January 2001

Twenty million mobile phones in use in the United Kingdom early last December. Soaring to almost 25 million after all the Christmas presents had been opened. What an industry! Mobile …

TORONTO-To the relief of the wireless industry, the Canadian government raised the four-year-old spectrum cap that limits the amount of radio spectrum each PCS provider may operate. Wireless carriers in …

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-The Regional African Satellite Communications Organization (RASCOM) project to build a dedicated satellite system for Africa is close to becoming a reality. The first of the system’s two …

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-Globalstar could be the last hope for global mobile personal communications by satellite (GMPCS) survival in Africa. During a heated debate at the Satcom Africa ’99 conference held …

Wireless operators may now have to take some of the blame for New York residents feeling somewhat superior to the rest of the country. Through 49 rounds of bidding in …

The sagging stock market is partly to blame for another telecommunications snafu as Western Multiplex Corp. and wireless broadband equipment manufacturer Adaptive Broadband Corp. announced last week that Western Multiplex’s …

WASHINGTON-Public-safety officials eagerly applauded action last week to designate Project 25 Phase I as the interoperability standard for use in the 700 MHz band. “The result of the FCC’s action …

LUBBOCK, Texas-Wireless operator Alamosa PCS Holdings Inc., a Sprint PCS affiliate, reported a greater-than-expected year-end subscriber base of 166,127 customers on combined net additions of 58,121 subscribers. For the fourth …

TOKYO-Japanese wireless phone operator NTT DoCoMo plans to borrow $10.3 billion from five banks to pay for its 16-percent investment in U.S. operator AT&T Wireless Services Inc., according to a …

BERWYN, Pa.-AT&T Wireless Services Inc. affiliate Triton PCS Holdings Inc. added 84,811 net customers during the fourth quarter of 2000 and more than doubled its total customer base from 195,204 …

SAN DIEGO-Leap Wireless International Inc. added 127,500 users to its Cricket wireless service during the fourth quarter, bringing its total customer base to more than 190,000 in 10 markets. “We …

NEW YORK-Online financial firm TD Waterhouse Group Inc. unveiled its TD Waterhouse Quotes & News wireless market information system for AT&T Wireless Service Inc.’s Digital PocketNet service. TD also announced …

KANSAS CITY, Mo.-More than 1 million wireless Internet customers have signed up for Sprint PCS’ Wireless Web offering since it was launched in September 1999, according to the company. Since …

When the Federal Communications Commission set aside a portion of the licenses up for bid in its 1996 personal communications services auction, the intent was to foster competition in the …

NEW YORK-Telecommunications mergers made up four of the top 10 largest mergers of all time, according to a list released by the Associated Press following the approval of America Online …

WASHINGTON-The U.S. Supreme Court last week declined to consider appeals of mobile phone and tower radiation safety guidelines adopted by the Federal Communications Commission in 1996. Four parties had challenged …

As likely winners begin to emerge in the re-auction of NextWave Telecom Inc.’s PCS licenses, it looks like these permits will be used in large part by major wireless players …

As industry spends billions of dollars on spectrum and banks on a future driven by third-generation wireless phones and mobile commerce, there is every reason to believe the serious business …

PALO ALTO, Calif.-Motorola Inc. and Webhelp are teaming to design a personalized search program for the PalmT operating system. The new application will combine Motorola’s iSketcht handwriting technology with Webhelp’s …

WASHINGTON-Federal Communications Commission Chairman William Kennard, after signing off on a $106 billion communications deal with far-reaching implications for wireless and other high-tech industry sectors, announced his resignation last week. …

KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa.-InterDigital Communications Corp. announced it repurchased about 1.5 million of its shares. “This share repurchase demonstrates our confidence in InterDigital’s future,” said Howard Goldberg, the company’s chief …

FREMONT, Calif.-@Road, a provider of location-enhanced wireless Internet solutions, announced the availability of Landmarks, a new optional feature of FleetASAP, the company’s Web-based mobile resource management solution. Landmarks will allow …

LONDON-The GSM Association announced it reached an agreement with the Universal Wireless Communications Consortium to include TDMA interoperability with GSM as a core component of the GSM Global Roaming Forum. …

SAN FRANCISCO-Former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Reed Hundt will join Brience’s board of directors. Other board members include Cisco’s John Chambers, Broadvision’s Pehong Chen and E.piphany’s Roger Siboni. Brience provides …

Most mobile companies are looking to make the Internet wireless, giving their customers a chance to search for information on their favorite stock or movie wherever they are. Spyonit, a …