After five years, Bell Atlantic Mobile got the last laugh. Long-time opponents of BAM cell tower construction in Rock Creek Park had it all planned: They would resort to civil disobedience to block the siting of a 130-foot antenna when the BAM crew arrived. But...
WASHINGTON-Peter Angelos, the powerful Baltimore lawyer who has successfully litigated against the tobacco industry, asbestos manufacturers and others in personal injury cases, is looking into the mobile phone health issue."We have some people we represent and we're looking at that," Angelos told RCR last...
Dear Editor: As pointed out by Jeff Silva in his "D.C. Notes" column Nov. 9, many industry players, including the Personal Communications Industry Association, are supportive of additional spectrum for third-generation services worldwide.Representatives from these groups and from the government have expended a great deal...
WASHINGTON-Sen. John McCain late Friday called on the Federal Communications Commission's Office of Inspector General to "promptly, fairly, and thoroughly investigate" an allegation from a high-ranking civilian FCC employee that FCC Chairman William Kennard and FCC Chief of Staff Kathryn Brown intervened to allow...
Three quarters of the way into 1999, we are inundated with good news from many of the wireless carriers showing record numbers of new customers added to their networks. These numbers are impressive and, in spite of local resistance to towers and the controversy...
WASHINGTON-A Canadian press report identifying a mobile phone as the cause of a gas-station explosion cannot be confirmed by Canadian authorities, but federal officials in British Columbia and some in the United States are treating phones as potential dangers.Richard Melnyk, a spokesman for Regional...
Early word from the Clinton administration is it supports the World Radiocommunication Conference being held in Istanbul next spring. Is the White House serious and, if so, what are the implications?At the International Telecommunication Union council meeting last month in Geneva, ITU Secretariat General...
It stands to reason that if you know how to make mobile phones work, you can shut them down-say, like at gas stations or in airplanes, theaters and hospitals. That's what a few ingenious Motorola Inc. inventors across the Atlantic have in mind with...
The Cleveland, Ohio, suburb of Brooklyn, believed to be the first city in the nation to pass a mandatory seat belt law back in 1966, is making fresh legal tracks again with the approval of an ordinance making it punishable by fine to talk...
U.S. Global System for Mobile communications carriers took a financial beating in 1998, but analysts expect 1999 to look brighter for these carriers as they look to butter up their bottom lines and find strategic partners.Tight financing, high churn levels and a general under-performance...
The fourth quarter of 1998 marked both highs and lows for the various carriers that make up the paging industry, with companies meeting both significant milestones and facing continued challenges.Perhaps deserving of the most attention are SkyTel Communications Inc. and Paging Network Inc., although...
Utah state representative Ralph Becker said he has withdrawn his bid to ban drivers from using wireless phones."After careful consideration, I have decided not to introduce legislation limiting the use of cellular phones while driving," Becker told RCR. "Rather, I have decided to establish...
NEW YORK-Cautious optimism in the absence of completely verifiable proof is the prognosis for Year 2000 compliance by the wireless industry, according to consultants interviewed by RCR."How fraught with danger is the unknown? It is irresponsible to say 'head for the hills and take...
WASHINGTON-A proposed amendment to rewrite the digital wiretap act that amounted to a wish list for law enforcement has been withdrawn by the Department of Justice after certain aspects were criticized soundly by privacy advocates. Additionally, it appears that the FBI was unable to...
WASHINGTON-Federal Communications Commission Chairman Bill Kennard, in a critical test of his leadership, plans an aggressive lobbying campaign to win support for a wireless local loop initiative that he believes will jump-start local competition even as others question its legality."He supports the item,"...
WASHINGTON-CTIA last week at its fourth annual Cellular Telephone Industry Association Foundation Achievement Awards Dinner paid tribute to Dennis F. Strigl, Newt Gingrich and the 50 winners of its Vita wireless samaritan awards who all used wireless phones to help people in danger or...
WASHINGTON-Brad Clark, a Cedar Rapids, Iowa, resident used his cellular phone three times to help people in emergency situations. His actions won him the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association's 1997 VITA Wireless Samaritan Award for the state of Iowa.Driving to work last December in icy...
BOULDER, Colo.-If Boulder, Colo., had experienced flooding last week, SCC Communications Corp. and U S West Communications Inc. might have been able to help the city notify residents that they needed to evacuate.But the city had sunny skies last Wednesday when it held its...
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-Africa was in danger of failing to provide basic telecommunications services by the beginning of the millennium if it did not receive the help of foreign investors and partnerships.Speaking at the opening of the Africa Telecom 98 held in May in Johannesburg,...
Murder and espionage claims in recent months have brought to the forefront the issue of safety of wireless industry personnel working abroad.Two weeks ago, Ricardo Periera, 41, Glenayre Technologies Inc.'s general manager of the company's Sao Paulo, Brazil, operation, was shot and killed in...
Responding to concerns by radio astronomers that its transmission signals will overpower those from the distant celestial objects they track, Iridium L.L.C. has moved forward with a series of compromise agreements that it hopes will resolve the issue.A small portion of spectrum Iridium's satellite...
SAO PAULO, Brazil-The pace of liberalization in the Brazilian wireless markets has taken on new speed in the past two weeks following a judicial ruling grant-ing the region 2 B-band license to the Telia-led Tess consortium and swift movement by the Ministry of Communications...
B-band cellular licenses don't appear to be a wireless Mardi Gras for the Brazilian government any longer.Though raking in billions so far from four of the 10 licenses it already has awarded, the Brazilian Ministry of Communications most likely won't see bids rivaling the...
WASHINGTON-Some familiar heavy hitters have applied for a berth at the Feb. 18 start of the local multipoint distribution service auction, including Wall Street's Mario Gabelli and Cablevision's Robert Dolan; former Nextel Communications Inc. executive Jack Markell (now with Comcast Corp.); Haynes Griffin of...
