1999

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.-Alltel said it is offering free unlimited incoming calls for its Jacksonville, Fla., personal communications services customers, adding four new wireless plans that range from $46 per month for 400 minutes, to $150 per month for 2,000 minutes. “This …

NEW YORK-Wireless devices and the services they deliver in the Internet age represent an opportunity so large it is nearly unfathomable and dwarfs any second-place possibilities, according to Bill Joy, chief scientist of Sun Microsystems Inc. Nevertheless, the United States, …

Netro Corp., a California-based broadband wireless access systems provider, announced release 2.0 of its AirStar point-to-multipoint system. Release 2.0 adds two new frequency ranges-the 39-GHz range and the 10-GHz range-expanding Netro’s addressable market into the United States and Latin America. …

NEW YORK-China Telecom (Hong Kong), which provides cellular service in three Chinese provinces, plans to raise $500 million in a global bond offering, according to Standard & Poor’s Corp. The debt issue, a planned $1.65 billion stock sale and a …

The Edge Consultants, an affiliate of agency.com, released a Wireless Application Protocol browser for handheld computers running either Palm Computing or Windows CE operating systems, called WAPman. Lucent Technologies Inc. said it completed the first call on a prototype wideband …

STOCKHOLM, Sweden-The first official mobile call on the Global System for Mobile communications 400 frequency band was made during a GSM 400 conference in Budapest, Hungary, according to L.M. Ericsson. The equipment used to perform the call was Ericsson prototype …

LONDON-Cable & Wireless plc said it agreed to sell its mobile telephony interests in Japan to Vodafone AirTouch plc for $411 million in cash. Cable & Wireless sold its shareholdings in the Digital Phone Group on Sept. 22, and has …

The convergence of the Internet and wireless networks was punctuated last week as Internet heavy hitters Amazon.com Inc., America Online Inc. and Oracle Corp. made announcements extending their services further into the wireless realm. Perhaps the strongest statement made was …

NEW YORK-Ericsson Inc.’s CyberLab NY introduced a program designed to speed growth of the wireless Internet industry by providing market and technical information, development and testing tools and on-site expertise and seminars to help developers build new wireless Internet applications …

Two years after putting Western Multiplex on the selling block, Glenayre Technologies Inc. signed an agreement to sell its microwave radio business to Ripplewood Holdings L.L.C. of New York and Leeward Technology partners of California. According to the agreement, Glenayre …

PARIS-France Telecom said it reached an agreement to buy Vodafone AirTouch plc’s 17.24-percent interest in E-Plus Mobilfunk GmbH, Germany’s third-largest mobile carrier, for $1.86 billion. Vodafone was required to sell its stake in E-Plus as part of its agreement to …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission reached a tentative agreement with state regulators on what type of notification will be heard when a person calls a calling-party-pays wireless subscriber, said Kris Monteith, chief of the policy division of the FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications …

MONTREAL-Bell Canada has offered to purchase for cash up to 15.8 million of the outstanding common shares of Aliant, the largest telecommunications company in Atlantic Canada, at a price of $18.40 per share. Such an acquisition would give Bell Canada, …

NEW YORK-In a market environment Wall Street bankers view as difficult for companies wishing to go public, at least two firms serving the wireless industry have cleared that hurdle so far this month. Illuminet Holdings Inc., which calls itself the …

WASHINGTON-Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) on Friday introduced legislation to foster ownership diversity in the telecommunications industry. The bill would offer tax deferrals to firms that sell telecommunications properties to small businesses and then reinvest the proceeds …

MONTREAL-Microcell Connexions, Telesystem International Wireless and Ericsson Canada said they completed a multimedia call using Ericsson’s wideband Code Division Multiple Access solution for the North American 1900 MHz environment. Ericsson said while it already had established multimedia calls based on …

BEDMINSTER, N.J.-Bell Atlantic Mobile said its customers can pay their wireless phone bills online through the company’s Web site. The new service gives customers two options in paying their bills. Customers can choose to view their monthly bill statements via …

While carriers publicly push ahead with their third-generation technology migration plans, behind the scenes, some may be evaluating technology conversions that could be more cost effective in the long run. Sources close to AT&T Corp. say the nationwide telecommunications carrier …

A story on page 3 of the Oct. 4 RCR should have stated that the American Mobile Telecommunications Association is asking the Federal Communications Commission to earmark 2 megahertz in the 450-470 MHz band for shared, private wireless use and …

MEXICO CITY-Nortel Networks announced it signed an agreement with Sistemas Profesionales de Comunicacion S.A. de C.V., a subsidiary of Unefon, to build a high performance wireless network in Mexico. Under terms of the five-year, $480 million agreement, Nortel will supply …

LONDON-British Telecommunications plc and Microsoft Corp. announced a wireless Internet trial with about 1,000 mobile phone users in the United Kingdom and Norway. Users will be able to access Microsoft Exchange-based calendaring, address lists, Web content and online information services …

Rural cellular operators are reaping generous roaming revenues from nationwide operators. As such, larger players have become willing to pay top dollar to acquire these companies and eliminate the high roaming fees they pay to them. AT&T Corp. and rural …

WASHINGTON-A top wireless safety expert has taken umbrage at Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association President Thomas Wheeler’s call for speedier work on the development of a standard to measure mobile-phone radiation absorbed by the head. “We know that the committee has …

McLEAN, Va.-Egypt-based Misrfone Telecommunications Co. S.A.E. selected LCC International Inc. to design and deploy Misrfone’s nationwide Global System for Mobile communications network, announced LCC. Under terms of the one-year, $17 million contract, LCC will build approximately 180 wireless cell sites …

American Mobile Satellite Corp. began offering its eLink wireless e-mail service commercially last week, featuring two-way wireless extension of desktop Internet e-mail to handheld devices and personal information management functions. The solution uses AMSC’s Ardis packet data network and Research …