In recent months, the Wireless Telecom Bureau and its chief, Dan Phythyon, have endured harsh criticism from Senate Commerce Committee John McCain (R-Ariz.), and others in this newspaper. The torrent of complaints has come from all directions.But rather than serving as proof of incompetence,...
WASHINGTON-Cellular operators last week overwhelmingly opposed a revised consumer-group proposal to route 911 analog calls to the cellular carrier most likely to complete the call, but it remains unclear whether carriers are ready to embrace a new Telecommunications Industry Association plan to handle emergency...
ORLANDO, Fla.-"We here are circumscribed by a group that accepts and celebrates technology, but we are a very rare breed, a tribe that thinks it is uniquely important because our reality depends on it," said James A. Taylor, chief marketing officer for Iomega Corp.,...
In comments that may reflect competitive positions in today's mobile phone market, mobile phone and mobile satellite service industries told the Federal Communications Commission more spectrum will be needed for third-generation services.Industry comments are in response to a Notice of Inquiry the FCC released...
AT&T Corp. last week announced plans to buy Vanguard Cellular Systems Inc., ending months of speculation about who might acquire the independent cellular operator.Vanguard has been rumored widely to be an acquisition target, fueled by a decision it made earlier this year to sell...
While the debate around third-generation wireless technology to date has focused on which air interface to incorporate into the standard, leading wireless vendors brought up a few other crucial points at PCS '98 in Orlando that will have to be addressed at some point.Who...
AT&T Corp. plans merge AT&T Wireless Services Inc. into the corporation by 1999, and appoint Dan Hesse, current AT&T Wireless president and CEO, head of the company's customer-care units."AT&T has actually been in an evolution of bringing wireless into the total AT&T," said Eileen...
SONYSony Electronics' Personal Mobile Communications-America announced the availability of a dual-mode 800 MHz analog/Code Division Multiple Access version of its D-Wave Zuma wireless handset. The lithium ion battery provides up to 2.3 hours of talk time or up to 45 hours standby time in...
Citing in part its superior response to the Galaxy IV satellite outage, the U.S. Department of Defense said it will replace Paging Network Inc. with SkyTel Communications Inc. as its paging provider for the Pentagon's 25,000 paging users.PageNet's contract with the Defense Telecommunications Service-Washington-which...
NEW YORK-CellStar Corp., Carrollton, Texas, announced a significant slide in net income for the third quarter ended Aug. 31, to $2.4 million from $16.2 million posted during the same period a year ago.However, the wireless handset distributor reported a revenue increase of 13.5 percent,...
Let the battle for the high-end mobile phone users begin.Sprint Spectrum L.P. late last week introduced three new all-inclusive national pricing plans that eliminate roaming and long-distance fees on its digital network nationwide. The plans charge $70 per month for 600 minutes, $100 per...
The Personal Communications Industry Association hasn't released the official number of those who attended PCS '98 two weeks ago in Orlando, Fla. It wants to take its time to ensure that it releases the most accurate number possible. I would take my time, too,...
ORLANDO, Fla.-L.M. Ericsson launched an open wireless intelligent network platform, called Jambala, initially available to Time Division Multiple Access Interim Standard 136 providers.Jambala is the first telecom platform to fully leverage Sun Microsystems Inc.'s Java platform, said Jon Kannegaard, vice president and general manager...
Competition is changing the customer satisfaction landscape in wireless markets, according to J.D. Power and Associates' 1998 U.S. Wireless Customer Satisfaction Study.Carriers who previously led in customer satisfaction changed in 10 out of 18 markets, said the study."With as many as four or five...
ORLANDO, Fla.-The North American GSM Alliance L.L.C. and the Universal Wireless Communications Consortium last week said they will join forces to collaborate on next-generation technology and to provide a unified lobbying force on Capitol Hill."We've agreed on a set of principles," said UWCC Chairman...
MALVERN, Pa.-Triton PCS Inc. announced it reached a definitive agreement to purchase AT&T Wireless Services Inc.'s Norfolk, Va., personal communications services operations for an undisclosed amount. The Norfolk market will add 1.8 million pops to Triton's subscriber base, bringing it to more than 14...
Wireless intelligent network deployments remain slow in the United States as mobile phone carriers have focused on building out digital networks and spending money on switching and radio-frequency infrastructure.That is about to change, indicate WIN vendors, as more competitors enter the mobile phone market,...
NEW YORK-Domestic wireless carriers "now have prepaid (services) fully introduced throughout their geographic territories," but they lag behind their peers abroad in fully tapping its potential, said Scott R. Cassell, president of Globalnet Communications, an Indianapolis consulting firm."It's exciting to see prepaid take off...
CTIAChristopher Putala joined the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association as vice president for congressional affairs. Putala worked for nine years with the Senate Judiciary Committee on a wide variety of law-enforcement issues and served as Democratic staff director and chief counsel for Sen. Joseph R....
The global market for in-vehicle intelligent transportation systems is expected to grow from $1 billion today to more than $18 billion annually during the next five years, according to a new report from Allied Business Intelligence. Major ITS systems include in-vehicle communications systems, electronic...
Seventy years ago, the mobile radio industry was born when the Detroit Police Department installed the first one-way radios in their squad cars. Today there are approximately 19 million two-way radios in use in the United States, including 3.1 million specialized mobile radio units.Cellular...
ORLANDO, Fla.-Silverlake Communications Inc., a wireless messaging software provider, announced it has entered a reseller agreement with Arch Communications Group Inc.Under terms of the agreement, Silverlake will be Arch's primary alphanumeric software provider and will market the Airsource wireless messaging software suite branded under...
WASHINGTON-It is becoming quite obvious that the key word on antenna-siting disputes is cooperation. In two situations last week, cooperation led to successful results for three wireless companies.In Fairfax County, Va., a circuit court judge told Bell Atlantic Mobile and AT&T Wireless Services Inc....
Nearly a year into office, Bill Kennard has defied all attempts to be pigeonholed as the newest chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. He was general counsel and an understudy to former FCC chief Reed Hundt. Yet Kennard is not Hundt like. He's not...
