The text messaging industry in the United States is growing by leaps and bounds, and most agree it has the potential to be huge. The application is really the first major win for the nascent and struggling U.S. wireless data market for consumers, and...
LONDON—Moody's investor services changed its outlook for German telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom and its guaranteed subsidiary DT Finance B.V., as well as its American subsidiaries VoiceStream Wireless Corp. and Cook Inlet/VoiceStream, from stable to negative and confirmed the current Baa1 long-term ratings.Moody's said the...
BONN, Germany—German telecommunications giant Deutsche Telekom reported its T-Mobile wireless division posted $4.1 billion in revenue for the first quarter of this year compared with $2.5 billion reported for the first quarter last year. The company attributed the increase to positive effects of its...
WASHINGTON—The wireless industry needs consolidation, said one of the titans of the industry on Tuesday."The industry does need to be consolidated," said John Stanton, chief executive officer of Western Wireless Corp. and VoiceStream Wireless Corp. "In contrast to Western, most companies in the industry...
WASHINGTON—One of the major players in the PCS C-block saga said on Tuesday that a negotiated settlement is probably not the way to go because it will not give everyone what they need."I think the best answer is to let the courts resolve this...
PARIS—A French newspaper reported European mobile operator Orange is interested in launching a branded service in the United States and is currently in talks with a U.S. operator. Orange has denied the reports.The report said Cingular is currently the most likely partner after talks...
BELLEVUE, Wash.—VoiceStream Wireless Corp. reported positive earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for the first time during the first quarter of $75 million, a feat the company attributed to careful cost management.The carrier added 508,500 net customers during the quarter ending the quarter...
MobileSpring Inc. and InphoMatch Inc., rival vendors for short message service interoperability solutions, have been working together during the past few months to ensure their cross-carrier messaging systems are themselves interoperable.The teaming comes as no real surprise. By making sure their systems can work...
WASHINGTON—A class-action antitrust lawsuit filed against the mobile-phone industry in early January and promptly withdrawn two weeks later is expected to be refiled today in Manhattan federal court, according to a lawyer familiar with the case. The lead plaintiff in the new...
WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted a temporary waiver to VoiceStream Wireless to provide wireless priority access service (PAS) on a short-term basis to local, state and federal officials here and in New York during emergencies.The waiver will expire on 31 December or sooner...
BELLEVUE, Wash.—VoiceStream Wireless will cut about 260 jobs from offices in Atlanta, Memphis, Tenn. and Louisville, Ky. as part of the ongoing incorporation of Powertel Inc., which Deutsche Telekom acquired along with VoiceStream last year.VoiceStream spokeswoman Brigette Helsten said most of the 260 jobs...
WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission today granted a temporary waiver to VoiceStream Wireless Corp. to provide wireless priority access service on a short-term basis to local, state and federal officials here and in New York during emergencies.The waiver will expire on Dec. 31 or sooner...
BEDMINSTER, New Jersey, United States—Through a deal with message interoperability company InphoMatch, Verizon Wireless is now the last of the nationwide, consumer-focused carriers to allow its users to send short message service (SMS) messages to subscribers of rival carriers using only a phone number.Verizon...
EPHRATA, Pa.—VoiceStream Wireless Corp. closed its previously announced acquisition of D&E Communications Inc.'s 50-percent interest in the two companies' PCS One joint venture.D&E received approximately $75 million in cash considerations for its interests and plans to use approximately $34 million from the sale to...
LA JOLLA, Calif.—Consumer cell phone service rates have fallen to about 10 cents per anytime minute over the past six months, according to a recent study by ARS Inc.The study showed that overall per-minute fees for all plans decreased 13 percent from about 11.68...
LONDON—Moody's Investor Service downgraded its credit rating on Deutsche Telekom and its VoiceStream Wireless Corp. subsidiary citing doubt DT would achieve its previous forecast of net debt of $43.5 billion by the end of this year and expected high capital expenditure requirements for VoiceStream...
WASHINGTON—The Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association on Wednesday hailed the wireless priority access agreement signed by VoiceStream Wireless Corp. by calling on the federal government "to free up the additional wireless spectrum it has long bottled up."Wireless priority access will allow national security and...
KANSAS CITY, Mo.—Sprint PCS said it plans to introduce an Intercarrier Messaging feature of its Sprint PCS Short Mail service, allowing customers to send and receive messages from customers of other service providers. Sprint PCS said the ability for other carriers' customers to respond...
BELLEVUE, Wash.—VoiceStream Wireless Corp. released additional information on its fourth quarter and full-year 2001 results showing the carrier added 667,400 net subscribers during the quarter and 2.2 million for the year ending 2001 with nearly 7 million wireless customers. Contract subscribers, often considered more...
BELLEVUE, Wash.—VoiceStream Wireless now offers inter-carrier text messaging to all its subscribers, regardless of handset type or service plan, the company announced.VoiceStream is using InphoMatch Inc.'s InphoXchange technology platform. VoiceStream follows AT&T Wireless Services Inc. and Cingular Wireless in making it possible for wireless...
DENVER, United States—Verizon Wireless became the first nationwide U.S. carrier to commercially launch cdma2000 1x services this week as it unveiled its Express Network in a select number of markets. The nation's largest operator said the next-generation services initially will be available to digital...
ATLANTA, United States—Cingular Wireless and AT&T Wireless said they will form a joint venture allowing both carriers to more quickly and cost effectively expand their buildout of GSM/General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) network coverage along 3,000 miles on interstate highways in Midwestern and western...
SEATTLE—Canada's Bell Mobility announced it will offer a service through ViAir Inc. that will allow mobile professionals to wirelessly access their personal and corporate e-mail, calendar and contact information.The service supports Microsoft Outlook, Lotus Notes and Internet-based e-mail services. ViAir said almost 30 million...
WASHINGTON-2002 offers the wayward wireless industry a chance to begin to redeem and redefine itself. But it won't be easy, and survival skills will be essential. Indeed, with economic sluggishness persisting here and abroad, the industry is not totally in control of its future....
