The CDMA Development Group formed an interest group within the CDG that will focus on Latin America. The CDG said the interest group builds on the success of similar organizations within the CDG. Other interest groups focus on the Asia Pacific region and wireless...
Bell Canada International Inc. and New York-based insurance and financial services firm American International Group Inc. agreed to invest a combined $265 million to purchase a 39.4-percent interest in South Korean personal communications services operator Hansol PCS Co. Ltd.The agreement calls for BCI to...
COPENHAGEN, Denmark-The Danish telecommunications services group Tele Danmark A/S said it sold some of its stake in Hungarian cellular operator Pannon GSM Tavkozlesi Rt.Tele Danmark sold 70 percent of its 23.2-percent interest in the Hungarian carrier for about $160 million.The Pannon shares were acquired...
JACKSON, Miss.-SkyTel Communications Inc. announced it is offering a prepaid alphanumeric paging package in addition to its prepaid numeric paging product launched last fall.Prepaid alpha paging allows subscribers to pay for a set number of messages beforehand and renew as necessary. Two prepaid alpha...
WASHINGTON-A petition by three trade associations representing railroads, utilities and the petroleum industry is being criticized soundly by other frequency coordinators, which claim the request for a separate "public service pool" would destroy refarming goals.The petition, filed Aug. 14, asked the Federal Communications Commission...
The industry's first cellular phone manufacturer has become another casualty of the highly competitive handset business. Oki Telecom Inc. has ceased manufacturing, sales and marketing all mobile phones in the United States.Suwanee, Ga.-based Oki was a pioneer in the cellular handset industry. Involved with...
SAN DIEGO-National Dispatch Center Inc. announced U S West selected it to provide operator dispatch service to U S West alphanumeric paging and personal communications services subscribers.U S West introduced alphanumeric paging to its customers in April, and added the Data Mail Service for...
The vast number of players coupled with loads of savvy Wall Street money has set the stage for mass consolidation within the tower industry.The rate of acquisitions has moved quickly within the last year, and industry executives and analysts say only a handful will...
DALLAS-Paging Network Inc. introduced a two-way messaging service it said will allow customers to receive and create e-mails and pages from one device.The company also said it will create customized applications for large business customers that will enable workers to access the Internet and...
STOCKHOLM, Sweden-L.M. Ericsson and wireless operator Mannesmann Mobilfunk GmbH began a live trial of adaptive antenna technology-both downlink and uplink-on Mannesmann's Global System for Mobile communications network in Germany.Adaptive antenna technology is designed to improve performance both to and from the phone by reducing...
Arthur Andersen predicts continued convergence within and amongst the industry segments well into the next century, thanks to the advent of digital technology.Seven of the 10 biggest acquisitions and investments last year were telecom deals. "We see these mergers across what used to be...
WASHINGTON-The Personal Communications Industry Association has taken another stab at urging the Federal Communications Commission to become less regulatory and less burdensome."PCIA is continuing to find ways to press for deregulation," said Mary McDermott, PCIA senior vice president and chief of staff for government...
Transcrypt International Inc. announced Aug. 6 a net loss of $5 million, or 39 cents per share, for the second quarter, which ended June 30. Revenues for the latest quarter totaled $13.9 million, way above the $2.9 million reported for the same quarter in...
CAIRO, Egypt-Mobinil, a Global System for Mobile communications network operator in Egypt, awarded a contract, valued at up to $60 million, to Motorola Inc.'s Cellular Infrastructure Group.Motorola CIG will provide and install infrastructure equipment to expand Mobinil's network to include Alexandria and the Nile...
To the Editor: Amidst an escalating industry-wide debate about competing wireless technologies, we want to ensure that the "GSM-CDMA Economic Study," prepared by Andersen Consulting with two other consulting firms, is not misinterpreted. Consequently, we at Andersen Consulting want to clarify certain aspects of the...
STOCKHOLM, Sweden-L.M. Ericsson announced it was contracted by Finnish operator Kuopio Telephone Co. to provide a complete 1800 MHz Global System for Mobile communications network that initially will cover Kuopio and Varkaus in eastern Finland.KTC plans to market cost-efficient mobile services to families with...
PageMart Wireless Inc. announced an aggressive rollout schedule for its facilities-based ReFLEX 25 guaranteed messaging service, with commercial service planned for areas of 15 additional states in August as well as expansions in the inaugural state of Texas.States expected to have service this month...
ATLANTA-LHS Group Inc. announced its billing and customer care system was chosen as Telecom Italia Mobile's international telecom billing solution.As a member of the Telecom Italia Group, TIM is a dominant Global System for Mobile communications telephone operator in Europe and Latin America, said...
Some U.S. GSM and TDMA operators are irked at Qualcomm Inc. and its lobbying efforts within the U.S. government to frame the third-generation issue as a trade issue with Europe.They say that while Qualcomm is urging the State Department to take action against Europe...
Continuing his vision to build a worldwide telecom powerhouse, Craig McCaw and his gaggle of companies have agreed to share the cost of building Level 3 Communications' national fiber optic network by contributing $700 million.Newly formed Internext L.L.C., to be beneficially owned by competitive...
Though the wireless industry remains an employee-driven market, signs indicate the intense demand for employees domestically may be slowing as companies are becoming cost sensitive under intense competition and merger-and-acquisition activity increases.Two years ago, when new personal communications services operators were building their armies...
LONDON-The ERMES MoU Association, formerly called ERMES MoU, celebrated its new status as a legal entity with the launch of an ERMES paging system in Sweden, by telecom provider Telia, and by adding a new member to its ranks.Telia launched the numeric and alphanumeric...
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill.-Three of Japanese cellular operator DDI Corp.'s regional service providers launched commercial Code Division Multiple Access service in Japan, according to Motorola Inc.'s Cellular Infrastructure Group.Service is available in 177 cities, including Osaka, Kobe, Kyoto, Nagasaki, Fukuoka and Naha, plus 440 towns...
TAIPEI, Taiwan-Low-tier mobile phone service in Taiwan was opened to competition by the country's Ministry of Transportation and Communications, with a tender announcement expected by December and commercial service rollout by March.The Taiwan Directorate General of Telecommunications under the MOTC has adopted an official...