BROWSING: Towers

Weekly wireless ratings wrap-up

The following list includes ratings changes and financial information for wireless companies announced this week by investment-banking and financial-services firms.CarriersFitch Ratings placed Telephone and Data Systems Inc. and United States Cellular on Ratings Watch Negative following the announcement that TDS intends to restate its...

Global Signal’s income dives on integration of Sprint Nextel towers

SARASOTA, Fla.-Global Signal Inc., the nation's third largest tower company with around 11,000 towers, reported a third-quarter net loss of $15.4 million, or 23 cents per share. The numbers are a steep decline from the company's year-ago net income of $5.3 million, or 10...

GTP buys Mesa Towers

Global Tower Partners said it is bought Mesa Communications Group, a tower company that had about 250 towers in the Northeast, New England and Mid-Atlantic states. GTP now owns, manages and master leases some 7,200 sites, including 1,800 owned towers."The Mesa acquisition solidifies our...

New Orleans rebuilding with wireless

As the 2005 hurricane season draws to a close, it leaves behind a Gulf Coast region with a changed state of communications. First and foremost, gone are the days of landline dominance. Networks are not being re-built as they were, but as needs demand,...

xMAX demo shows distance, power benefits

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.-XG Technology said it successfully demonstrated its radio-frequency modulation and encoding platform, xMAX, by broadcasting a data stream equal to full-motion MPEG-2 video with stereo sound at a distance of 18 miles using only 50 milliwatts of power. "Similar systems require as...

xMAX demo shows distance, power benefits

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla.-xG Technology announced the successful demonstration of its radio-frequency modulation and encoding platform, xMAX, by broadcasting a data stream equal to full-motion MPEG-2 video with stereo sound at a distance of 18 miles using only 50 milliwatts of power."Similar systems require as...

American Tower rises on SpectraSite merger

BOSTON-American Tower Corp., the nation's largest tower company, posted an operating profit of $176.7 million in its rental and management segment, up 49 percent from a year ago. The company reported revenues of $264.7 million for the third quarter, up 46 percent from the...

Samsung, KT Freetel among those joining Qualcomm’s FLO Forum

FREMONT, Calif.-The FLO Forum, a four-month-old association formed to advance mobile TV technology, said nine new companies have joined its ranks.The new members are South Korea's EBS, KT Freetel, MSYS and Samsung Electronics; U.S.-based Ktech Telecom and Newport Media; Rohde & Schwarz from Germany;...

GTP scores more towers

BOCA RATON, Fla.-Global Tower Partners said it completed the acquisition of the site management division of Tower Resource Management, which adds 3,676 new rooftop sites and seven new wireless communication towers to GTP's portfolio.GTP now owns, manages and leases some 7,000 sites throughout the...

Supreme Court to weigh in on brain cancer lawsuits

WASHINGTON-The District of Columbia Superior Court judge overseeing a cellular industry motion to dismiss six brain cancer lawsuits could be swayed by a Supreme Court ruling expected today. That ruling concerns whether to review a 4th Circuit decision remanding to state courts class-action suits...

N.C. tower law may be blueprint for nation

WASHINGTON-North Carolina's potentially precedent-setting telecom tower standard has gone into effect, despite objections from the National Association of Tower Erectors to a fall-protection provision that it says is too harsh for small businesses. NATE tried to have the requirement changed by the state legislature,...

Ericsson, Nokia re-consider GSM products at 450 MHz

L.M. Ericsson and Nokia Corp. announced they might offer GSM products for the 450 MHz band. The move-albeit somewhat delayed-is an attempt to provide a GSM alternative to CDMA offerings in the 450 MHz range. Several carriers in European and Asian markets have deployed...

BellSouth expands pre-WiMAX network, signs Sprint Nextel Internet deal

ATLANTA-BellSouth Corp. expanded its pre-WiMAX network to Palatka, Fla., offering wireless broadband services starting at $30 per month. BellSouth previously launched services in Athens, Ga. "Palatka was an obvious choice for BellSouth to offer this exciting technology," said Marshall Criser, state president of BellSouth's...

People

Cable & WirelessRick Kimsey joined Cable & Wireless as the company's new chief executive officer for the Caribbean. In addition, Leonardo de Barros, the current chief operating officer for the Caribbean, will consolidate his activities into his roles as chairman of Cable & Wireless...

Ericsson, Nokia announce intent to offer GSM as 450 MHz alternative

L.M. Ericsson and Nokia Corp. announced they might offer GSM products for the 450 MHz band. The move-albeit somewhat delayed-is an attempt to provide a GSM alternative to CDMA offerings in the 450 MHz range.Several carriers in European and Asian markets have deployed CDMA...

Texas landowners sue Sprint Nextel

WASHINGTON-A Texas law firm said it filed a class-action lawsuit against Sprint Nextel Corp. on behalf of thousands of landowners in the state. The lawsuit, filed in federal district court in Kansas, claims Sprint Nextel used exclusive electricity transmission towers to erect cellular phone...

FCC ruling aims to clear antenna-siting backlog

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission ruled to clear the backlog of antenna-siting applications subject to a nationwide programmatic agreement designed to elicit dialogue among tower owners, mobile-phone carriers, Native American tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations of proposed tower construction covered by the National Historic Preservation...

FCC ruling aims to clear antenna-siting backlog

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission ruled to clear the backlog of antenna-siting applications subject to a nationwide programmatic agreement designed to elicit dialogue among tower owners, mobile-phone carriers, Native American tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations of proposed tower construction covered by the National Historic Preservation...

Weekly wireless ratings wrap-up

The following list includes ratings changes and financial information for wireless companies announced this week by investment-banking and financial-services firms.

Texas landowners sue Sprint Nextel

WASHINGTON-A Texas law firm said it filed a class-action lawsuit today against Sprint Nextel Corp. on behalf of thousands of landowners in the state. The suit, filed in federal district court in Kansas, claims Sprint Nextel used exclusive electricity transmission towers to erect cellular...

Crown Castle ponders Australian stake

Tower giant Crown Castle International Corp. said it's considering whether it should hang onto its 77.6-percent ownership in Crown Castle Australia, which is Australia's largest tower operator with 1,387 towers.CCI has asked UBS Investment Bank to act as its advisor as it reviews its...

Verizon Wireless to launch TV service on Crown Castle network, says analyst

Verizon Wireless is expected to launch a streaming television service early next year using a network being deployed by tower company Crown Castle International Corp. Verizon Wireless currently offers a streaming service through its CDMA2000 1x EV-DO powered Vcast service that provides continually updated...

M/A-Com to build $2B public-safety system for N.Y.

LOWELL, Mass.-M/A-Com, a division of Tyco International Ltd., will build a unified public-safety communications system for the State of New York in a $2 billion 20-year contract. The system, being built with General Dynamics Corp. and Alcatel Corp., will allow for 700/800 MHz integrated...

Industry: Siting process with tribes, preservationists not working

WASHINGTON-After doing an about-face and agreeing to clear a backlog of siting applications held up at the Federal Communications Commission, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said he has been unable to shape a compromise. The wireless industry increasingly has been concerned as hundreds of tower-siting...