1999

SEATTLE- Tegic Communications, a company that specializes in text entry solutions for wireless devices, signed a licensing agreement with NEC Corp., which allows NEC to integrate the company’s T9 Text …

WASHINGTON-A technical committee for Code Division Multiple Access technology development is working on an adjunct standard of the technology that could be used for Phase II enhanced 911. The specification …

KANSAS CITY, Mo.-Sprint PCS will offer both dual-mode and single-mode Web-capable handsets from Nokia Corp., according to a contract the two signed that could be worth up to $500 million. …

LONDON-Symbian introduced the latest version of its EPOC technology to developers and licensees with several new features and architectural advances. EPOC Release 5 features messaging, e-mail and SMS capabilities as …

ATLANTA-Two companies last week introduced mapping products designed to give carriers the ability to view the physical layout of their networks on maps and as a result improve service quality …

WASHINGTON-Noting competition abounds in the wireless industry, FCC Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth said the Federal Communications Commission should put itself out of business. “It’s competitive. There’s no better words that a …

WASHINGTON-The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association’s Wireless Foundation hosted its annual Industry Achievement Awards Dinner at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, Washington, D.C. The dinner brought together key …

WASHINGTON-The GOP-led Congress, squeezed by tight spending limits and determined not to lose another embarrassing budget battle to Democrats, is once again banking on spectrum to bail it out. And …

WASHINGTON-Outspoken Federal Communications Commission member Harold Furchtgott-Roth joined the wireless industry on June 4 in blasting the agency’s latest plan to fund discounted Internet connections for schools and libraries and …

PARIS-France Telecom Mobiles and Nortel Networks announced France’s first trial of a third-generation mobile communications network based on proposed standards for Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service. “By staging this trial in …

NEW YORK-Globalstar L.P. announced the successful launch of four low-earth-orbit satellites, bringing the total in-orbit count to 24. The June 10 launch occurred aboard a Boeing Delta II launch rocket …

BASKING RIDGE, N.J.-AT&T Wireless Services Inc. announced Group Calling, a business offer with unlimited calling among a wireless group of five to 50 subscribers and unlimited airtime to as many …

MONTE CARLO, France-Nine global wireless communications companies formed a focus group to promote an Internet protocol-based wireless system for third-generation mobile communications technology. The group, called 3G.IP, consists of AT&T …

WASHINGTON-Donald Abelson, assistant U.S. trade representative for industry and communications, was named chief of the FCC’s International Bureau effective July 1. Abelson received high praise from various members of the …

PHOENIX-Phoenix-based AG Communications Systems, a Lucent Technologies Inc. subsidiary, announced the general availability of its ROAMEO Time Division Multiple Access wireless office telephone system. The company said U.S. Cellular Corp., …

SAN DIEGO-Qualcomm Inc. announced its chairman and chief executive officer, Dr. Irwin Mark Jacobs, has been named the 1999 recipient of the Computerworld Smithsonian Program’s Ernst & Young Leadership Award …

NEW YORK-Anticipating a $2 billion market in Internet-based wireless services by 2003, Motorola Inc. and Cisco Systems Inc. announced June 7 they would buy the fixed-wireless assets of Bosch Telecom …

VIENNA, Va.-Teligent Inc. announced it launched its services in Seattle. Using its SmartWave technology, which integrates point-to-point and point-to-multipoint radio equipment with broadband wireless technology, Teligent offers small- and mid-sized …

VERNON HILLS, Ill.-Telular Corp. and Aeris Communications Inc. introduced the Telguard DataBurst, a wireless alarm signaling system manufactured by Telular that uses MicroBurst, a small packet data messaging service provided …

WASHINGTON-An International Telecommunication Union task group in Beijing last week approved a carrier-crafted plan to harmonize competing U.S. and European Code Division Multiple Access technologies for Internet-friendly third-generation mobile phones, …

Novatel Wireless Inc. introduced the Merlin Type II Cellular Digital Packet Data modem, a wireless modem that enables data and e-mail transmission, Internet connection and corporate database access to mobile …

HOUSTON-Crown Castle International Corp. said it has acquired 619 wireless communications towers from Powertel Inc. for approximately $262 million in cash. The agreement provides Powertel with a 10-year lease, with …

OVERLAND PARK, Kan.-CMT Partners Inc., the owner and operator of Cellular One Kansas/Missouri, launched Easy Connect, a directory assistance service that enables customers to access names, addresses, telephone numbers and …

BETHESDA, Md.-Comsat Corp. won a satellite services contract from the Navy, with a maximum value of $111.9 million during a five-year period, said the company. Under terms of the agreement, …

NEW YORK-The C-block auction for personal communications services radio-frequency licenses “was the only thing I presided over that was seen as a catastrophe,” Reed E. Hundt, former Federal Communications Commission …