December 1998

SPRINGFIELD, Ill.-Amica Wireless Phone Service said it expects to begin offering digital wireless calling Dec. 14 in Bloomington, Champaign, Dectaur and Springfield, Ill., using Code Division Multiple Access technology. Among other services, Amica Wireless offers pay-per-use minutes, voice mail and …

L.M. Ericsson’s offer to compromise on third-generation technology may not change the International Telecommunication Union’s action on Dec. 31. The ITU is likely to halt any work on Code Division Multiple Access-based proposals unless intellectual-property-right issues are resolved by the …

Olivetti S.p.A. and Mannesmann AG last week signed an agreement to acquire U.S.-based Cellular Communications International Inc., giving the companies an increased stake in Italian mobile operator Omnitel-Pronto Italia S.p.A. Cellular Communications’ primary asset is a nearly 15-percent interest in …

Northeast Communications of Wisconsin Inc. announced it acquired U.S. Cellular’s Marathon County operations. Cellcom, the company’s wireless subsidiary, will provide cellular and paging services. Marathon County will be the fifth Wisconsin county served by Cellcom and the second metropolitan service …

ATLANTA-Telecom Wireless Solutions Inc. announced it obtained $17 million in financing for strategic acquisitions, new ventures and product development initiatives. As a part of this strategy, TWS also added four new board members. They include: Hugh Sawyer, chief executive officer …

FORT WORTH, Texas-Motorola Inc. announced it licensed its FLEX protocol decoder chipset to Korean equipment manufacturer Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. The agreement is expected to speed the transition from POCSAG to FLEX paging technology in the Asian market. Samsung reportedly …

WASHINGTON-A Government Accounting Office report says the U.S. Postal Service has “put on hold” plans to expand an antenna-siting program, which could have significant impacts on efforts to get antenna-siting and enhanced 911 legislation passed next year. UniSite Inc., an …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau will begin immediately using the Universal Licensing System for all licensing activity in the cellular radiophone service. Use of ULS for the cellular service is part of the wireless bureau’s ongoing phased development …

MALVERN, Penn.-Triton PCS Inc. selected Lightbridge Inc. to provide integrated solutions for customer activation, retail management and fraud prevention. Triton PCS is building and will operate a digital wireless network in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, enabling AT&T …

Unwired Planet Inc. announced it reached an agreement with Siemens Information and Communication Networks Group of Munich, Germany, to integrate its Wireless Access Protocol compatible software into Siemens AG’s Global System for Mobile communications infrastructure. Specifically, Unwired Planet has licensed …

JACKSON, Miss.-SkyTel Communications Inc. announced its two-way messaging subscribers can send text messages from their pagers to any telephone in the country, using text-to-speech technology to read the message to the recipient. Called Text-To-Voice, the service works with both landline …

The semiconductor industry is showing signs it could be emerging from a slump that has plagued it this year. The Asian economic crisis, coupled with a glut of semiconductor products in the market, has led the industry into one of …

NEW YORK-The boundaries between internal and external computer networks are disappearing due to the warp-speed incursion of the Internet, raising security concerns within enterprises that want to exploit this promising opportunity safely. “Security is one of the inhibitors. It has …

MELVILLE, N.Y.-In-Touch Management Systems Inc. and TSR Wireless announced the In-Touch II system has been successfully installed in 17 markets for TSR Wireless. The integration benefits TSR Wireless by giving the carrier one database from which to manage its business.

BOSTON-American Tower Corp. and Triton PCS announced they entered into a contract in which American Tower will build 115 build-to-suit tower-development sites in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. In addition, Triton PCS has contracted American Tower’s acquisition and zoning …

Sierra Wireless said it has brought together 17 other companies in an alliance formed to work together to offer more complete solutions so the general public will adopt wireless data devices more quickly. The WirelessReady Alliance is an invitation-only collaborative …

NEW YORK-Moody’s Investors Service Inc. assigned speculative grade ratings to $1.4 billion of planned new debt that will be used to refinance outstanding debt and to fund the buyout and recapitalization of Centennial Cellular Corp. by Blackstone Partners and Welsh, …

FORT LEE, N.J.-MobileMedia Corp. announced the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware approved its disclosure statement, allowing the company to move forward with its plan to merge with Arch Communications Group Inc. The plan contains terms of the …

Metawave Communications Corp. last week expanded its SpotLight 2000 product line to include a Code Division Multiple Access/Advanced Mobile Phone Service smart antenna system that works with Motorola Inc.’s SC 9600 base station. The SpotLight 2000 product also is compatible …

WASHINGTON-The battle over whether major local telephone companies will be allowed to merge-expected to be debated again today at the Federal Communications Commission-is tied to spectrum caps more than most people realize, said Motorola Inc.’s Michael D. Kennedy. The Practicing …

WASHINGTON-Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) late Friday blasted Federal Communications Commission Chairman Bill Kennard and his press office for staff statements to the press suggesting the agency might block pending telecom mega-mergers even if they are approved by …

BURLINGTON, Mass.-Lightbridge Inc., a provider of customer acquisition and retention solutions for the global communications industry, said it opened a new call center at its Broomfield, Colo., office. The Colorado facility extends the time-zone coverage and capacity for offering service. …

Convergys extends pacts with carriers CINCINNATI-Convergys Corp. said it extended its contracts with L.A. Cellular and Houston Cellular well into the next century. Convergys’ new outsourced billing and customer care contract with L.A. Cellular will run through 2007, and the …

NEW YORK-Sun Microsystems Inc., Palo Alto, Calif., released the Java 2 platform, which it said provides significant performance improvements, a flexible security model and a complete set of applications programming interfaces. “Java 2 is well-suited to a far broader range …

HOUSTON, BEDMINSTER, N.J.-Bell Atlantic Mobile and Crown Castle International Corp. announced an agreement to form a joint venture company that will own, operate and actively advance the leasing space on BAM’s existing network of wireless towers throughout the country. Additionally, …