Last June, RCR asked me what I thought would be the biggest problem facing the wireless industry in 1998. My answer comprised one word: Education. What I was referring to was training and educating industry employees, educating the public about cellular towers and, particularly, educating...
1998 may be the year for introductions of next-generation wireless office systems that allow for seamless handoffs between the office system and a carrier's macrocellular system.Hughes Network Systems Inc. and AT&T Wireless Services Inc. announced a strategic marketing agreement last week calling for AT&T...
In the summer of 1989, one of my favorite bands, the B-52s, released an album with the big hit-tune "Roam," in which singer Kate Pierson encouraged listeners to "roam around the world." Well, it took me nine years, Kate, but I finally took you...
Consumers in Cincinnati for the first time will be able to purchase local, long-distance, personal communications, Internet and satellite TV service from one provider and receive their charges on one bill. The service begins May 1.Cincinnati Bell Wireless, the subsidiary of local phone provider...
NEW YORK-Australian telecommunications giant Telstra Corp. Ltd. announced Feb. 18 that its net profits for the six months ended Dec. 31 rose by 117 percent from the same period a year ago. Net profits totaled $1.08 billion, about $67 million ahead of median market...
Multinational Automated Clearing House U.S.A. said it signed agreements to provide roamer call data clearing services to Global System for Mobile service providers American Personal Communications, Powertel Inc., Microcell Connexions Inc., Aerial Communications, Airadigm Communications, DigiPH PCS, Conestoga Wireless and NPI Wireless. A subsidiary...
CERRITOS, Calif.-Los Angeles Cellular Telephone Co. said it teamed up with the American Association of Retired Persons, Retired Senior Volunteer Persons and a host of celebrities and local dignitaries to fight telemarketing fraud in Southern California.L.A. Cellular subsidized this week's two-day program at the...
Envision an all digital baseball stadium that allows its patrons to use their digital wireless phones to determine which parking lots are full, to order food and have it delivered to their seats or download player statistics.That is only one vision Kailas J. Rao,...
To the editor: I just read your editorial about bundling and discounting, and, as a consumer, I could not agree more. I also subscribe to your adage to never, never pay retail. I wish I could avoid it where my wired and wireless services apply.On...
WASHINGTON-A year-end survey conducted by the Telecommunications Resellers Association revealed that 90 percent of respondents who sought to resell personal communications services were barred from doing so by carriers, and that number rose to 100 percent for those respondents who want to resell specialized...
NEW YORK-A wide and growing array of handset choices has caused some carriers to evaluate whether to winnow down the number of makes and models sold at their own retail stores.Is this a case of product oversupply? No, it's only half the story.Telecommunications equipment...
ITALYBusiness customers of Omnitel Pronto Italia now can call from Italy to Europe, the United States and Canada for the same price as local calls, announced Omnitel. "Italian telecommunications is evolving into a hyper-market, with multiple global players and a strong `customer pull' for...
NEW YORK-The dominant impression today of Centennial Cellular Corp., New Canaan, Conn., is connected more to its late 1996 wireless debut in Puerto Rico than to its longstanding analog role on the U.S. mainland.Centennial Puerto Rico Wireless Corp. is a Code Division Multiple Access...
"From the mighty pen, true wisdom flows.If it says so, then it is so. If it is so, so it is.A thought's not fit to think 'til it's printed in ink. Then it says so, so it is."-Rabbit, Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher...
WASHINGTON-For Beverly Wilborn, being female and African American has not kept her from climbing the corporate ladder in a telecommunications industry dominated in all respects by white males.In that respect, she is the exception to the rule.Wilborn, 49, is senior vice president of marketing...
Bundling cellular equipment with a service plan played a significant role in the success of the wireless industry. People could justify penny phones, even if it meant signing up for two years of cellular service. No one can pass up a bargain and most...
NEW YORK-Omnipoint Communications Services Inc. secured a $750 million bank credit facility, enough to replace $516 million in existing vendor financing commitments and to cover its 1998 capital expenditure needs.The eight-year senior secured term loan received speculative grade ratings of B2 and B+ from,...
NEW YORK-AT&T Wireless Services Inc. and Cincinnati Bell Wireless plan to team up to provide personal communications services in two urban Ohio markets, according to a joint venture between their parent companies.The agreement, subject to Federal Communications Commission approval, provides that Cincinnati Bell Wireless...
WASHINGTON-The Clinton administration, which now projects $30 billion from spectrum auctions during the next decade despite free-falling license prices, plans to seek legislation from Congress this year to sell 36 megahertz from TV channels 60-69 before 2002.Under last year's balanced budget agreement, the sale...
KIRKLAND, Wash.-A commercial transportation service that operates a fleet of 500 vehicles in metropolitan New York adopted AT&T PocketNet service as its dispatch and communications platform, announced AT&T Wireless Services Inc.Business Class Transportation is switching from a voice radio system to a specialized application...
AT&T Corp. also told analysts it plans to push a calling party pays program for its wireless customers, as well as a dual-band, dual-mode handset with extended battery time.AT&T said it plans this year to offer its wireless customers the new Nokia 6160, a...
KIRKLAND, Wash.-AT&T Wireless Services Inc. and Lotus Development Corp. have teamed up to provide wireless access to Lotus Notes with AT&T PocketNet phones and service.Lotus planned to demonstrate how the service provides access to e-mail, calendars and address books last week at the annual...
NEW YORK-AT&T Corp.'s fourth-quarter earnings announcement last week was notable both for what the company said about its recent past and about its plans for the near future.The country's largest telecommunications carrier, working to streamline operations in the highly competitive marketplace, reported surprisingly strong...
WASHINGTON-After two years, is the Telecommunications Act of 1996 a success or failure? In the eyes of Washington telecom insiders, is it an industry boon or an industry bust? Right now, it's even money."You need to get some perspective on this," said Kathryn Brown,...
