My daughter is becoming quite proficient at putting together puzzles. She doesn't do it the way I would, matching the red of the mermaid Ariel's hair with another piece that also shows red hair. Instead, I think she actually memorizes how the puzzle pieces...
WASHINGTON-A federal appeals court Tuesday stayed the Federal Communications Commission's rules regarding the unauthorized switching of long-distance carriers, a practice known as slamming. The rules went into effect May 17.Long-distance carriers, specifically MCI Worldcom Inc., argued the rules were too stringent.AT&T Corp. hailed the...
NEW YORK-The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York handed NextWave Personal Communications Inc. a big victory May 13, cutting its C-block license bid obligation to $1.023 billion from $4.744 billion."The court has provided a market-based solution upon which NextWave can...
WASHINGTON-MCI WorldCom Inc. last week halted talks to buy Nextel Communications Inc. after succumbing to differences over price, putting shares of the No. 2 long-distance telephone company and the last independent national wireless operator on a wild roller-coaster ride for weeks.Some Wall Street analysts...
The market for broadband access services is on the verge of dramatic growth, and fixed terrestrial wireless systems are expected to play a big role, according to a new Strategis Group report titled, "World Wireless Broadband: LMDS, MMDS and Broadband WLL 1999-2008."Broadband wireless access systems...
HarrisHarris Corp. named its current Communications Sector President, E. Van Cullens, president and chief operating officer of the company, effective July 1. He will be responsible for overseeing the business operations for Harris' six divisions. Cullens joined Harris as communications sector president in 1997,...
WASHINGTON-MCI WorldCom Inc. chief Bernard Ebbers, basking in glow of first-quarter earnings that surpassed forecasts, last week did not indicate whether the No. 2 long-distance telephone company is seriously interested in acquiring national wireless operator Nextel Communications Inc. any time soon.In a conference call...
Telecommunications companies are offering some of the largest bond sales ever.Sprint Capital Corp. on Thursday expanded its $3 billion global bond sale to $3.5 billion. The proceeds will cover negative cash flow associated with building out Sprint PCS's personal communications services markets. During last...
Wireless broadband service has finally received attention from the likes of big telecom players Sprint Corp. and MCI WorldCom Inc. The race is on to access the local market and cheaply bypass connection to regional Bell operating companies.Sprint announced last week plans to purchase...
Amid speculation that it could be a takeover target by MCI WorldCom Inc., SkyTel Communications Inc. announced a new pricing plan and a major strategic alliance last week, both designed to better position it for the wireless messaging battle ahead.Most significantly, the company announced...
WASHINGTON-Two telecommunications mega-mergers hit snags last week as the Federal Communications Commission said it had serious concerns about the SBC/Ameritech combination and the Virginia State Corporation Commission disapproved of the marriage between Bell Atlantic Corp. and GTE Corp., saying it lacked enough information to...
NEW YORK-Because of strong demand for its debt, AT&T Corp. increased to a record-setting $8 billion the size of its global bond offering before selling the issue March 23.The transaction broke the record set last August by the $6.1 billion debt offering of MCI...
REDWOOD CITY, Calif.-Unwired Planet Inc. and Matsushita Communications Industrial Co. Ltd. announced a licensing agreement for MCI to integrate Unwired Planet's UP.Browser in its upcoming mobile phones expected to support five different airlink standards.The pact adds Wireless Application Protocol capabilities to the G600 phone,...
WASHINGTON-Telecom mergers are not just about mergers anymore.Multibillion-dollar deals have become the jumping-off-point for activism on labor rights, civil rights, regulatory reform, consumer protection, globalism, politics and a slew of other special-interest issues.So many and so big have mergers become that Senate Judiciary Committee...
NEW YORK-Deloitte Consulting announced it has developed an evaluation system to help telecommunications carriers and equipment vendors think like portfolio managers before jumping at cross-border opportunities in the burgeoning but risky international telecommunications marketplace."There is a need to assemble a portfolio so that if...
WETHERSFIELD, Conn.-Shared Technologies Cellular Inc. announced it signed an agreement to partner with MCI WorldCom Inc. to distribute STC's prepaid cellular services under the MCI WorldCom brand name."With MCI WorldCom as our distribution partner, we look forward to significant growth opportunities in the prepaid...
Nextel Communications Inc. last week agreed to sell its portfolio of towers to independent tower company SpectraSite Communications Inc., ending months of speculation about which tower company the specialized mobile radio carrier would select for the sale.The $560 million cash deal has been eagerly...
On Monday, it's Vodafone-AirTouch. Wednesday, it's SBC-Comcast. Friday must mean BellSouth.(Actually, it's Thursday as I write this so if anything has happened to BellSouth, I should be on Wall Street instead of here).What about BellSouth? And Nextel? And Omnipoint?Carriers keep talking about national footprints...
Bundling continues to push forward, albeit at a slow pace.A recent Arthur Andersen survey of telecommunications companies found 66 percent of respondents offer bundled services to business customers, and 61 percent are offering these services to residential customers. About 71 percent of long-distance carriers...
Shared Technologies Cellular Inc. announced it signed a letter of intent with MCI WorldCom's prepaid services division to provide prepaid cellular services nationwide under MCI WorldCom's brand name, and through its extensive distribution network. An agreement is expected to be signed within 45 days,...
Today's telecommunications behemoths soon will rank right up there with journalists and used-car salesman on the "Who don't you trust" list.As competition tries to come to the telecom industry, we're beginning to see more and more of the underbelly of this industry.While press releases...
The nation's largest independent cellular carrier last week entertained bids from two potential acquirers in what could become a global bidding war.AirTouch Communications Inc. last week confirmed it was in discussions with Bell Atlantic Corp. for a possible tie-up and later confirmed it had...
NEW YORK-"In its 93rd month of expansion, the U.S. economy may be more vulnerable going into 1999 than at any time since 1994 when the Federal Reserve (Board) last tightened significantly," Peter M. Donovan said in a recent presentation about the outlook for the...
NEW YORK-MapInfo Corp., Troy, N.Y., agreed to acquire On Target Mapping, a Pittsburgh, Pa., provider of mapping data solutions for telecommunications companies, including AT&T Corp., Cable & Wireless plc, MCI WorldCom and Sprint Corp.On Target Mapping will add telecommunications expertise to complement the business...
