December 1997

MONTREAL-Bell Canada International Inc. announced that its Taiwanese consortium, KG Telecom, launched personal communications services in the northern region of Taiwan. KG Telecom is the first company to meet the commissioning standards set by DGT, the country’s regulatory body, and …

MIAMI-CellStar Corp. made an equity investment in Topp Telecom Inc. to fund distribution and facilitation services and to help Topp Telecom expand its prepaid TracFone internationally, the companies announced. Topp’s prepaid phones are available in more than 5,000 retail locations …

SAN FRANCISCO-AirTouch Communications Inc. announced it has increased its ownership stake in Spanish cellular company Airtel to 21.7 percent, a 5-percent increase. AirTouch, the largest shareholder in the company, acquired its additional interest from Banco Santander. Financial terms were not …

WASHINGTON-For the wireless telecom industry, 1998 will be a pivotal year. A continuation next year of this year’s policy retreats and defeats at the Federal Communications Commission, on Capitol Hill and in the courts could make the wireless industry even …

NEW YORK-AT&T Corp. is rumored to be at an advanced stage in negotiations to acquire Teleport Communications Group Inc., the first and largest competitive local exchange carrier in the country. AT&T and Teleport, both headquartered in New York, have declined …

Paragon Software Ltd. is approaching wireless consumers with the simple message that its FoneBook Plus product can help organize their lives by putting contact names and phone numbers on their wireless phones. That simple idea is one the company hopes …

The Asian currency crisis has created hidden opportunities for providers of cellular equipment and for global carriers and vendors to invest in under-capitalized regional carriers and distributors at enticing rates, said Herschel Shosteck Associates Ltd. in a recent report. The …

NEW YORK-AG Communication Systems Inc., Phoenix, has introduced a “Triggerless Number Portability” solution, which it said will permit wireless carriers with Signaling System 7 functions in their networks to avoid number portability charges imposed by incumbent local exchange carriers. Marvin …

WASHINGTON-Pocket Communications Inc., which won 42 licenses in the C-block personal communications services auction and then filed for Chapter 11 reorganization last March, may be throwing in the towel and putting its assets on the block. According to a release …

EDISON, N.J.-Call Sciences, an international provider of call management applications, announced it will team with Oracle Corp. to offer a unified call management solution. The service will integrate Call Sciences’ Personal Assistant with a messaging solution based on Oracle’s database …

WASHINGTON-Small businesses, minority- and women-owned businesses, and rural telcos will not be eligible for installments payments following any near-future spectrum auction wins, but they will be given larger bidding credits under new, streamlined auction rules adopted by the Federal Communications …

CHICAGO-Ameritech Corp. said it authorized a stock repurchase plan-valued at $2 billion, or 4.7 percent of its outstanding shares at the current value-which it said is the largest stock repurchase ever launched by a telecommunications company in the United States. …

KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa.-InterDigital Communications Corp. announced it signed a technology and product engineering and test site support agreement with Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. The new agreement will cover Samsung’s field trials and advance deployment of telecommunications equipment using InterDigital’s …

WinStar Communications Inc. signed an agreement with two investment banks to raise $175 million through an institutional private placement rule. The company plans to use proceeds from the offering-expected to close Dec. 22-to fund acquisitions and for working capital and …

Geotek Communications Inc. announced its plans to restructure corporate assets and management structure to focus resources on its operations in the United States. Geotek said it has reached agreements to sell its European analog assets to Montreal-based Telesystem International Wireless …

NEW YORK-The stock of DSP Communications Inc. began trading on the New York Stock Exchange Dec. 8, moving over from the Nasdaq National Market, where it had been listed since the Cupertino, Calif.-based company went public in March 1995. “We …

NIXA, Mo.-Citing shareholder concerns over recent weakness in its share price, Applied Cellular Technology Inc. says it will not continue negotiations about its unsolicited offer to merge with Able Telcom Holding Corp. Applied Cellular specializes in providing services and solutions …

In the Dec. 8 issue of RCR, American Alpha Dispatch Services Inc. was improperly identified. The company, which provides dispatch services for alphanumeric paging, is based in Hicksville, N.Y.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo.-ComTec International Inc., through its wholly owned subsidiary, American Wireless Network Inc., said it completed the initial phase of an agreement to purchase seven specialized mobile radio systems from Centennial Communications Inc. Denver-based Centennial sold to American Wireless interests …

Bill Jackson, a former military software developer who has made a career developing communications applications for top secret U.S. government operations, has brought his flexible style of software solutions to the paging industry. The company he helped found-J Technology Inc., …

The European Telecommunications Standards Institute cast a preliminary vote last week in Madrid, Spain, in favor of a Wideband-Code Division Multiple Access third-generation technology proposal backed by Nokia Corp. and L.M. Ericsson. The W-CDMA proposal allows for migration from Global …

MONTVALE, N.J.-The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority awarded Geotek Communications Inc. a $2 million contract for a mobile data communications system to be used by a fleet of 400 vans and sedans that transport disabled and senior citizens. The Geotek system …

The Cellular-Emergency Alert Service Association, a volunteer organization dedicated to establishing emergency notification as a standard feature of digital wireless service, said it opposes a Senate bill that would remove federal pre-emption of antenna-siting moratoria. According to Douglas Weiser, director …

NEW YORK-By 2000, some 22 million devices other than personal computers will be accessing the Internet, according to IDC-Link Resources projections cited at a recent Internet World ’97 conference. Although wireless industry representatives and analysts are predicting a bright future …

SAN JOSE, Calif.-Motorola Inc.’s Paging Systems Group has selected Sun Microsystems Inc.’s SPARCengine Ultra 2 motherboards for use in its next generation FLEX family protocol transport and infrastructure equipment, Sun Microsystems announced. According to the company, the new motherboards will …