December 1997

WASHINGTON-What’s good for the goose should be good for the gander, commenters say, when it comes to personal communications services financial-restructuring relief offered by the Federal Communications Commission. Forwarding an option menu to C-block winners was a good start, entrepreneurs …

ATLANTA-BellSouth Corp. announced a regular quarterly dividend of 36 cents per share last week. The dividend, payable Feb. 2, is the 56th consecutive quarterly dividend declared by BellSouth since its formation in 1984, said the company. BellSouth is a $19 …

NEW YORK-As the new year approaches in the horse race that is commercial deployment of low earth orbit mobile satellite systems, “we’re still at the first half-mile, with the finish line at 2000,” said Timothy Logue, a satellite analyst for …

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill.-Motorola Inc.’s Cellular Infrastructure Group last week said it completed a new Code Division Multiple Access system for China’s first CDMA operator, Beijing Telecom Greatwall Mobile Communications Co. Ltd. Motorola said it is the only system supplier for …

WASHINGTON-“The view is better from up here,” commented Bill Kennard as he banged the gavel in his first Federal Communications Commission meeting as chairman Nov. 25. Kennard and new compatriots Gloria Tristani, Michael Powell and Harold Furchtgott-Roth tackled a number …

TULSA, Okla.-Arch Communications Group Inc. said it bought a fourth satellite channel from SpaceCom Systems to expand its transmission capacity. The company said it expects to require added capacity once it completes the addition of 50 new downlink sites. The …

OLYMPIA, Wash.-Several wireless carriers selected Illuminet’s Cellular Administration and Operations Support Service to manage seamless roaming in new markets and to establish roaming with other carriers, said the company. Companies that signed on to use the service include United States …

INDIANAPOLIS-Brightpoint Inc.’s new subsidiary, Brightpoint (Ireland) Ltd., will supply Esat Digifone with “Digipacks” that will include fulfillment and distribution services, and wireless handsets and accessories. Ireland’s newest mobile phone operator, Esat Digifone launched last March with a full range of …

As the Global System for Mobile communications community celebrates the inroads the technology has made throughout the world, the GSM MoU Association said it will continue to promote the technology worldwide and make sure third-generation technology incorporates a GSM platform …

SAN JOSE, Calif.-VLSI Technology Inc. introduced the OneC Global System for Mobile communications platform, a customizable, single-chip baseband silicon solution. The OneC chip enables manufacturers to customize semiconductors for GSM mobile phones or related applications such as mobile computing, personal …

ESPOO,Finland-Nokia Corp. signed agreements to expand Global System for Mobile communications networks for two carriers in China. An agreement with Jiangxi Post and Telecommunications Administration China calls for Nokia to complete the third expansion of the Jiangxi GSM 900 MHz …

NEW YORK-Competition among wireless carriers has driven down per-minute use charges by 6 percent on average, with some carriers slashing prices by more than a third, according to a new study by Paul Kagan Associates Inc., Carmel, Calif. A closer …

The use of mobile data products by police departments has gained such rapid acceptance across the country this year that it may be emerging as the most popular current application of wireless data technology, according to wireless data carriers and …

Qualcomm Inc. announced it promoted Dr. Mark Epstein to senior vice president of development. Epstein will lead Qualcomm’s international standards activities and develop corporate relationships to support the company’s next-generation wireless products. With more than 30 years in the communications …

VERNON HILLS, Ill.-Telular Corp. said it will begin delivering PhoneCell fixed wireless terminals to the West African Republic of Guinea this month, after being award an $8 million contract by Guinea Sotelgui S.A. The award from Guinea Sotelgui is part …

WASHINGTON-The United States failed once again to secure spectrum below 1 GHz for little low-earth-orbit satellites at the World Radio Conference in Geneva, but succeeded in acquiring 100 megahertz worldwide for big LEO feeder links. The only consolation for little …

PARIS-As a leading cellular service provider in France, with a 55-percent market share, France Telecom Mobile is hoping to have 3 million Itineris Global System for Mobile communications customers by the end of the year. With 2.4 million Itineris GSM …

CEDAR KNOLLS, N.J.-Omnipoint Communications’ wireless services customers can roam in Singapore, following a recent operational roaming agreement with Singapore Telecom. The addition of Singapore Telecom raises Omnipoint’s number of roaming partners to 34, representing 24 countries outside the United States.

SACRAMENTO, Calif.-StayTuned, a new Web-based company that provides information services for pagers and personal communications services handsets with short messaging service, has announced it is ready to begin providing service to customers. The Sacramento, Calif.-based company said it uses push …

LISLE, Ill.-Tellabs Inc. and Ericsson Radio Access announced they will extend their collaboration partnership for another seven years. The terms of the new joint development and collaboration agreement were not disclosed. Under the terms of the companies’ original agreement signed …

SAN JOSE, Calif.-ArrayComm Inc. recently announced the incorporation of its IntelliCell Personal Handyphone System platform into the next generation of cell stations to serve Japan’s PHS network. Manufactured by Kyocera Corp. for use by DDI Pocket Telephone of Japan, the …

MADISON, Wis.-Cellular One of Wisconsin and Northern Illinois said it will provide cellular phones and airtime to homeless people again this Thanksgiving so they can speak with family and friends. More than 70 Cellular One employees volunteered for the fifth …

WASHINGTON-With the numbers showing net revenues of $80.7 million at the end of round 142 last Wednesday, and with 14 new high bids garnered, there was hope at press time that the 800 MHz specialized mobile radio auction would be …

Shortly after the Venezuela telecom regulatory agency Conatel was forced to lift the ban prohibiting the country’s two cellular operators from adding new subscribers, sources have said the agency now plans to auction a third cellular phone license in January. …

‘Tis the season to buy! And with some wireless carriers estimating that between 30 percent and 40 percent of their business takes place this quarter, the industry should be as giddy about the coming month as a turkey that is …