April 1998

NEW YORK-Triton PCS Inc., a startup Time Division Multiple Access carrier based in Malvern, Pa., was expected to sell privately late last week its first debt issue, which comprises $300 million in senior subordinated discount notes due 2008. AT&T Wireless …

FALLS CHURCH, Va.-Spectrum Resources Towers L.P. announced it has acquired the tower assets of Tower Industrial Park, which is based in the Cleveland area. Major tenants include Ameritech Corp., AT&T Wireless Services Inc., Paging Network Inc. and PageMart Wireless Inc., …

NORMAN, Okla.-Follow-up research examining the interaction between cardiac pacemakers and certain wireless phones found that an adverse interaction only occurred when the devices were less than three inches apart from each other. This is half the previously recommended distance. Researchers …

WASHINGTON-A group that claims mobile phone transmitters pose a public health risk last week asked a federal appeals court in New York to stay the Federal Communications Commission’s implementation of a telecom act provision that pre-empts local regulation of antenna …

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-Although the Asian currency crisis likely will result in making both handsets and financing more difficult and costly to obtain, wireless subscriber growth and revenues will continually expand until 2002, according to a new study examining the Sri Lanka, …

ALEXANDRIA, Va.-The Personal Communications Industry Association last week challenged unexplained regulatory fee increases, claiming the fees will hinder competition between wireless and wireline services. PCIA argued the Federal Communications Commission has denied wireless, local exchange and interexchange carriers; and television …

A movement is slowly growing toward developing a wireless handset that can operate around the world, though few carriers seem to be taking interest at this point. The Modular Multifunction Information Transfer System Forum (MMITS), an industry group comprising the …

Personal communications services provider Omnipoint Corp. last week became one of the first C-block licensees to select options from the Federal Communications Commission’s license rules. Omnipoint said it elected to return portions of its spectrum in a move it expects …

Last week, conservative wordsmith and Baltimore Orioles baseball fan George Will cheered the recent federal appeals court decision to throw out FCC broadcast equal employment opportunity rules put on the books three decades ago in the twilight of Mays, Mantle …

NEW YORK-As wireless carriers have closed off easier avenues for theft of services, subscriber fraud, including outright theft of identity, has emerged as the next generation of dirty dealing that carriers confront. The chemistry for this volatile situation results from …

KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa.-InterDigital Technology Corp. entered into patent license agreements with two unnamed Japanese manufacturers of digital cellular equipment, resulting in up-front payments of $33 million. One licensee will pay the ITC future royalties on the sale of products …

Personal communications services carrier BellSouth Mobility DCS said it is offering an enhanced voice-mail service called RapidReply to customers in the Carolinas, eastern Tennessee and coastal Georgia. With the new service, customers do not have to exit voice mail or …

Just as analysts had predicted, dual-mode/dual-band handsets are an important strategy for most U.S. personal communications services operators as they build out their networks. Yet some carriers are not actively encouraging customers to buy these handsets, and drawbacks exist when …

WASHINGTON-Iridium L.L.C. reported a net loss of $205 million for the quarter ended March 31, which the company said is consistent with its expectations. The consortium is developing a global wireless communications network based on a constellation of 66 low-earth-orbiting …

Telephone and Data Systems Inc. said start-up costs associated with its personal communications services business, Aerial Communications Inc., reduced cash flow and operating income during the first quarter, while United States Cellular, TDS’ cellular business, continued to be the company’s …

DENVER-Satellink Paging L.L.C., a subsidiary of Satellink Communications Inc., has acquired Premier Paging of New Orleans Inc., announced Daniels & Associates, a Denver-based investment banking and financial services company that represented the sellers. The transaction represents 10,000 paging units in …

ESPOO, Finland-Tecnomen announced it signed a contract valued at about $2 million with Chinese operator Tianjin Toll Telecommunications Bureau to expand the capacity of its Global System for Mobile communications messaging system to 135,000 subscribers. The expansion will allow TTTB …

WASHINGTON-A federal bankruptcy judge in Baltimore last week ordered the Federal Communications Commission to surrender to unsecured creditors of Pocket Communications Inc. information intentionally omitted from the company’s reorganization plan provided last month by the FCC, Justice Department and several …

LONG BEACH, Calif.-Phone Time Resources Inc.’s board of directors announced it approved a merger with Global Access Pagers Inc., featuring a 1: 40 reverse stock split. The company, to be called Global Access, will market and distribute prepaid calling cards …

GlobalStar Telecommunications Ltd. announced that China Telecom Group Ltd. has agreed to invest $37.5 million to become a full partner in Globalstar L.P. China Telecom, which provides fixed and wireless services in China, along with China Telecommunications Broadcast Satellite Corp., …

Lucent Technologies Inc.’s Microelectronics Group acquired Optimay GmbH, a privately held software-development company based in Munich, Germany. Optimay, which will become a subsidiary of Lucent Technologies International, develops software products and services for Global System for Mobile communications wireless handsets. …

SAN ANTONIO, Texas-SBC Communications Inc. added 112,000 wireless subscribers during this year’s first quarter-and 919,000 during the past 12 months-bringing its total number of domestic wireless subscribers to 5.6 million. Subscriber growth during the quarter was driven by SBC’s personal …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission, in a long-awaited and far-reaching policy call, is expected to rule within weeks on wireless resale policy for the future. The Wireless Telecommunications Bureau is about to make a recommendation to the five commissioners on wireless …

CEDAR KNOLLS, N.J.-Omnipoint Communications Inc. announced the company’s second roaming partnership in Lebanon, with Libancell. Omnipoint also initiated its second roaming partnership in Russia with MTS Moscow. The first Russian partnership is with North-West GSM in St. Petersburg. Omnipoint subscribers …

DALLAS-Glenayre Technologies Inc.’s net income dropped 77 percent in the first quarter, but the company announced several new contracts. Glenayre reported net income of $3.2 million, or 5 cents per common share, well below its 1997 first-quarter bottom line of …