WASHINGTON-Seeking to end a century-old "luxury" tax on telephony, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) along with House colleagues Jennifer Dunn (R-Wash.) and Billy Tauzin (R-La.) introduced bills aimed at repealing the 3-percent federal excise "tax on talking." With this action, McCain made good on a...
WASHINGTON-Following a demonstration of disabilities-compatible telecommunications equipment by four Americans with audio, visual and neuromuscular problems, the Federal Communications Commission last week unanimously adopted a notice of proposed rule making that would mandate accessibility of wireless equipment to physically challenged people.While being given flexibility...
DALLAS-James L. Donald, chairman, president and chief executive officer of DSC Communications Corp., last week announced he will retire from the posts of president and chief executive officer. The announcement made public a decision Donald had expressed to the DSC board of directors last...
CAMPBELL, Calif.-P-Com Inc. announced it completed its acquisition of the Wireless Communications Group of Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Cylink Corp.P-Com acquired the unit for $60.5 million, $46 million of which was in cash and $14.5 million in a short-term, non-interest bearing unsecured subordinated promissory note, the...
SEATTLE- Cellular Technical Services Co. Inc. said it will deploy additional Blackbird Platform and PreTect cellular cloning fraud prevention systems in new locations with a large midwestern Bell operating company during the second quarter.The supplementary deployments will include participation in CTS' No Clone Zone...
The wireless industry gained nearly 11.3 million net subscribers in 1997, according to CTIA. The association estimated the U.S. wireless industry supported more than 55 million subscribers at the end of last year and now supports nearly 58 million. The average wireless monthly bill...
CUPERTINO, Calif.-Cortelco Systems signed an original equipment manufacturer agreement with CTP Systems to promote and sell CTP's wireless telephone products as part of its Orbit Communications System wireless solution, said CTP.Under terms of the agreement, Cortelco awarded CTP a multimillion-dollar contract to supply the...
PALO ALTO, Calif.-Corsair Communications Inc. signed a definitive agreement to acquire Subscriber Computing Inc., a privately held software systems supplier, in a pooling-of-interests transaction valued at approximately $70 million.Corsair provides distributed system solutions for the wireless industry. Its products include the PhonePrint fraud prevention...
MONROE, La.-To encourage safe driving, Century Cellunet is offering at no cost hands-free devices to customers who purchase a Motorola Inc. Profile 300E wireless phone, said the company.The hands-free accessory, normally priced at $30, includes an ear piece and a microphone on a cord...
PRINCETON, N.J.-Intek Global Corp. signed a letter of intent to acquire privately held Mobile Data Solutions Inc., which operates Data Express, a developer and provider of wireless data solutions for the mobile marketplace.Intek Global operates advanced wireless voice and data communications systems and develops...
MENLO PARK, Calif.-The Infiniti Communicator, an in-vehicle communications system now available in the 1998 Infiniti Q45 and I30 luxury sedans, will use mapping tools and technology from Etak Inc., announced Etak.The system, co-developed by Infiniti and Protection One Mobile Services Group (formerly Westar), is...
KELOWNA, British Columbia, Canada-Globus Technologies Inc. announced it is trying to secure accreditation from Industry Canada and the Federal Communications Commission to become an approved testing facility for Specific Absorption Rate measurement of human radio-frequency exposure.Globus plans to pursue opportunities in government testing programs...
CHICAGO-Motorola Inc.'s Messaging Systems Products Group has introduced three second-generation decoder chips and related software drivers to support the recently announced FLEX G1.9 high-speed, one-way paging protocol upgrade.The new one-chip solution integrates digital FM demodulation functionality that previously was available only through off-chip, multiple...
WASHINGTON-The Personal Communications Industry Association filed comments last week at the Federal Communications Commission seeking to halt any merger of SBC Communications Inc. and Southern New England Telecommunications Corp. until SBC stops charging paging carriers for SBC-originated traffic."When it comes to interconnection, SBC has...
NEW YORK-Spyglass Inc., Naperville, Ill., has established a consulting practice to work with telecommunications, consumer electronics, satellite and other companies interested in using Sun Microsystems Inc. Java technology in devices other than personal computers."Device makers and others are seriously considering Java technology, and they...
WETHERSFIELD, Conn.-Shared Technologies Cellular Inc. said the 305-percent expansion of its prepaid cellular business helped increase revenue 16 percent, from $20.9 million in 1996 to $24.2 million for the year ended Dec. 31.The company also cut its losses by more than half, reporting a...
Qualcomm Inc. and Philips Consumer Communications L.P. entered into a royalty-bearing, cross-license agreement for Code Division Multiple Access technology and products, said Qualcomm.The deal "amicably settles litigation" that Qualcomm filed last year seeking a judicial determination that certain features of its products do not...
NEW YORK-With too much capital chasing too few deals, privately placed debt financing has become a borrower's market in recent years, leading to a sharp rise in leverage and risk."The types of deals we're talking about are high-end junk deals for high-tech, early stage,...
WASHINGTON-The National Telecommunications & Information Administration estimates that the liberalization of the global telecommunications marketplace has resulted in a $675 billion opportunity for carriers that want to pursue business overseas.While the World Trade Organization treaty has paved part of the way into what used...
World Wireless Communications Inc. signed a development and license agreement with Panasonic, a unit of Kyushu Matsushita Electric Co. Ltd. According to the agreement, World Wireless is responsible for the design and development of a narrowband radio system for use in a Panasonic-branded consumer...
Shares of Superconductor Technologies Inc. last week rose 54 percent from $3.44 on March 30 to $5.28 on March 31 following news that it received a round of financing and will begin field trials with several domestic wireless carriers. The company was one of...
The March 16 article on Justice Department probes involving lobbyist Peter Knight should have stated that $230,000 was contributed by Portals Developer Franklin Haney to the Democratic Party and $300,000 was contributed to Democrats from Indian tribes in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
FORT LEE, N.J.-Beginning this month, MobileMedia Corp., dba MobileComm, no longer is charging a 50-cent fee to deliver an e-mail message to a subscriber's pager.E-mail messages will count against the customer's call account in the same way as self-dispatch calls, said the company.
WASHINGTON-Federal Communications Commission Chairman Bill Kennard responded March 30 to a congressional letter questioning the commission on its recent C-block personal communications services financial-restructuring reconsideration order and on its pending deal with one bankrupt C-blocker's creditors.Reps. Thomas Bliley (R-Va.), Billy Tauzin (R-La.) and John...
