BALTIMORE-A creditors' committee made up of the seven largest owners of unsecured debt in C-block winner Pocket Communications Inc. was chosen by the U.S. Trustee's Office in Baltimore April 16 to address the direction Pocket's Chapter 11 bankruptcy will take and to suggest solutions....
Editor's Note: As C-block winner Pocket Communications Inc. goes through its bankruptcy restructuring, RCR takes an in-depth look at how Congress, the FCC and Wall Street are addressing PCS auction issues. Additional stories appear from page 9 through 15.WASHINGTON-The shakeout emerging in the personal communications...
Julius Caesar had his ides of March. I had my ides of April, and I think it would have been cheaper for me this year to have just fallen on my sword (or pen, as the case may be) instead of filing mountainous tax...
WASHINGTON-In the early to mid-1980s, the rush was on at the Federal Communications Commission to get cellular licenses in major metropolitan and rural areas issued as quickly as possible to get the new service operating. Because of the time element involved in using comparative...
WASHINGTON-After being hit with loan-repayment defaults by the top two C-block personal communications services licensees March 31, LCC International Inc. has decided to "reserve with respect to 1996 earnings $30.1 million, pre-tax, against certain receivables from, investments in and costs associated with Pocket Communications...
WASHINGTON-Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) has drafted spectrum auction legislation designed to rein in what has become a high-stakes wireless licensing process driven increasingly by budget forces, possibly at the expense of competition.Pete Belvin, a Commerce Committee telecom counsel, told an industry...
WASHINGTON-Despite the optimism expressed fewer than two weeks ago by Daniel Riker, chairman and chief executive officer of Pocket Communications Inc., regarding the financial future of his C-block personal communications services company, things apparently were not as rosy Riker described them.Citing the preservation of...
NEW YORK-Start-up players in personal communications services are at an awkward and critical juncture where riding the accelerator is necessary to roll out service and riding the brake is required to get public financing."There is a divide right now that I'd characterize as huge,...
The sixth largest PCS carrier (by pops) went bankrupt long before it ever got to market. Pocket Communications has $1.5 billion in liabilities, most of which is a large debt to the federal government.When people buy a typical business franchise, they pay an up-front...
WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission last week declared that commercial wireless competition is developing, despite growing indications that funding problems, consolidation, operational snags and regulatory delay may be undermining the robust marketplace envisioned by policymakers."Our examination of the commercial mobile radio services industry indicates competition...
WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission is scheduled to release a public notice that will modify existing C-block personal communications services installment payment plan notes and security agreements by allowing one yearly payment instead of four quarterly payments. At press time, the document was expected to...
ACT Communications Inc. developed two personal communications services and cellular protection products. The ACT 452-120-400L is a two-line, single phase surge arrestor that provides all-mode protection. The company said it is ideal for cabinet and PCS applications. It is rated to withstand up to...
The separate statement by embattled FCC Commissioner Rachelle Chong on the 2.3 GHz (auction it till it hertz) ruling last week helps explain why President Clinton should reappoint her for a second term.Chong, expressing her support of the agency's decision not to apply the...
CORAL GABLES, Fla.-When it comes to customer service, Barry Winkle aspires to have the role of the lonely Maytag repairman.Winkle is executive vice president of marketing for Pocket Communications Inc., Washington, D.C., which plans a full-scale commercial launch of it personal communications services network...
WASHINGTON-Mitsubishi Wireless Communications Inc. will provide Pocket Communications Inc. with personal communications services handsets. Pocket values the two-year agreement at $129 million.A custom version of Mitsubishi Wireless' first Global System for Mobile communications phone will be made available exclusively to Pocket, the companies said....
WASHINGTON-In light of the Federal Communications Commission's recent finding that NextWave Telecom Inc.'s foreign ownership exceeded the FCC's 25-percent threshold, forcing a company reorganization of that segment, C-block winner and defaulter National Telecom PCS Inc. has filed yet another pleading with the commission questioning...
NEW YORK-If the conventional wisdom holds true that a rising tide lifts all boats, then wireless companies seeking to go public this year can take comfort in the results of the 1997 Super Bowl.For 27 of the 30 previous years, a win by a...
Editor's Note: The companies listed below are the current holders of A-, B- and C-block licenses for broadband personal communications services in the United States. Some of the companies have not yet received their licenses from the Federal Communications Commission because of challenges.Companies are ranked...
WASHINGTON-With net revenues reaching $2.14 billion at the end of Round 100 of the Federal Communications Commission's D-, E-and F-block personal communications services auction, SprintCom Inc. and AT&T Wireless PCS Inc. continue to solidify their nationwide footprints, even with as few as 10 megahertz...
NEW YORK-The good news for emerging personal communications services players is that capital is available, and the investment community is bullish on wireless telephony as a general category.The bad news is that the public and private capital markets are accommodating the favorites, so not...
INDIANAPOLIS-Brightpoint Inc. has signed a letter of intent to provide subscriber product packaging assembly and inventory management and fulfillment services to Pocket Communications Inc. In addition, Brightpoint said it plans to invest up to $5 million in Pocket.Pocket has personal communications services licenses covering...
WASHINGTON-As expected, DCR PCS Inc., part of Pocket Communications Inc. and the second-largest C-block winner, responded to National Telecom PCS Inc.'s recent second supplement to its petition to deny DCR's licenses by stating, "once again, there is no affidavit support or legal authority advanced...
WASHINGTON-In his continued attempt to regain the C-block American Samoa personal communications services license taken back by the Federal Communications Commission due to default, Jack Robinson, president of National Telecom PCS Inc., has charged a financial-fundraiser and a major C-block winner with collusion during...
NEW YORK-LCC International Inc., an independent provider of radio frequency network design for wireless telecommunications, went public Sept. 25 with a 5.25 million share offering of Class A common stock at $16 each.The new issue was increased from the 5 million share initial public...
