BellSouth

North American GSM operators finally are presenting a united front to the rest of the world when it comes to roaming into the United States and Canada. European and other GSM international operators, anxious to offer their customers roaming in …

WASHINGTON-The Communications Workers of America signed a contract with employees of the newly formed Cingular Wireless Inc. in Illinois, Massachusetts, New York and Maryland. “The negotiations between several CWA regions and Cingular management were very positive and a good effort. …

Only a year ago, prospects for the GSM standard in Latin America seemed dim. At that time, Chile’s Entel PCS and Venezuela’s rural operator Infonet were the only operators offering GSM-based services in Latin America, and only a handful of …

DENVER, United States-With AT&T Wireless Services’ announcement it will overlay its existing TDMA-based network with a GSM network supporting General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), the pressure is on other TDMA carriers, specifically the largest U.S.-based TDMA carrier Cingular Wireless, as …

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina-After a year of strong conflicts between newcomers and established players, the total liberalization of Argentina’s telecommunications market is finalized. Early November found 21 companies licensed to offer basic local telephony, as well as international and national long-distance …

Freedom Wireless Inc., Las Vegas, has been granted an additional patent, entitled “Security Cellular Telecommunication System,” covering 59 claims directed at methods for completing inbound and outbound prepaid wireless calls. The new patent, which the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office …

At the end of each year, the RCR Wireless News editorial staff looks back on the new events that made RCR headlines and decides which were the most significant, industry-impacting stories of the past 12 months. Here are our picks …

COSTA MESA, Calif.-The CDMA Development Group announced it gained 18 new members, including BellSouth International, Novatel Wireless and Pixo. “We are pleased with the CDG’s robust growth, which underscores CDMA wireless technology’s popularity among businesses and consumer markets,” said Perry …

NEW YORK-As part of a joint venture agreement with AT&T Wireless Services, BellSouth Corp. redeemed its 55.6 percent partnership interest in AB Cellular Holding LLC, giving AT&T ownership of the venture’s Los Angeles cellular market. BellSouth will hold the remaining …

WASHINGTON-As the Federal Communications Commission frantically prepared to re-auction 422 C- and F-block personal communications services licenses beginning tomorrow, the agency on Dec. 1 released the names of those planning to participate in the auction and those that had been …

SAN JOSE, Calif.-SnapTrack Inc., a Qualcomm Inc. subsidiary, announced a year-long test of its position-location technology is over and the results are positive. The tests of SnapTrack’s Wireless Assisted global positioning system solution, conducted by a consortium of various industry …

With AT&T Wireless Services Inc.’s announcement that it will overlay its existing TDMA-based network with a GSM network supporting GPRS, the pressure is on other TDMA carriers, specifically the largest U.S.-based TDMA carrier Cingular Wireless, as to its future technology …

NEW YORK-The major players’ rankings reflect the dynamic environment of telecommunications as some stalwarts held their ground, some newcomers joined the group, while still others showed substantial rises or falls in various categories. AT&T Wireless Group, listed this year as …

ATLANTA-BellSouth Corp.’s stock slipped Friday after the company revised its earnings forecasts for next year due to the cost of expanding its high-speed Internet business and Latin American wireless operations. The revised earnings forecast calls for 9 percent growth next …

Qualcomm Inc.’s much-battered stock received a vote of confidence last week as Lehman Brothers released an equity research report reiterating its “Buy” rating of the company’s stock, which has seen its value fall from a 52-week high of $200 per …

PARIS-SkyPoint, a Spanish telecom operator with a wireless access license in the 26 GHz band, selected Alcatel to supply its local multipoint distribution service (LMDS) equipment. The initial phase of the project is valued at US$84 million. SkyPoint’s network is …

Tri-County Communications Systems sold an unspecified number of its telecommunications towers in northern New York state to Pinnacle Holdings Inc., said David Abraham & Co., which represented the seller. Details of the transaction were not released by Tri-County or Pinnacle. …

WASHINGTON-Qwest Communications International Corp. was able to emerge from the union negotiating table without agreeing to allow the Communications Workers of America to have access to its wireless employees, something that neither Verizon Communications nor SBC Communications Inc. were able …

NEW YORK-In this day of mega-mergers and high-dollar corporate buyouts, the thought of exchanging assets of similar value seems like a throw-back to our bartering ancestors. Trading objects of similar value is now largely left to the realm of sports, …

PARIS-SkyPoint, a Spanish telecom operator with a wireless access license in the 26 GHz band, selected Alcatel to supply its local multipoint distribution service equipment. The initial phase of the project is valued at $84 million. SkyPoint’s network is currently …

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay-The Direccion Nacional de Comunicaciones in Uruguay is drawing up rules for an auction of personal communications services licenses. The government will auction 15-megahertz blocks in the A and C band and 5-megahertz blocks in the D and E …

WASHINGTON-As the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau prepared to celebrate its one-year anniversary, the agency fined Qualcomm Inc. $25,000 for not complying with the 911 strongest-signal rules. The fine, which was agreed to as part of a consent decree, was the second …

NEW YORK-MCI WorldCom Inc. sees an opportunity to transform its wireless resale business into one of full-fledged virtual network operation, said Bernard J. Ebbers, president and chief executive officer. Resale for the three nationwide wireless carriers would become part of …

TOKYO-A press report has stated Japan’s NTT DoCoMo is in talks with AT&T Corp. regarding taking a minority stake in the U.S. carrier’s mobile-phone business. NTT DoCoMo has said repeatedly it is interested in the United States and other foreign …

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-Israel is determined not to be shaken from its pristine position of having one of the highest cellular penetration rates in the Middle East by the current unrest in the region. “Penetration in Israel is growing steadily at …