1999

LAKE CHARLES, La.-US Unwired, a Sprint PCS affiliate, said it secured more than $380 million in financing, which will be used to expand the company’s existing personal communications services network in Louisiana and Texas, into Arkansas, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida …

L.M. Ericsson wants to renegotiate the price it paid for Qualcomm Inc.’s infrastructure division, Qualcomm revealed in a recent Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Qualcomm and Ericsson declined to comment on what terms Ericsson wants to renegotiate, but both companies …

WASHINGTON-In the continuing saga that is the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, telecom and privacy groups have appealed the technical standards the Federal Communications Commission set out in August claiming the rules are “contrary to law.” The Cellular Telecommunications …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission will establish a year 2000 “war room” that will be manned from Dec. 30 through the first part of January, depending on what happens when the year, century and millennium switches from 1900 to 2000, the …

FORT LEE, N.J.-TSR Wireless announced several changes to its senior management staff. The company promoted Mitchell Sacks, former president and chief financial officer, to president and chief executive officer. Frank Lynch, former executive vice president of sales and marketing, now …

Research In Motion Ltd. announced Dell Computer Corp. will begin reselling its BlackBerry wireless e-mail solution at the end of the month. BlackBerry allows users to remotely send and receive e-mail from the Inter@ctive Pager wireless device. Dell integrates and …

VIENNA, Austria-The first mobile data transfer trials over General Packet Radio Service in Austria have been completed by Motorola Inc.’s Network Solutions Sector and Mobilkom, Austria’s largest mobile communications network operator, Motorola said. “The introduction of GPRS will allow mobile …

DENVER-Newly formed UltraRF, the former semiconductor division of Spectrian Corp., announced a new amplifier integration technology, in addition to details of its focus as an autonomous business unit. UltraRF produces laterally diffused metal oxide silicon and bipolar transistors. The company …

Speculation continues that AT&T Corp. will unveil plans to issue a separate tracking stock to trace its wireless business, which has grown significantly since the carrier introduced its successful Digital One Rate plan. The tracking stock, according to published reports, …

The Canadian wireless market has seen a run-up in stock prices this year as tremendous growth and recent consolidation activity have driven increased interest in the sector. “1998 was not a bad year, but it was a little wishy-washy,” said …

Roberto Colaninno, chairman and chief executive of Telecom Italia, formally abandoned the financial restructuring plan he announced in September. The boards of Olivetti and Tecnost agreed to scrap the plan, which included the transfer of Telecom Italia’s 60-percent controlling stake …

MORRISVILLE, N.C.-Tekelec announced Alcatel has selected its General Packet Radio Services testing solution, which is based on a new next-generation diagnostics platform, MGTS i3000. GPRS technology will give Global System for Mobile communications networks high-speed packet data capability without requiring …

WASHINGTON-In a stunning turnabout, a federal appeals court in New York last week sided with the Federal Communications Commission and reversed a lower court ruling that had approved a bankruptcy judge’s decision to lower NextWave Telecom Inc.’s payment for personal …

WASHINGTON-Nextel Communications Inc. late last month quietly settled a lawsuit with Charles Dascal, an ex-Miami dispatch operator who claimed Nextel Vice Chairman Morgan O’Brien stole his idea for a nationwide wireless system when O’Brien represented him as a communications lawyer …

NEW YORK-Telecommunications companies pay insufficient attention to revenue leaks, possibly due to the misconception that these hidden losses have a minor impact on their bottom line, according to a report by the communications practice of Deloitte & Touche L.L.P., Atlanta. …

MURRAY HILL, N.J.-Lucent Technologies Inc. has taken a page from Ericsson Inc. and Cisco Systems Inc., each of which now dominate in certain areas of telecommunications infrastructure provision, said Richard A. McGinn, Lucent’s chairman and chief executive officer. “In the …

DALLAS-PageMart Wireless Inc., which will be known as WebLink Wireless beginning Dec. 1, said Vitria Technology Inc., developer of the BusinessWare eBusiness automation platform, and DMR Consulting Group have joined its enterprise solution partner program to provide business-to-business solutions over …

HOUSTON-Crown Castle International Corp. announced it is soliciting consents from the holders of its 10.63-percent senior discount notes due 2007 and its 12.75-percent senior exchangeable preferred stock due 2010 to certain amendments to the instruments governing these securities to conform …

Ah, the Thanksgiving holiday is now behind us. The official HOLIDAY season is upon us, and it’s time to start shopping, writing letters to Santa and dusting off those favorite family recipes. As such, I’m ready to offer my recipe …

NEW YORK-Nextel is a “rag dog” company that has fought against the odds of regulators, antitrust lawyers and Wall Street to win, said Morgan E. O’Brien, vice chairman of Nextel Communications Inc. O’Brien made his remarks during a keynote speech …

AT&T Wireless Services Inc.’s largest affiliate, TeleCorp PCS Inc., raised $184 million last Tuesday from its initial public offering. TeleCorp priced its IPO offering of 9.2 million shares of class A common stock at $20 per share, which includes about …

LUXEMBOURG-Millicom International Cellular S.A. released an Internet-based payment system for shopping online using Global System for Mobile communications telephones. GiSMo is a secure payment alternative to using a credit, debit or charge card, the company said. GiSMo shoppers purchase items …

LONDON-Standard & Poor’s said it lowered its long-term ratings on Mannesmann AG from A to BBB, and its short-term ratings from A-1 to A-2, following Mannesmann’s announcement that it has received acceptances in respect to 75 percent of Orange plc’s …

ALEXANDRIA, Va.-Furthering its goal of becoming a complete communications provider, Metrocall Inc. announced an alliance with Covad Communications as the first step in providing high-speed Internet services through the newly formed Metrocall.net division. Through Covad, Metrocall will provide digital line …

Lucent Technologies Inc. charged ahead during the first half of the year, recording a substantial jump in profit growth and edging ahead of Nokia Corp. as the major players’ leader in net income for the first half of the year. …