WASHINGTON-The wireless industry gained almost 14 million new subscribers by the end of 1998-a growth rate of nearly 25 percent in one year, said the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association last week. "To put this in context, it took the industry nine-and-a-half years to gain...
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...
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-Motorola Inc.'s Semiconductor Products Sector announced a $5 million grant to establish the Motorola DigitalDNA Laboratory at the MIT Media Lab in Cambridge, Mass.The DigitalDNA Laboratory will focus on linking smart products, such as set-top TV boxes, automobiles, household appliances, personal digital assistants...
SUNNYVALE, Calif.-Because its request to be listed on the Nasdaq SmallCap Market has been denied, Conductus Inc. said it hired Alliant Partners to provide financial advisory services to help it raise more capital.Alliant Partners is an investment banking firm focused on providing advice for...
GUANGZHOU, China-Lucent Technologies Inc. signed a contract with Guangdong Mobile Communication Co. Ltd. to expand its Code Division Multiple Access network in the Guangdong province of China, said the company.The expanded network will provide cellular coverage in Guangzhou, as well as Conghua, Huadu, Panyu...
While many major cities are supporting up to seven mobile phone operators, cellular carriers operating in small markets aren't expected to face much competition for many years to come, say analysts.According to Chris Larsen, senior wireless analyst with Prudential Securities Inc. in New York,...
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...
WASHINGTON-Nextel Communications Inc., already up against strong opposition from the Justice Department and dispatch radio operators, faces a heavy legal burden in convincing a federal judge here to vacate a 1995 antitrust consent decree designed to protect competition in the specialized mobile radio market.U.S....
WETHERSFIELD, Conn.-Shared Technologies Cellular Inc. announced a five-year extension of its technology licensing agreement with Telemac Corp.STC said it will feature handset-based prepaid technology from Telemac in its direct-response TV campaigns, use Telemac technology as well as other technologies in its retail distribution programs...
WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission will hold a spectrum management en banc hearing tomorrow to hear the pros and cons of spectrum policies from users and policy makers.FCC Commissioner Susan Ness proposed the hearing last year as a way to address some of the concerns...
NEW YORK-Citing adverse industry conditions, Rohn Industries Inc. and PiRod Holdings Inc. announced they have terminated their agreement under which PiRod would have fully merged into Rohn in a stock-and-cash transaction valued at $280 million.Rohn said a slowdown in the deployment of wireless telephone...
WASHINGTON-The Chairman of the House Commerce Committee wants to require all federal agencies-including the Federal Communications Commission-to report "costs and benefits of all federal regulatory programs." Rep. Tom Bliley (R-Va.) last month introduced legislation that would require the Office of Management and Budget to...
GUANGZHOU, China-Motorola Inc.'s Network Solutions Sector announced it won two contracts valued at a total of $100 million to expand the digital Global System for Mobile communications 900 and 1800 cellular networks for China's Hunan Posts and Telecommunications Administration. China Unicom also awarded Motorola...
As the wireless data industry finds more room to grow in the mobile enterprise market, more application developers are searching for ways to meet this new space.In the last week, several companies announced mobile data solutions and products designed for the horizontal and enterprise...
WASHINGTON-While Federal Communications Commission Chairman William Kennard distanced himself from charges at a recent congressional hearing that his agency lobbied for legislation to recover scores of mobile phone licenses entangled in bankruptcy, internal government e-mails show the FCC and the Department of Justice last...
WASHINGTON-Personal communications services 1900 MHz networks using Code Division Multiple Access technology lead in terms of radio-frequency footprint, according statistics released by The Strategis Group.As of March, CDMA systems covered 10.4 percent of the U.S. geography, followed by Global System for Mobile communications systems...
CHICAGO-Ameritech Corp. wireless subscribers can call anywhere in the United States and most of Canada on Ameritech's network without accruing long-distance or roaming charges using the company's new ClearRate pricing plan.Roaming prices for local calls that are made while a customer travels outside Ameritech's...
PALO ALTO, Calif.-Matsushita Electric Corp. of America and Bell Canada joined The Centennial Funds, Vanguard Venture Partners and North River Ventures to form a new venture relationship called CenCom V Sourcing Inc.CenCom V is targeting businesses that emerge out of the convergence of telecommunications,...
WASHINGTON-Wireless telephones will work when the new millennium arrives-right? Well, maybe.The Federal Communications Commission last week refused to give a clean bill of health to the wireless industry regarding the millennium bug because only 31 percent of 300 companies surveyed responded to the FCC's...
SAN JOSE, Calif.-VLSI Technology Inc. announced it received its largest-ever single order, valued at approximately $34 million, from Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. for VLSI's Global System for Mobile communications chipsets used in Samsung's current and future generations of GSM handsets.The order is expected to...
SAN JOSE, Calif.-Despite extensive discussions between the two companies, VLSI Technology Inc. and Royal Philips Electronics have not yet reached an agreement that would allow Philips to participate in VLSI's exploration of strategic alternatives, which could include a merger, sale or recapitalization, said VLSI.Alfred...
Metrocall Inc. may have gained a bit of a lead in the information services race last week, announcing the launch of OnTheGoInfo, a customizable suite of services using the i Kno! information architecture platform developed by Motorola Inc.OnTheGoInfo offers three levels of service, which...
San Diego-based Ensemble Communications Inc. is approaching worldwide broadband wireless access markets with a point-to-multipoint wireless system that has three key technology layers with one thing in common-they can be adapted.The company, with roots stretching back more than 30 years to Linkabit, a consulting...
WASHINGTON-Two powerful senators have come together on the sticky issue of encryption legislation.Encryption is technology used to scramble computer data. The computer industry has been trying for years to get export controls on encryption technology relaxed, but the FBI and National Security Agency have...
