks Inc. said The Nasdaq Stock Market notified the company that effective with the close of business on March 22, the company’s common stock was delisted as a consequence …