The following list includes ratings changes and financial information for wireless companies announced this week by investment-banking and financial-services firms. Click here for wireless ratings from past weeks from RCR Wireless News.CarrierStandard & Poor’s Ratings Services assigned its B- corporate credit rating to MetroPCS...
BOCA RATON, Fla.—Global Tower Partners may be the next tower company to get swallowed up as the industry’s giants fight over who will be king of the mountain. Global Tower Partners is owned by Blackstone Group LP, and, according to media reports, the buyout...
While many in the wireless industry consider Sprint Nextel Corp's decision to build a WiMAX network the technology's defining and legitimizing moment, vendors that have been developing 802.16-2005-compliant WiMAX products are just beginning to feel the glow of the industry's spotlight. During the WiMAX...
Crown Castle International Corp.'s $5.8 billion acquisition last week of Global Signal Inc. not only altered the tower industry's leadership position, but could spark another round of consolidation among industry players, with SBA Communications Corp. seen as the next likely target. Raymond James &...
Like most things in wireless, the mobile TV contest boils down to devices, networks and—perhaps most importantly—spectrum. As such, two U.S. companies are racing to build mobile TV networks using the same transmission standard (DVB-H), and both trumpet their position as the competitive high...
HOUSTON—In the world of tower companies, where size definitely matters, No. 1 has just been usurped. Crown Castle International has skipped ahead of American Tower Corp.—the nation’s largest tower company—by buying Global Signal Inc. The deal, valued at $5.8 billion, will form a new...
WASHINGTON-A federal appeals court has ruled that the Federal Communications Commission has the authority to require wireless carriers and tower owners to abide by the National Historic Preservation Act, including accepting the definition of eligible properties. The ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals...
ALEXANDRIA, Va.—The Wireless Infrastructure Association, better known as PCIA, said it drew its highest attendance numbers—1,400 registrants—to its annual trade show held last week in Nashville, Tenn. The attendance tally marks a 5-percent increase from last year’s results, and signals the third year in...
Exchanging data over wireless networks is expected to grow at a steady rate in North America, according to the latest data from ABI Research. The firm said it expects growth of 16 percent each year through 2011, with a bit of a boom in...
NASHVILLE, Tenn.-For Mike Fitch, well into his second year as head of a trade group for which reinvention has become a survival mechanism, the planets appear to be lining up for PCIA and its wireless infrastructure members. Mobile-phone carriers need fatter pipes to carry...
NASHVILLE, Tenn.-The Wireless Infrastructure Association's annual convention began with the launch of a new a new forum that says its mission is to promote the understanding, acceptance and deployment of distributed antenna systems. DAS usage is gaining ground as a way to propagate RF...
NASHVILLE, Tenn.-Tower industry officials last week said lessons learned from last year's horrific storms have made them better prepared for the next big one. Speaking at PCIA's wireless infrastructure convention, tower executives outlined how they have improved all aspects of disaster planning and response...
BOSTON—Shares of American Tower Corp. slid after the tower vendor said it will have to restate earnings due to inconsistencies regarding past stock-option grants. The company plans to file an amended annual report for 2005 that will "reflect the restatement of its consolidated financial...
Sure, it's fun to crack jokes about snazzy-suit-wearing lawyers, but the reality is that eventually everyone comes to appreciate a competent attorney, and the wireless industry is no different. Hence, Edward Donohue, Catherine Blue and Thomas Carroll formed Donohue & Blue plc, a law...
Space Data Corp. landed a $49 million contract to supply the U.S. Air Force with a communication system that sends radio-equipped industrial balloons filled with hydrogen or helium to between 12 miles and 62 miles above sea level. Space Data claims the balloons float...
CHANDLER, Ariz.—Space Data Corp. landed a $49 million contract to supply the U.S. Air Force with its communication system that sends radio-equipped industrial balloons filled with hydrogen or helium to between 12 miles and 62 miles above sea level. Space Data claims the balloons...
Age, income, gender and location are among the familiar elements of demographic-based marketing across industries and, to an extent, the wireless industry has embraced the basics. One-touch dialing for pre-teens and seniors, feature-loaded, expensive gadgets for early adopters, pink handsets for (presumably) women, satellite...
The days of charging consumers $3 for a 30-second ringtone may be coming to an end. But for carriers, record labels, artists and software developers, there is still plenty of money to be made in mobile music "personalization." Analysts long have predicted the demise...
Despite initial anticipation that cable and satellite companies would use the advanced wireless services spectrum auction to catapult into the mobile marketplace, the hype doesn't seem to be panning out. However, walking away from the spectrum auction may not be a bad thing, at...
WASHINGTON—Satellite television providers EchoStar Communications Corp. and DirecTV Group Inc. have pulled out of the advanced wireless service spectrum auction.Click here for the latest headlines from the AWS auction. Click here for full AWS auction coverage.Look below for full details on round 18The satellite...
SOUTH BEND, Ind.—Horvath Communications Inc. sold 79 towers in Midwestern and eastern metropolitan markets to HC Acquisition L.L.C., a subsidiary or SBA Communications Corp. Horvath said it still owns several facilities and has plans to build more than 100 towers by the end of...
NEW YORK-The broadening investigation into stock-option grants continues to plague wireless as federal prosecutors brought criminal charges against three former executives of Comverse Technology Inc. The criminal complaint, which was unsealed in federal court in Brooklyn, accuses founder and former Chief Executive Officer Kobi...
There's nothing like a new nationwide WiMAX network to invigorate the already booming tower industry, though news of Sprint Nextel Corp.'s WiMAX plans didn't come in time to boost second-quarter results from Global Signal Inc. or American Tower Corp. During an earnings conference call,...
In addition to the potential impact from Sprint Nextel Corp.'s WiMAX deployment, analyst firms expect tower companies to see an impact from the ongoing advanced wireless services spectrum auction. In a recent report, Merrill Lynch provided insights on potential tower industry challenges from the...
