Bankrupt mobile satellite service provider ICO Global Communications said it has received letters of intent for the first in an expected three-stage debtor-in-possession financing package that, when complete, would total $1.2 billion.The company said the letters of intent cover the first $225 million installment...
Global System for Mobile communications providers met last week in Montreal for the 42nd plenary meeting of the GSM Association to discuss the technology's evolution and products and services, though by press time the group did not make any specific announcements on the topics."We...
HarrisHarris Corp. previewed its ClearBurst 2.5/3.4/10.5 GHz point-to-multipoint system, the newest addition to the Harris broadband wireless access product line, which is intended for deployment by public service providers as well as private network operators. The ClearBurst product offers a solution for delivering Time...
German manufacturer Siemens AG invested a 15-percent stake in San Diego-based Neopoint Inc., the maker of a CDMA smart phone that integrates a personal digital assistant and mobile phone.The investment will give Siemens much-needed expertise in Code Division Multiple Access technology. The vendor's U.S....
CDMA handsets were the No. 1 selling handset in the United States during the first quarter of this year, with sales of 3.2 million units, according to Dataquest Inc., a unit of Gartner Group Inc. TDMA handset sales were at 2.8 million units in...
TrunkingThe radio trunking handset base registered growth of 200 percent from 1 April 1998 to 31 March 1999, reaching 12,000 in the 25 cities where public mobile radio trunked service (PMRTS) is operational. This number is up from a mere 4,000 subscribers in the...
WASHINGTON-For the second straight week, Commerce Committee Chairman Thomas Bliley (R-Va.) hammered the Federal Communications Commission over questionable wireless licensing activity and opened a new probe into the proposed merger of Lockheed Martin Corp. and Comsat Corp.Bliley's Sept. 13 letter to FCC Chairman William...
WASHINGTON-Telesta Inc. said it will offer mobile text phone service in the United States later this year, a development that will enable hearing- and speech-impaired people to use small wireless communicators.Telesta, of Andover, Mass., said the service has been tested on mobile phone networks...
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-Iridium L.L.C.'s recent financial restructuring and voluntary bankruptcy filing are not expected to have a financial impact on Iridium Africa, said Iridium Africa's chief operating officer, Thomas Alabakis. Iridium Africa is an independent company wholly owned by the Mawarid Group and is...
NEW YORK-Citigroup and Sonera Ltd. announced last week they are taking an undisclosed ownership stake in 724 Solutions, a Canadian software company that is hardly a household name but could hold the key to global mobile banking.Juha Snellman, director of sales and marketing for...
Orbcomm Global, a low-earth-orbit satellite provider specializing in data communications, signed an agreement with European Datacomm Holding to deliver Orbcomm satellite communications services to 60 countries and territories in and around sub-Saharan Africa, said Orbcomm. Belgium-based EDC will begin operations out of Johannesburg, South...
WASHINGTON-The Pentagon, already at war in the Middle East and the Balkans, now faces a major confrontation at home over several bills that would benefit the Department of Defense at the expense of the wireless industry.DOD is the common denominator in all the legislation...
SAN JOSE, Calif.-Globalstar L.P. announced its fixed telephone terminal was approved for use throughout the European Union, which the company said will speed the certification process for the phone in other countries and quicken similar approval for its mobile handsets.EU certification for the fixed...
Iridium World Communications Ltd.'s stock plunged last week after an announcement that parent company Iridium L.L.C. had hired Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette to restructure its debt and the company announced it would not meet the subscriber and revenue figures needed to comply with its...
Press reporters on both sides of the Kosovo conflict have been castigated for not toeing the party line. In times of conflict, reporting the facts can be an unwelcome stance. During times of war, the press corps is fed an unremitting diet of half-truths...
CANNES, France-CDMA proponents have their voice in the CDMA Development Group. TDMA advocates have their say through the Universal Wireless Communications Consortium. Now the GSM world has its own lobbying force with the formation of the Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA).The GSA, comprising only...
WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission last week adopted proposed rules that should make it easier for users of global mobile phones and pagers to cross international borders. The rules implement a memorandum of understanding that was signed by the United States and other countries within...
DULLES, Va.-Orbcomm Global L.P. announced it is registered with the International Telecommunication Union as a Global Mobile Personal Communications by Satellite Memorandum of Understanding repository member. The company now is authorized to use the ITU's GMPCS-MoU registry mark.GMPCS-MoU is a policy developed by the...
Despite a five-week service launch delay and continued handset production problems, Iridium L.L.C. finished the fourth quarter with results that beat analysts expectations.The quarter, ended Dec. 31, marked the long-awaited launch of the company's 66 low-earth orbit satellite global phone and paging system and...
LONDON-Cable & Wireless Global Mobile said its total customer base increased 13 percent last quarter, with several of its markets experiencing even higher growth rates.Cable & Wireless Global Mobile said One 2 One's customer base in the United Kingdom experienced 30 percent growth last...
OXFORD, United Kingdom-Iridium L.L.C. launched its global mobile satellite service last November, and demand for the service reportedly is high, but so far largely unfulfilled. Shortage of handsets is being cited as the main culprit.Such a situation is not uncommon in the early days...
WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission, in actions designed to foster domestic and global competition, last week proposed allocating spectrum for fixed wireless access and approved a spectrum plan for broadband wireless local loop and other commercial services.Under the FCC proposal, the 3650-3700 MHz band would...
With the Nov. 1 commercial activation of Iridium L.L.C.'s satellite-based global mobile phone network, the mobile satellite services industry proved it is technologically possible to extend cellular communications to virtually any point on the planet.With this validation behind it, the industry faces another, equally...
WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission last week officially proposed rules that could lead to the end of spectrum caps. Additionally, the FCC announced rules to relocate incumbents in the 2 GHz spectrum band that has been allocated to mobile satellite services.Both decisions could have dramatic...
