A Baltimore-based company called reachNET introduced a wireless messaging solution that provides a direct connection between a wireless device and the telephone teletype machines commonly used by the deaf and hard-of-hearing community.Called Wireless TTY, the service uses the Inter@ctive Pager 950 from Research In...
The desire of European paging carriers to migrate to a two-way paging paradigm has opened the paging market there-once dominated by the ERMES transmission standard-to FLEX-based paging systems.Although prepaid paging plans have resulted in explosive growth in the European paging market during the last...
COPENHAGEN-Danish telecommunications operator Tele Danmark said it bought into the Norwegian wireless market and raised its stake in Polish mobile carrier Polkomtel.Tele Danmark is 42-percent owned by Ameritech Corp.Tele Danmark said it acquired 19.6 percent of Norwegian NetCom ASA from Singapore Telecom, paying $347.8...
Any hopes Vodafone AirTouch plc had in linking up with Bell Atlantic Corp. to create a nationwide wireless footprint in the United States were likely dashed last week when the two agreed to split up jointly owned PCS operator PrimeCo Personal Communications and dissolve...
FranceFrance Telecom said it signed a partnership agreement with the Sonae group in Portugal. The two already have a working relationship as stakeholders in Optimus, the third mobile operator in Portugal. The new partnership would be held 43.33 percent by France Telecom and 56.67...
LONDON-British Telecommunications plc and AT&T Corp. said they are jointly buying a 33-percent stake in Canadian operator Rogers Cantel Mobile Communications for $937 million.BT and AT&T also announced BT will acquire a 9-percent stake in AT&T Canada by acquiring for $401.6 million 30 percent...
AT&T Wireless Services Inc. Chief Executive Officer Dan Hesse says enough is enough when it comes to the press his company has received in recent weeks about capacity problems in New York."It isn't a story anymore," said Hesse in an interview with RCR. "Compared...
BOSTON-Smart cards are poised to move beyond their role in identifying Global System for Mobile communications subscribers, due to momentum outside wireless and beyond U.S. borders.The challenge both for telecommunications carriers and for smart-card manufacturers is to harness these forces or risk losing their...
HELSINKI-Primatel, the new Global System for Mobile communications 1800 mobile operator in Hungary, selected Nokia Corp. to supply its GSM 1800/GSM 900 network, said Nokia.Nokia will supply a complete GSM 1800/GSM 900 system, including equipment and services. Primatel expects to start commercial service by...
LA PAZ, Bolivia-The Government of Bolivia's Superintendent of Telecommunications, Guido Loayza, is accepting international bids for a 20-year concessionary contract for the provision of personal communications services service in Bolivia. Bidding documents must be submitted by Sept. 23, said the government.In order to expand...
FRANKFURT, Germany-Deutsche Telekom AG is rumored to have entered an $11.75 billion bid to acquire British mobile phone company One2One, according to a Reuters report."We have no comment," Deutsche Telekom spokesman Stephan Broszio told Reuters.One2One was put up for sale by its parents Cable...
The popularity of prepaid wireless services has skyrocketed in the United States, but carriers are experiencing a not-so-pleasant side effect- high churn-and many are challenged by the need to expand prepaid offerings without exposing themselves to this phenomenon.Prepaid wireless service has become an important...
WASHINGTON-Nextel Communications Inc. was dealt a major blow last week by the Federal Communications Commission, which told the nation's top dispatch operator it cannot use private wireless spectrum to build out its nationwide network."This portion of Nextel's request would require a fundamental change...
JERUSALEM-Hutchison Whampoa is considering listing its Israeli mobile phone unit, Partner Communications Co. Ltd., in London or on the Nasdaq National Market to secure financing to expand its network, according to a report in the Financial Times.GSM 900 operator Partner operates under the Orange...
A U.S. Court of Appeals Friday ordered the Federal Communications Commission to grant Qualcomm Inc. a pioneer's preference license, ending the seven-year battle between the commission and the cdmaOne innovator.Qualcomm had been waging a seemingly uphill battle with the FCC over its quest for...
Telecom Italia and France Telecom have agreed to increase their stakes from 32.5 percent each to 50 percent each in Nortel Inversora, the holding company that owns 60 percent of Telecom Argentina.The companies paid $265 million each for their increased shareholdings. The other 40...
Poor financial results continue to plague personal communications services operator Aerial Communications Inc., and its spinoff from parent company, Telephone and Data Systems Inc., is moving slower than anticipated. Analysts believe TDS may be better off selling the company.Aerial Communications Inc. added just 15,000...
WASHINGTON-New allegations surfaced last week that the Federal Communications Commission is giving Nextel Communications Inc. preferential treatment, claims that come on the coattails of a proposed antitrust settlement between Nextel and the Justice Department that many dispatch operators strongly oppose, and as the agency...
Investors didn't flinch when Nextel Communications Inc. announced shifts in upper management last week. The company's largest investor, cellular industry pioneer Craig McCaw, is set to become chairman in 2000, and Tim Donahue assumed the position of president and chief executive officer, with current...
CEDAR KNOLLS, N.J.-Omnipoint Communications Inc. announced the launch of its 100th international roaming agreement through the inauguration of service with Portuguese operator TMN."Presently our customers can use their clear, reliable wireless service in 53 countries and the list just keeps on growing," said Omnipoint...
Second-quarter subscriber growth in the U.K. mobile-phone market exceeded analysts' expectations as prepaid services continue to provide a growth engine for the industry."The market has been ahead of expectations since the fourth quarter" when carriers introduced aggressive prepaid pricing plans, said Jake Saunders, European...
PARIS-France Telecom Group said it will sell all of its shares in Deutsche Telekom next year, valued at about $2 billion.Jean-Louis Vinciguerra, France Telecom's executive vice president of finance, said France Telecom would sell its shares and that cooperation between the two companies to...
Wireless carrier marketing efforts during the last year have largely focused on new pricing schemes, but that may be about to change.AT&T Wireless Services Inc. kicked off the trend more than a year ago when it introduced its Digital One Rate plan. In the...
BOSTON-The wave of flat-rate pricing plans carriers have been introducing during the last year has helped force the wireless industry to go after higher average-revenue-per-user customers, according to Kelly Quinn, a senior industry analyst at Strategy Analytics Inc."This runs totally contrary to the direction...
