NEW YORK-TeleCorp PCS Inc., Arlington, Va., an AT&T Wireless Services Inc. affiliate, selected the GTE Telecommunication Services Inc. prepaid wireless solution as part of its commercial service launch expected early next year.TeleCorp plans to offer Time Division Multiple Access service to an area covering...
WASHINGTON-The Personal Communications Industry Association may use a recent economic study on wireless taxation to urge Congress to pass a Wireless Tax Freedom Act similar to the Internet Tax Freedom Act enacted earlier this year, said Mary McDermott, PCIA chief of staff and senior...
SCHAUMBURG, Ill.-Motorola Inc. said it has implemented Sun Microsystems Inc.'s EmbeddedJava technology in its M.Core microprocessors, in what is described as the first step toward bringing Java technology to handheld and portable devices. This is the first product resulting from the licensing agreement Motorola...
ATLANTA-BellSouth Corp. said it has developed an affordable, network-based solution to help wireless carriers meet the Federal Communications Commission guidelines for Phase I compliance for wireless enhanced 911 call processing. The Phase I solution recently was made available to carriers in Tennessee.Phase 1 involves...
WASHINGTON-Progress toward lowering telecom equipment tariffs and trade barriers was overshadowed at the recent Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum by Vice President Al Gore's controversial remarks in support of Malaysian anti-government protesters and the failure of Pacific Rim nations to take bold steps to...
CHICAGO-Ameritech announced the Motorola digital StarTac phone will be available with Ameritech's ClearPath wireless service beginning Nov. 27 in Chicago, Columbus, Detroit and St. Louis.The 5.1-cubic-inch dual-mode phone offers up to 162 minutes of talk time in digital mode, and can receive calls outside...
BELLEVUE, Wash.-Western Wireless Corp. launched its VoiceStream Wireless personal communications services system in the Phoenix and Tucson, Ariz., metropolitan areas.
CINCINNATI-Harris Corp. announced it acquired Intraplex Inc., which Harris plans to integrate into its Broadcast Systems Division.Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. Intraplex develops integrated digital network access products for wireless and broadcast networks. Clients include Western Wireless Corp. and Ericsson Inc.
WASHINGTON-The Federal Communication Commission said it will re-auction 225 licenses for the 220 MHz service (220-222 MHz) on June 8. The auction is for licenses not sold in the recently concluded auction.The proposed minimum bids for the licenses are based on the population for...
WASHINGTON-A wireless-industry proposal that would allow carriers to institute calling party pays is stalled at the Federal Communications Commission due to a lack of consensus among industry players, said Thomas Wheeler, president of the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association." hasn't done the necessary job to...
DAPHNE, Ala.-Communitronics of America Inc. announced it received Federal Communications Commission approval to provide paging services at 152.630 MHz in Mobile, Ala.The licensed coverage area covers up to 16 million pops. Communitronics is building a new tower and transmitting station to begin offering service...
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 telecommunications industry may have an easier time convincing Congress the grandfather date in the digital wiretap act should be changed now that Rep. Bob Livingston (R-La.) has been elected House Speaker.Livingston has been fully briefed on the issue and understands the telecom industry...
SEATTLE-Tegic Communications announced Nov. 24 that Finland-based Benefon has licensed its T9 text input product."T9 enables users to enter text as they would on a desktop keyboard, using just one key press per letter," said Jorma Nieminen, president and co-founder of Benefon.According to Tomi...
NEW YORK-MCI WorldCom, Jackson, Miss., announced Nov. 20 it has formed the MCI WorldCom Fund, a venture-capital fund to invest in companies "that can create demand for and increase the performance of services and networks, and also deliver superior financial returns."With an initial...
DULUTH, Ga.-Mitsubishi Wireless Communications Inc. announced it is expanding its operation to offer a broader range of services to its customers and to increase employee opportunities.Effective in January, all of Mitsubishi Electric's North America telecommunications activities will be centralized into MWCI. Specifically, MWCI will...
ATLANTA-BellSouth Corp. announced plans to repurchase up to $3 billion worth of its common shares in 1999.The company's board of directors also increased its quarterly dividend by 2 cents to 38 cents per split common share. In addition, the board approved a two-for-one stock...
WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission tomorrow will argue its rules for universal-service financing are legal, while its opponent, Celpage Inc., a paging company from Puerto Rico, contends contributions to the Universal Service Fund are taxes-unconstitutional taxes.The arguments will take place in the Fifth Circuit Court...
WASHINGTON-The association representing wireless resellers last week submitted a detailed report to the Federal Communications Commission to support their claims wireless carriers can implement wireless number portability by the current deadline of March 31, 2000.This is significant because the FCC is slated to decide...
VIENNA, Va.-Commsite International Inc. announced the expansion of its tower-acquisition program.Commsite's tower-acquisition program has shown robust growth by offering a program tailored for quick response, closing and liquidity for "mom and pop" tower owners, said the company. According to Timothy P. Haley, president and...
L.M. Ericsson disclosed its corporate vision for the future last week, a large part of which involved a new strategy for enterprise customers that focuses on converging communication networks with Internet Protocol technology.Recently, Ericsson announced reorganization plans to better serve what it called "fast-growing...
Robinson-Humphrey Co. L.L.C.'s third-quarter survey of U.S. mobile phone pricing indicates pricing overall has increased as carriers move from offering local calling plans to introducing one-rate plans that eliminate roaming and long-distance fees.One-rate plans "give the effect of increasing local pricing," said Perry Walter,...
The Internet landscape was altered dra-matically last week when America Online Inc. announced it will acquire Netscape Communications Corp. in a stock-for-stock transaction valued at $4.2 billion.At the same time, AOL also announced it entered into a strategic alliance with Sun Microsystems Inc. to...
WASHINGTON-Any good will House Speaker-designate Bob Livingston (R-La.) hopes to bring to the 106th Congress could evaporate quickly if a deal is not struck with House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt (D-Mo.) on adding more Democrats to committees that will tackle key wireless issues and...
