April 1998

NEW YORK-With too much capital chasing too few deals, privately placed debt financing has become a borrower’s market in recent years, leading to a sharp rise in leverage and risk. “The types of deals we’re talking about are high-end junk …

Site Advantage Site Advantage Inc. introduced a snap-in cable hanger for coax cables. Features include a nose that provides holding strength while remaining easy to insert and a large gripping area to prevent unexpected pull outs. Indented fingers support corrugated …

Qualcomm Inc. and Philips Consumer Communications L.P. entered into a royalty-bearing, cross-license agreement for Code Division Multiple Access technology and products, said Qualcomm. The deal “amicably settles litigation” that Qualcomm filed last year seeking a judicial determination that certain features …

WETHERSFIELD, Conn.-Shared Technologies Cellular Inc. said the 305-percent expansion of its prepaid cellular business helped increase revenue 16 percent, from $20.9 million in 1996 to $24.2 million for the year ended Dec. 31. The company also cut its losses by …

Slam! Bam! Thank you, ma’am. Opening mail that accumulated during a week’s vacation was a test case in re-entry shock and a reality check. Fraudsters had forged my signature on an application for AT&T Corp. long-distance wireline telephony. Someone, possibly …

BOSTON-In terms of dollars and labor, wireless number portability will cost wireless carriers more than any other single issue, according to the Yankee Group in its recently released report, Wireless Number Portability: A Bowl of Cherries for Competition … but …

While the world continues to debate the mechanics of third-generation technology, many industry watchers wonder what business case, if any, this new technology will have for carriers. The International Telecommunications Union, a part of the United Nations that has put …

WASHINGTON-Iridium LLC launched a Delta II rocket carrying five more Iridium satellites into orbit March 30, bringing its total number of operational satellites to 56. The launch of the satellites from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California had to be …

KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa.-InterDigital Technology Corp. will keep its patent on the Time Division Multiple Access wireless radio communications system used in Germany, said the company, after an appeal before the German Supreme Court challenging its validity was withdrawn by …

WASHINGTON-Federal Communications Commission Chairman Bill Kennard responded March 30 to a congressional letter questioning the commission on its recent C-block personal communications services financial-restructuring reconsideration order and on its pending deal with one bankrupt C-blocker’s creditors. Reps. Thomas Bliley (R-Va.), …

To the Editor: I felt compelled to write after your recently published guest article by Reed Hundt (RCR, Feb. 23). Mr. Hundt, now unencumbered from tempering his personal beliefs and feelings, expresses why we, the two-way radio industry, have so …

To the editor: In response to Kristen Beckman’s story “Pilots break no cell phone use” in RCR, March 16, 1998: I wonder if the fears of reduced revenue for cellular providers who have air phones installed in commercial airlines is …

MURRAY HILL, N.J.-Lucent Technologies Inc. introduced wireless intelligent network software applications designed to lower costs and increase revenues for network service providers, as well as provide a solution for meeting upcoming regulatory requirements, Lucent said. The new applications for all …

FORT LEE, N.J.-Beginning this month, MobileMedia Corp., dba MobileComm, no longer is charging a 50-cent fee to deliver an e-mail message to a subscriber’s pager. E-mail messages will count against the customer’s call account in the same way as self-dispatch …

April 7-8 IGI Consulting. Holiday Inn, Washington, D.C. (800) 323-1088 or (617) 232-3111. Asian Consumer Electronics Show April 9-11 Kenfair International Ltd. Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong. (852) 2311 8216. Wireless Americas ’98 April 14-17 The Latin …

HANNOVER, Germany-Groupe Sagem licensed Unwired Planet Inc.’s UP.Browser to provide Internet access for its wireless handsets. Sagem is a French group of high-technology companies employing about 14,000 people. Sagem’s Mobile Communication business manufactured 1 million units in 1997 and expects …

NEW YORK-In late March, the logjam finally broke on the long-stalled liberalization of the Brazilian telecommunications market through the introduction of second wireless carriers. One forecast predicted the number of cellular telephone customers in Brazil could increase during the next …

MINNEAPOLIS-ADC Telecommunications Inc. opened a $26 million, 284,000 square-foot manufacturing facility in Shakopee, Minn., near its Minneapolis headquarters. ADC’s Broadband Connectivity Group is housed in the new facility. The BCG makes broadband connectivity products for wireless, twisted pair copper, fiber-optic …

PHOENIX-AG Communication Systems introduced Incoming Call Screening, an application that enables wireless service providers to offer enhanced call-management services to their subscribers, said the company. INgage ICS is a wireless intelligent network application that allows subscribers to filter incoming calls …

The Federal Communications Commission approved a request from American Mobile Satellite Corp. to modify its satellite license so it can temporarily consolidate its space segment facilities with TMI Communications and Co. L.P. Under the satellite sharing agreement announced early last …

NIXA, Mo.-Applied Cellular Technology Inc. acquired Salt Lake City-based Winward Electric Service Inc., which provides services in the fiber-optic interface and data cabling areas. “The company has impressive profit margins and is expected to add approximately $14.5 million in revenues …

CHICAGO-American Mobile Satellite Corp. announced it completed its $100 million acquisition of Ardis last week, creating what it called the first fully-deployed, integrated terrestrial/satellite network for two-way wireless data services. Ardis, formerly owned by Motorola Inc., operates one of the …

IRVINE, Calif.-AirTouch Southern California said it expanded its “all-Southern California home calling area,” called California Connection, to its digital customers in San Diego. AirTouch customers can talk on their wireless phones from San Luis Obispo to the Mexico border at …

NEW YORK-Paging Network do Brasil S.A., Sao Paulo, reported earning $3.3 million in net revenues during 1997, its first year of commercial operation. Net losses for the year totaled $25.4 million, compared with $9.7 million during fiscal 1996. The new …

PALO ALTO, Calif.-Corsair Communications Inc. signed a definitive agreement to acquire Subscriber Computing Inc., a privately held software systems supplier, in a pooling-of-interests transaction valued at approximately $70 million. Corsair provides distributed system solutions for the wireless industry. Its products …