December 1997

A California court of appeals remanded for further proceedings a judgment for Los Angeles Cellular Telephone Co., allowing four cellular dealers to revisit part of their case against the carrier, charging unfair business practices. According to the dealers-Cel-Tech Communications Inc., …

STOCKHOLM, Sweden-Saying “profitability is not satisfactory,” the Business Area Infocom Systems division of L.M. Ericsson plans to lay off another 10,000 employees worldwide in 1998, bringing the number of displaced workers in that sector to 20,000 during the past two …

WASHINGTON-As key House and Senate GOP lawmakers probe whether licenses valued at more than $1 billion were given away to Teledesic Corp. and Teligent Corp. as part of a back-room deal that policy makers justified on national security grounds, questions …

ATLANTA-Digital Transmission Systems Inc., a telecommunications equipment maker, recently announced that it received a $5.4 million order from a national wireless carrier. The order, which the company says is the largest in its history, is for more than 6,000 FlexT1 …

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.-Ericsson Inc. recently announced that shipments of its smallest personal communications services phone are under way this month. The CF 788 weighs 4.7 ounces and stands four inches tall. It provides three hours and 20 minutes of …

SUNNYVALE, Calif.-General Magic Inc. unveiled its first product in the DataRover family of handheld communications devices. The DataRover 840 is a handheld computer, weighing 18 ounces, in a tablet design. It uses General Magic’s Magic Cap 3.1 operating system, which …

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill.-GTE Wireless plans to launch an 800 MHz digital cellular phone system in San Diego using the cdmaOne infrastructure equipment supplied by Motorola Inc.’s Cellular Infrastructure Group, announced Motorola. Motorola said GTE’s San Diego system represents its 34th …

SCHAUMBURG, Ill.-The city of Hialeah, Fla., approved the $6.4 million purchase of a trunked, two-way public-safety radio system from Motorola Inc.’s Land Mobile Products Sector, announced Motorola. Motorola’s SmartZone analog system will replace the existing VHF/UHF communications systems used by …

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 …

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 …

NEW YORK-With the introduction Dec. 1 of a suite of radio-frequency integrated circuit products, Texas Instruments, Dallas, made a giant leap forward toward providing all major system blocks for digital wireless phones. “Right now, we are the number one supplier …

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 …

Global industry trends regarding future sales of wireless communications equipment are going to include enough opportunity for everyone with something to offer, according to the “U.S. Industry and Trade Outlook 1998.” U.S. wireless industry growth projections “are expected to be …

Reps. Tom Bliley (R-Va.) and Joe Barton (R-Texas) apparently have had it with rope-a-dope delays by Franklin L. Haney. Haney, as you may recall, is the Tennessee investor-developer and pal of Al Gore who is suspected of paying $1 million …

In the Oct. 13 issue of RCR, the story on Motorola Inc.’s FLEX Architecture Solutions Division incorrectly stated the nature of the division’s November announcement of agreements with computer manufacturers. The agreements referred to were with PageMart Wireless Inc. and …

‘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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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. …