BROWSING: SBC Communications
SBC, Nortel to provide wireless mesh network for university
SAN ANTONIO-SBC Communications Inc. said it has signed a deal with the University of Arkansas to provide a wireless mesh network using Nortel Networks Ltd.'s solution.With this network, students and faculty will receive secure wireless broadband access to educational and Internet resources anywhere on...
Cingular cites data numbers
NEW ORLEANS-Cingular Wireless L.L.C. said its wide area- and local area-based wireless data networks now cover more than 250 million potential customers with EDGE technology and nearly 4,000 Wi-Fi hot spot locations. In support of the expanded data coverage, Cingular said it now offers...
Wireless gambles paying off for InPhonic CEO Steinberg
David Steinberg stands as an example of the surplus of opportunity within wireless. As chief executive officer of Internet activation company InPhonic Inc., Steinberg has overseen the growth of the company's revenues from $0 five years ago to between $315 million and $325 million...
SBC adds 3,300 hot spots with roaming agreements
SBC Communications Inc. reported Wi-Fi roaming agreements with Airpath Wireless and Boingo Wireless that will add 3,300 nationwide and international hot-spot locations to SBC's FreedomLink service and open the company's network to Boingo's Platform Services partners. SBC said the roaming deals will provide revenues...
Lawmaker welcomes Sprint Nextel merger at House hearing
WASHINGTON-A key House lawmaker today said the proposed $36 billion merger between Sprint Corp. and Nextel Communications Inc. would bring added competition to a broadband market currently dominated by Bell telephone companies and cable TV giants. "The combination of Sprint and Nextel will create...
Blinking green light
Two key lawmakers recently introduced legislation that would authorize the Justice Department to use wiretaps to investigate and prosecute criminal antitrust conspiracies. Somehow I cannot not see Big Brother listening in on a day in the life of Ivan Seidenberg, whose Verizon Communication's Inc....
Cingular offers EDGE WAN connectivity for enterprises
ATLANTA-Cingular Wireless L.L.C. launched its EDGE-based wireless wide area network connectivity service, which the carrier said is the first commercially available solution using a gateway device at the edge of a company's information technology network to provide enhanced and secure wide-area connectivity for data...
Cingular offers EDGE WAN connectivity for enterprises
ATLANTA—Cingular Wireless L.L.C. launched its EDGE-based wireless wide area network connectivity service, which the carrier said is the first commercially available solution using a gateway device at the edge of a company's information technology network to provide enhanced and secure wide-area connectivity for data...
SBC files with FCC for AT&T Corp. merger
SBC Communications Inc. said it made a joint filing with the Federal Communications Commission as part of its pending $16 billion acquisition of AT&T Corp. The deal, which was announced last month and is expected to close within a year, will link SBC's domestic...
Verizon wins $7B deal for MCI, for now
Rebuffing a more substantial offer from Qwest Communications International Inc., MCI Inc. agreed last week to be acquired by Verizon Communications Inc. for approximately $6.7 billion. Qwest, which initiated the latest bidding for MCI, reportedly offered $8 billion but was turned down due to...
SBC offers Wi-Fi in Chicago’s Merchandise Mart
CHICAGO-SBC Communications Inc. reported that its FreedomLink Wi-Fi service is now available throughout the Merchandise Mart in Chicago, creating the largest SBC hot spot in the city. The network includes 26 access points covering first- and second-floor common areas and meeting rooms of 350...
Rinne–Six mergers and still standing
Few carriers have put as much strain on their technology personnel over the past several years as Cingular Wireless L.L.C. From its beginnings as the merged wireless operations of BellSouth Corp. and SBC Communications Inc. to the carrier's decision in 2001 to migrate its...
SBC’s buy of AT&T to benefit wireless plans
Turning rumor into fact, SBC Communications Inc. reported a deal last week to acquire former parent company AT&T Corp. for $16 billion, creating a telecommunications provider with vast domestic and international wireline holdings, as well as a range of domestic wireless operations. The deal,...
SBC to cut 12,800 jobs following AT&T buy
SBC Communications Inc. said it plans to cut 12,800 jobs following its pending $16 billion acquisition of AT&T Corp. The job cuts are expected to include 5,125 jobs as part of "network efficiencies," 1,700 cuts from the combined sales department, 3,400 job cuts from...
Cingular, CWA negotiate union contract
WASHINGTON-Cingular Wireless L.L.C. disputed organized labor's claim that the No. 1 mobile-phone operator promised not to fire any union employees as a result of the carrier's $41 billion acquisition of AT&T Wireless Services Inc. The dispute comes amid impending post-merger job cuts at Cingular...
The wireline drag
As the nation's largest wireless carriers consolidate, large questions remain about what these companies should do with their existing wireline businesses. And carriers are talking openly about potential plans to shed these slow-growing parts of their operations in favor of the explosive wireless business.Indeed,...
In ironic turn, survey ranks AWS as top business carrier
Despite a rash of operational difficulties during the past several years that led to its eventual sale to rival Cingular Wireless L.L.C., Forrester Research Inc. found that AT&T Wireless Services Inc. was the leading wireless provider of next-generation business services, according to a survey...
SBC to provide Wi-Fi in Calif. state parks
SACRAMENTO, Calif.-SBC Communications Inc. reported an agreement to install Wi-Fi networks covering 85 California state parks. SBC noted that San Eli State Beach located outside San Diego will be the first state park gaining Wi-Fi services, with plans to install networks in the other...
Wireless, telecom firms help fund Bush inauguration
WASHINGTON-Telecom and tech firms, some already in the wireless business and others planning to enter it, are helping foot the bill for President Bush's inauguration Jan. 20.The donors, according to the Presidential Inaugural Committee, include Qualcomm Inc. ($100,000), AT&T Corp. ($250,000), MCI ($25,000), Oracle...
Wayport claims position as top U.S. hot-spot provider
AUSTIN, Texas-Wireless and wired broadband service provider Wayport Inc. said it has become the nation's largest Wi-Fi hot-spot provider with more than 6,300 locations available in the United States. The provider said it is adding up to 150 new hot-spot locations per week. Wayport...
Time Warner to test wireless bundle via Sprint network
Time Warner Cable is in discussions with Sprint PCS to test a wireless offering that would be bundled with the media giant's TV, landline phone and Internet services. However, it is unclear whether Time Warner Cable will offer the services under its own brand...
Person of the Year: Stan Sigman
Editor's Note: Each year, the RCR Wireless News editorial staff chooses the person who has impacted the wireless industry the most during the past 12 months. By successfully closing the acquisition of AT&T Wireless Services Inc., making Cingular Wireless the nation's largest carrier, as...
SBC to offer Wi-Fi in Palm Springs airport
PALM SPRINGS, Calif.-SBC Communications Inc. reported a deal a the City of Palm Springs and Q3 Telecom to launch SBC FreedomLink Wi-Fi service at the Palm Springs International Airport. The deployment is expected to include six Wi-Fi hot spots that will be spread throughout...
SBC expands Wi-Fi network
SAN ANTONIO-Telecom company SBC Communications Inc. will offer Wi-Fi service at Barnes & Noble bookstores and Avis Rent-A-Car locations, the company said in separate announcements.SBC's FreedomLink hot spots have been established at 600 Barnes & Noble stores nationwide for SBC customers and will be...