February 1999

WASHINGTON-The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association has filed reply comments with the Federal Communications Commission arguing entities-including the Personal Communications Industry Association-that say the spectrum cap should remain in place “misrepresent the current state of competition.” The spectrum cap limits carriers …

Iridium L.L.C. announced that Kyocera Corp. has completed its handset testing process and has been approved to begin volume distribution of its single-mode satellite phones and dual-mode adapters, as well as terrestrial cellular phones. Kyocera had reported several problems with …

The Finnish government said it will be the first European country to grant third-generation mobile phone licenses by spring, and one company’s bid to use cdma2000 technology remains. Finland’s Ministry of Transport and Communications said Vodafone Group plc and a …

Utah state representative Ralph Becker said he has withdrawn his bid to ban drivers from using wireless phones. “After careful consideration, I have decided not to introduce legislation limiting the use of cellular phones while driving,” Becker told RCR. “Rather, …

CHARLOTTE, N.C.-Glenayre Technologies Inc. announced a fourth quarter net loss of $45.4 million, or 73 cents per share, compared with $37.1 million, or 61 cents per share, reported for the same quarter 1997. Net sales for the quarter fell 22 …

While the domestic wireless industry struggles to determine the demand for wireless local loop services in the United States, Frontier Cellular in May will mark the one-year anniversary of the commercial launch of its WLL system in its New York …

STOCKHOLM-Ericsson Inc. and EuroTel Bratislava said they have signed a $51 million contract to expand EuroTel’s Global System for Mobile communications system in Slovakia. Under the terms of the contract, Ericsson said it will provide base stations, base station controllers …

DENVER-Daniels & Associates said it set an all-time record during 1998 by completing 118 transactions with an aggregate value of $5.7 billion. The year marked the most mergers and acquisitions, corporate financings and financial advisory transactions Daniels has ever completed …

NEW YORK-Omnipoint Corp., parent of personal communications services provider Omnipoint Communications Inc., began a second round of serious discussions in January with potential strategic equity investors, said the corporation’s chairman and chief executive officer, Douglas G. Smith, last week. In …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission approved the $57 billion merger between AT&T Corp. and Tele-Communications Inc. As expected, TCI must divest its interest in Sprint Corp.’s personal communications services business as part of the deal. The Department of Justice already has …

CLEVELAND-Wireless reseller Cellnet of Ohio last week filed a petition with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio to delay approval of the proposed merger of AirTouch Communications Inc. and Vodafone plc. until a 1993 complaint the company filed against AirTouch …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission appears to be attempting to develop policy goals to solve the “dead zone” problem. The FCC then would leave it to the cellular industry to come up with technical solutions that meet its policy goals. “We …

CLEVELAND-Sprint PCS said it launched service in northeast Ohio. The market includes Cuyahoga, Lorain, Medina, Summit, Portage, Mahoning, Trumbull, Lake, Geauga, Wayne and Erie counties. In conjunction with the launch, Sprint PCS also said it is offering special price plans …

DALLAS-Samsung Telecommunications America Inc. announced it entered the Canadian telecommunications market through an agreement to provide Bell Mobility with the dual-mode/dual-band Code Division Multiple Access personal communications services SCH-1530 phone. “Our relationship with Bell Mobility gives us an immediate presence …

DULLES, Va.-Orbcomm Global L.P. said it signed a service-provider agreement with GTE Government Systems, a supplier of telecommunications systems to defense and civilian federal agencies. GTE intends to target Department of Defense customers with its communications products and services, which …

KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa.-InterDigital Communications Corp. said Siemens AG of Germany intends to withdraw from InterDigital’s B-CDMA Alliance. “We are obviously disappointed with Siemens decision,” said William Doyle, InterDigital president. “However, we have been informed by Siemens that its decision …

STOCKHOLM-Ericsson Inc. said its “GSM on the Net” solution for providing Internet Protocol-based wireless multimedia services will enter trials with Pacific Bell Wireless during the second quarter. During that time, the Department of Computer Science at the University of California …

ALAMEDA, Calif.-Geoworks Corp. announced Internet retailer Amazon.com Inc. has bought a minority interest in the company by investing some $5 million in Geoworks common stock, representing about 7 percent of the company’s total. Amazon.com has assumed Geoworks’ Seattle office lease …

WESTBOROUGH, Mass.-Arch Communications Group Inc. announced it must provide a supplemental disclosure statement to MobileMedia Corp.’s Class 6 general unsecured creditors, and then resolicit confirmation votes from them for the proposed merger of the two companies, by order of the …

Called one of the largest deployments of mobile computing technology to date, BellSouth Corp. introduced a new, $163 million mobile computing platform created to give its 15,000 service technicians access to customer service and network information in the field. The …

NEW YORK-The Federal Communications Commission announced it has permitted the takeover of Puerto Rico’s government-run “principal local exchange service provider by a well-financed and experienced company,” GTE Holdings L.L.C. In its decision, the FCC granted a transfer to GTE Holdings …

DENVER-The New Zealand government said it will begin auctioning spectrum within the 2 GHz frequency bands March 29. The Ministry of Commerce will auction 35 management rights and about 1,600 licenses spanning the frequency range of 1710 MHz to 2300 …

SUNNYVALE, Calif.-Conductus Inc. reported revenues for the fourth quarter, ended Dec. 31, decreased by 36 percent to $1.3 million, compared with $1.9 million of revenues reported for the same time in 1997. Revenues for the year also decreased from $9.5 …

Increasingly, for wireless regulators, striking a policy balance on issues affecting competition, consumer safety and law enforcement is a big challenge. Owing in part to converging technologies and changing markets, these issues are more complex than ever. Answers are not …

WASHINGTON-In an effort to spur the FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau to act on outstanding issues regarding the 800 MHz band, the Personal Communications Industry Association has sent a letter to WTB Chief Thomas Sugrue. The letter was sent in the …