February 2000

I wonder what it was like to be around when the automobile first really hit it big. Suddenly, there was a whole new world opened up for people, all based …

BellSouth Corp. said last week it could issue a tracking stock for its highly successful Latin American operations by late April or early May, a move that will allow investors …

WASHINGTON-The Telecommunications Industry Association is joining other business sectors in backing President Clinton’s call for congressional passage this year of permanent Normal Trade Relations for China. With China’s application for …

WASHINGTON-Slowly, but surely, the picture is getting brighter for wireless carriers that wish to obtain federal universal service support subsidies as two states recently joined the list of those that …

SAN DIEGO-Qualcomm Inc. and L.M. Ericsson said they have agreed to jointly develop and market a wireless technology solution supporting both Code Division Multiple Access and Bluetooth standards. According to …

CANNES, France-RangeStar Wireless introduced three new antennas for wireless handsets that the company said it believes will revolutionize antenna technology. RangeStar unveiled a wideband Code Division Multiple Access embedded antenna …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission’s decision to grant Nokia Corp.-the world’s largest mobile phone vendor-a four-month extension to comply with new 911 call-processing rules prompted protests last week by the Wireless …

WASHINGTON-The federal judge who presided over the break-up of AT&T Corp. in 1984 died Jan. 29 of a cerebral hemorrhage. U.S. District Judge Harold Greene, who was 76, was highly …

WASHINGTON-Rather than granting a spectrum-cap waiver requested by Arch Communications Group Inc., the Federal Communications Commission should remove the cap altogether, said Metrocall Inc. in comments filed last week. Meanwhile, …

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.-Omnipoint Technologies Inc. introduced Global System for Mobile communications modules for Europe supporting the 900 MHz, 1800 MHz and 1900 MHz bands. The Redhawk II and Eagle II …

There they were-Bill Clinton in Davos and Al Gore in the Granite State-basking in the glory of a record U.S. economic expansion fueled by a raging high-tech sector of mobile …

CANNES, France-Intel Corp. announced it will provide Ericsson with next-generation, high-performance flash memory for cellular phones. The two companies also will work together on flash product definition for future wireless …

DENVER-RCR announced seven inductees into its first annual Wireless Hall of Fame, created to recognize the contributions of those people who have made significant contributions to the advancement of the …

MINNEAPOLIS-ADC Telecommunications Inc. announced it received two new contracts to provide its NewNet OTAserver over-the-air activation and SMserver short message technologies to regional wireless operators in North and South America. …

Agilent Technologies Inc. acquired The Silicon Valley Networking Lab Inc., an independent, third-party test lab for the networking industry based in San Jose, Calif. Financial terms of the acquisition were …

SEATTLE-AirTouch Cellular launched a new nationwide digital calling plan that eliminates roaming and long-distance charges throughout the United States. The new calling plans include a $30 plan with 100 included …

WEST POINT, Ga.-Powertel Inc., a wireless personal communications services provider in the southeastern United States, announced its financial results for the fourth quarter, ended Dec. 31. Company revenue and sales …

LYNCHBURG, Va.-Com-Net Communications Inc. announced it completed the acquisition of Ericsson’s Private Radio Systems business. Ericsson will retain a minority interest in the new company, Com-Net Ericsson Critical Radio Systems …

I came to the wireless communications industry several years ago from the world of geographic information systems-an industry I thoroughly enjoyed because of its vast applications but which I always …

CANNES, France-Several well-known firms in the Internet and wireless industries have come together to form the Mobile Wireless Internet Forum with the intent to accelerate the deployment of open, Internet-based …

WASHINGTON-Richard Blumenthal, the high-profile Connecticut attorney general who played key roles in successful lawsuits against Microsoft Corp. and the tobacco industry, has joined his counterparts in California and Wisconsin in …

KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa.-Bell Atlantic Mobile and TruePosition Inc. said they have completed field trials of Code Division Multiple Access location technology. The field trial was conducted over series 2 …

NEW YORK-Bell Atlantic Corp., GTE Corp. and Alltel Corp. signed an agreement last week to exchange wireless interests in 13 states, eliminating the overlapping cellular properties that would result from …

NEW YORK-AT&T Corp. emerged on Groundhog Day from its longstanding ruminations about tracking stocks and, apparently seeing no shadows, registered to take its wireless telecommunications business public in spring. AT&T …

NEW YORK-Alamosa PCS Holdings Inc., a Sprint PCS affiliate, raised $182.1 million Feb. 3 in a 10.71 million-share initial public offering priced at $17 each, $2 above the maximum it …