Canada
Fuzion Wireless Communications said it launched its fixed wireless broadband services network in Ontario, Canada. Serving businesses in Toronto and other locations, Fuzion said it will deliver Internet connectivity at speeds from 500 kilobits per second to 45 Megabits per second.
United States
Verizon Communications and the remaining striking union members from the Communications Workers of America (CWA) agreed to a contract on 23 August, ending a more than two-week strike. CWA and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) walked off the job on 6 August for a variety of reasons, including easier organization of Verizon Wireless.
Maryland doctor Chris Newman, 41, filed a US$800 million lawsuit in Baltimore City Circuit Court, claiming his wireless phone caused a malignant tumor behind his right ear. The tumor was discovered in March 1998. The lawsuit was filed against Motorola, Verizon Communications, Bell Atlantic, Bell Atlantic Mobile, Southwestern Bell Mobile Systems, Washington/Baltimore Cellular, SBC Communications, the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association and the Telecommunications Industry Association. Newman is seeking US$100 million in compensatory damages and US$700 million in punitive damages.
PageNet voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on 24 July, consenting to the 14 July petition for involuntary bankruptcy filed by bondholders. PageNet said it hopes the bankruptcy status will speed its merger with Arch Communications Group. Page-Net’s board of directors said a competing bid from Metrocall is not superior to the Arch deal, and the company will not discuss the proposal further with Metrocall. In addition, PageNet said it has US$50 million in debtor-in-possession financing, which will finance the company through its emergence from Chapter 11. Neither PageNet’s VAST business unit nor its Canadian subsidiary have filed for Chapter 11.
The U.S. Justice Department will require SBC Communications and BellSouth to divest wireless licenses in 16 markets as an antitrust condition for their merger.
will create the second-largest mobile-phone company in the nation. BellSouth said the new company will serve more than 18 million customers and 175 million potential customers in 34 states, the District of Columbia and two U.S. territories.
