Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.-based In-Flight Phone Corp., the competitor to GTE Airfone Inc. for consumer air-to-ground communications, entertainment and information, quietly filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in a Delaware court.In-Flight officials would not comment on the Jan. 24 filing, choosing only to issue a written...
U.S. Communications Inc. has spent $5 million during the last four years forming an in-store system designed to entice Kmart shoppers to sign up for wireless service."We've got it set up so they can just come in and buy it, like buying a toaster,"...
The Failure Group Inc. acquired Broadcast Communications Systems Inc., a company that designs, installs and maintains wireless communications networks. Broadcast Communications has erected communications towers and provided related training and technical services since 1981. For the last two years it has specialized in personal...
While one arm of U S West Inc. prepares to roll out pocket phone service later this year, another arm, U S West Media Group's cellular division, is slated to disappear.The paradox highlights U S West's jagged wireless communications strategy. In its short wireless...
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...
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...
ST. LOUIS-A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit heard nearly four hours of argument from opponents and proponents of currently stayed federal interconnection rules last Friday, but it is not expected to render a decision regarding the validity...
Aether Technologies L.L.C. announced it will use a Cellular Digital Packet Data network supplied by GTE Corp. to provide information and integration services to the financial and transportation industries. Owings Mills, Md.-based Aether provides turnkey solutions for accessing mission-critical data via handheld wireless devices...
MCI Communications Corp. launched cellular service in St. Louis, Pittsburgh and Austin, Texas.To promote the launch, the company said it is offering customers a credit of up to $50 toward domestic cellular long-distance calling from the home coverage area each month.The St. Louis coverage...
An ugly trend of rewarding those who break the rules is taking place in Washington. One need look no further than Congress, which appointed Newt Gingrich Speaker of the House after he admitted he gave false information to the House Ethics Committee.The Federal Communications...
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...
Cellulink introduced digital cellular service in the Fox Valley, Wis., region. The Time Division Multiple Access system will work in conjunction with the company's existing cellular network. Cellulink said the service will be priced at $19 per month and 34 cents per minute for...
To the cynic, walking away from AT&T Corp. and the prospect of being chairman of the world's biggest telecommunications company to head a wireless start-up with unproven technology was no big gamble for Alex J. Mandl.Start with a $20 million signing bonus to launch...
As 1996 drew to a close, we took a look back at some of the most impacting and industry- defining stories of the year. Here are the RCR editorial department's picks for the Top 20 stories of 1996.1. Jan. 29Omnipoint nets $112M in IPONEW...
WASHINGTON-If allowed to merge, British Telecommunications plc and MCI Communications Corp. promised to jump start local competition, keep interconnection prices low and promote the use of wireless technology for both fixed and mobile global service, according to its application for a merger.The joint company,...
Clinton II and greener pastures are generating more exits, some through the infamous revolving door.Bob McNamara, chief of the FCC's Private Wireless Division, is leaving the agency after 21 years to join Nextel Communications Inc. in McLean, Va.FCC antitrust guru James Olson is leaving...
Lucent Technologies Inc. has agreed to finance infrastructure equipment for NextWave Telecom Inc., in a deal the companies value at $200 million for the first two years.Lucent will not receive an equity position for the investment. Payment terms will run for a number of...
Don Smith is the new director of wireless technology and network operations for specialized mobile radio carrier ComTec International Inc. Prior to joining the company, Smith was director of network operations for OneComm Corp. (now part of Nextel Communications Inc.) where he oversaw the...
WASHINGTON-The wireless telecommunications industry is leery of a new budget-driven, flexible-use auction proposal that could create more competition for carriers on Main Street and Wall Street.The auction of the 2305-2320 MHz and 2345-2360 MHz bands has to begin by April 15 and must be...
We're into week three of Clinton II unofficially and already seeing the president wobble and waffle on the big issues of the day: balanced budget amendment, Cabinet makeup and Bosnia peacekeeping to name a few.The wireless telecom industry is up in arms over the FCC's...
WASHINGTON-The U.S. Supreme Court has closed the book on any further appeal to vacate a stay of certain interconnection and local competition rules adopted last August by the Federal Communications Commission. The court last week denied for the second time a petition for such...
WASHINGTON-The pending $21 billion merger between MCI Communications Corp. and British Telecommunications plc will turn on a relatively new foreign ownership policy and be shaped by powerful political forces that are conspiring to liberalize telecom markets for heavyweight global competition in the 21st century.The...
An independent Louisiana telephone company is among those launching the second wave of personal communications service systems in the country.Meretel Communications L.P. has received a multimillion loan from the Rural Telephone Finance Corp. and signed a contract with Lucent Technologies Inc. to supply infrastructure...
WASHINGTON-The proposed merger of MCI Communications Corp. and British Telecommunications plc promises to bring plenty of cash and plenty of new services to the global telecommunications arena, but wireless subscribers to MCI's paging and cellular operations here won't notice much of a change for...
