Deutsche Telekom expects to obtain approval of its proposed purchase of VoiceStream Wireless Corp. by the first quarter of next year, according to a report in German daily newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. The deal, valued at $37 billion, still requires U.S. regulatory approval.
Lucent Technologies Inc. announced a collaboration with Clearnet Communications Inc. and several other companies for a live market trial of location-based personal mobile Internet services. The trial uses location-determination technology from Lucent to offer users content from MobileQ, Lycos and TrafficStation. Lucent said the Mobile Internet Gateway indicates when a user’s mobile device is on or off, delivers location information to standard Internet applications so content may be customized to that area and provides a firewall to secure user data within the wireless network.
AT&T Wireless Services Inc. moved out of last month’s breakup dust to offer its new prepaid wireless service for the holiday shopping season. The company said its new service removes the need to dial a toll-free number to make a call. Its off-the-shelf product and service are available for sale at Best Buy or 7-Eleven stores. AT&T said the new service offers customers a choice between two calling plans with 15-cents-per-minute service on any AT&T compatible phone, direct dialing for national and international calls, and caller ID, call waiting and voice mail features. The AT&T package in stores includes either the Free2Go Wireless plan with a Motorola Inc. phone or the Prepaid Advantage plan with a Nokia phone and $25 in airtime.
The Community Action Network awarded wireless carrier U.S. Cellular with two awards during the group’s tenth annual awards program. U.S. Cellular’s Homeless Outreach Phone Effort, a program that provides free wireless phones to homeless shelters during the Thanksgiving holiday, won the group’s first prize. The company’s Opportunity Calls program, which donates cellular voice mailboxes to homeless people who are looking for work, won second place.
