Editor’s Note: RCR Wireless News goes all in for “Throwback Thursdays,” tapping into our archives to resuscitate the top headlines from the past. Fire up the time machine, put on those sepia-tinted shades, set the date for #TBT and enjoy the memories!
Choices, choices
Nearly half of the 20 companies holding licenses for broadband personal communications services have made firm technology decisions, but others continue the difficult task of weighing options. “It is like building 10 years of cellular all at once,” said Jack Finlayson, vice president and general manager of Motorola Inc.’s Pan American markets division. Launching a PCS system is complex. There is no equipment operating at 1.9 GHz anywhere in the United States. Equipment for 1.9 GHz is only now being manufactured. But that doesn’t pose too much of a hurdle because 800 MHz cellular equipment can be manufactured to operate at 1.9 without great difficulty, Finlayson said. One of the favored PCS technologies, Code Division Multiple Access, is just coming out of the testing stage and only now is being commercially deployed in a cellular market, such as Los Angeles. CDMA was selected this summer by PCS PrimeCo L.P., one of the three large licensees. Another large operator, Sprint Telecommunications Venture, is in final vendor negotiations for CDMA equipment. The third large operator, AT&T Wireless Services, is using Time Division Multiple Access. … Read more
Network equipment sales, ’94: $14.4 billion
The world cellular equipment market, including both switching and base station equipment, totaled $14.4 billion in 1994 with plenty of growth still ahead, according to a new study from Northern Business Information. In “World Cellular Network Equipment Markets: 1994 Edition,” NBI projected a compound average growth rate of 27.8 percent, reaching $16.2 billion by 1998. NBI said the major drivers for market growth in 1994 included the exponential growth of new cellular subscribers forcing cellular operators to upgrade their systems and increase traffic handling capacity, as well as the continued emergence of developing markets in need of wireless technology to bolster existing communications networks or build new cost-effective communications infrastructure in a short time frame. … Read more
Subscriber growth expected in APAC
NEW YORK-The Asia-Pacific cellular market is expected to hold 30 million subscribers by 1998, according to a new market research study from Northern Business Information. Cellular service market analyses and forecasts for Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand are included in NBI’s report entitled, “Asia-Pacific Cellular Markets.” The study said that 23 percent of today’s cellular subscribers worldwide come from the Asia-Pacific market and at the end of 1994 there were 10.7 million subscribers in that area. … Read more
Skytel preps for launch of two-way paging markets
True to its claim that it would launch two-way paging by mid-year, SkyTel Corp. is turning on commercial service Sept. 19 in 30 to 50 markets throughout the country. With this launch, SkyTel will be the first paging operator to commercially offer two-way paging. SkyTel is a subsidiary of Mobile Telecommunication Technologies Corp. The company plans to have its SkyTel 2-Way personal communications services available in 300 U.S. markets by year’s end. … Read more
Call someone mid-flight on an AT&T aviation phone
SEATTLE-The Aviation Communications Division of AT&T Wireless Services announced the domestic offering of new ground-to-air service on its all-digital, inflight telecommunications system. “Consumers now have the option of being reached in flight for business or personal matters,” said Randy Ottinger, vice president of marketing for the Aviation Communications Division. “This new service offers peace of mind for business travelers who can now be reached when it’s important,” he added. Passengers on commercial aircraft must register upon boarding a flight and enter a password to receive a call. The company, which operates as Claircom International in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, does not require a registration fee and the introductory per-minute fee is the same as for air-to-ground service-$2.50 for call set-up and then $2.50 per minute. … Read more
Congress tries to push PCS auction forward
WASHINGTON-Congress, in a move that has raised constitutional questions, is pushing legislation that would end entrepreneur block auction litigation and open the way for the sale of more personal communications services licenses in early December. A provision in a House Commerce Committee plan to raise $14 billion from spectrum auctions over the next seven years would ratify competitive bidding rules that became race- and gender-neutral after the Supreme Court in June curbed affirmative action. Those auction guidelines, currently the subject of various lawsuits, would become the law of the land. If enacted as part of a sweeping budget reconciliation bill, the entrepreneur block PCS auction would be required to be held by the Federal Communications Commission by Dec. 4. “I think there are serious legal issues regarding whether Congress can overrule a pending stay by a federal court of appeals,” said Keith Harrison, a lawyer for Qtel Wireless Inc. Qtel is a Michigan-based minority startup company that sued the FCC for dropping female and minority bidding credits in July. “I think there’s a separation of power issue,” said Harrison. … Read more
Industry in flux as competition increases
With the dramatic changes that are occurring in every sector of the telecommunications industry, analysts and investors on Wall Street and elsewhere are re-evaluating the industry, its sectors and its participants. Their conclusions will determine the capital available to your company. Exactly how will these individuals evaluate your industry and your company? During the last 12 to 18 months, telecommunications analysts and investors have begun to appreciate the implications of the phenomenal growth and dramatically increasing competition that characterize the industry’s future. Misconceptions that previously attributed future success to technology choices or to having an established market presence, have given way to the more rational expectation that the companies that position themselves properly and meet the challenge of competition aggressively and intelligently, will prosper. How, then, do you prepare for competition? The impending introduction of PCS has cellular operators struggling to determine how and when to react. Paging operators must determine how to compete with the growing number of digital SMR operators, wireless data companies and narrowband PCS licensees. Local and long-distance service providers alike are scrambling to develop strategies to compete with each other and with new market entrants in response to the apparent certainty of deregulation. Analysts and investors will be watching closely to see how specific companies and their competitors respond to these challenges. … Read more
Wireless and the ‘information superhighway’
WASHINGTON – The structure of the wireless telecommunications industry will be in a constant state of flux for the near future due to evolving regulatory, technological and economic changes, according to a new government report. Nevertheless, according to Congress’ Office of Technology Assessment, the role of wireless technology in the National Information Infrastructure – the network of networks also called the information superhighway – is expected to be significant but in ways not yet fully understood. The OTA study, which was requested by senior House Commerce Committee member Mike Oxley, R-Ohio, and the House Science Committee, recommends that in light of this uncertainty federal government intervention should be limited to three broad functions: Monitor the growth of the industry and competition, and identify any potential market failures or social concerns that arise. Continue to pursue policies that promote open access to all networks, including goal-setting and encouraging industry standardization efforts. Promote development of new technologies, including ensuring the availability of adequate spectrum for existing and emerging wireless technologies. … Read more
Check out the RCR Wireless News Archives for more stories from the past.
