September 2003

SAN FRANCISCO-Content provider Faith West Inc. announced a new service that combines ring tones and animations and said it will sell several such offerings through Verizon Wireless’ Get It Now application download service. Faith West said its new ring tone/animation …

Following in the footsteps of several other major U.S. airlines, United Airlines announced a new, relaxed cell-phone policy for its U.S. domestic arrivals. Under the new policy, customers can use cell phones onboard United aircraft after the plane has landed …

Wireless expertise is in high demand in the information technology job sector, according to Mark Stenberg, career training and management expert at Career Center, the largest computer training school in New York City. Career Center, which specializes in IT training …

Personal digital assistant pioneer Palm Inc. reported relatively solid earnings, with revenues up 3 percent compared with the same quarter a year ago, but the news didn’t seem to please investors, who sent the company’s stock down about 3 percent …

CUPERTINO, Calif.-Portal Software Inc. announced it has completed a $60 million direct offering of approximately 22.6 million shares of its common stock. The shares were sold for $2.65 each, resulting in net proceeds to the company of $56.4 million. “The …

DRACHTEN, Holland-Philips Electronics said it plans to cut 180 jobs next year owing to a challenging market atmosphere, tight competition and an unfavorable exchange rate between the euro and U.S. dollar. The company, however, hopes to turn a profit by …

NEW YORK-Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services assigned a “B-” rating to the proposed $1.6 billion senior secured credit facility of Crown Castle Operating Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of Crown Castle International Corp. S&P also affirmed its “B-” corporate credit …

SCHAUMBURG, Ill.-Motorola Inc. Chairman and CEO Christopher Galvin said Friday he would step down as head of the company founded by his grandfather. Galvin had recently been under increasing pressure from stockholders. Some especially criticized his salary, which was close …

HOLTSVILLE, N.Y.-Symbol Technologies Inc. continued operations in the eye of the storm, with an Ohio jury awarding $218 million in damages to a company suing one of Symbol’s business units. Symbol’s unit, Telxon Corp., said it would appeal the verdict. …

TOKYO-NTT DoCoMo Inc. announced the development of micro base stations for its third-generation FOMA network that are up to 1/30th the size of conventional base stations. The operator said the new base stations will allow it to expand FOMA service …

AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands-The Dutch government sold a 12-spercent stake, or about 300 million ordinary shares, in Dutch telecom company KPN NV for about $2.2 billion. The sale comes as the government announced plans to cut costs. The shares were placed …

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.-Statewide organizations are furthering the wireless industry’s knowledge of local and state issues affecting it. Most recently, the State of Alabama formed the Alabama Wireless Association to address some of these obstacles, including increasingly stringent tower-zoning laws and ordinances. …

WASHINGTON-Two key Senate lawmakers Thursday introduced legislation to repeal a tax break enjoyed by U.S. exporters-including those in the telecom and high-tech sectors-that the World Trade Organization said violate global commerce rules. The bill, cosponsored by Senate Finance Committee Chairman …

Rural telecommunications provider HickoryTech Corp. signed a definitive agreement to sell its wireless business to Western Wireless Corp. for approximately $25 million, including $12.8 million in cash and approximately 1 million HickoryTech shares currently held by Western Wireless. HickoryTech’s wireless …

LA JOLLA, Calif.-Openwave Systems Inc. announced its Phone Suite Version 7 (V7) product for mobile phones will now work over the Linux-based operating system, a move the company said is a nod toward the growing market for Linux-based phones. “Handset …

PARIS-French supplier Alcatel Corp. and South Korean mobile-phone operator SK Telecom said they will jointly develop and market mobile applications worldwide. The companies said they will focus on mobile commerce, location-based services, infotainment and gaming services. Under the terms of …

NEW YORK-Swedish company Tele2 AB said its Swedish UMTS venture, Svenska UMTS-Nat, reached an agreement with a banking consortium to downsize its loan facility from nearly $1.4 billion to $872 million. The reduction was achieved through cutting infrastructure costs by …

OKLAHOMA CITY-Dobson Communications Corp. reported that its Form S-3 registration statement was declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission, allowing certain shareholders to re-sale an aggregate of 686,201 shares of Dobson Series F convertible preferred stock and more than …

LONDON-Lucent Technologies Inc. said it has signed a three-year contract to assess and analyze the performance of European mobile operator MmO2’s GSM and GPRS networks in Germany, Ireland, the Isle of Mann and the United Kingdom. “It is important to …

MUNICH, Germany-Siemens AG announced it won a contract with Germany’s E-Plus to expand its GSM/GPRS network. The two-year contract is worth a “two-digit million euro amount,” Siemens said. Siemens will install GSM base stations and necessary components to offer GPRS …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission has entered into an agreement with the state of Michigan to use its 800 MHz public-safety communications system towers for a study on the impact of towers on birds. “This agreement promotes FCC Chairman Michael Powell’s …

WASHINGTON-The House Wednesday passed legislation permanently banning Internet access taxes and prohibiting states and localities from imposing multiple and discriminatory taxes on electronic commerce. The bill, which passed overwhelmingly on a voice vote, now moves to the Senate for consideration. …

As Hurricane Isabel bears down on the U.S. eastern seaboard, wireless carriers are confident their networks are already prepared for the worst. Unlike other recent emergencies, including Sept. 11, 2001, and the August power outage, Isabel was anticipated, giving operators …

NEW YORK-Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. held a product showcase in New York to display its advanced electronics equipment from televisions to camcorders and took the opportunity to show off two high-end new phones, including a mobile phone/miniature TV. Samsung officials …

RESTON, Va.-Nextel Communications Inc. said it will offer $1 billion worth of 7.375-percent senior serial redeemable notes due 2015 in a public offering. The company expects to use proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes.