BOSTON-Fidelity Investments announced its InstantBroker wireless stock alert and e-trading service will use BellSouth Wireless Data L.P.'s network for data transmission.As part of the agreement, Fidelity has exclusive use of BellSouth's RAMpowertool, which features encryption technology from Certicom Corp. for secure trading using the...
WASHINGTON-New House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) is expected to impact process more than policy in the 106th Congress, but his past support for Ameritech Corp.'s long-distance entry and strong campaign financial backing from landline telephone carriers suggest he still could prove influential in telecom...
NEW YORK-Cellcom Israel Ltd., which has about 1 million customers, reportedly is planning to go public with a stock sale in the United States.Shares of many Israel-based companies closed higher Jan. 3, following publication that morning of a local newspaper report of Cellcom's planned...
The nation's largest independent cellular carrier last week entertained bids from two potential acquirers in what could become a global bidding war.AirTouch Communications Inc. last week confirmed it was in discussions with Bell Atlantic Corp. for a possible tie-up and later confirmed it had...
NEW YORK-When it comes to getting airtime to the end customer, no distribution issue is captivating carriers like cost reduction. As international competition increases and markets mature, carriers will be even more pressed to trim costs to ensure healthy profit margins, according to most...
China News reported merger plans in Taiwan's paging arena, with Taiwan Paging Network announcing its intention to buy Express Telecom and Ever Glory Telecom, as well as three mobile data service providers. The acquisition will mean TPN will become the first company to provide...
WASHINGTON-The Justice Department's denial of Nextel Communications Inc.'s request to modify a 1994 antitrust consent decree kept the nation's top dispatch radio operator from bidding on bankrupt Geotek Communications Inc.'s licenses last week, a potentially major setback that could stifle the highly leveraged wireless...
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.-Alltel Corp. announced it entered into an agreement to acquire all the assets of BellSouth Mobility's cellular operations in the Dothan, Ala., area."The purchase will allow us to bring the Alltel bundle of services, which may include paging, Internet access, long distance...
SEATTLE-Go to any trade show where mobile phone operators congregate, and you will hear grumbling about how AT&T Wireless Services Inc.'s Digital One Rate pricing plan has wreaked havoc on business plans. The play for the high-end business user seems to be falling in...
The Palm VII personal digital assistant, announced this month by 3Com Corp. and Palm Computing Inc., continues to generate news and speculation, even though the product is not expected to be in consumers' hands until late next year.Convergys Corp. told RCR it has been...
Studies indicate the mobile phone industry may be in for more alarming churn figures as increased competition threatens to erode carriers' customer bases.Richard Siber, associate partner with Andersen Consulting in Boston, expects the industry's churn rate to average between 33 percent and 36 percent...
NEW YORK-Denmark-based Bosch Telecom Inc., which introduced the World 718 phone in June, has decided to close its Dallas office for U.S. sales and marketing, although it will continue selling the handsets here.The World 718 phone can operate on Global System for Mobile Communications...
Northeast Communications of Wisconsin Inc. announced it acquired U.S. Cellular's Marathon County operations. Cellcom, the company's wireless subsidiary, will provide cellular and paging services. Marathon County will be the fifth Wisconsin county served by Cellcom and the second metropolitan service area for the company....
WASHINGTON-Marcia Spielholz, the California woman whose emergency 911 cellular phone call went unanswered in 1994 during an attempted auto theft in which she was shot in the face, plans to amend her class-action lawsuit against Los Angeles Telephone Co. next week by adding new...
Palm Computing Inc., an affiliate of 3Com Corp., introduced the Palm VII personal digital assistant at the Palm Computing Platform Worldwide Developer Conference in Santa Clara, Calif., featuring out-of-the-box wireless connectivity to the Internet, World Wide Web and instant two-way personal communications.Through various partnerships...
NEW YORK-The rapidly growing prepaid wireless sector offers carriers a means to reduce customer acquisition costs and capture market segments otherwise out of reach.Nevertheless, prepaid has its problems and its critics. Proponents of prepaid, however, argue solutions are readily available to smooth the bumps."The...
ATLANTA-BellSouth Corp. said it has developed an affordable, network-based solution to help wireless carriers meet the Federal Communications Commission guidelines for Phase I compliance for wireless enhanced 911 call processing. The Phase I solution recently was made available to carriers in Tennessee.Phase 1 involves...
More legal issues have fallen in the way of Venezuela's plans to tender a personal communications services license earlier this month.Conatel, Venezuela's telecom regulatory agency, was set to tender a license by Nov. 4, but protests from three cellular operators have stalled the process...
ATLANTA-BellSouth Mobility DCS said it is offering a two-in-one service that allows customers to answer their wireless calls using either their personal communications services handset or their home or business phone.2N1 Number Service allows two customer-designated numbers-one PCS phone number and another phone number-to...
ATLANTA-BellSouth Corp. announced plans to repurchase up to $3 billion worth of its common shares in 1999.The company's board of directors also increased its quarterly dividend by 2 cents to 38 cents per split common share. In addition, the board approved a two-for-one stock...
NEW YORK-John T. Stupka, president and chief executive officer of SkyTel Communications Inc., said a BellSouth Wireless Data L.P. advertisement that's been running in the Wall Street Journal, as well as in other newspapers, is misleading but nevertheless welcome.The ad compares SkyTel's messaging service,...
LAS VEGAS-GoAmerica Communications Corp. announced it will offer J.P. Systems Inc.'s NetCradle in its Web@Hand product portfolio, extending Internet access to personal digital assistants made by 3Com Corp.The GoAmerica bundle will include the NetCradle, with a wireless PC card from Research In Motion and...
WASHINGTON-A critical European Parliament vote last week, which could effectively mandate a third-generation mobile phone standard dominated by Sweden's L.M. Ericsson and Finland's Nokia Corp. and lock out American technology, will ratchet up the stakes in upcoming negotiations here among U.S., European Union and...
This holiday season will see an unprecedented number of mobile phone competitors in the market, but carriers still seem unwilling to compete with break-neck pricing as they aim to keep average revenue per user at high levels.It's a "digital Christmas" this year, said Miles...
