1999

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 …

Financial analysts continued their wait-and-see attitude toward Paging Network Inc. as the company released second-quarter earnings. In contrast, Arch Communications Group Inc. completed its merger with MobileMedia Corp. in the …

SCHAUMBURG, Ill.-Motorola Inc. said it completed its transaction with Texas Pacific Group for the management buyout of a business unit of Motorola’s Semiconductor Products Sector-the Semiconductor Components Group. Under terms …

KANSAS CITY, Mo.-The weighted average shares reported in Sprint PCS’ July 22 second-quarter operating results, which are used to calculate loss per share, inadvertently excluded the effect of the 24 …

WASHINGTON-The FBI, fearful that national security will be compromised unless it can overcome legal and technical obstacles in conducting global phone wiretaps, is scrutinizing mobile satellite operators. The latest wiretap …

LONDON-Following weeks of industry speculation, Deutsche Telekom on Friday won its bid to buy U.K. mobile carrier One 2 One in a deal valued at about $13.6 billion. The deal …

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.J.-Ericsson Inc. announced it formed Ericsson Wireless Internet Solutions, a new unit that will marry Ericsson’s knowledge in wireless technologies and the Internet, and offer an array …

Remember the slew of lawsuits filed by small- and medium-sized resellers several years ago? These companies argued cellular carriers were trying to squeeze them out by paying larger commissions to …

WASHINGTON-Proponents of unlicensed spectrum announced plans to organize as a subcommittee with the Wireless Communications Association. The group’s mission statement is “to promote the interests of unlicensed spectrum providers, focusing …

NEW YORK-w-Trade Technologies Inc., which developed the w-Trade wireless trading system, introduced a new product called w-Bank. Much like the way w-Trade allows brokerages to offer wireless access to their …

IRVING, Texas-GTE Corp. reported revenues for the second quarter ended June 30 of $6.29 billion, a slight increase over the $6.28 billion reported for second-quarter 1998. GTE’s net earnings also …

SCHAUMBURG, Ill.-Motorola Inc. unveiled its i500plus multiservice wireless phone. The integrated Digital Enhanced Network handset is a Wireless Application Protocol-compliant phone that features an Internet microbrowser, two-way e-mail and wireless …

France France Telecom said it signed a partnership agreement with the Sonae group in Portugal. The two already have a working relationship as stakeholders in Optimus, the third mobile operator …

One of Iridium L.L.C.’s main lenders, Chase Manhattan Bank, has asked Iridium to demand that Motorola Inc. provide a guarantee of $300 million under Iridium’s $800 million secured credit facility. …

Last time around, you’ll remember we made special note of Herculean Gore 2000 fund-raising efforts by one J. Shelby Bryan, wireless pioneer and FOB. Well, there’s more. For all his …

OYSTER BAY, N.Y.-The millimeter wave device market is expected to grow from 314,000 shipments this year to nearly 3 million shipments in 2004, according to Allied Business Intelligence’s new report …

FRANKFURT, Germany-Mannesmann’s D2 mobile carrier said sales for the first half of 1999 increased by 34 percent to $2.47 million compared with the same period the previous year. Mannesmann saw …

NEW YORK-Metromedia International Group Inc. said it received notification from China Unicom stating a department of the Chinese government requested termination of one of Metromedia International’s four joint telecommunications projects. …

WASHINGTON-With telephone penetration as low as 20 percent on some Indian reservations, the Federal Communications Commission last week began exploring ways to extend telecommunications services to tribal lands. The lack …

WELLINGTON, New Zealand-Telecom New Zealand announced it will adopt cdmaOne technology, but keep investing in its Time Division Multiple Access network. The company said it will continue to invest in …

Nissan Motor Co. said last week it will sell its stakes in nine Japanese cellular operators, a move that is sure to pave the way for consolidation in a wireless …

BRAMPTON, Ontario-Nortel Networks said it entered into agreements with five manufacturing services companies to outsource and/or divest certain manufacturing and repair operations. Earlier in the week, Nortel announced it is …