1999

DUBLIN, Ireland-Newtel AB, the newly formed company resulting from the merger of Telia AB of Sweden and Telenor AS of Norway, has launched a hostile bid for Ireland’s Esat Telecom, offering $1.59 billion in cash. Telenor already owns 49.5 percent …

IRVING, Texas-Nokia Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jorma Ollila raised the company’s global mobile subscriber estimate to more than 450 million subscribers worldwide by the end of the year. Nokia said it expects global subscribers to reach 1 billion by …

TeleCommunications Systems Inc. launched a free wireless portal service called Data4Me, aimed directly at end users with the goal of increasing awareness of wireless e-mail services across multiple networks. The portal allows users to send and receive messages to and …

FCC Commissioner Gloria Tristani said last week that she will remain at the Federal Communications Commission rather than run for Congress. “I viewed the U.S. Congress as an opportunity to serve the people of New Mexico every day. However, the …

SpectraSite Holdings Inc. last week signed a definitive agreement to acquire property management firm Apex Site Management Inc. The stock-for-stock transaction, which is expected to close by the end of the year, is valued at $60 million. Terms of the …

Lucent Technologies Inc. and Motorola Inc., through their StarCore Joint Design Center, announced the availability of a digital signal processor core optimized for next-generation wireless systems. Founded in 1998, the StarCore Joint Design Center is a cooperative research and development …

LONDON-BT Cellnet, Britain’s second-largest mobile phone operator, teamed with Freeserve, the United Kingdom’s largest Internet service provider, to develop information services for wireless Internet access. The two companies signed a strategic agreement to collaborate on developing sports, entertainment and financial …

TORONTO-Clearnet Communications Inc. said it entered into an underwriting agreement with a syndicate led by RBC Dominion Securities Inc. for the sale of 2.5 million class A non-voting shares of the company at a price of $40 per share for …

SAN FRANCISCO-In line with the wireless data focus that has engulfed the industry throughout 1999, the four keynote speakers on the opening day of the 1999 CDMA Americas Congress represented Internet heavy-hitters. Executives from Microsoft Corp., Sun Microsystems Inc., Cisco …

HELSINKI, Finland-New World Mobility in Hong Kong said it has finished installing the Nokia General Packet Radio Service solution. New World Mobility integrated the GPRS solution into its existing Global System for Mobile communications infrastructure for testing and to prepare …

UTRECHT, The Netherlands-CMG Telecommunications and Siemens Information and Communications Networks Group said they have partnered, allowing Siemens to resell CMG’s short message service centers and support services to cellular network operators.

WASHINGTON-After two years in the job, FCC Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth does not see his role as one of reforming the Federal Communications Commission. “I don’t view my role as inventing the agency or inventing anything,” said Furchtgott-Roth on Thursday. This …

SUNNYVALE, Calif.-Adaptive Broadband Corp. said it signed a $15 million contract to provide AB-Access broadband wireless networking equipment to United Online, a Colorado-based carrier delivering high-speed wireless Internet access to businesses. Following the deployment of AB-Access, United Online will be …

WASHINGTON-On one level, the wireless campaign on Capitol Hill this year was not unlike that of Congress as a whole. In the end, when it came time for Congress to adjourn for the year, lawmakers belatedly passed a handful of …

In what is perhaps the most concrete example to date of its commitment to extend Internet services to mobile devices, America Online Inc. last week acquired Tegic Communications Inc. for an undisclosed sum. AOL said it made the purchase to …

PARIS-French cellular operator Cegetel will work with Nortel Networks to develop third-generation services based on the Universal Mobile Telecommunications Services standard, according to the equipment maker. The deal is subject to Cegetel’s success in obtaining a license for UMTS radio …

Mobile-phone dealers in Michigan are suing personal communications services provider Omnipoint Communications Services L.L.C., claiming the operator entered into bogus master dealer agreements with them. Three dealers have filed lawsuits against Omnipoint in a Michigan circuit court. The lawsuits filed …

Sprint PCS signed a seven-year master service agreement with Ericsson Inc. for Code Division Multiple Access equipment, though the nationwide carrier has not committed to buying any infrastructure from the vendor. “We have not committed to buying any equipment,” said …

BEDMINSTER, N.J.-Bell Atlantic Mobile completed its acquisition of Frontier Cellular, which previously was a joint venture of Bell Atlantic Mobile and Frontier Corp. Frontier Cellular will become Bell Atlantic Mobile’s Upstate New York region, covering the Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Binghamton …

NEW YORK-Stratos Global Corp., Toronto, has begun obtaining presale purchase agreements from customers for its new Inmarsat-M4 service, which will provide Integrated Services Digital Network communications by satellite. Stratos said M4 will fill a gap in existing Inmarsat services, whose …

Motorola Inc. found a third operator in the United States willing to deploy its proprietary integrated Digital Enhanced Network technology and more may follow. Specialized mobile radio operator Pacific Wireless Technologies Inc. announced plans to offer iDEN technology in central …

KANSAS CITY, Mo.-Sprint PCS announced new affiliation agreements and the expansion of existing affiliation agreements, which will enlarge its wireless footprint nationwide. Sprint PCS signed an agreement with Bright Personal Communications Inc. of Chillicothe, Ohio, to serve cities in Ohio, …

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.-Phone.com Inc. announced Hyundai Electronics Industries Co. Ltd. has agreed to license the UP.Browser Wireless Application Protocol compatible microbrowser for its Code Division Multiple Access phones. HEI said it initially will market its WAP CDMA phones in South …

NEW YORK-Internet retailer barnesandnoble.com launched a wireless e-commerce initiative called bn.com On the Go, which is designed to allow customers to search for and buy its products from wireless devices. The service will allow users to find Barnes & Noble …

WASHINGTON-In a ruling both beneficial and potentially devastating for industry, the Federal Communications Commission ruled wireless carriers are not exempt from all state contractual and consumer fraud laws. The Nov. 24 ruling was prompted by a 1997 petition for declaratory …