1999

In 1989, I started my career in wireless as an outside sales rep for Metro Mobile (which would later become part of Bell Atlantic Corp.) in my hometown of Columbia, S.C. Those were the heady days of thousand-dollar telephones, $3 …

A number of Internet sites have popped up in recent months offering side-by-side wireless services pricing comparison and purchasing. But some are evolving to become much more. The wireless industry soon could see a total of eight to 10 Web …

NEW YORK-The Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce is engaged in a monumental juggling act with significant implications for levies on telecommunications in general, judging by comments at its two-day hearing last week. Charged by Congress with recommending whether and how …

Joining several other third-party developers creating applications for the Wireless Application Protocol, CMG Telecommunications introduced its WAP Service Broker, a platform designed to connect wireless phone users to WAP-based content. The WSB is a platform that carriers can place in …

TOKYO-Softbank, Microsoft Corp. and Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) announced in August they will establish a joint company to provide wireless access line services. According to the announcement, the new joint company will provide the wireless service at a speed …

ATLANTA-Infowave Software Inc. said it unveiled the final version of Infowave for the Net, a client/server solution designed to provide secure wireless access to the Internet or intranets. The company said it will market the product jointly with its wireless …

International joint ventures formed by manufacturing concerns, and the failure rates of these companies, have been well-documented over the years. The pioneering efforts of telecommunications service providers from developed countries, which have formed joint ventures to provide both goods and …

OREM, Utah-Q Comm International Inc., a regional telecommunications provider specializing in prepaid cards and wireless phone services, announced it signed an agreement with Page Tel Cellular to market its prepaid wireless phone services to customers throughout Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and …

SEATTLE-Point.com, an online retailer of wireless phones, service plans and accessories, announced two separate agreements allowing users of ZDNet, The New York Times on the Web and New York Today to compare and buy wireless products and services over the …

SCHAUMBURG, Ill.-Motorola Inc. has appointed Fred Kuznik president of Motorola’s operations in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Kuznik returns to the region after six years in the United States, where he served as President of Motorola’s Personal Communications Sector. …

The U.S. cellular adoption level is fast approaching 30 percent-not bad. However, it’s also a long way from the penetration rates we see in Europe, particularly in the benchmark countries of Scandinavia. Will the United States match Finland with a …

NEW ORLEANS-A 2000 Porsche Boxster will be raffled at PCS ’99 in New Orleans on Wednesday, with all proceeds benefiting Personal Communications Industry Association Foundation programs Wireless Partnership for Donor Awareness, LifePage, Wireless Partnership for Education and Wireless Awards for …

Cupertino, Calif.-based chip manufacturer DSP Communications Inc. today plans to introduce two new products for current and future Code Division Multiple Access handsets. Immediately available is DSPC’s new CDMA Manufacturers Development Kit for wireless handsets, which will enable handset manufacturers …

Three quarters of the way into 1999, we are inundated with good news from many of the wireless carriers showing record numbers of new customers added to their networks. These numbers are impressive and, in spite of local resistance to …

NEW YORK-The Financial Accounting Standards Board, Norwalk, Conn., recently issued a proposal for public comment that would eliminate accounting for mergers as pooling of interests, which are the sum of the book value of their assets. By dollar volume of …

MCLEAN, Va.-LCC International Inc. said it made a minority investment in Italtel Sistemi SpA, obtaining access to 2,300 telecom professionals and improving its position to capture a sizable percentage of the Italian wireless services market. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, …

This analysis explains why initial terminal forecasts for 1999 averaged 55 million units below what will likely be 260 million terminals shipped. It reveals that between 1996 and 1998 the world terminal replacement rate increased from 19.7 percent to 32 …

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.-CellMania.com entered into a partnership with ShopNow.com Inc. under which ShopNow.com’s customers will have access to CellMania’s wireless shopping site. ShopNow.com also will offer CellMania.com users membership in the MyShopNow.com program-a collection of personalized, pre-stocked storefronts that offer …

WASHINGTON-The saga of the NextWave Telecom Inc. bankruptcy, like a hurricane in the ocean, kept churning last week as a variety of activities here and in New York had players of all sizes scrambling to keep up. On the business …

ARLINGTON, Va.-The Telecommunications Industry Association announced an initiative to develop wireless Internet Protocol standards under the guidelines of the American National Standards Institute’s open standards process. The initiative supports TIA’s ongoing efforts to develop standards for wireless Internet and emerging …

HELSINKI-Nokia Corp. and Nokiterra Oy merged, giving Nokia approximately 64.3 million of its shares, corresponding to approximately 5.3 percent of the total share capital and voting rights of Nokia, said the company. The merger does not affect Nokia Corp.’s key …

ARLINGTON, Va.-The Telecommunications Industry Association published a new interim standard, “Cellular Radiotelecommunications Intersystem Operations-Over-the-Air-Service Provisioning and Parameter Administration.” The document presents Stage-1 recommendations for OTASP subscriber and OTAPA network feature descriptions. It also provides intersystem operation recommendations for supporting OTASP …

DULLES, Va.-Navigation Solutions L.L.C., a joint venture formed earlier this year by Orbital Sciences Corp. and The Hertz Corp., said it will begin installing 50,000 satellite-based navigation systems in Hertz rental cars. The NeverLost service will be deployed in both …

STOCKHOLM, Sweden-L.M. Ericsson said it signed two contracts, valued at more than $55 million, with Advanced Info Service Public Co. Ltd. in Thailand for the expansion of its Global System for Mobile communications network. When fully implemented in the first …

TIVERTON, R.I.-S.V. Designs Inc., which provides wireless phone companies aesthetic concealment solutions for their antennas and cables, announced it expanded its service area from New England to now include the mid-Atlantic region, North Carolina and South Carolina.