Iridium L.L.C. announced that Kyocera Corp. has completed its handset testing process and has
been approved to begin volume distribution of its single-mode satellite phones and dual-mode adapters, as well as
terrestrial cellular phones. Kyocera had reported several problems with the testing process, causing many delays in
product availability. In some regions, such as Japan, the delays have caused long waiting lists for both the handsets and
Iridium service.
Nokia Corp. announced it signed an agreement to acquire InTalk Corp., a privately-owned
company which focuses on the development of wireless local area network access point products.
Pinnacle
Holdings Inc., Sarasota, Fla., went public Feb. 19, offering 20 million shares of common stock priced at $14 each, for
which ST Alex. Brown Inc., New York, was lead underwriter. Pinnacle provides wireless communications rental tower
space in the southeastern United States. Its customers include Sprint Corp., Motorola Inc., SkyTel Communications
Inc. and the FBI. The company owns about 650 towers, most acquired from other companies, and has agreements to
purchase an additional 200. All shares sold in the initial public offering belonged to Pinnacle itself, rather than to
insiders. The company plans to use proceeds of the offering for redemption of outstanding preferred stock, repayment
of debt and financing of continuing acquisitions.
CellStar Corp. announced it signed a two-year agreement,
extendible until 2003, to be the primary distributor of custom-packaged retail accessories for SBC Wireless Inc., a
subsidiary of SBC Communications Inc. SBC Wireless now has about 6.9 million customers in the United States. Its
distribution agreement with CellStar covers all original equipment manufacturer and aftermarket accessory lines that
the wireless carrier sells, said CellStar.
