Bell Atlantic Mobile, Vodafone AirTouch plc and PrimeCo Personal Communications L.P. had a problem when they were going to merge their U.S. wireless assets into a single company. How do you combine three company names, each with strong regional appeal, into a single entity...
WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission is becoming increasingly concerned about anecdotal stories about public-safety operations experiencing interference from commercial systems."We on a regular basis hear anecdotal stories on how radios are susceptible to interference from commercial systems and in some cases don't work at all,"...
CARY, N.C.-SpectraSite Holdings Inc. reported two acquisitions and one development agreement as the company expands its outsourced antenna site and network services.The joint development agreement with Transco, the arm of the BG Group plc that runs Britain's gas network, involves developing a tower business...
BOCA RATON, Fla.-SBA Communications Corp. reported in the first quarter it increased its tower portfolio by 188 towers to 1,351 total towers. Of the 188 towers added, 112 were newly built and 76 were acquisitions of existing towers costing approximately $30.3 million.As of March...
FREEREALTIME.comFreeRealTime.com Inc. launched a beta version of FRT2go, a service for use on 3Com Corp.'s Palm Computing unit Palm VII and Palm.net service, giving its members wireless access to real-time stock quotes as well as other financial market information. The company noted it does...
The flurry of consolidation in the wireless industry leads the industry observer to believe a nationwide presence is a necessity to compete in this market going forward.AT&T Wireless Services Inc. raised the bar in 1998 offering its nationwide plan, the Digital One Rate plan....
NEW YORK-For about $2,000 per square mile, MCI WorldCom Inc. expects to launch multichannel multipoint distribution service systems able to give its fixed wireless customers data access at speeds faster than T-1 connections.That is the vision the carrier is working to make a reality,...
WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission is inviting and strongly encouraging American Indian leaders to participate in a seminar the agency is planning for this fall that should focus the leaders' attention on wireless as an answer to the lack of telephone service in American Indian...
SAN FRANCISCO-Even as the tech-heavy Nasdaq stock market was spinning out of control and dragging down telecom shares last week, wireless network and marketing managers here were brimming with optimism about a industry whose biggest challenge is keeping up with fast-paced growth and all...
WASHINGTON-The Personal Communications Industry Association is urging the Federal Aviation Administration to review its tower siting reporting rules because current and sometimes-conflicting interpretations "could create a paperwork and processing morass for both the wireless industry and the FAA."The rules in question have, in fact,...
SAN FRANCISCO-A citizens group plans to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a recent federal appeals court decision upholding the Federal Communications Commission's mobile-phone radiation safety standard.The Ad Hoc Association of Parties Concerned about FCC Radio-frequency Radiation and Health and Safety rules has...
WASHINGTON-In a development that further muddies the waters for wireless buildout and holds implications for radio-frequency radiation safety litigation, a judge on a divided federal appeals court ruled the antenna siting provision in the 1996 telecom act is unconstitutional.Judge Paul Niemeyer ruled the antenna...
Talk all you want about the wonderful telecom revolution, but don't mention it around District of Columbia pols. They're irked. Big time. First it was mobile-phone towers in Rock Creek Park, which opponents decried as a blight on the landscape and an affront to...
Atlanta-based LHS Group Inc., a provider of billing and operations support software and services, agreed to merge with Europe-based Sema Group plc, an information technology services company, for approximately $4.7 billion in stock.The new company, which maintain the Sema name, will become a leader...
WASHINGTON-The wireless industry has won several key court cases involving antenna siting, liability and health protection, but litigation is expected to continue well into the future as pagers and mobile phones further penetrate the consumer market.That some federal courts have sided with carriers recently...
While most wireless companies are looking toward consolidation in the one-way paging market, Scout Electromedia is looking toward overlooked markets to broaden its appeal.Scout Electromedia, a term the company says combines media content and product design, touts the company's mission as "dedicated to the...
LightbridgeJoseph Tibbetts Jr. resigned from Lightbridge Inc. as the company's chief financial officer in order to pursue an opportunity in venture capital.U.S. Wireless DataCharles Leone accepted the posts of chief financial officer and chief operating officer for U.S. Wireless Data Inc. Leone will be...
MCLEAN, Va.-LCC International Inc. has completed the first closing of a previously announced tower sale with Pinnacle Holdings Inc.The close included 134 of the 197 towers sold by LCC to Pinnacle under an agreement announced Feb. 25, with an initial closing valued at $56...
HOUSTON-Crown Castle International Corp.'s subsidiary, Crown Castle Australia Ltd., signed a definitive agreement to purchase about 700 wireless communications towers from Cable & Wireless Optus for $135 million, including an exclusive right to develop all future tower sites for Optus during the next six...
WASHINGTON-The sponsor of a controversial antenna-siting bill in the Virginia General Assembly pulled the measure last week apparently at the urging of top officials.The bill, recently passed by the Senate, would have repealed last year's Virginia Supreme Court decision that affirmed the authority of...
HandsetsPhilipsPhilips introduced several new handsets. The Ozeo GSM dual-band mobile phone offers a new user interface and a large LCD display with five text lines. The carousel icon screen feature simultaneously displays up to five visual icons representing the phone's functions and features. The...
NEW YORK-A federal appellate court handed the Federal Communications Commission a substantial victory Feb. 18 in a case that challenged the agency's health and safety standards and siting guidelines for microwave transceivers.In its unanimous decision, the three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals...
As new network and expansion opportunities flourish in Latin America and Asia, Palm Beach, Fla.-based International Tower Corp. formally announced last week its entry into the global wireless market as an infrastructure and site-management service provider.Founded by former Lodestar Towers Chief Executive Officer Ron...
Agilent TechnologiesAgilent Technologies Inc. introduced a number of new test-solution products and made improvements to others. The Agilent 84000 RFIC series model A20E is a low-cost test solution developed specifically for high-volume semiconductor manufacturers that make radio-frequency power-amplifier integrated circuits used in cell phones...
