The term "consolidation" is now applied continually to the wireless telecoms industry. Yet it seems inadequate to describe a situation in which European telecom companies are disappearing at a rate of up to three a week.The dynamics are clear. Europe's former state-owned PTTs and...
In two different venues, two totally different approaches to antenna siting were on display in the nation's capital last week. In the power corridors of Congress, the House and Senate-hounded by warring lobbyists-deliberated over a controversial appropriations provision to foster antenna siting in Rock...
Following is a summary of the finalists for the tower industry Excellence in Business Awards sponsored by RCR and Shorecliff Communications Inc. Winners will be announced at the 1999 Tower Summit & Trade Show Nov. 8 in Las Vegas.Most Innovative Collocation Solution Crown Castle...
HarrisHarris Corp. previewed its ClearBurst 2.5/3.4/10.5 GHz point-to-multipoint system, the newest addition to the Harris broadband wireless access product line, which is intended for deployment by public service providers as well as private network operators. The ClearBurst product offers a solution for delivering Time...
American Tower Corp., Boston, completed a private placement of $584 million in debt securities, which it will use primarily for acquisitions and construction, the company said Oct. 8.The deal comprised $300 million in 10-year notes, sold at face value and paying an interest rate...
COLUMBUS, Ohio-Divine Tower International Corp. said it selected Lucent Technologies Inc. to provide approximately $100 million of wireless infrastructure equipment in the first year of a three-year contract.Under terms of the contract, Lucent will supply Code Division Multiple Access, Time Division Multiple Access, Global...
Got a scandal? You a friend of Gore? Who ya gonna call? Stan Brand, of course. Stan the Man is the go-to guy for Dems in decline. Brand helped Tennessee developer Franklin Haney escape unscathed from the FCC-Portals probe. Now Brand is trying to...
WASHINGTON-President Clinton last week vetoed an appropriations bill that fosters antenna siting in Rock Creek Park and on other federal property in the nation's capital, and threatened to veto a separate spending bill that funds the Federal Communications Commission.The antenna-siting provision, authored by Senate...
A photo accompanying a story about tower siting in Rock Creek Park in the Sept. 27 issue of RCR (Page 25) was an illustration and not the actual proposed tower for the park. The proposed tower would be installed using an existing structure and...
Tower company SpectraSite Communications Inc. last week began the process of shedding its in-house site acquisition and zoning capabilities.Stephen Clark, chairman and chief executive officer of the company, told RCR the company has decided to concentrate on its core strengths, which include construction, tower...
BOSTON-American Tower Corp. entered into an agreement with TV Azteca S.A. de C.V. in Mexico under which American Tower will loan up to $120 million to TV Azteca in exchange for annual net payments of approximately $13.9 million, plus the rights to all existing...
WASHINGTON-The wireless industry is on the verge of arguably its biggest victory since congressionally mandated state deregulation in 1993: liability protection.Congress is poised this fall to give wireless carriers liability protection on par with wireline carriers across the country.In California state court, carriers have nearly...
NEW ORLEANS-LGC Wireless announced its LGCell system has been selected to provide wireless access in the tallest buildings in the world-the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Petronas Twin Towers consist of two 88-story towers with a shopping mall in between them.LGC...
WASHINGTON-After last year's PCS show was largely disrupted by Hurricane Georges, Jay Kitchen, president of the Personal Communications Industry Association, said he's been assured this year's show will not be a repeat performance.The list of speakers at Personal Communications Showcase '99, set to begin...
Water and power outages more than violent wind affected wireless networks as Hurricane Floyd skirted the East Coast last week.AT&T Corp. Friday apologized to customers for wireless network outages in parts of metropolitan New York and New Jersey caused by the hurricane.The company said...
American Tower Corp. signed a $260 million agreement with AT&T Corp. to acquire approximately 1,942 microwave towers and build 1,000 new wireless communication sites for AT&T Wireless Services Inc. during the next five years.Dave Johnson, spokesman for AT&T's Network Services Division, said the microwave...
Three quarters of the way into 1999, we are inundated with good news from many of the wireless carriers showing record numbers of new customers added to their networks. These numbers are impressive and, in spite of local resistance to towers and the controversy...
WASHINGTON-With just two weeks left in the fiscal year and many appropriations bills still pending, Congress and the White House once again are on a collision course for a budget showdown that could change the dynamics of wireless provisions wrapped up in spending legislation.Entangled...
WASHINGTON-The Personal Communications Industry Association last week attempted to neutralize legislation to curb antenna siting by telling Congress that consolidation in the tower business will reduce the number of wireless facilities in communities across the country in the future.John Kelly, president of Crown Castle...
SARASOTA, Fla.-Pinnacle Holdings Inc. said it has entered agreements to acquire 552 communications sites in 20 separate transactions for a total purchase price of $50 million.The transactions include about 136 owned towers and 416 managed towers and rooftops, said the company. All of the...
AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands-Detron Group N.V. established a joint venture with Crown Castle International. Crown Castle initially will invest $10 million in the venture, and Detron's Sites & Towers affiliate will be part of the venture through a minority stake. Lehman Brothers, a global investment...
WASHINGTON-The House, over protests from local officials and environmentalists, narrowly passed legislation to enable Bell Atlantic Mobile and wireless carriers to erect towers in Rock Creek Park and on other federal property in the nation's capital.By a 208-206 vote last Thursday evening, the House...
WASHINGTON-With lawmakers back at work, the wireless industry will shift gears to push for passage of pending bills and try to position other legislation for congressional approval in 2000.Before the House and Senate recessed in August, the industry was forced to play defense against...
Portals have a hidden agenda to capture the wireless e-commerce market.Carriers had better beware.Greek mythology chronicles the fall of the once-prosperous city of Troy, misled by the promise of a gift in the form of a Trojan horse. Looking back, it seems hard to...
