1999

Nuevo Grupo Iusacell S.A. de C.V. seems to be making moves to establish a nationwide wireless presence in Mexico. Bell Atlantic Global Wireless Inc. confirmed it is in discussions regarding a combination or alliance that would involve Iusacell, in which …

Since Aether Systems Inc. and 3Com Corp. formed OpenSky Inc. in June, the joint venture has generated considerable interest and support from industry players. At last week’s PalmSource ’99 conference in Santa Clara, Calif., the company added several new key …

ABC’s 20/20 segment, which was supposed to make me change the way I use my cell phone, instead made me more suspicious about TV journalism. The only person in the 30-minute segment who actually was credible and who appeared credible …

OSLO, Norway-Telenor Satellite Services AS launched Inmarsat M4 service, a new global area network for multimedia applications that will improve the data transfer capabilities and the mobility of remote communication, said the company. The Inmarsat M4 will allow users to …

WASHINGTON-In some respects, the Main Event was a non-event. Wireless stocks did not go into free fall. Major dailies did not go wild with follow-up stories on ABC’s “20/20” broadcast on mobile-phone health concerns last Wednesday evening. Congress did not …

Wireless Internet start-up firm OpenGrid Inc. found itself in the wireless spotlight last week when industry titans Motorola Inc. and Philippe Kahn-chief executive officer of Motorola’s Starfish Software subsidiary-invested in the company. Additionally, the charismatic Kahn was named OpenGrid’s chairman. …

BETHESDA, Md.-Omnipoint Corp. has signed agreements to acquire East/West Communications Inc. EWCM holds five licenses covering about 22.2 million pops in Los Angeles; Washington, D.C.; Sarasota, Fla.; Reno, Nev.; and Santa Barbara, Calif. Omnipoint said it invested $3 million into …

In an attempt to position paging devices and services as Internet appliances, as opposed to telephone appliances, PageMart Wireless Inc. said it will change its name to WebLink Wireless Inc., effective Dec. 1, and also introduced a new line of …

CARROLLTON, Texas-CellStar Corp. and Telecommunications par Satellite Mobiles SAS signed an agreement under which CellStar will distribute Globalstar terminals in most of TE.S.A.M.’s South American territories, said the companies. CellStar also said it will provide valued-added services such as acquisition, …

There was a time, not so long ago, when reasonably priced voice service with decent coverage delighted most wireless subscribers. But subscribers soon were demanding the same features-like voice mail, caller ID and three-way calling-offered on wireline phones. These features, …

WASHINGTON-Sens. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) and Byron Dorgan (N.D.), backed by industry and cities, last week introduced legislation to simplify taxation of wireless carriers by local and state authorities. Instead of having wireless calls taxed by multiple jurisdictions, the Mobile Telecommunications …

United Kingdom British Telecommunications plc announced it licensed PocketScience Inc.’s PocketMail mobile e-mail service via a revenue sharing agreement that allows BT’s Internet and Multimedia Services Division to exclusively license and market PocketMail in the United Kingdom. PocketMail is a …

Nextel Communications Inc. announced customer additions of 458,000 in the third quarter, ending the three-month period with 4.05 million customers. “The third quarter was our best ever, with both domestic and international operations setting new records and reaching new milestones,” …

BOYNTON BEACH, Fla.-Motorola Inc. introduced what it called a significant upgrade to its ReFLEX technology for two-way paging. “With this upgrade, we are adding additional flexibility to help reduce deployment costs and open the door for new applications on existing …

In two different venues, two totally different approaches to antenna siting were on display in the nation’s capital last week. In the power corridors of Congress, the House and Senate-hounded by warring lobbyists-deliberated over a controversial appropriations provision to foster …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission, which has been asked to declare whether federal law pre-empts state courts from awarding monetary damages against wireless carriers in consumer fraud cases, may have tipped its hand on how the matter might be decided. In …

BellSouth Corp. last week announced plans to restructure the company to better position itself to provide bundled services. The move comes just weeks after BellSouth failed in a bid to acquire Sprint Corp., which agreed instead to merge with MCI …

LUXEMBOURG-Millicom International Cellular S.A. said its worldwide operations added 174,627 new cellular subscribers in the third quarter, bringing its world total to 1.92 million as of Sept. 30. This represents a 64-percent increase from its Sept. 30, 1998, total of …

LOS GATOS, Calif.-Metricom Inc. announced it entered into a technology license agreement with Novatel Wireless under which Novatel will sell wireless modems based on Metricom’s Ricochet technology to portable computer users. Novatel is the first to license the Ricochet technology …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission last week largely affirmed auction-driven 800 MHz specialized mobile radio licensing rules, but made several modifications that drew applause from industry. “Our primary issue was reducing channel blocks, and that’s good for small business,” said Jill …

GENEVA-Nortel Networks and Telia Mobile announced a cooperative development effort to enable subscriber-managed services that can span multiple, dissimilar networks, including traditional wireless and wireline networks, as well as cable, satellite and all types of multimedia Internet Protocol networks. The …

WASHINGTON-The Network Reliability and Interoperability Council is recommending that wireless carriers voluntarily report when a mobile telephone switching office fails, preventing transmission of new calls for 30 minutes or more. Making the reporting requirement voluntary is a win for the …

Nordic Mobile Telephone 450 MHz operators can choose to deploy Global System for Mobile communications or Code Division Multiple Access technology as the NMT MOU voted to give NMT 450 operators a choice in migrating to digital technology. Terrestrial trunked …

At precisely what moment did Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association President Tom Wheeler realize he’d created a monster? Was it after the first lawsuit? The second? The third? Or did it finally hit home this past summer when Dr. George Carlo …

LUBBOCK, Texas-Sprint PCS launched services in Albuquerque, N.M., and offered new customers in the area a special promotion that includes 500 anytime minutes for $50 per month until next year. Sprint PCS also recently launched service in Las Cruces, N.M., …