February 1999

REDMOND, Wash.-Multiple Zones International Inc. and Wireless Dimension have signed an agreement that will allow the two companies to integrate their products and services into InfoSpace.com Inc.’s syndicated network. InfoSpace.com provides private-label content solutions to more than 1,500 Web sites, …

NEW YORK-“The only clear advantage to not planning is that disaster will come as a complete surprise,” Philip E. Lian said last week at International Business Communications’ Year 2000 Contingency Planning conference. Lian is vice president of Finpro Millennium Insurance …

SAN JOSE, Calif.-RangeStar International announced it received its second round financing, totaling $5.5 million, from GSM Capital L.P. and other leading venture capital firms, including RWI III. The financing will accelerate deployment of RangeStar’s C-Planar antenna technology and wireless device …

Wildfire Communications Inc. announced United Kingdom operator Orange plc has begun a targeted deployment of Wildfire’s network voice-activated virtual assistant. Orange said the initial deployment will involve several thousand customers who represent different age, gender and accent demographic groups, on …

CEDAR KNOLLS, N.J.-The North American GSM Alliance announced Omnipoint Communications Inc. will supply a temporary Global System for Mobile communications digital network to serve GSM customers attending the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association’s Wireless ’99 convention in New Orleans. Omnipoint has …

NEW YORK-w-Trade announced its Wireless Internet Trading System now supports both the Research In Motion Inter@ctive 950 handheld wireless device, as well as those on Palm Computing Inc.’s platform, such as the PalmPilot and the Palm III from 3Com Corp. …

Representatives from BellSouth Corp., AirTouch Communications Inc. and GTE Corp. last week met with Federal Communications Commission representatives to discuss AirCell Inc.’s petition for a waiver of the airborne cellular rule. The discussion with representatives from the Commercial Wireless Division …

SOMERSET, N.Y.-Amplidyne Inc. announced it received purchase orders totaling $5.4 million for its personal communication services single and multi-channel Code Division Multiple Access amplifiers. The orders were received from customers in the Southeast Asia market and shipment of these orders …

PORTLAND, Ore.-Metro One Telecommunications Inc. said it has begun providing its Enhanced Directory Assistance service from a new call center in Atlanta. The new call center will service carriers in Georgia and several nearby states, including Alabama and Tennessee, whose …

A new San Diego-based company has begun developing subscriber communicators for low-speed, two-way global data communications over Orbcomm’s low-earth-orbit satellite network. Quake Wireless Inc. expects to have its first commercial LEOlink product this summer. Quake got into the subscriber communicator …

INDIANAPOLIS-Prudential announced it joined forces with DicksonHughes Group L.L.C. to provide wireless real-estate services throughout the United States. As a result of the affiliation, DicksonHughes Group now will be known as Prudential DicksonHughes Commercial Services. The company will continue to …

NEW YORK-Telxon Corp., an Akron, Ohio, designer and manufacturer of wireless mobile information systems for vertical markets, announced Feb. 1 it has sued its primary competitor, Symbol Technologies Inc., for allegedly engaging in unfair business practices. Symbol, based in Holtsville, …

LOS ANGELES-Telemac Corp., a handset-based prepaid technology supplier, said it aggressively is seeking to license its Telemac Prepaid Technology to wireless handset manufacturers after signing an extended non-exclusive contract for the technology with Philips Consumer Communications. “We expect to begin …

WASHINGTON-A computer model by Western Wireless Corp. to determine the amount of subsidy each customer in a rural, high-cost or low-income area could help wireless carriers in the universal-service debate even if it is not used by the Federal Communications …

SUNNYVALE, Calif.-Japan-based Toshiba Corp. has reached an agreement to resell in Asian and other markets the wireless broadband implementation equipment of Stanford Wireless Broadband Inc., a Stanford Telecommunications Inc. subsidiary. Under the agreement, Stanford Wireless will supply Toshiba with broadband …

WASHINGTON-The bankruptcy sale of Geotek Communications Inc.’s 900 MHz specialized mobile radio licenses continued to be embroiled in uncertainty last week as company officials and creditors struggled over whether to roll the dice with a higher-albeit uncertain-bulk bid rather than …

SAN MATEO, Calif.-AvantGo Inc. announced it has formed an agreement with InfoSpace.com to optimize Web-based news content on business, entertainment, finance and sports for handheld computers. InfoSpace provides the Internet content under its Channels brand to AvantGo’s mobile information management …

WICHITA, Kan.-Citing a “persistent weakness in the global test equipment market,” IFR Systems Inc. announced results for the second quarter of fiscal 1999, which ended Dec. 31, of a net loss of $401,000, or 5 cents per share, compared with …

IRVING, Texas-GTE Corp. reported its net income for the fourth quarter increased 21 percent to $855 million, or 88 cents per share. Net income for the year totaled $2.17 million, or $2.24 per share, compared with net income of $2.8 …

NEW YORK-GTE Network Services, Irving, Texas, rolled out a program last month to move wireless directory assistance off the shoulder of the road and into the fast lane of the telecommunications revolution. GTE’s Wireless Directory Assistance is intended to take …

ALAMEDA, Calif.-Geoworks Corp. announced a net loss of $3.4 million, or 22 cents per share, for the the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with a net loss of $2.5 million, or 16 cents per share, reported for the corresponding previous …

Despite a five-week service launch delay and continued handset production problems, Iridium L.L.C. finished the fourth quarter with results that beat analysts expectations. The quarter, ended Dec. 31, marked the long-awaited launch of the company’s 66 low-earth orbit satellite global …

MOUNT PROSPECT, Ill.-Illinois Superconductor Corp. said it became an approved vendor for a large cellular system manufacturer, which it declined to name. As an approved vendor, Illinois Superconductor can provide its product directly from the original equipment manufacturer to cellular …

BellSouth Cellular Corp. announced it will invest in designing software-defined radio technology, a move that could give momentum to the rest of the wireless industry to change the way handsets are produced. The idea of developing a wireless handset that …

Ball Wireless Communications Products introduced two new antenna products based on its AirBASE air dielectric technology. The DualBASE dual-band base station antenna allows wireless carriers to use one antenna to provide service in two frequency bands, which could ease zoning …