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!
Crown Castle goes public in trimmed-down IPO
NEW YORK-After dramatically reducing the size and price of its initial public offering, Crown Castle International Corp., a Houston-based wireless tower company, sold 14 million shares at $13 each Aug. 18. The company had registered June 19 with the Securities and Exchange Commission to sell an IPO of 31.25 million shares priced between $17 and $19 apiece. Crown Castle said it expected to receive about $151 million from the initial public offering, for which Lehman Brothers Inc., New York, was lead underwriter. “Proceeds … will be used for working capital and general corporate purposes, including acquisitions, investments and joint ventures and capital expenditures associated with the buildout of new infrastructure in the United Kingdom to support digital terrestrial television and the construction of new towers,” Crown Castle said. … Read more
Orange offers mobile call-forwarding
LONDON-Orange plc introduced a one-number service called Every Phone that allows Orange customers’ phone numbers to follow them with a call-forwarding system. Orange’s Talkplan customers can call 330 from their handset, or 0973 100 330 from any other phone to set up Every Phone to forward calls to the nearest and most convenient phone number. … Read more
3G spectrum auctions take shape in Europe, Japan
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. Third-generation technology will allow operators to offer high-speed data rates of 384 kilobits per second, paving the way for the introduction of sophisticated multimedia services such as Internet access and full-motion video. The Radiocommunications Authority in the United Kingdom recently disclosed it will auction four licenses for 3G services by mid-1999 and has indicated a number of companies are interested in participating in the auction and forming consortia to bid. “Many of the operators are very keen about 3G for one reason: It would help them maintain revenue-generating potential,” said Jake Saunders, an analyst with The Strategis Group in London. “Tariff prices are down. If you offer a very feature-rich service, you can justify a higher-price margin. We’ll see many operators going after this.” The United Kingdom has four mobile phone operators with 9.1 million subscribers and a penetration rate of 16 percent. Vodafone Group plc, Cellnet, Orange plc and One-2-One are expected to be strong contenders for the 2 GHz spectrum because they are running out of capacity on their networks. … Read more
Nextel forms partnership to build out smaller markets
MCLEAN, Va.-Nextel Communications Inc., along with other equity investors, announced an agreement with Nextel Partners Inc. to build and operate an integrated digital wireless communications network using frequencies licensed to Nextel. “The program allows Nextel to focus its domestic efforts in optimizing operations in larger U.S. markets and to accelerate, through the Nextel Partners organization, the buildout of mid-size and small markets and many rural areas, fulfilling Nextel’s objective of expanding our system coverage to substantially all markets in the United States,” said Dan Akerson, Nextel’s chairman and chief executive officer.A recent Prudential Securities report indicated Nextel is looking at options to limit its capital outlays. One way is through a partnership, but the company will obtain an approximate 35-percent fully diluted ownership interest in Nextel Partners. Nextel Partners will be financed and operated separately from Nextel, said Nextel. Nextel Partners plans to provide service in markets encompassing a population of about 39 million people. Buildout of key markets is expected to occur over a three-year period. … Read more
No more parachute pants for the paging industry
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. “The key figures of merit in any industry changes as it moves through various points of its life cycle,” said Ed Baker, chairman and chief executive officer of Arch Communications Group Inc. and 12-year veteran of the paging industry. “Capital markets are much more discerning, much more selective. The industry has changed … The growth rate, while still strong, has changed. There is new technology in the form of NPCS which requires more capital. The amount of capital it takes to be a major player has changed … I think Wall Street and investors want to see all the capital they invested beginning to materialize into cash flow and ultimately net income.” As a result, the industry has seen seen fundamental alterations. It has matured from a “mom and pop”-structured growth phase to a consolidating corporate culture in which positive free cash flow and profitable growth is en vogue. Carriers are building out advanced messaging networks to offer services that bring in more revenue. They are raising prices and discarding accounts that do not make a profit. They’ve reorganized their operations for better cash efficiency and are consolidating to command greater economies of scale.In the first half of this year alone, Paging Network Inc. and Arch have followed through with major restructuring efforts. … Read more
State Department quashes international satellite launches from the ocean
The U.S. State Department suspended work July 27 on an international project aimed at launching communications satellite-carrying rockets from a floating launch pad near the equator, fearing American technology secrets may have been compromised, according to The Washington Post. The Sea Launch venture, 40-percent owned by Boeing Co., uses a Zenit rocket made by Ukrainian manufacturer KB Yuzhnoye/PO Yuzmash for the first two stages and a third-stage rocket from Russian RSC-Energia, integrated with a Boeing-made payload fairing. Apparently, U.S. officials fear Boeing may have given inappropriate advice to the foreign companies by trying to help them with the difficult integration of the rocket and the third-stage device. Reuters Russian bureau reported Energia’s general manager denied receiving any technology hints from Boeing. Sea Launch intends to launch rockets from a modified oil drilling rig at a spot in the Pacific Ocean near the Equator, where the earth’s rotational spin is greater, allowing rockets to reach orbit more quickly and with less fuel. … Read more
BellSouth’s international mobile options expand
ATLANTA-BellSouth Mobility DCS is offering two new wireless products for international business travelers-Bosch’s World 718 Mobile Phone and DCS Fax Mailbox service. Bosch’s world phone operates on both 900 MHz and 1900 MHz Global System for Mobile communications frequency bands, allowing customers to travel abroad without having to rent a phone. BellSouth Mobility is offering the international phone for $390, which includes the handset and battery, an attachable belt clip, a vehicle power adapter and a universal charger with three adapter plugs for electrical outlets in Australia, the United Kingdom and across Europe. … Read more
Check out the RCR Wireless News Archives for more stories from the past.
