WASHINGTON-"The Telecom Act was an act of Congress and not an act of God, so it will not be immediately perfect," commented AT&T's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Robert Allen on the first anniversary last week of the landmark piece of 1996 legislation. "Telecom...
The Antenna Co. announced it has officially changed its name to Andrew Wireless Products Group. Andrew Corp. acquired the company last year.The transition marks a stronger direction for the company and its place in the accessories market, said Roger Fisher, group president of the...
NEW YORK-Imagine a bell curve for a clear picture of the landscape this year for batteries used in wireless handsets.That big bulge in the middle represents the domain of rechargeable nickel cadmium and nickel metal hydride batteries, which seem likely to retain their dominant...
NEW YORK-To address a widely acknowledged shortage of wireless technicians and appropriate training schools, the State University of New York at Canton hopes to launch in September a two-year degree program in collaboration with the wireless industry."It is very difficult to find technicians, and...
The European Commission said it has given the Spanish government three months to inform the EC on the steps it will take to create a level playing field for the Global System for Mobile communications operators in its market.The EC wants to know how...
WASHINGTON-According to company spokeswoman Jennifer Walsh, NextWave Telecom Inc. plans to amend its current S-1 filing at the Securities and Exchange Commission soon to get its stalled initial public offering off the ground. On Jan. 20, news agency Reuters America Inc. quoted a source...
CLAYTON, N.J.-With a gaggle of journalists and public officials present, the first user trial of an automatic location system for analog cellular 911 calls began with a flourish Jan. 22 at the Gloucester County Public Safety headquarters."This demonstrates so much about the country's policy...
NEW YORK-Moody's Investors Service Inc. announced Jan. 22 it may upgrade approximately $5.1 billion in MCI Communications Corp. outstanding debt and preferred stock because of the growing likelihood that MCI and British Telecommunications plc will complete their merger by the end of this year.Part...
American Messaging Systems Inc. is entering the two-way market with an alternative to ReFLEX that provides high system capacity, quick time to market and helps carriers cut costs, said the company.AMS is an equal joint venture of Minneapolis-based American Paging and Nexus Telecommunications Systems...
TAMPA, Fla.-GTE Tele-communication Services Inc. signed a contract to provide its roamer administration service to personal communications services provider Western Wireless Corp. GTE TSI also will provide settlement and exchange services to Western Wireless.GTE TSI's Access service provides roamer billing information among cellular and...
NASHVILLE, Tenn.-Cellular One said it is eliminating long distance charges to most Tennessee customers calling anywhere in the United States with its nationwide local calling service.Any calls originating in a subscriber's home calling area will be billed at local airtime rates, the company said....
MOUNT PROSPECT, Ill.-More than half of cellular customers surveyed in an Illinois Superconductor Corp. study said they want improvements in their cellular service.More than a third of those questioned said cost was their top concern about cellular phone service, followed by poor voice quality...
InterCel Inc. wants to learn if cellular customers who are familiar with rate plans will behave differently when let loose on a 1900 MHz system for a flat $50 a month."We'll be able to analyze usage in an unlimited threshold," said Ed Horner, chief...
rederick M. Joyce, Esq. It is a time-worn political axiom that no candidate ever lost a vote by speaking in favor of Mom, apple pie, and the American flag. In 1996, politicians discovered something equally safe to advocate: Universal telephone service. For evidence of the...
NEW YORK-Seven key developments promise significant changes in the telecommunications industry in 1997, according to a newly released global outlook by A.T. Kearney, Arlington, Va.(1) Merger activity within and across markets will be accompanied by skyrocketing demand for high-capacity networks. As a result, regional...
Two trade associations have responded to an FBI notice seeking clear definitions of the terms "significant upgrade" and "major modification" that are used in the 1994 digital wiretap law to determine if carriers are responsible for the cost of upgrading their networks to meet...
NEW YORK-The public capital markets were not kind to personal communications services companies in 1996, but 1997 is looking a bit more hopeful."The seven publicly traded PCS players not only under-performed but negatively performed the market, down 10.5 percent, while the S&P 500 was...
ATLANTA-BellSouth Mobility Inc. launched its TextMessaging service last month. The service allows short messages to be sent from a personal computer to a digital cellular customer with no airtime charges to the recipient, the company said.The sender can forward a text or alphanumeric message...
The Secretary of Communications in Argentina announced concrete plans to award two personal communications services licenses in early to mid-1997.Initially, the two PCS licenses will be granted for 30 megahertz, with an option for an additional 5 megahertz, but a total of 120 megahertz...
WASHINGTON-In his agenda for 1997, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Reed Hundt reiterated his commitment to deregulate telecommunications and to push competition in the marketplace for all communications players.Hundt also had to admit something of a defeat by setting dates for the commission's controversial move...
Cellular operators need to "get their heads together" if they want to offer cellular as a primary solution for telemetry, said a Houston-based company that manages that service for large U.S. pipeline companies."If cellular wants to play heavily in this market, they're going to...
Wireless industry, watch out! Geniuses are at work in Washington. This is the baby-the Overseas Private Investment Corp., a federal agency that operates at no net cost to U.S. taxpayers. (Brace yourselves for the bath water below.)Throughout its operating history, OPIC has supported investments...
NEW YORK-Like the fabled elephant described by a group of blind men positioned near various points of its anatomy, equipment vendors at the recent "PCS-1900 in North America" conference gave widely different definitions of so-called "smart phones."The closest thing to a consensus reached was...
WASHINGTON-The cellular and paging industries experienced similar declines in revenue per subscriber and operating expenses this year. But despite jitters on Wall Street, the operating performance of most wireless companies remains strong, said Economic Management Consultant International Inc. in its report, "Financial Benchmarks in...
