Qwest Communications International is pursuing an acquisition of U S West in competition with another bidder, Global Crossing.
Microsoft announced in mid-May a US$600 million investment in Nextel Communications, the leading trunked radio operator in the United States. The deal is to give Nextel customers access to customized Internet-based services via the Microsoft Network portal, the companies said. Microsoft also is spending $5 billion for a 3-percent stake in AT&T.
MCI WorldCom and paging operator SkyTel Communications plan to merge the two companies in a stock transaction, giving MCI WorldCom a facilities-based presence in the U.S. wireless market and SkyTel stronger marketing clout. The merger, valued at about US$1.2 billion and US$1.3 billion, followed shortly after MCI WorldCom scrapped plans to pursue a merger with Nextel Communications.
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission is working on a plan to reduce the need for new area codes, which are in serious shortage in the United States. Reports say the FCC is unlikely to propose separate area codes specifically for wireless phones with the reasoning that they increasingly will compete with landline phones to provide basic local service.
BCT-Telus Mobility in Canada launched its Tango network, a group-calling radio network that offers business customers individual calling, group calling and messaging over the same network across the province of Alberta.
Sprint PCS, which operates a nationwide CDMA-based PCS system in the United States, announced it will stop operating its only GSM network, in Washington, D.C., by the end of the year. The company plans to upgrade all of its customers in the city to CDMA handsets by 1 November.
Bell Mobility of Canada has begun offering its customers a tri-mode dual-band CDMA handset, the Nokia 6185.
U S West Wireless said it expects to roll out commercial mobile text-based Internet access during the fourth quarter using Qualcomm’s Internet-ready Thin Phones.
A U.S. congressional report released in late May concerning massive Chinese theft of U.S. satellite technology and nuclear secrets for the past two decades concluded Loral and Hughes Electronics helped China improve its nuclear capability, but cleared Motorola of such violations.
