1999

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 …

NEW YORK-A parallel universe of messaging service providers is coming into existence alongside Internet service providers to manage and unify the proliferation of devices and modes by which people receive communications. Increasing numbers of wireless and wireline devices are transmitting …

GENEVA-The European Telecommunications Standards Institute and the Wireless Application Protocol Forum signed a cooperation agreement designed to drive interoperability of standards for wireless mobile Internet, according to the WAP Forum. The organization said this new agreement underlines the importance of …

WASHINGTON-The Clinton administration last week urged the European Union to permit licensing of all third-generation mobile phone standards approved by the International Telecommunication Union. In addition, according to a source familiar with the contents of the U.S.-EU letter, the administration …

Nokia Corp. and Palm Computing Inc. have entered into a joint development agreement under which the two will cross-license their respective technologies to create a new category of wireless phones featuring Palm’s pen-based user input method and personal information management …

GENEVA-Hewlett-Packard Co. announced at Telecom ’99 a new company initiative focused on the mobile electronic services industry that combines products, a subscription- and transaction-based payment model, and centers for product development and testing. The company is targeting wireless carriers with …

NEW YORK-In a recent survey conducted in 10 European countries, Infratest Burke InCom, a London-based market research company, found that most people would pay up to $16 a month for unified messaging services. Infratest performed the survey on behalf of …

MIAMI-Topp Telecom Inc. said it filed a patent infringement lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Miami against Telemac Corp., U.S. Intelicom Inc. and PrePaid Solutions Inc. Topp is the owner of a U.S. patent that broadly covers automatic debit …

PARSIPPANY, N.J.-Phillips Group-InfoTech projects the U.S. in-building wireless voice market will grow at an average annual growth rate of 34 percent to reach $815 million in revenue by 2003, up from $191 million in 1998, the firm said. Two new …

WATERLOO, Ontario-Research In Motion Ltd. commenced with its public offering of 5 million common shares last Thursday in both Canada and the United States. The shares will be sold in the United States at $30.75 per share and in Canada …

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 …

American Tower Corp., Boston, completed a private placement of $584 million in debt securities, which it will use primarily for acquisitions and construction, the company said Oct. 8. The deal comprised $300 million in 10-year notes, sold at face value …

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 …

DENVER-VeloCom Inc., which recently won mirror licenses to operate competitive telecommunications networks in Brazil, said today it has acquired the Latin American assets of Argentina-based SLI Wireless S.A. and Brazil-based Taquari Participacoes S.A. in return for stock. The move gives …

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 …

GENEVA – Sonera SmartTrust and L.M. Ericsson announced a digital signature solution for secure wireless e-commerce using Wireless Application Protocol-enabled phones. Sonera SmartTrust developed wireless security solutions based on Public Key Infrastructure, digital signatures and 1024 bit RSA data encryption. …

Oracle Corp. introduced wireless Internet software called Portal-to-Go, a universal translator of sorts designed to allow wireless devices to communicate with any Internet site, intranet database or network-aware appliance. Based on Oracle’s Internet database software, Portal-to-Go is available to carriers, …

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 …

GENEVA-Finnish personal communications services carrier Sonera said it bought the business activities of ByeDesk from TeamWare Group of San Jose, Calif., for an undisclosed sum. TeamWare is a subsidiary of Fujitsu Software Corp. and operates the ByeDesk service in collaboration …

Dear Editor: I feel a need for clarification is in order regarding an unfortunate factual error appearing in your Oct. 4 issue. While the headline was correct “Associations decry AMTA auction plan,” AMTA is not seeking 10 megahertz for commercial …

WASHINGTON-The Senate on Friday passed a District of Columbia appropriations bill that includes a provision to foster antenna siting in Rock Creek Park and on other federal property in the nation’s capital. The House, following a Clinton veto, passed a …

NEW YORK-Western Wireless Corp. plans to begin offering competitive local exchange services in a few Minnesota towns by year-end now that it has become the first mobile carrier to gain eligibility for Universal Service Funds. “We will make things up …

NEW YORK-US Unwired Inc., a Sprint PCS affiliate headquartered in Lake Charles, La., plans to tap the public debt markets for $200 million in 10-year notes, Moody’s Investors Service Inc. said Oct. 12. The New York-based rating agency assigned a …

STOCKHOLM, Sweden-L.M. Ericsson announced that it and IBM Corp., Lotus, Oracle, Palm Computing Inc. and the Symbian group have formed an alliance to advance applications based on the General Packet Radio Service. The GPRS Applications Alliance strives to introduce packet …

ORLANDO, Fla.-The term convergence means different things to different people. To some, convergence means bundling and selling more than one product to a customer. To others, convergence means merging different companies together for size and scope. So how do carriers …