1999

Nuevo Grupo Iusacell S.A. de C.V. seems to be making moves to establish a nationwide wireless presence in Mexico. Bell Atlantic Global Wireless Inc. confirmed it is in discussions regarding …

Since Aether Systems Inc. and 3Com Corp. formed OpenSky Inc. in June, the joint venture has generated considerable interest and support from industry players. At last week’s PalmSource ’99 conference …

ABC’s 20/20 segment, which was supposed to make me change the way I use my cell phone, instead made me more suspicious about TV journalism. The only person in the …

OSLO, Norway-Telenor Satellite Services AS launched Inmarsat M4 service, a new global area network for multimedia applications that will improve the data transfer capabilities and the mobility of remote communication, …

WASHINGTON-In some respects, the Main Event was a non-event. Wireless stocks did not go into free fall. Major dailies did not go wild with follow-up stories on ABC’s “20/20” broadcast …

Wireless Internet start-up firm OpenGrid Inc. found itself in the wireless spotlight last week when industry titans Motorola Inc. and Philippe Kahn-chief executive officer of Motorola’s Starfish Software subsidiary-invested in …

BETHESDA, Md.-Omnipoint Corp. has signed agreements to acquire East/West Communications Inc. EWCM holds five licenses covering about 22.2 million pops in Los Angeles; Washington, D.C.; Sarasota, Fla.; Reno, Nev.; and …

In an attempt to position paging devices and services as Internet appliances, as opposed to telephone appliances, PageMart Wireless Inc. said it will change its name to WebLink Wireless Inc., …

CARROLLTON, Texas-CellStar Corp. and Telecommunications par Satellite Mobiles SAS signed an agreement under which CellStar will distribute Globalstar terminals in most of TE.S.A.M.’s South American territories, said the companies. CellStar …

There was a time, not so long ago, when reasonably priced voice service with decent coverage delighted most wireless subscribers. But subscribers soon were demanding the same features-like voice mail, …

WASHINGTON-Sens. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) and Byron Dorgan (N.D.), backed by industry and cities, last week introduced legislation to simplify taxation of wireless carriers by local and state authorities. Instead of …

United Kingdom British Telecommunications plc announced it licensed PocketScience Inc.’s PocketMail mobile e-mail service via a revenue sharing agreement that allows BT’s Internet and Multimedia Services Division to exclusively license …

Nextel Communications Inc. announced customer additions of 458,000 in the third quarter, ending the three-month period with 4.05 million customers. “The third quarter was our best ever, with both domestic …

BOYNTON BEACH, Fla.-Motorola Inc. introduced what it called a significant upgrade to its ReFLEX technology for two-way paging. “With this upgrade, we are adding additional flexibility to help reduce deployment …

In two different venues, two totally different approaches to antenna siting were on display in the nation’s capital last week. In the power corridors of Congress, the House and Senate-hounded …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission, which has been asked to declare whether federal law pre-empts state courts from awarding monetary damages against wireless carriers in consumer fraud cases, may have tipped …

BellSouth Corp. last week announced plans to restructure the company to better position itself to provide bundled services. The move comes just weeks after BellSouth failed in a bid to …

LUXEMBOURG-Millicom International Cellular S.A. said its worldwide operations added 174,627 new cellular subscribers in the third quarter, bringing its world total to 1.92 million as of Sept. 30. This represents …

LOS GATOS, Calif.-Metricom Inc. announced it entered into a technology license agreement with Novatel Wireless under which Novatel will sell wireless modems based on Metricom’s Ricochet technology to portable computer …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission last week largely affirmed auction-driven 800 MHz specialized mobile radio licensing rules, but made several modifications that drew applause from industry. “Our primary issue was reducing …

GENEVA-Nortel Networks and Telia Mobile announced a cooperative development effort to enable subscriber-managed services that can span multiple, dissimilar networks, including traditional wireless and wireline networks, as well as cable, …

WASHINGTON-The Network Reliability and Interoperability Council is recommending that wireless carriers voluntarily report when a mobile telephone switching office fails, preventing transmission of new calls for 30 minutes or more. …

Nordic Mobile Telephone 450 MHz operators can choose to deploy Global System for Mobile communications or Code Division Multiple Access technology as the NMT MOU voted to give NMT 450 …

At precisely what moment did Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association President Tom Wheeler realize he’d created a monster? Was it after the first lawsuit? The second? The third? Or did it …

LUBBOCK, Texas-Sprint PCS launched services in Albuquerque, N.M., and offered new customers in the area a special promotion that includes 500 anytime minutes for $50 per month until next year. …