1999

EMERYVILLE, Calif.-U.S. Wireless Data Inc. and Paymentech announced they entered a two-year transaction processing agreement under which Paymentech will offer wireless credit-card authorization services using USWD’s Wireless Express Payment Service.

I love August. Things slow down. Congress is in “recess”-one of my favorite activities. And PrimeCo comes out with its “Flash From the Wireless Front: Fun Facts About Wireless Users.” …

PITTSBURGH-Schlumberger Resource Management Services Inc. won a contract to supply an advanced meter reading solution to the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority. The product will provide fixed-network automated meter reading …

JACKSON, Miss.-SkyTel Communications Inc. introduced a unified messaging service, called SkyTel Message Center, which notifies users on their two-way pagers when they receive voice mail, e-mail or faxes at their …

KANSAS CITY, Mo.-Sprint Corp. last week announced it created a new organization that will be responsible for building a broadband fixed wireless network in markets where Sprint has acquired licenses. …

The economy is rolling along, wireless subscriber additions are climbing and merger and acquisition activity is heating up. This is good news for the personal communications services industry, which last …

WASHINGTON-Whether the spectrum cap should stay or go-one issue that distinguishes incumbent cellular operators and upstart personal communications services operators-“will hopefully” be decided by the Federal Communications Commission at its …

Sprint PCS’s awaited introduction of nationwide commercial Internet-access services will begin in late September, announced the company. Targeting business users and a wide range of consumer customers that are heavy …

NEW YORK-Sun Microsystems Inc. and Frontier Communications, a unit of Frontier Corp., announced they have joined forces to provide “sophisticated, outsourced [Internet Protocol] messaging software for carrier class, hosted e-mail …

NEW YORK-In a war of words following delivery of a judicial verdict, both sides claimed victory last week after the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ruled …

NEW YORK-Citigroup and Sonera Ltd. announced last week they are taking an undisclosed ownership stake in 724 Solutions, a Canadian software company that is hardly a household name but could …

CAMBRIDGE, England-Element 14, a U.K. developer of digital signal processor chips, said it has raised $13 million in first-round financing led by Atlas Venture. “Element 14’s management has brought together …

WASHINGTON-One of the core goals of the Federal Communications Commission in the 21st century is to effectively manage radio-frequency spectrum, the FCC said last week in a draft strategic report …

News that Nextel Communications Inc. received government approval to pursue 95 personal communications services licenses held by bankrupt designated entity NextWave Telecom Inc. dumbfounded and angered several large carriers last …

SAN DIEGO-Qualcomm Inc. announced its participation in high-speed packet data trials on Korea Telecom Freetel’s Interim Standard-95B Code Division Multiple Access technology network. Qualcomm’s MSM3000-based CDMA handsets will transfer data …

WETHERSFIELD, Conn.-Shared Technologies Cellular Inc. announced its shares began trading Aug. 10 on the Nasdaq National Market. The company’s shares previously traded on the Nasdaq SmallCap Market. STC said its …

HELSINKI-Finnish telecommunications operator Sonera posted profits before taxes and extraordinary items of $238.9 million (EUR224 million), a 19-percent increase over the same period in 1998. Its earnings per share were …

Spotcast Communications Inc., Silver Spring, Md., is billing itself as the world’s first provider of localized, advertisement-sponsored mobile communications. The company recently completed a beta test with its first carrier …

MEXICO CITY-Telefonos de Mexico reported significant subscriber gains in its second-quarter earnings results. The company said the subscriber base for cellular subsidiary Telcel had increased to 3.25 million, up 113.3 …

STOCKHOLM-Ericsson Inc. said Turkish telecommunications operator Turkcell signed an agreement for Ericsson’s WISE high-speed Internet solution, a five-component system designed to provide fast connections from a Global System for Mobile …

The U.K. government is determined to keep its third-generation licensing time frame despite a ruling from a London High Court judge, who said the government could not force existing wireless …

LONDON-Virgin Group and Britain’s One2One reportedly have confirmed plans to form a joint venture to sell Virgin-branded cellular phones, according to a Reuters report. The companies said the 50/50 venture …

SAN DIEGO-Wireless Knowledge L.L.C. and Razorfish Inc. have joined joined the Wireless Application Protocol Forum. Wireless Knowledge said it also intends to support all existing and future computing and Internet-based …

ATLANTA-Alltel Corp. said it implemented its electronic bill presentment and payment application with Frontier Cellular of Rochester, N.Y. The system allows Frontier Cellular customers to view and analyze their wireless …