August 2001

DENVER, Colorado, United States—Sprint PCS network partners AirGate PCS Inc. and iPCS Inc. agreed to merge their operations in a US$900 million deal.The deal, which has been approved by both …

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina—Entel Chile will integrate a technological call center platform developed by Genesys Telecommunications, a subsidiary of Alcatel. The solutions will allow Entel’s clients to communicate via e-mail, Web …

MURRAY HILL, N.J.—Lucent Technologies Inc. has named John Kritzmacher as its senior vice president and corporate controller, replacing Mark White, who has decided to leave the company.“He has the right …

MOSCOW—Lukoil Co. is negotiating a wireless license with the communications ministry of neighboring Moldova and is also eyeing the Ukrainian and Romanian markets.The Lukoil Company will begin operations in Moldova …

TOKYO—Kyocera Corp., a leading mobile handset manufacturer, plans to cut 10,000 jobs by the end of December 2001 in its overseas operations, Yasuo Nishiguchi, president of Kyocera said on 30 …

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Personal Communications Industry Association has appointed Harold Salters to head PCIA’s governmental relation department as senior director of government relations. Salters, who joined PCIA in June 1999, represents …

LONDON—Smart-phone operating-system maker Symbian could run out of money as soon as next year, according to the company’s largest stakeholder Psion plc.Psion issued the drastic news as part of its …

WASHINGTON—In a surprising, but perhaps legally necessary move, the FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau late Friday said it was returning NextWave Telecom Inc.’s licenses to active status.“On Aug.30, the U.S. Court …

BUCHAREST, Romania—According to the Tanzanian newspaper Business Day, the Tanzanian cellular operator Vodacom announced that after one year, 130,000 subscribers have been signed up to GSM services rather than the …

BEIJING—China Unicom, China’s second-largest operator, has signed several contracts during the month of August.Fenghuo Telecom clinched a deal with Unicom’s subsidiary in Jilin Province for the fifth expansion of its …

STOCKHOLM, Sweden—Nokia said it has signed a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) contract to deliver core network and radio access for Europolitan Vodafone.Nokia will begin deliveries within the month and …

DENVER, Colorado, United States—If there was any doubt the acquisition deal between Teligent and IDT was dead, Teligent’s latest announcement that a company has been formed to purchase Teligent’s assets …

RESTON, Va.—Grayson Wireless announced an enhancement to its Geometrix Wireless Location system, making it compatible with GSM wireless handsets.The Geometrix System is a network-based wireless 911 caller location system, which, …

NEW YORK—International Business Machines said it developed a logic circuit based on molecules called carbon nanotubes as semiconductors that are about 100,000 times thinner than a human hair.“Carbon nanotubes are …

WAYNESBORO, Virginia, United States—VoiceStream Wireless signed a definitive purchase agreement with Ntelos and Conestoga Enterprises to purchase their GSM network in central Pennsylvania. The deal, valued at US$60 million, will …

SAN JOSE, Calif.—Software and services provider Pumatech Inc. today released its fourth-quarter results, showing falling revenues and a 20-percent cut in its work force.Pumatech’s worldwide work force dropped to 215 …

LAGOS, Nigeria—Motorola’s Global Telecom Solutions said it has won a US$57 million contract from Econet to deploy GSM networks in northern Nigeria.The first phase of the project is scheduled to …

LOS GATOS, Calif.—Software solution provider Streaming21 Inc. and global services company EDS are partnering to offer next-generation streaming technology solutions for transmitting and playing digital video and audio over the …

SEATTLE—Optical Ethernet service provider Terabeam Corp. has announced Dallas will be the next location for its service.Terabeam will offer Fiberless Optic service to Dallas-area companies for connecting to other offices …

BEIJING—According to China Mobile’s general manager, Zhang Ligui, the company aims for more than 180 million subscribers by the end of China’s current five-year plan at the end of 2005. …

OSLO, Norway—Telenor Mobil said it will stop offering paging services Sept. 1, 2003, due to diminished demand. Telenor also said its technical equipment supplier is exiting the paging business and …

BEIJING—The English-language China Daily newspaper published a list of 19 licensed CDMA handset producers in its 31 August edition. The Ministry of Information Industry (MII) indicated it would not issue …

STOCKHOLM, Sweden—Like rival Motorola, L.M. Ericsson said it has started licensing its GPRS and third-generation handset technologies to other manufacturers of mobile phones and wireless devices.“Ericsson technology platforms will include …

TOKYO—Toshiba announced plans to cut 18,800 jobs in its Japanese operations as part of its strategy to revamp the company by 2004.“With this action, we want to regenerate the company,” …

DENVER, Colorado, United States—Alltel continued to pressure acquisition target CenturyTel’s management last week, releasing another letter from Alltel Chief Operating Officer Scott Ford to CenturyTel President and CEO Glen Post …