American Cellular

Sygnet Wireless Inc. said it is exploring strategic alternatives, including the possible sale of the company, and has retained Lehman Brothers Inc. as its financial adviser. The company said the decision comes after the increasing pace of consolidation in the …

Four of the larger SMR (Specialized Mobile Radio) operators in the United States have merged to create what should be the nation’s largest 220 MHz SMR provider. The combination of Incom Communications Corp., US MobilComm, SMR Advisory Group L.C. and …

NEW YORK-Centennial Cellular Corp., New Canaan, Conn., announced the company is considering its options, including selling some or all of its assets. The company, a cellular carrier on the United States mainland and a personal communications services carrier in Puerto …

The recent merger activity involving second-tier cellular companies has touched off speculation about which companies may be next to tie the knot. Alltel Corp. and 3600 Communications Co. last week announced they will merge in a transaction valued at more …

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.-PriCellular reported revenue of $49.8 million and record net subscriber additions of 28,200, as well as a net loss of $7.6 million for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31. Annual revenue grew about 60 percent, from $112.6 million …

NEW YORK-Standard & Poor’s ratings on PriCellular Wireless Corp. remain on CreditWatch with negative implications even after the announcement that its parent company, PriCellular Corp., will be acquired by American Cellular Corp. American Cellular may fund some portion of the …

Rural cellular carrier PriCellular Corp. last week agreed to be acquired by American Cellular Corp. for approximately $1.4 billion, including about $811 million cash and $600 million in debt repayment. PriCellular shareholders are scheduled to receive $14 for each common …

Winter Olympian Elvis Stojko, the Canadian silver medalist in the men’s figure-skating event, is one of dozens of North Americans using GTE Telecommunications Services Inc.’s GlobalRoam technology in Nagano, Japan. GTE TSI last month completed two-way functionality of its GlobalRoam …

TRANSCRYPT INTERNATIONAL Transcrypt International Inc. named Craig Huffaker senior vice president of finance and chief financial officer. Huffaker’s 20 years of financial management experience include 12 years as CFO for publicly traded companies. Huffaker, a certified public accountant, most recently …

SAN FRANCISCO-AirTouch Communications Inc. reported a record-breaking fourth quarter and year ended Dec. 31 in terms of proportionate net income, revenue and customer growth. Net income for the quarter showed an increase of nearly 600 percent-from $14 million, or 3 …

The privatization of Brazil’s cellular telephone industry appears to have moved forward in recent weeks with the announcement of the sale of the country’s first B-band concession. But while one Brazilian analyst’s reaction to the announcement was: “Everything’s on track,” …

New lawsuit filed on Motorola patents Motorola Inc. last week filed a new patent infringement lawsuit against Qualcomm Inc. in San Diego federal court, claiming all of Qualcomm’s wireless phones violate Motorola patents. The infringement claims are against Qualcomm’s Code …

PriCellular group to acquire Palmer Price Communications Corp. reached an agreement to acquire Palmer Wireless Inc. for an aggregate purchase price of $880 million, including debt repayment. The agreement, which is subject to Federal Communications Commission and other regulatory approvals, …

Motorola Inc. said it has filed a motion in federal district court for the Southern District of California seeking a dismissal of an action Qualcomm Inc. initiated in San Diego. Earlier this month Motorola announced its intention to file a …

Editor’s Note: The companies listed below represent the 20 largest resellers of cellular service in the United States. Rankings are based on the total number of cellular resale subscribers reported by each company. Personal communications services was not included because …

Motorola Inc. said it intends to file a patent infringement lawsuit against Qualcomm Inc., claiming Qualcomm’s new Code Division Multiple Access “Q” phone copies the basic look and functions as well as marketing literature of Motorola’s StarTac wearable phone. Qualcomm …

Four years ago Systems/Link Corp. introduced RoamEx, which “allowed carriers with fraud problems in big cities access to what was going on,” said Diane Sammer, president of Systems/Link. Today RoamEx is rapidly becoming the ticket to global roaming. RoamEx exchanges …

NEW YORK-Russia’s largest cellular carrier, Vimpel-Communications, plans to go public with an international offering that will make it the first Russian company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Through an underwriting syndicate led by Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Securities …

The Latin American cellular and personal communications services market is projected to grow at a compound annual rate of 16 percent in the area’s major countries, reaching $39.5 billion by the year 2000, according to a new report from New …

Cellular phones seem to have pervaded the lives of Americans just like baseball, hot dogs and apple pie. The Cellular One Group said it set out several months ago to find intriguing and funny stories involving cellular phones by sponsoring …

TEMPE, Ariz.-The new subscriber growth of the North American cellular phone market will decline for the remainder of the decade, according to a report by Forward Concepts. With 13 percent of the U.S. population served by cellular in 1995, the …

Kevin Mitnick, a convicted computer hacker, recently plead guilty to charges of illegally using stolen mobile phone numbers. Federal prosecutors in North Carolina arranged the plea as part of an agreement when he was arrested last year after three years …

Western Wireless Corp. said aloha to Honolulu’s wireless communications market by offering consumers yet another way to communicate-via a personal communications services handset. The Bellevue, Wash.-based company announced it has activated its PCS 1900 network based on Global System for …

WASHINGTON-The number of bidders participating in the C-block broadband personal communications services auction who are flying by the seats of their pants is staggering. The thought of committing millions of dollars to build a network that is expected to directly …

Colombia continues to be a top performer in the Latin American cellular arena, with the highest digital growth and high overall cellular penetration. As part of its licensing process, the Colombian government mandated that cellular carriers deploy a certain amount …