Editor’s Note: RCR Wireless News goes all in for “Throwback Thursdays,” tapping into our archives to resuscitate the top headlines from the past. Fire up the time machine, put on the sepia-tinted shades, set the date for #TBT and enjoy the memories!
Is Sprint searching for a new PCS mate?
Sprint Corp. reportedly is intensifying its search for a European partner to construct a possible merger or partnership scheme that could give the long-distance carrier enough cash to buy out its cable partners in the personal communications services business. Analysts close to the situation indicate Sprint has had low-key discussions with candidates in past months, and talks have heated up recently with Germany-based Deutsche Telekom AG and possibly a few others. Sprint declined to comment. “Sprint is looking to hook up. A large part is driven by global positioning,” said David Kerr, director of wireless programs with Strategy Analytics in New York. “It makes sense, and the timing is wise. The cable guys are real motivated to get out.” … Read More
Customers should know wireless needs before entering store
Holiday shoppers this year will be faced with a variety of choices when it comes to selecting a wireless service, and the average consumer probably will have a difficult time wading through all the alphabet soup. According to a survey commissioned by Ameritech Corp. and conducted earlier this year by Wirthlin Worldwide, 86 percent of consumers say they are unclear about the different types of wireless phone service available. Only 8 percent of respondents said they had ever heard the acronyms TDMA, CDMA or GSM, and only 1 percent were able to identify what the acronyms stood for. Only 3 percent of respondents knew what PCS stood for. … Read More
New Nextel SMR auction licenses cover 97% of nation
After 235 rounds of bidding, Nextel Communications Inc. ended up paying $88.8 million for 475 licenses covering 97 percent of the country in the 800 MHz specialized mobile radio auction. North Sight Communications Inc. came in a second, monetarily, pledging $1.5 million for the A-block Puerto Rico/Virgin Islands SMR license. Nevada Wireless, which has a petition for reconsideration pending regarding this auction, won 16 licenses at a price of $1.067 million. It is not known at this time if the company will ask for any waiver of payment until the issue is resolved. … Read More
McCaw to rejoin Teledesic as CEO
Teledesic Corp. announced Craig McCaw will return to his former post as chief executive officer of the company, where he will share the position with Steve Hooper, a longtime associate of McCaw and chairman of Nextlink Communications. Steve Twyver, who succeeded McCaw as Teledesic’s CEO last year, will join a new Teledesic executive committee devoted to strategic issues. “Because Bill Gates and I have so much personal interest in Teledesic, we’ve decided that it’s best for me to play a more active role in the company’s development,” said McCaw. McCaw and Gates each hold a one-third interest in the company. … Read More
GoAmerica seek business users today, mass market tomorrow
GoAmerica Communications Corp., a wireless Internet and intranet service provider, hopes to enter the consumer market in the next couple of years and is preparing by beginning to build network partnerships with Global System for Mobile communications and Code Division Multiple Access carriers. For now, though, GoAmerica is focusing on exploiting a business niche: providing access to information stored on corporate intranets to mobile work forces through laptops, ruggedized computers, wireless modems, personal digital assistants, Windows CE devices, PalmPilots, smart phones and other handheld devices. In the absence of this type of wireless access, many mobile workers rely on wireless phones to call company headquarters to access information on inventories or other mission-critical data, said Joseph Korb, executive vice president and director of GoAmerica. … Read More
Geoworks OS to aid smartphone design
Geoworks announced a significant evolution to its GEOS operating system that will allow handset manufacturers to quickly produce a range of low-end to high-end smart phones. Consumer electronics giant Mitsubishi has licensed the upgraded system, the GEOS-SC, to manufacture and ship next year a new line of mid-priced mobile communications devices that will combine voice and data services for the Japanese market. Mitsubishi has not revealed what type of devices it plans to introduce. Nokia Corp.’s 9000i Communicator uses the GEOS operating system. The product is a high-end smart phone that combines voice, data and personal organizer functions in one handset. Users can send and receive faxes, short paging messages and e-mail, access the Internet and use such desktop applications as an electronic calendar, address book, note pad and calculator. … Read More
Carrier courts Siemens, but no ring exchange yet
ClearComm L.P. is courting Siemens AG to provide equipment and finance the C-block personal communications services winner’s Puerto Rican network, but the licensee still has to clear two major hurdles before the manufacturer will consider a marriage. ClearComm asked the Public Communications Network Group of Siemens for a total financing package of $160 million, with $110 million earmarked for network buildout and the remainder for working capital, operating losses and interest costs, said John Duffy, senior vice president for ClearComm. “Under the plan, Siemens AG will invest $40 million in equity in ClearComm de Puerto Rico and provide an additional $50 million in the form of loans to ClearComm de Puerto Rico,” Duffy wrote to ClearComm’s limited partners Oct. 20. “In addition, Siemens will assist ClearComm de Puerto Rico in raising the final $70 million through additional debt financing. … Read More
Dobson aligns with AT&T to bring TDMA digital to its network
Another wireless carrier has jumped on the Time Division Multiple Access bandwagon with help from AT&T Wireless Services Inc. Oklahoma City-based Dobson Communications Corp., a cellular carrier with about 100,000 customers, has signed an operating agreement with AT&T Wireless to become part of the cellular giant’s digital wireless network. Dobson owns cellular licenses in Oklahoma, Texas, California, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Kansas and Missouri. AT&T already has signed various types of agreements with wireless carriers in its quest to fill the missing links in its nationwide wireless footprint. … Read More
Motorola aims to drive message market with car paging apps
Motorola Inc.’s FLEX Architecture Solutions Division has introduced the CreataLink Control Module, a messaging receiver developed for wireless, wide-area automotive applications. Essentially, the CreataLink module gives users the ability to “page” their vehicles with command messages to control various functions from anywhere in the country. Users dial an 800 number, enter a code to identify the vehicle and then enter another code or codes to prompt the desired responses. The module allows customers to remotely lock or unlock power doors, start or disable the engine, engage the horn and flash the lights or turn on the air conditioning or heat. It also can display in-vehicle messages containing local traffic and weather conditions. … Read More
Americel turns on switch to offer cellular in Brazil
Brazil edged nearer to its stated goal of liberalizing its telecom industry when the Canadian-Brazilian consortium Americel S.A. became the first private mobile phone operator to compete against the state-owned carrier Telebras. Americel launched its digital cellular mobile phone system in the city of Brasilia, offering 50,000 lines with hopes of adding another 50,000 in the next three months. It eventually hopes to add the neighboring city of Goiania in December and more remote regions by early next year. The company hopes to compete by offering a lower sign-up fee and lower monthly rates. The company acquired its license only six months ago, when it bought a 15-year B-band license for $311 million June 4. It was the only bidder for the largely rural license. … Read More
AT&T’s plan to shed paging unit doesn’t kneel death of industry
AT&T Corp. admitted it might sell its Wireless Messaging Division-without actually confirming that the paging unit is indeed up for sale-after rumors surfaced that the paging network was on the auction block. “We are being very aggressive at looking at our portfolio to make sure all our businesses are aligned with our strategy,” said Ruthlyn Newell, AT&T corporate spokeswoman. “We are exploring our options in terms of our messaging business … which could result in a sale.” Newell would not comment on a price or possible buyers for the paging business, which AT&T acquired in 1992 as part of the McCaw Cellular Communications Inc. deal, but reports have surfaced that the price tag may be as much as $450 million or as low as $240 million. … Read More
Check out RCR Wireless News’ Archives for more stories from the past.
