At the end of each year, the RCR Wireless News editorial staff looks back on the new events that made RCR headlines and decides which were the most significant, industry-impacting stories of the past 12 months. Here are our picks for 2000 in chronological...
A federal district judge in Baltimore dismissed on Thursday a radio-frequency health lawsuit against Verizon Communications, formerly Bell Atlantic Corp., and SBC Communications Inc., and it told the plaintiff, Christopher J. Newman, that he had until Jan. 16 to refile his claim of fraud...
NEW YORK-As part of a joint venture agreement with AT&T Wireless Services, BellSouth Corp. redeemed its 55.6 percent partnership interest in AB Cellular Holding LLC, giving AT&T ownership of the venture's Los Angeles cellular market. BellSouth will hold the remaining ownership of AB Cellular...
OSLO, Norway-The Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications announced the winners of the country's four Universal Mobile Telecommunications System licenses, which were awarded through a beauty contest. The license winners are Broadband Mobile, an Enitel ASA and Sonera Corp. consortium; incumbent operator NetCom GSM,...
With AT&T Wireless Services Inc.'s announcement that it will overlay its existing TDMA-based network with a GSM network supporting GPRS, the pressure is on other TDMA carriers, specifically the largest U.S.-based TDMA carrier Cingular Wireless, as to its future technology choice. Will the company...
TAIPEI, Taiwan-Taiwan's TransAsia Telecommunications said it is in talks with Far Eastone Telecommunications to sell a mobile-phone stake, according to international press reports.U.S.-based SBC Communications owns 43 percent of TransAsia.The Financial Times also reported NTT DoCoMo is set to buy 20 percent of KG...
WASHINGTON-A major personal injury lawsuit is expected to be filed this week in Illinois against Motorola Inc. and possibly others by a former technician with the company who claims his brain tumor was caused by mobile-phone radiation.The suit, the second in the past four...
NEW YORK-The major players' rankings reflect the dynamic environment of telecommunications as some stalwarts held their ground, some newcomers joined the group, while still others showed substantial rises or falls in various categories.AT&T Wireless Group, listed this year as an entity distinct from its...
BIENNE, Switzerland-Two of the five companies left to bid in a Swiss third-generation license auction merged, causing the Swiss government to postpone the auction of four licenses. Four companies are left in a race for just four licenses."Virtually all candidates have undergone major changes...
WASHINGTON-Qwest Communications International Corp. was able to emerge from the union negotiating table without agreeing to allow the Communications Workers of America to have access to its wireless employees, something that neither Verizon Communications nor SBC Communications Inc. were able to do.Qwest announced Oct....
NEW YORK-In this day of mega-mergers and high-dollar corporate buyouts, the thought of exchanging assets of similar value seems like a throw-back to our bartering ancestors. Trading objects of similar value is now largely left to the realm of sports, where teams exchange players...
TOKYO-A press report has stated Japan's NTT DoCoMo is in talks with AT&T Corp. regarding taking a minority stake in the U.S. carrier's mobile-phone business.NTT DoCoMo has said repeatedly it is interested in the United States and other foreign markets and would take a...
CanadaBell Mobility began offering two-way wireless data service in October in Ontario and Quebec, with plans to extend service nationwide by the end of the year.United StatesA report stated Japan's NTT DoCoMo is in talks with AT&T regarding taking a minority stake in the...
WASHINGTON-Aggressive industry lobbying and strong bipartisan backing by the Washington state congressional delegation in this election season of giving helped win removal of a measure that would have killed the VoiceStream Wireless Inc.-Deutsche Telekom AG merger in the final days of the 106th Congress.Sen....
ATHENS, Greece-The Greek government has invited 11 international telecom operators to express interest for a strategic stake in OTE, a Greek telecom operator. OTE owns 66 percent of GSM 1800 MHz operator CosmOTE.The invited operators include British Telecom, France Telecom, Deutsche Telecom, Telecom Italia,...
WASHINGTON-As the nation prepares for a sea change that will come when a new president is elected, the wireless industry's main trade association experienced some major changes recently and prepared for an upcoming campaign on one of its thorniest issues-driver distraction.From `industry' to `Internet'The...
RICHARDSON, Texas-@Track Communications Inc. reported revenues for the third quarter ended Sept. 30 of $28 million, slightly less than the $29.1 million in revenues reported for the same period last year.The company had a net loss of $2.8 million, or 11 cents per share,...
Leap Wireless International Inc. signed a definitive agreement to acquire PCS licenses in Eugene, Ore., and Fort Collins and Greeley, Colo., from American Wireless License Group L.L.C. The licenses, covering 700,000 potential customers, were the subject of a previous memorandum of understanding between the...
WASHINGTON-The Supreme Court this session has before it three mobile-phone health cases, a sign of things to come in a Digital Age where technology outpaces the law and raises novel questions for the courts.The high court, which returned to work last week, must decide...
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.-Alltel Corp. completed its purchase of wireless properties in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, La., from SBC Communications Inc., increasing its national wireless customer base to more than 6 million subscribers.The properties, which operate as Radiofone in the New Orleans market and...
Following months of speculation, regulatory red tape and the seemingly elusive approval by the Federal Communications Commission that came Sept. 29, SBC Communications Inc. and BellSouth Mobility officially came together last week, announcing its joint venture now will be known as Cingular Wireless."Cingular is...
Flarion TechnologiesFlarion Technologies, a new company formed to commercialize a wireless data technology for Internet mobility market, announced that Matthew J. Desch has been appointed to a new seat on the company's board of directors. Desch is chairman of Airspan Networks Inc. and former...
NEW YORK-Telecommunications carriers worldwide are under significant pressure due to the bandwidth explosion, rising capital expenditures, competition from new players and delays in commercial rollout of new technologies."I take a cautious view of the telecommunications services world at the moment, although I believe there...
TOKYO-NTT DoCoMo Inc. and America Online Inc. last week announced their long-expected business alliance. The combination of the largest mobile carrier in Japan and the largest Internet service provider in the world will give NTT DoCoMo a foothold to launch its popular i-mode services,...
