March 1999

Tensions ran high at the International Telecommunication Union two-week meeting on third-generation technology in Fortaleza, Brazil, as the industry waits for an agreement between Qualcomm Inc. and L.M. Ericsson on …

WASHINGTON-Nortel Networks last week confirmed it signed a letter of intent with the Department of Justice to develop a Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act-compliant solution. Attorney General Janet Reno …

WASHINGTON-The FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau will reduce the infamous 64,000-item backlog by this time next year, the WTB chief told a powerful senator on March 10. “The goal I have …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission late Friday adopted proposed rules to implement the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. The long-awaited notice of proposed rule making does not “even render tentative conclusions” …

MUNICH, Germany-Siemens Semiconductors will spin off from Siemens AG on April 1, forming a separate legal entity-Infineon Technologies AG, said the company. According to Siemens, the move is an important …

PRINCETON, N.J.-Nettech Systems Inc. introduced the Nettech Developer Suite, a bundle of all its Software Development Kits to give software developers one complete solution to wirelessly enable their applications. The …

FORT WORTH, Texas-The Sabre Group announced it is working with IBM Corp. and Nokia Corp. to create a real-time, interactive flight schedule service for Wireless Application Protocol phones. With it, …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission last week established rules that will require long-distance carriers to disclose their rates on the Internet. The rules, however, will not apply to the wireless industry. …

In the last two weeks alone, Crown Castle International Corp. has more than doubled its tower portfolio in the United States and United Kingdom, securing a top position for itself …

SAN DIEGO-Qualcomm Inc. announced Qualcomm Personal Electronics, a joint venture between subsidiaries of Qualcomm Inc. and Sony Electronics Inc., shipped its 10 millionth Code Division Multiple Access handset. Initial shipments …

WASHINGTON-U.S. District Judge Thomas F. Hogan last week rejected the Justice Department’s motion to deny Nextel Communications Inc.’s lawsuit to vacate a 1995 antitrust consent decree, opening the way for …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission has proposed rules to implement mobile satellite service in the 2 GHz band. The notice of proposed rule making reviews service rules and seeks comments on …

DULLES, Va.-Orbcomm Global L.P. announced its South American licensee, Damos SudAmerica, officially has launched commercial data and messaging services there. Damos SudAmerica is a partnership between Telespazio of Italy, Grupo …

While it would be woefully premature to call 1999 “the year of wireless data,” few would disagree the industry has come a long way in the last year. In 1998, …

What exactly is Nextel Communications Inc.? The simple definition of an enhanced specialized mobile radio operator using integrated Dispatch Enhanced Network technology catering to business users who need private-dispatch functions …

PHILADELPHIA-Angels flocked to the City of Brotherly Love last week for what was billed as a first-of-its-kind meeting. The event was organized to foster increased networking among high net-worth individuals …

BOCA RATON, Fla.-Siemens Information and Communication Networks Inc. joined the Universal Wireless Communications Consortium in support of the Time Division Multiple Access-Global System for Mobile communications interoperability agreement made between …

WASHINGTON-Lucent Technologies Inc. and Cellular One Group are two of several companies offering telecommunications products and services on telezoo.com, the newly opened e-commerce Web site. According to telezoo, the digital …

HELSINKI, Finland-Nokia Corp. introduced a new Terrestrial Trunked Radio handset called the THR420, designed for public safety and security networks. The company said it expects the new TETRA handset to …

SAN DIEGO-Qualcomm Inc. announced it has begun production shipments of its CSM2000 Cell Site Modem chip for Code Division Multiple Access infrastructure and test equipment. The CSM2000 is a multiple-channel …

To create some excitement before his swing through New Hampshire last week, Al Gore declared he invented the Internet. It worked. A dumbfounded James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), chairman of the House …

WASHINGTON-The introduction of a wireless E911 bill in the Senate has been complicated by controversy over the ComCare Alliance’s push for federal funding and public-safety provisions stripped out of the …

WASHINGTON-Despite the fact that the government has extended the time for wireless carriers to implement number portability, the government needs to alert all wireless carriers-especially rural ones-they need to begin …

WASHINGTON-House telecommunications subcommittee Chairman Billy Tauzin (R-La.) said he will introduce legislation this summer to reform the Federal Communications Commission, an effort that could produce massive structural changes that go …

BELLEVUE, Wash.-The TR45.3 technical committee of the Telecommunications Industry Association completed an updated version of the ANSI-136 Time Division Multiple Access standard. This represents the culmination of the second phase …