1999

I never fully experienced the joy of eating shrimp until I lived in Florida. Being a North Dakota girl, my shrimp choices had been limited to basket-fried, deep-fried, beer-batter fried or broiled in enough butter that it just as well …

U S West Wireless is delaying the rollout of its commercial Web-browsing service until the beginning of next year as it works to understand what its customers want from wireless Internet access. “We have the capability to do it now, …

LAS VEGAS-OmniSky Corp., formerly OpenSky Corp., introduced its first product last week at Comdex-a wireless Internet and e-mail service solution for Palm V users that integrates hardware, software and Internet access from several partner providers. OmniSky is the venture formed …

MEXICO CITY-Globalstar de Mexico S.A. de C.V. announced the Mexican Ministry for Communications and Transportation granted it a commercial license to offer satellite telephone service throughout the country, including those rural areas currently unserved by cellular or other telephone services, …

WASHINGTON-Federal Communications Commissioner Gloria Tristani is expected shortly to decide whether to run for Congress in 2000, a decision with the potential to dramatically shift the balance of power at the FCC and possibly mire the agency in gridlock all …

WASHINGTON-Sealing the historic U.S.-China trade pact last week-notwithstanding all the controversies, complexities, and stops and starts during the past 13 years-was the easy part. Translating it into major economic benefits for the U.S. wireless industry will be a much taller …

FORT LEE, N.J.-Locus Telecommunications Inc., a provider of prepaid calling card and prepaid wireless services, announced it successfully completed the testing phase of its CallPlus prepaid wireless service in Las Vegas and Seattle. CallPlus already is offered in Philadelphia, Washington-Baltimore, …

LAS VEGAS-L.M. Ericsson announced its first consumer product incorporating Bluetooth technology at Comdex/Fall ’99. The cellular phone headset connects to a mobile phone by a radio link instead of a cable. The product will be commercially available in mid-2000, said …

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.-Phone.com Inc. announced last Tuesday the public offering of 6.6 million shares of common stock at $135 per share in conjunction with a two-for-one stock split. As a result of the announcement, the price of the company’s shares …

ALEXANDRIA, Va.-The Personal Communications Industry Association’s Paging Technical Committee announced it adopted the Wireless Communication Transport Protocol for immediate implementation in North American messaging networks. “WCTP is intended to provide a clean interface between handheld wireless messaging devices and the …

DENVER-RCR announced the judges who will select the inductees to the first annual Wireless Hall of Fame, sponsored by RCR and Shorecliff Communications Inc., in conjunction with the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association and the Industrial Telecommunications Association. The event, created …

NEW YORK-Hewlett-Packard Co. received a nice surprise from the capital markets as it spun off its test and measurement division, Agilent Technologies Inc., in an initial public offering Nov. 17. Hewlett-Packard, based in Palo Alto, Calif., had registered with the …

STOCKHOLM, Sweden-L.M. Ericsson and Visa International signed an agreement last week to develop secure wireless e-commerce solutions. The partnership is designed to develop mobile e-commerce and drive open standards for payment transactions over wireless networks. The companies plan to cooperate …

WASHINGTON-Language that requires the National Park Service to issue permits to Bell Atlantic Mobile to site two towers in Rock Creek Park made its way into the federal budget. The provision also ensures that future antenna-siting applications will be completed …

MONTREAL-SR Telecom Inc. announced that it signed contracts with the Municipal Telecommunications Project Office of the Government of the Philippines and with the Saudi Telecom Co. The $150 million MTPO contract calls for engineering and supplying fixed wireless access networks …

LOS ANGELES-AT&T Wireless Services Inc. launched its wireless data network in the Los Angeles market. AT&T Wireless Internet Protocol service will provide instant, wireless access to the Internet, as well as connections to e-mail, stock quotes, corporate databases and other …

LAS VEGAS-Hewlett-Packard Co. revealed a new logo and $200 million global brand campaign to give the company a “clearer, stronger voice in the marketplace,” and reflect HP’s new emphasis on inventiveness. The new logo features the company initials without the …

Cue Corp., Irvine, Calif., has entered into an agreement with STMicroelectronics Inc. to develop an AM/FM decoder chip for Cue’s new SkySpeed.com network for mobile Internet applications for automotive and consumer products. “We expect that within a year the SkySpeed …

LONDON-Airspan Communications Corp., a wireless local loop systems and services company, completed its third round of financing bringing its total equity investment to $125 million. Three new U.S.-based investors-MeriTech Capital Partners, Weston Presidio Capital and BancBoston Ventures-are supplying the entire …

COSTA MESA, Calif.-The CDMA Development Group announced the number of cdmaOne subscribers reached 13 million in North America, with a worldwide total of 43 million at the end of September. Asia continues to lead in subscriber numbers with 25 million. …

IRVING, Texas-GTE Communications Corp. said it began offering its GTE Unlimited bundled services in markets across Texas. Basic GTE Unlimited includes 100 minutes or more of in-state and/or out-of-state long distance; local phone service; choice of two call management services, …

OWNINGS MILLS, Md.-Aether Systems Inc. unveiled a new initiative to develop and host business Internet applications using the Wireless Application Protocol, called the WAP Enterprise Center. Aether said the service will be a central part of its newly expanded network …

LAS VEGAS-L.M. Ericsson introduced the R280LX quad-mode wireless phone, which covers the 800 MHz Time Division Multiple Access, 800 MHz analog and 800 MHz packet data frequencies, and supports data speeds up to 19.2 kilobits per second for Internet access. …

HELSINKI, Finland-Nokia Corp. said it signed $150 million and $30 million contracts, respectively, with cellular operator Smart Communications Inc. and telecom company Globe Telecom, both in the Philippines, for the supply of Nokia’s General Packet Radio Service core network solution …

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-Nextel Communications Inc. is eyeing the African continent as an ideal market for iDEN, the technology it uses in the United States. So much so that a consortium, AfricaSpeaks, included iDEN, in partnership with Nextel, in its business …