1999

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J.-Integrated Systems Research said its new FleetTrack automatic vehicle location system is the first to offer users automatic switching from Cellular Digital Packet Data to analog cellular service. ISR said the functionality will cut operation costs by switching …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission this week is expected to release auction and service rules that will make 30 megahertz of spectrum available for commercial use, setting aside six megahertz for private wireless use. If this happens, the Cellular Telecommunications Industry …

Following months of speculation, three Japanese telecom companies announced plans to merge into one group to compete in the country’s increasingly competitive telecom market. DDI Corp., IDO Corp. and KDD Corp. will merge to form Japan’s second-largest telecom company after …

NEW YORK-Winstar Communications Inc., New York, will receive $900 million from its sale of a 13-percent stake to a group of investors, including Microsoft Corp., the fixed wireless access carrier announced Dec. 15. Others participating in the purchase include Credit …

SAN DIEGO-Sprint PCS plans to acquire a 30.5-percent interest in Mexican wireless carrier Pegaso, said Leap Wireless International Inc., a co-founder and major shareholder in Pegaso. A memorandum of understanding between the companies calls for Sprint PCS to acquire the …

WASHINGTON-The government, not industry, needs to study the interference impact of the explosion of wireless devices occurring today, said Bob Lucky, corporate vice president of Telecordia Technologies and chairman of the FCC’s Technological Advisory Committee. “It seems to me that …

At the recent Practicing Law Institute’s Telecommunications Conference, Thomas Sugrue, chief of the FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, gave a humorous presentation describing the wireless industry. Here is how the wireless industry’s chief regulator sees the industry: 1. Why can’t we …

WebLink Wireless Inc., formerly PageMart Wireless, announced several companies have joined its Enterprise Solutions Provider Program in the last week. The most recent addition is JP Systems Inc., which said it will integrate its InfoBeam Enterprise Server messaging technology with …

MEXICO CITY-Nuevo Grupo Iusacell, S.A. de C.V., Mexico City, placed privately Dec. 9 a $350 million issue of 14.25 percent senior notes due 2006 that it will use to expand its digital network capacity and coverage. Of the net proceeds, …

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill.-Motorola Inc. said its Network Solutions Sector is pursuing several alternatives in the development of advanced emergency 911 wireless caller location functionality that meet the Federal Communications Commission’s E911 guidelines. “Our infrastructure will provide flexibility by working with …

NEW YORK-To further enable data communications, Sun Microsystems Inc. has updated its Java2 platform for the corporate enterprise and is at work on a Year 2000 release of a version to facilitate ease of making transactions over wireless devices. At …

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina-GTE Corp. and Lucent Technologies Inc. said they signed a multimillion-dollar contract for Lucent to provide a personal communications services network based on Code Division Multiple Access technology to GTE PCS S.A., GTE’s Argentine subsidiary. GTE said CDMA …

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill.-Motorola Inc. announced an agreement to cooperate on third-generation technology and research with the Ministry of Information Industry of the People’s Republic of China. Under terms of the agreement, Motorola’s Network Solutions Sector will cooperate with the Research …

NEW YORK-Newtel AB, formed by the merger of Sweden’s Telia AB and Norway’s Telenor AS, announced Dec. 7 it will not sweeten its hostile cash bid of $1.59 billion to take over Esat Telecom Group plc, Ireland’s second-largest telecommunications carrier. …

WASHINGTON-BellSouth Corp. announced last week that early next year it will begin testing high-speed wireless Internet access in Houma, La., using wireless communications service spectrum. “BellSouth realizes the importance of establishing a method of delivering high-speed Internet access to areas …

WASHINGTON-While industry this holiday season pushes family plans and makes pocket phones attractive to the younger crowd, questions linger in the scientific community about whether children are more vulnerable to possible health risks from phones than adults. “No, it (possible …

SAN DIEGO-Leap Wireless International Inc. announced it has entered into an agreement to purchase personal communications services licenses in Denver and Pittsburgh for an undisclosed amount. The agreement, if completed, will give Leap the right to add nearly 5 million …

AT&T Wireless Services Inc. affiliate Triton PCS Inc. selected Transcept Inc. to help the carrier extend its personal communications services network using Transcept’s TransCell 1900TM PCS-Over-Microwave system. Trancept’s focus is on offering equipment that helps carriers deploy and improve their …

SAN MATEO, Calif.-AvantGo Inc. unveiled the AvantGo Enterprise Publisher, a service designed to extend Web-based corporate intranet and Internet content to handheld devices. The solution consists of an AvantGo Server and a read-only version of AvantGo Client, which allows companies …

BETHESDA, Md.-SkyBridge L.P. and the Boeing Co. signed a partnership agreement under which Boeing will become the launch service provider for SkyBridge as well as becoming an equity partner in the company, the two companies announced. Boeing will launch 40 …

ALEXANDRIA, Va.-Metrocall Inc. has scheduled a special stockholder meeting for Jan. 14 to vote on increasing Metrocall common stock from 100 million to 200 million shares and increasing preferred stock shares from 1 million to 2 million.

Carriers across the United States are scratching their heads trying to figure out what the best business model is when teaming up with content providers to offer Internet access. It’s a difficult question to answer. “Each content provider has a …

SINGAPORE -Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing and L.M. Ericsson announced they jointly plan to develop advanced wireless communications technologies. The technologies, radio frequency CMOS and BiCMOS, will support a range of wireless products, including Bluetooth applications. Both technologies developed will be based …

MELBOURNE, Fla.-AirNet Communications Corp., a manufacturer of Global System for Mobile communications network infrastructure equipment, raised $192.5 million in is initial public offering Dec. 7. Salomon Smith Barney, New York, was lead manager for the IPO, which sold at $14 …

BRASILIA, Brazil-Anatel, Brazil’s telecommunications regulatory agency, was planning to hold a public hearing to discuss terms for the sale of a round of personal communications services licenses. The licenses are scheduled to be auctioned in March or April. Industry reports …