MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.-Sun Microsystems Computer Co. unveiled its Ultra workstation family, Ultra 1 and Ultra 2, designed to help cellular companies expedite cell site planning, engineering and design.Sun said the workstation incorporates a number of technology innovations that, when coupled with a high-performance microprocessor,...
SEATTLE-AT&T Wireless Services introduced a prepackaged phone that is available in stores and activated by calling a 1-800 number and receiving credit-card verification.The telephone costs about $40 with an access charge of $20. The monthly charge includes two hours of free off-peak calling per...
These days cellular phones are sold just about everywhere you turn, even the drug store. However, it may not be so easy to buy one. One company said it has designed a solution for people whose credit history has inhibited them from buying a...
WASHINGTON-Every time a paging or cellular phone signal is sent over the airwaves what happens with the transactional information-the subscriber's name, address, billing information and eventual usage patterns-collected by the carrier?Truth is, the customer typically doesn't know. One thing is for sure, companies are...
WASHINGTON-A broad-based public interest coalition has asked federal regulators to require that mobile telephones provide unrestricted access to emergency 911 service.The Ad Hoc Alliance for Public Access to 911 asserted that cellular emergency calls may be blocked if made outside of the area served...
Short forms are due today for designated entities, marking a giant and-finally-tangible step toward the Federal Communications Commission's C-block auction of nearly 500 personal communications services licenses set for Dec. 11.About 25 DEs will actually make it to auction, and only a handful will...
Standard Telecom America Inc. introduced a line-up of Nixxo pagers including Nixxo Tutti, Nixxo AirFly and the alphanumeric Nixxo, to American and Latin American markets. The company is a new player in the U.S. paging market but is a leading manufacturer in South Korea...
Telemac Cellular Corp. agreed to license its patent-pending debit technology to Trimax Inc. of Taiwan. Trimax will use the technology to manufacture a switch independent cellular debit phone. The license is expected to result in the distribution of 500,000 phones into China during a...
Globalstar L.P. has landed three separate agreements to deliver mobile satellite service in 18 African nations. The company expects its global roaming services will benefit intercontinental travelers and rural fixed-site and mobile users in areas lacking landline or mobile coverage.Warwickshire, U.K.-based Globaltouch Communications Holdings...
ATLANTA-GTE Telecommunications Services and IBM Corp. have introduced a service for managing usage and billing information generated by cellular roaming users.The number of roamers has grown, said GTE, and so it has become increasingly difficult to track usage and manage the distribution of operator...
On a recent trip across Europe to visit some of the major operators and manufacturers of the blossoming cellular industry there, I was asked to describe the state of the industry in the United States. Of course I spoke of the great advancements we...
AURORA, Colo.-Key Communications Group Inc. said it completed agreements with Denver-based specialized mobile radio companies Mobile One Communications and Omni Range Communications LLC.Key Communications, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of ComTec International Inc.-previously Nattem USA Inc.-acquired management agreements with Omni Range for 185...
North American Wireless Inc. has yet to announce the name of a U.S. utility company expected to take the place of Cable & Wireless Inc., which recently withdrew from the partnership.Vienna, Va.-based NAWI was formed last fall with the goal of building a nationwide...
Olivetti SpA and Northern Telecom Ltd. have formed a joint venture to distribute and service Nortel telecommunications products in Italy. As part of the agreement, Nortel has acquired 49 percent of Sixtel SpA, a subsidiary of Olivetti. Olivetti is an equity partner in Omnitel...
American Paging Inc. is restructuring three of its key operating areas - sales and marketing, administration and customer service - to achieve an improved customer mix, reduced administrative costs and improved customer service."Our plan is simple - to add and retain high-quality customers and...
Westlink Paging has acquired the assets of Telecomm Systems Inc., a paging firm based in Portland, Ore., representing 85,000 additional paging units in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah, Nevada and Colorado. The purchase of Telecomm Systems brings Westlink's total subscribers to 430,000, said Daniels &...
If you were one of the many who stood in line to buy a copy of Windows 95 at midnight Aug. 24, (or even if you're not one of them), you'll appreciate this look at what happened to the great "cellular data rush" of...
Safety and security may be among the top reasons people buy cellular phones, but these features often fall short in one area: 911 service. But the state of Washington is hoping to remedy that situation with a new law that makes cellular carriers offer enhanced...
SAN DIEGO-The National Dispatch Center Inc. said it will provide international call routing for GlobalRoam, the international cellular roaming service scheduled to be introduced by GTE Mobilnet Inc. in the third quarter of this year.GlobalRoam will allow traveling Europeans and North Americans to roam...
WASHINGTON-Resale could become a powerful force in wireless telephony in the coming years, bringing an odd mix of competition and commerce to facilities-based carriers.Resale has experienced modest success in the 12-year-old cellular industry, but the infusion of more spectrum (120 megahertz) and new competition...
AT&T Corp. took another giant step into wireless competition with the confidence of an experienced player holding a royal flush-primed with a fat distribution channel, a database brimming with customer contacts and the ability to dominate the market from which it has been banned...
TAMPA, Fla.-GTE Telecommunications Services issued a new version of its ACCESS roamer billing system that distributes information to GTE's member cellular carriers through a flexible client-server architecture. ACCESS previously operated only in a mainframe computer environment.The new version of ACCESS uses a data processing...
Hughes Space and Communications International was selected by the International Mobile Satellite Organization's Inmarsat-P affiliate to build 12 satellites. The deal is valued at $1.3 billion, announced London-based Inmarsat-P.Hughes plans to become a strategic partner of the new affiliate company with "substantial investment share,"...
WASHINGTON-The first system and billing identification codes for personal communications services have been assigned to AT&T Wireless Services by Cibernet Corp.Cibernet is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association, which urged the assignment of codes so PCS carriers could proceed with negotiations...