February 1999

NEW YORK-Intek Global Corp. announced it signed a multi-year product development and manufacturing agreement with Taiwan-based ADI Communications Corp. Intek Global said it will develop a complete line of linear modulation-based mobile radio units and systems for the 530 MHz …

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 …

CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa.-Apex Site Management Inc. announced Triton PCS Inc. hired Apex to manage the collocation marketing and management portion of its tower portfolio, which consists of approximately 200 towers throughout Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. Under the agreement, …

SWINDON, U.K.-Cellnet announced it will build a General Packet Radio Service wireless data network supplied by Motorola Inc.’s Network Solutions Sector, in a $50 million deal. The GPRS capability will give Cellnet subscribers the ability to access the Internet and …

In a move designed to further its interests in the wireless environment, Microsoft Corp. announced it has formed an agreement with British Telecommunications plc to develop a set of services to make various types of Internet-and intranet-based applications and information …

I guess there is no use longing for yesterdays when wireless trade shows were somewhat sane. Today’s conventions are full of new twists as last-minute press conferences are called to announce deals signed at 3 a.m. the previous day, and …

ARLINGTON, Va.-The Telecommunications Industry Association released figures from the U.S. Department of Commerce that state sales of telecommunications equipment rose to $78.8 billion at the close of 1998, an 11-percent increase over 1997. “Despite economic downturns abroad, the strong U.S. …

NEW ORLEANS-Following a trend of convergence between the wireless and Internet industries, Motorola Inc. and Cisco Systems Inc. last week announced the first phase of a strategic alliance to develop and deploy a framework for Internet-based wireless networks. The companies …

WASHINGTON-The Clinton administration, ratcheting up the debate with top telecom lawmakers over C-block personal communications services policy, staunchly defended a proposal to enable the Federal Communications Commission to swiftly recover licenses entangled in wireless bankruptcies. “Spectrum is a public resource, …

PROVO, Utah-Big Planet announced its national network of independent sales representatives will begin selling the BeepwearPRO pager, made jointly by Motorola Inc. and Timex, with regular and prepaid airtime made available by SkyTel Communications Inc. The prepaid package includes the …

WASHINGTON-A federal appeals court here rejected a challenge to the Federal Communications Commission’s auction of 800 MHz specialized mobile radio licenses in 1997, but struck down rules imposing tighter buildout requirements on firms that got licenses before the auction than …

WASHINGTON-In an embarrassing political blunder that lends insight into the tricky third-generation wireless debate, Sen. Chuck Robb (D-Va.) last week joined two fellow Finance Committee members in urging the Clinton administration to use renewed Super 301 trade authority to make …

WASHINGTON-The Personal Communications Industry Association continued its fight last week to keep the spectrum cap in place. The spectrum cap limits carriers to 45 megahertz in a given geographic area. In reply comments filed with the Federal Communications Commission, PCIA …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission last week unanimously granted a request from the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association to extend until Nov. 24, 2002, the deadline for implementing local number portability. Portability allows customers to keep their telephone number when switching carriers. …

WASHINGTON-Wireless E911 and privacy bills breezed through the House Commerce Committee last week, setting the stage for votes on the House floor by month’s end. The bills, passed by the House telecommunications subcommittee on Wednesday and by the full committee …

NEW ORLEANS-Spyglass Inc. released version 2.2 of its Prism platform for converting Internet content into formats that can be displayed on mobile phones. The most significant advancement of Prism 2.2 is that it conforms to existing Wireless Application Protocol standards …

Nextel Communications Inc. last week agreed to sell its portfolio of towers to independent tower company SpectraSite Communications Inc., ending months of speculation about which tower company the specialized mobile radio carrier would select for the sale. The $560 million …

NEW ORLEANS-Convergys Corp. said its information management solutions supported the acquisition of 2 million new wireless subscribers nationwide during the holiday season. The company also said its information management solutions support more than 30 percent of all cellular and personal …

MONTVALE, N.J.-Geotek Communications Inc. Friday said it plans to sell to Nextel Communications Inc. its portfolio of 191 specialized mobile radio 900 MHz licenses. The deal is valued at $150 million. Geotek declared bankruptcy last year and is selling off …

In the first product announcement resulting from its acquisition of Starfish Software Inc., Motorola Inc. introduced a personal organizer accessory designed to clip on to the back of other StarTAC phones at Wireless ’99 this week called the StarTAC Mobile …

SCHAUMBURG, Ill.-Motorola Inc.’s Commercial, Government and Industrial Solutions Sector announced it entered into a software alliance agreement with Cerulean Technology Inc. in an effort to beef up its wireless information solutions aimed at public-safety agencies. Under terms of the agreement, …

NEW ORLEANS-Nortel Networks announced its wireless Internet Protocol evolution plan at Wireless ’99 and said it aims to reduce a wireless operator’s total cost per megabit for data transmissions from 37 cents currently to 4 cents within five years. “Nortel …

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill.-PrairieComm Inc. announced Mitsubishi Wireless Communications Inc. selected PrairieComm’s Time Division Multiple Access chipset for use in MWCI’s recently announced T200 tri-mode TDMA handset. PrairieComm said its two-device TDMA chipset includes the PCI3601 digital baseband processor and the …

NEW YORK-Metromedia International Group Inc. announced that on March 15 the company will pay its regularly scheduled dividend of 91 cents per share on its 7.25-percent cumulative convertible preferred stock in cash to holders of record at the close of …