1999

STOCKHOLM-Ericsson Inc. announced it signed a contract with German operator Deutsche Telekom MobilNet to implement General Packet Radio Service into T-Mobil’s Global System for Mobile communications network. The technology will …

MALVERN, Pa.-Triton PCS Inc., an AT&T Wireless Services Inc. network affiliate, announced it has begun providing commercial wireless service to customers in six markets in the Southeast. The company is …

RICHARDSON, Texas-Ericsson Inc. and Tritel Communications Inc. announced they signed a $300 million agreement for Ericsson to supply Time Division Multiple Access infrastructure equipment for Tritel’s personal communications services markets …

SAN CARLOS, Calif.-The United Illuminating Co. Inc. and CellNet Data Systems Inc. announced a memorandum of understanding to provide network meter-reading services to 312,000 customers in UI’s 17-town service territory. …

WASHINGTON-Support continued to mount last week for flexible rules that would give wireless carriers options for contributing to the federal Universal Service Fund and a fair chance at replacing monopoly …

JACKSON, Miss.-Cellular South said it launched a digital wireless network in Jackson, Miss., to complement its existing wireless system serving other areas in Mississippi. Cellular South said it is leveraging …

BEIJING-Chinese officials may be close to deciding how to split up China Telecom, the government-run telecommunications company. Chinese newspapers last week reported that a plan to split the company into …

Just as paging carriers look to two-way paging as a means of differentiation into the next millennium, so do paging manufacturers. In the past, a one-way pager was pretty much …

WASHINGTON-The wireless industry is drafting legislation to shift the burden of the forbearance test in the Telecommunications Act of 1996 from the industry to the Federal Communications Commission. This legislation …

SAN DIEGO-Qualcomm Inc. today introduced the Qualcomm Thin Phone featuring an ultra-thin design with an internal battery that supports up to 10 hours of talk time and eight days of …

WASHINGTON-The first Federal Communications Commission employee to be detailed to a congressional office, Mark Rubin, will be working on issues of more interest to the mass media than the telecommunications …

SALT LAKE CITY-AT&T Corp. has established a fund for AT&T Wireless Services Inc. employee Anne Sleater, who remains in critical condition after being wounded in a random shooting at the …

ARLINGTON, Texas-FWT Inc. announced it released Chief Executive Officer Douglas A. Standley and other executives as part of significant operational and management changes in an effort to better serve customers …

LONDON-The GSM Association said it believes the number of Global System for Mobile communications subscribers worldwide for 1998 will number 135 million. “We believe that around 65 million customers signed …

NEW YORK-Home Wireless Networks, a Norcross, Ga., company in which Lucent Technologies Inc. has invested, Friday announced the commercial availability of a wireless home/office data and voice communications distribution system. …

NEW YORK-With more than 7,700 transactions valued at $1.2 trillion announced, the domestic mergers and acquisitions market for 1998 crushed by 84 percent its previous record of $650.7 billion, set …

PRINCETON, N.J.-Intek Global Corp. unveiled a new initiative to maximize resources and capital, focus on consolidation, reduce operating costs and divest non-core assets. The strategic plan is called “Intek Millennium.” …

CALGARY, Alberta, Canada-Isotel Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of DSP Communications Inc., announced it was awarded a contract to supply IS-130A/IS-135 software to Lucent Technologies Inc. Lucent will incorporate the …

NEW YORK-Using funds from a bank credit facility, Metrocall Inc., Alexandria, Va., paid $16.2 million to buy back all outstanding shares of its Series B junior preferred stock. The repurchased …

KANSAS CITY, Mo.-Sprint PCS announced it has entered an agreement with Iridium North America to be the exclusive provider of Iridium satellite voice services among cellular and personal communications services …

LONDON-Millicom International Cellular S.A. announced that in the fourth quarter of 1998, its worldwide operations added a record 212,664 net new cellular subscribers. Throughout all last year, MIC’s worldwide cellular …

NEW YORK-Significant progress has been made toward the still unrealized goal of full minority participation in the telecommunications industry, according to speakers at the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition’s recent conference, “Building Trading …

SCHAUMBURG, Ill.-Motorola Inc. said it has revised the fourth-quarter order increase for its cellular products segment to 17 percent from the 13 percent increase reported earlier in the month. The …

The Supreme Court declined to hear appeals by three Baby Bells challenging the 1996 telecom act’s requirement that local competition precede Baby Bell entry into the long-distance market. “This decision …

After the embarrassing $1 license sales in the Wireless Communication Service auction two years ago and the C-block personal communications services bankruptcies, some began to question whether spectrum still had …