Since the passage of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, it seems rarely a week goes by without the announcement-or rumor-of another blockbuster telecom deal.The recent flurry of merger and acquisition activity clearly is changing the face of the telecom landscape and prompting debate about where...
The announcement of a proposed merger between a large New York investment firm and CommNet Cellular Inc. increased CommNet's already high profile in the rural cellular market while boosting the value of the company's stock by nearly 15 percent.CommNet and Blackstone Capital Partners Merchant...
DENVER-CommNet Cellular Inc. President and Chief Executive Officer Arnold C. Pohs has been elected chairman of the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association, the wireless industry's trade association."Throughout the past 14 years as the wireless industry has come into its own, Arnold Pohs has been one...
NEW YORK-Despite economies inherent in population density for the wireless telecommunications industry, rural cellular carriers are sitting pretty during the advent of personal communications services competition."If you take all of the C to F (block) winners, except maybe for some of the 10 megahertz...
Editor's Note: The companies listed below represent the 20 largest cellular carriers in the United States. Company rankings are based on the total number of subscribers for their majority-held or controlled markets. All subscriber numbers reflect year-end 1996 figures reported by each company.AirTouch Communications Inc....
As equity capital markets have become weary for the wireless industry, carriers large and small are challenged to cut costs and increase per subscriber revenues. Larger, nationwide carriers hold the economies-of-scale advantage, but regional carriers report their own set of cost advantages.Major cost categories...
Cellemetry Data Service has signed eight new contracts since it was launched almost a year ago, and now provides total coverage to 125 million pops in North America.The service was developed by BellSouth Corp. in the early 1990s, and launched commercially 10 months ago....
Metawave Communications Corp. named Vito Palermo senior vice president and chief financial officer, with responsibility for the company's financial and administrative operations including accounting, treasury, financial planning, investor relations and human resources. Most recently, Palermo served as vice president and corporate controller for Bay...
The Personal Communications Industry Association filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission regarding universal service fund reform. PCIA agreed with the FCC that it must implement access charge and universal service fund reform concurrently to avoid local exchange carriers receiving double recovery of costs....
DALLAS-CommNet Cellular Inc. has agreed to market National Telemanagement Corp.'s SmartPay prepaid wireless service for customers in CommNet's nine-state service area.Customers establish an account at any SmartPay authorized CommNet outlet and replenish airtime with cash, bank draft or credit card. Customers are warned when...
NEW YORK-CommNet Cellular Inc., a Colorado-based rural cellular provider, has terminated plans announced early this year for a nationwide paging alliance with MobileMedia Corp., but it is close to reaching an agreement with a substitute, said Dan Dwyer, chief financial officer."We've come to a...
Independent cellular operators say they are poised for strong growth in coming years, despite the rising aspirations of mammoth telecommunications operators bent on controlling large market share."Most people just assume don't have the size to compete moving to the future," said Arnold Pohs,...
From Wall Street to Main Street, the outlook for the cellular industry remains positive, especially for major players abroad and minor players at home that exploit markets with lower competition and penetration levels.The new Telecommunications Act has unleashed forces that could transform the entire...
Smaller C-block licensees with only a handful of permits say they're confident of making a profitable business from the properties they have, disregarding naysayers who claim a wireless business must be big to survive."There's an assumption that small bidders are afraid to go it...
One mission of the CTIA Foundation for Wireless Communications is to undertake innovative wireless projects, like the one beginning today in Minnesota.The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association Foundation is giving 40 phones to a task force for battered women that covers nine counties in the...
Linda Noda Hobbs has been named president of The National Dispatch Center Inc. Hobbs will oversee all aspects of NDC's day-to-day operations, including implementation of policies, systems and procedures. Since joining NDC in May 1995, Hobbs has played multiple roles within the company. Hobbs...
The president of a Colorado-based rural cellular operator "emphatically refutes" claims by analog handset manufacturers that cellular growth is slowing, suggesting instead that low phone prices and the battle for market share are responsible for unwelcome pressure on manufacturing revenue."The number of subscribers continues...
WEST POINT, Ga.-InterQuest Inc. announced it is offering a new service that allows wireless carriers to offer unregistered roamers in their market to complete a cellular call.Instead of connecting unregistered roamers to a recording that ultimately prevents the user from completing a cellular call,...
IFR Systems Inc. has named Dr. Samual Kyehung Lee director of business development for the Pacific Rim. He will also be the management contact for all IFR distributors in mainland Asia, Southeast Asia, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.Dr. Lee joined IFR in 1987 as...
DCR Communications Inc. and Westinghouse Electric Corp. reached an agreement in principle for a multimillion-dollar investment commitment by Westinghouse in the new personal communications services company. Westinghouse's communications systems division will become DCR's primary network systems integrator and provide technical services to support the...
CommNet Cellular Inc. said it has successfully concluded its call for redemption of its 6.75 percent convertible subordinated debentures. Of $74.7 million aggregate principal amount of the debentures outstanding, $41.9 million were redeemed and the balance of $32.9 million was converted into shares of...
