Verizon received a strong No. 2 rival in the form of Cingular, while DT’s $50B purchase of VoiceStream received labor, business support … 16 years ago this week
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!
A `Cingular’ carrier: SBC, BellSouth marriage official
Following months of speculation, regulatory red tape and the seemingly elusive approval by the Federal Communications Commission that came Sept. 29, SBC Communications Inc. and BellSouth Mobility officially came together last week, announcing its joint venture now will be known as Cingular Wireless. “Cingular is a name that shows the importance of the individual customer, as well as the unity of this joint venture,” said Stephen Carter, president and chief executive officer of Cingular Wireless. “I absolutely love this name,” Carter said during a conference call announcing the new company. Cingular will serve more than 19 million customers in 42 of the nation’s top 50 markets, making it the No. 2 wireless carrier behind Verizon Wireless, and pushing the once-dominant AT&T Wireless Services Inc. further down the competitive ladder. Cingular is 60-percent owned by SBC and 40-percent owned by BellSouth. … Read More
Labor, business approve of DT wireless purchase: EU, U.S. may spar on int’l trade issue
As the unlikely union of labor and business leaders ratcheted up pressure last week to kill legislation that would nix Deutsche Telekom AG’s $50.7 billion purchase of VoiceStream Wireless Corp., it appeared the controversy could get dragged into a bigger fight between European Union and the United States. All of a sudden, a handful of trans-Atlantic trade issues have collided and given rise to an awkward situation for both the Clinton administration and the EU. Of key interest to the wireless industry is legislation sponsored by Sen. Ernest Hollings (D-S.C.)-and supported by 29 other senators-that would prohibit any firm more than 25-percent owned by a foreign government from acquiring American telecom firms. Deutsche Telekom is 46-percent owned by the German government, which recently told the Clinton administration it will fully privatize the German telecom giant. … Read More
Unified messaging market pushes envelope
The push to implement unified wireless messaging services into wireless providers’ portfolios of services and enterprise customers is growing stronger as both messaging providers and wireless operators look to capitalize on a market ready to explode. Wireless research firm ARC Group predicts unified wireless messaging will cover 65 percent of wireless subscribers by 2004. Another report, by Gartner Group’s Dataquest, expects 1.4 million wireless messaging users by the end of the year, with 15.6 million users by the end of 2004. … Read More
Games to be part of wireless Internet equation
The prospect of playing video games on wireless devices is becoming a factor in the entertainment content being developed for the wireless Internet movement. Ignition Corp., founded by several former McCaw Cellular and Microsoft Corp. executives, has backed the idea through its involvement in UIEvolution, which is designing a new type of wireless gaming platform. … Read More
As home market heats up, LAN, Bluetooth get lead roles
With the home rapidly becoming an extension of the workplace, consumers increasingly are turning to wireless home networking equipment as a way to keep connected. According to an IDC report, worldwide local area network shipments are expected to top 4 million in 2003, with Frost and Sullivan predicting the market to grow from $305.4 million in revenues in 1998, to more than $1.6 billion by 2005. “Wireless, in our opinion, is particularly well suited for home networking, not only because of the prevalence of mobile computing devices, but also because of the ease of installation of a wireless local area network,” noted UBS Warburg L.L.C. in a recent report. … Read More
VoiceStream, Leap buy Pocket licenses: NextWave case rejected by Supreme Court
Cook Inlet/VoiceStream bid $195 million for 12 licenses owned by a Pocket Communications Inc. subsidiary in a private bidding war with Leap Wireless International Inc. However, Cook only expects to keep a few of the licenses, selling the others to Leap. On a separate front surrounding bankrupt C-block carriers, the Supreme Court refused to hear NextWave Telecom Inc.’s appeal to keep its personal communications services licenses. Leap in August offered to pay $132.8 million in cash and stock for the Pocket licenses, but the offer was subject to higher and better offers. Cook Inlet offered $138 million, thus prompting the private auction. … Read More
3G policy in limelight
While President Clinton and FCC Chairman William Kennard called on federal agencies, broadcasters and others to take steps to free up spectrum for third-generation wireless services, allegations surfaced last week that the administration lobbied against legislation that could have accomplished the same thing and that wouldn’t have been subject to coming political changes. During the summer, there was an attempt to attach language to the Senate’s Commerce-State-Justice Appropriations bill that would have directed federal agencies to conduct studies to identify spectrum earmarked for 3G by the World Radiocommunication Conference this year; set deadlines to complete those reports; and establish parameters for 3G spectrum planning. … Read More
FCC releases re-auction list, wrangling continues
Language to allow the Federal Communications Commission to take back RF licenses from bankrupt entities has been stripped from the FCC spending bill being considered by Congress. Legislation that would allow the FCC to take back the licenses of bankrupt companies was included in a Senate committee version of the FCC’s budget. Such language was not included in the version that passed the House. Since time is short, lawmakers reportedly are skipping the Senate and directly negotiating all remaining appropriations bills with the White House. And since negotiations are sensitive, the Senate leadership has decided to drop the pro-FCC language. … Read More
Network operators tackle connectivity
As carriers’ capital expenditures race ahead of revenues, existing wide area and new local area data networks are poised to capture a good chunk of the market for corporate e-mail connectivity, today’s killer application in wireless communications. “In Europe, the (3G) bids were so high that carriers are having a tough time justifying the prices they paid,” said Kevin Werbach, editor of Release 1.0 and former Federal Communications Commission Counsel for New Technology. … Read More
Tower pact hits historic preservation snag
Attempts by the wireless industry to reach a collocation agreement with a historic preservation group hit a few bumps last week when members of the historic preservation community questioned language in a document intended to allow collocation on most existing towers. While industry representatives believe the concerns expressed at the meeting were not indicative of a real problem with the agreement, historic preservation representatives were not as convinced their community was on board with the agreement. … Read More
Check out RCR Wireless News’ Archives for more stories from the past.
