Editor’s Note: The RCR Wireless News Time Machine is a way to take advantage of our extensive history in covering the wireless space to fire up the DeLorean and take a trip back in time to re-visit some of the more interesting headlines from this week in history. Enjoy the ride!
PageNet premiers two-way messaging
Paging Network Inc. introduced a two-way messaging service it said will allow customers to receive and create e-mails and pages from one device. The company also said it will create customized applications for large business customers that will enable workers to access the Internet and corporate intranets from the same device. The option is consistent with the company’s intention of being a full-service content provider as well as network operator. … Read More
Payne pushes itemized billing
Saying he was responding to constituent complaints about non-itemized billing, Rep. Donald Payne (D-N.J.) recently introduced legislation requiring all commercial mobile radio service providers to itemize customer bills. This itemization is to include: the date, origination time, origination and destination numbers, length of call, charge for each call, separate listings for local and long-distance calls, additional charges for calls made outside a local service area, and any government-imposed fees and taxes. The last item also would include which government agency imposed the charges. … Read More
Japan, Europe forge ahead on 3G licenses
Though the International Telecommunication Union is months away from reaching a consensus on third-generation standards, European and Japanese governments are revealing plans to auction third-generation spectrum next year. The race is on to deploy 3G services. Some key European countries and Japan see 3G services as an opportunity to become world leaders in mobile-phone technology. The European Union has required member countries to deploy European Telecommunications Standards Institute-chosen technology by 2001. … Read More
Paging industry undergoes makeover
In the past year, paging companies have engineered a striking makeover designed to change their “look” to better meet the business style of the new millennium. Just as the parachute pants and spiked haircuts of the 1980s are out and the khaki pants and George Clooney hair styles of the 1990s are in, so have certain popular elements of yesterday’s paging industry disappeared to make room for a fresh new line. Today’s sexy company has coordinated a complex outfit of cause-and-effect layers and accessories put together with one goal in mind-money. … Read More
Handset pioneer exits phone biz
The industry’s first cellular phone manufacturer has become another casualty of the highly competitive handset business. Oki Telecom Inc. has ceased manufacturing, sales and marketing all mobile phones in the United States. Suwanee, Ga.-based Oki was a pioneer in the cellular handset industry. Involved with cellular technology since 1973, the company was the first manufacturer to receive federal type acceptance on a cellular phone in 1982. Oki supplied some of the first cellular equipment used in the Chicago service trial in 1978. In 1983, Oki’s cellular mobile phone was elected one of the “Products of the Year” by Fortune magazine. … Read More
Telefonica del Peru agrees to end telecom monopoly
The government of Peru and telecommunications company Telefonica del Peru earlier this month agreed to end the company’s monopoly on conventional telephone service, according to published reports. Telefonica del Peru provides local, long-distance, wireless, paging and cable TV services in the country. Its monopoly on local and long-distance services was scheduled to last until June. … Read More
Buyouts loom in tower industry
The vast number of players coupled with loads of savvy Wall Street money has set the stage for mass consolidation within the tower industry. The rate of acquisitions has moved quickly within the last year, and industry executives and analysts say only a handful will remain when the dust settles. “There is a fair amount of buzz out there,” said Rich Berliner, president and chief executive officer of Berliner Communications Inc., an engineering, site acquisition, project management and construction company. “Those of us out there are talking to everyone and anyone. The smart companies are looking at deals that make strategic sense for them.” … Read More
PCS carriers play with segments pricing plans
New studies indicate cellular and personal communications services operators are beginning to segment the market by means of pricing. A survey from Toronto Dominion Securities in New York indicates cellular carriers such as AT&T Wireless Services Inc. and GTE Wireless in several markets clearly have gone after high-end users, forcing PCS carriers to begin targeting low- and mid-usage customers. … Read More
FCC doubles public-safety spectrum, but overlooks some cities
The Federal Communications Commission last week issued service rules for using spectrum by local and state public-safety agencies, which included doubling the amount of spectrum available to some agencies. However, some key cities, such as Los Angeles, will not benefit from the FCC’s action because the rules protect spectrum occupied today by TV stations. … Read More
Iridium set to use August launch dates
No one at Iridium L.L.C. or Motorola Inc. has explained the cause of two satellite failures last month, but the consortium maintains the problem is unrelated to the previous five satellite losses. To date, Iridium has lost seven satellites of the 72 launched. According to Michelle Lyle, senior manager of corporate communications at Iridium, the venture had made contingencies for nine failures and the latest two will not affect the launch date. … Read More
