As cellular carriers attempt to roll out nationwide coverage with new mobile data services, Los Gatos, Calif.-based Metricom Inc. is focused on establishing its Ricochet data network in two major computer industry centers-Silicon Valley and Seattle.The company just completed an agreement with the city...
GARDEN GROVE, Calif.-AirTouch Teletrac introduced new messaging plans for its communications and vehicle location system, designed to save users time and free radio waves for more specific communications.For $28 per month per vehicle, dispatchers and drivers receive unlimited communications such as vehicle location and...
With plans to target the corporate market, Swedish telecommunications operator Telia and Ericsson Inc. are testing a new dual-mode telephone that will allow users to seamlessly switch from private wireless networks to the public cellular network.Telia and Ericsson said they are jointly testing a...
WASHINGTON-A group called the Specialized Mobile Radio Wireless Operators Network, or SMR WON, recently formed to fight recent federal policies the group says will increase the cost of business dispatch mobile service.The new association said it plans to educate public officials about the alleged...
Nintendo, a name most familiar in exclusive circles-the young teens market-has made its first U.S. investment in a small company with an "expanding" technology.Waltham, Mass.-based Reflection Technology Inc. has designed the Virtual Boy game device for Nintendo Co. Ltd., using its patented Scanned Linear...
WASHINGTON-Sparks are flying weeks before public comments are due at the Federal Communications Commission on applications from six firms seeking licenses to operate global pocket-phone satellite systems."I think that some of the competitive systems are basing their financial qualifications on highly speculative investments," said...
OAKBROOK, Ill.-GTE Airfone says it has introduced the first digital public facsimile machines aboard aircraft.Fax machines now will be available on United Airlines' transcontinental routes from New York to Los Angeles and San Francisco. Selected Delta Airlines planes also will offer fax service.The machines,...
In unspectacular fashion, Susan Ness diligently immersed herself in spectrum auction and personal communications services rulemakings at the Federal Communications Commission soon after she was confirmed as a commissioner by the Senate in May.Such is the style of the former banking executive and House...
ReadyCom Inc. is bringing voice-mail messaging to wireless communications with ReadyTalk, a single unit that uses the cellular network to deliver voice mail service to a portable handset.Comcast Cellular Communications Inc. will be the first carrier to offer ReadyTalk, with plans to roll out...
Recent research on cellular subscriber churn conducted by customer satisfaction powerhouse J.D. Power and Associates calls into question the industry's "more-is-better" approach to retail distribution of service.J.D. Power for years has conducted customer satisfaction studies for a broad range of consumer products and services,...
Superconducting Core Technologies of Golden, Colo., believes it has developed an industry first-a superconductor that is automatically tuned by microprocessors to allocate frequencies and improve channel re-use."We are committed to demonstrating that so-called virtual manufacturing companies can efficiently work with the public laboratory system...
As the dust settles from the recent double-header, pre-auction alliance ballgame, another Mighty Casey is in position to crack the bat at December's auction of broadband personal communications services licenses.Sprint Corp. recently announced a grand slam alliance with three cable companies-Tele-Communications Inc., Comcast Corp....
Seeking a bigger slice of the telephony pie, Cybertel Cellular is slashing prices for its new digital cellular service in Hawaii.Cybertel, a subsidiary of Ameritech Cellular Services, is offering customers airtime rates as low as 3.7 cents per minute in Hawaii Rural Service Area...
WASHINGTON-The industry created two decades ago to foster dispatch wireless communications in the United States stands at a crossroads as regulatory, technological and market forces conspire to put mom-and-pop two-way radio businesses out to pasture.Nextel Communications Inc., the largest specialized mobile radio operator, has...
In unspectacular fashion, Susan Ness diligently immersed herself in spectrum auction and personal communications services rulemakings at the Federal Communications Commission soon after she was confirmed as a commissioner by the Senate in May.Such is the style of the former banking executive and House...
NORTHBROOK, Ill.-It's no secret that people don't like paying bills, so the mobile communications industry is taking part in a nationwide trend that aims to help retain customers by using electronic funds transfer.Some cellular and paging operators are testing programs that let customers pay...
ussell H. Fox, Esq. My intent, in writing an article in RCR, was to analyze the Federal Communications Commission's decision in the Docket No. 93-252 proceeding, which addresses the new rules governing commercial mobile radio service providers.The new rules, designed to achieve "regulatory parity"...
With three new investors injecting a fresh $310 million into its low-earth-orbiting satellite project, Iridium Inc. said it has completed its planned equity financing.That means the Motorola Inc.-led international group now can make debt financing arrangements to fund the remainder of its commitments.Iridium seeks...
Motorola Inc.'s Personal Communications Systems formally introduced its Teledensity product, a wireless system designed for local loop and personal communications services applications, at the recent Personal Communications Industry Association Showcase in Seattle.Earlier in September, Motorola announced its first customer for Teledensity would be Southwestern...
Cellular carriers in California have asked the Federal Communications Commission to reject a petition filed by the California Public Utilities Commission that asks for continued state regulation of cellular rates.The FCC planned to take control of rate regulation from states Aug. 10 under authority...
The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association has filed comments with federal regulators opposing Ameritech's new telephone numbering plan for Illinois.CTIA said the new area code plan is anticompetitive and discriminatory against wireless carriers and customers. Under the new area code plan, customers who order paging...
WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission, facing intensified criticism from industry and Congress, has set up a task force to help it decide the fate of thousands of specialized mobile radio applications that await processing.The task force, set up two weeks ago, is comprised of Private...
STOCKHOLM-An international consortium involving Ram Mobile Data Network GmbH, a German subsidiary of BellSouth Corp., said it has chosen Mobitex technology for its mobile data network in Germany.Gessellschaft fur Datenfunk GmbH, a German consortium, was awarded a license in May from the German Bundesposte...
As a product, cellular voice has been a spectacular exception to the current slow growth rate for most industries. In fact, some experts claim that cellular's coming of age is unparalleled in consumer electronics."I think it's terribly significant that this industry has gone out...
