September 2003

WASHINGTON-Nextel Communications Inc. and Sprint PCS are facing unprecedented billing litigation, a legal challenge Nextel brought to the attention of the Securities and Exchange Commission in a filing last month. Nextel is a defendant in seven class action billing lawsuits. …

TOKYO-NTT DoCoMo Inc. said that its FOMA network would cover 99 percent of the population in the Kanto-Koshinetsu region of Japan, which includes Tokyo, beginning Sept. 6, and its network would cover 96 percent of the Japanese population by the …

BEDMINSTER, N.J.-Verizon Wireless signed a $1 billion multi-year agreement with Nortel Networks Ltd. to expand and upgrade the carrier’s nationwide CDMA network. The agreement calls for Nortel to provide expansion and upgraded CDMA2000 1x radio base stations, switching, Nortel’s Passport …

A 10 percent increase in customer churn associated with the scheduled implementation of wireless local number portability could cost the wireless industry more than $20 billion over four years, according to a study by market strategy consultant iGillottResearch Inc. Iain …

WASHINGTON-A House panel could hold a hearing later this month on a $2.25 billion federal program that subsidizes wireline and wireless Internet connections to schools and libraries, continuing an ongoing congressional probe that some officials predict will unearth massive fraud …

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.-Wireless Internet software provider Openwave Systems Inc. announced it could further its acquisition push with a new offering of $100 million in convertible subordinated notes due 2008. The company said it has no definite acquisition or investment plans. …

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.-Two new phones from LG Electronics will feature multimedia messaging technology from Openwave Systems Inc., the companies announced. Further, Openwave said its Mobile Messaging Client software has already shipped on six devices with a total of 20 devices …

TOKYO-NTT DoCoMo Inc. said it will begin rolling over customers’ unused monthly dialing and communications allowances for up to two months beginning in November. The Japanese telecommunications giant said the “two-month carryover” plan applies to all mova and FOMA subscribers …

DUBLIN, Ireland-Telenor Mobile Interactive said it will use technology from Irish mobile applications company Xiam to offer wireless services that allow U.S. TV viewers to interact with broadcasters using their mobile phones. Telenor Mobile Interactive is the U.S. arm of …

RESTON, Va.-Nextel Communications Inc. added At Road Inc.’s @Road Pathway application to its suite of mobility service applications for field workers that At Road said would allow companies to verify routes, stops and work schedules when used with Nextel’s i58sr …

HOLTSVILLE, N.Y.-Troubles continue to mount for Symbol Technologies Inc., which offers wireless and mobile computing devices and products, as the company again delayed its annual financial filing and revealed further accounting errors. Symbol said it will not file its Annual …

Stock market guru Warren Buffett has purchased approximately $320 million worth of Nextel Communications Inc.’s bonds and preferred stock since last year through his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. holding company, according to an insurance filing. The acquisitions reportedly include $155.6 million …

Mobile-phone maker Siemens announced a unique new sliding phone it will sell through AT&T Wireless Services Inc. and Cingular Wireless L.L.C. The company said it created the phone in conjunction with its longtime design partner Designafairs, a European creative firm. …

HONG KONG-Hong Kong’s telecom regulator the Office of the Telecommunications Authority said it would waive the submission of performance bonds due in October from the four third-generation services licensees. The bonds are in respect of the sixth and seventh license …

OKLAHOMA CITY-Dobson Communications Corp. filed a registration statement late last week with the Securities and Exchange Commission covering the possible re-sale by certain shareholders of 686,201 Series F convertible preferred stock and nearly 44.2 million shares of Class A common …

SCHAUMBURG, Ill.-Motorola Inc. said holders of its liquid yield option notes due Sept. 27, 2013, can surrender the notes for purchase today through Sept. 29. According to the indenture under which the notes were issued in September 1993, each note …

WASHINGTON-WorldCom Inc., which is doing business under the name MCI, named five independent directors to its board late last month. Laurence Harris is a partner at the law firm of Patton Boggs L.L.C. Harris was an executive of Teligent Inc., …

WASHINGTON-The Rural Telecommunications Group is urging the Federal Communications Commission to give rural wireless carriers more time to comply with wireless enhanced 911 rules and to create a fourth class-Tier IV with less than 100,000 subscribers-to acknowledge the difficulties these …

BERLIN-German wireless provider T-Mobile, which is a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom AG, is reportedly pushing off the launch of UMTS services until next year due to technical issues with handsets, according to a German newspaper. DT Chairman Kai-Uwe Ricke had …

WASHINGTON-Bids for mobile-phone licenses to serve three regions of Iraq are currently being reviewed by a panel established by the Coalition Provisional Authority with a decision expected sometime this month and service to be turned on in November, said a …

PARIS-In addition to its first-half operating results released Monday, France Telecom said it will buy the remaining 13.7-percent stake in mobile subsidiary Orange that it does not already own for $7.7 billion. The move will allow France Telecom to gain …

WALTHAM, Mass.-In a move facilitating business on the slopes, British Columbia, Canada-based ski resort Whistler selected V-Link Solutions to provide Wi-Fi based wireless Internet services to more than 6,500 guest rooms, including hotels, condominiums, bed and breakfasts, lodges and private …

BOCA RATON, Fla.-BARI Holdings Irrevocable Trust said it will attempt to purchase i3 Mobile Inc. as part of its effort to develop and manufacture a new wireless device. The offer challenges ACE*COMM’s move earlier this month to purchase i3 Mobile. …

DENVER-Nextel Communications Inc.’s Chairman Morgan O’Brien stressed there may not be time to consider every possible alternative to solving the complicated 800 MHz interference issue. At a conference here last week, O’Brien compared a potential public-safety emergency to the Mount …

Whether generic or proprietary, the phrase “push to talk” may become the words of war in the wireless industry in the next few years. As it stands today, Nextel Communications Inc. has claimed it has an exclusive right to trademark …