BellSouth

The worldwide wireless industry is expected to pass a significant milestone sometime during 2000. With total mobile subscribers at the end of last year of about 315 million and a growth rate of nearly 8 percent this year, mobile subscribers …

ATLANTA-BellSouth Cellular Corp. said it will begin offering information services through an agreement with CNN Interactive, becoming the first wireless phone provider to offer the CNN service in the United States. CNN Mobile is a 24-hour news service launched in …

JERUSALEM-Hutchison Whampoa is considering listing its Israeli mobile phone unit, Partner Communications Co. Ltd., in London or on the Nasdaq National Market to secure financing to expand its network, according to a report in the Financial Times. GSM 900 operator …

LOS ANGELES-Wynd Communications Inc. revealed plans to develop a service enhancement of its two-way paging service for the deaf so customers may receive movie listings for open captioned films, usually difficult to find under normal circumstances. The service is being …

The supply contract between Research In Motion Ltd. and BellSouth Wireless Data L.P. ends next month and the two companies are already in negotiations to renew the deal. The outcome of these talks is something anxiously awaited by wireless data …

ATLANTA-Crown Castle International Corp. and BellSouth Corp. reached a preliminary agreement that calls for BellSouth to sublease the unused space on its 773 personal communications services towers to Crown Castle for $317 million in cash. In addition, Crown Castle’s and …

The echoes of MCI WorldCom Inc.’s proposed acquisition of SkyTel Communications Inc. continue to ring loudly throughout the industry, as two other paging companies found themselves linked to telecom carriers last week. In one case, rumors have surfaced that BellSouth …

Today’s satellite-based data and messaging carriers have found the secret to their success is partnering with those they once considered their primary competitors-terrestrial-based wireless data carriers. At first, satellite data carriers figured their greater coverage range would outdo that of …

MIAMI-The market opportunity for international roaming is clear, present and growing, but domestic U.S. carriers so far have been focused on tapping the large and more immediate potential posed by the burgeoning data traffic at home. “Many of the U.S. …

Alcatel Austria. With Tele.ring for its new GSM 1800 network. Value: US$298 million Ericsson Brazil. With Telecom Italia Mobile to expand its TDMA network. Value: US$100 million China. With China Telecom (Hong Kong) Ltd. for GSM equipment to expand its …

MEXICO CITY-Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama. They’re some of the smallest countries in the world, but at the same time, they’re actively participating in the Latin American region’s momentum for telecommunications development and growth. Indeed, the …

ATLANTA-Nortel Networks and BellSouth Corp. signed a memorandum of understanding regarding a long-term global supply agreement that makes Nortel Networks’ communications equipment, software and services available to BellSouth at competitive prices, said the companies. “By being able to bring to …

DALLAS-To increase its prominence in the wireless industry, BearCom Group Inc. said it acquired Net Wireless, a San Ramon, Calif.-based dealer of Nextel Communications Inc., BellSouth Corp., MCI WorldCom Inc. and Sprint PCS Group products. Price and terms were not …

After nearly two years of fits and starts, the government of Argentina finally awarded six personal communications services licenses for a total consideration of about $850 million. The government awarded two PCS licenses each in the northern and southern regions …

WASHINGTON-The Fixed Wireless Communications Coalition has asked the Federal Communications Commission to issue rules that will help terrestrial microwave fixed services more easily share spectrum with fixed satellite service operators. FCC rules provide that microwave and FSS share certain spectrum …

In a routine filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, BellSouth Corp. suggested it might be interested in increasing its ownership stake in broadband company Qwest Communications International Inc. The filing was required following the close of BellSouth’s purchase of …

NCR NCR Corp. introduced a software product that allows carriers to perform event-driven marketing by analyzing customer behavior and predicting a customer’s readiness to respond to particular marketing efforts. Called MarketingAgent, the software is part of NCR’s Customer Relationship Management …

WASHINGTON-To the delight of the wireless industry, the Federal Communications Commission last week declared that if and when calling-party-pays service is authorized, it will be a nationwide optional service. It is seeking comment on exactly what role states will play-particularly …

HOUSTON-Crown Castle International Corp. said it has acquired 619 wireless communications towers from Powertel Inc. for approximately $262 million in cash. The agreement provides Powertel with a 10-year lease, with three five-year renewal terms. Crown Castle said it will receive …

TAMPA, Fla.-BellSouth International Wireless Services announced five North American carriers, including BellSouth Mobility, converted to the BSI-WS International Settlement and Exchange Service. The BellSouth service provides international wireless roaming date-clearing. It also provides a secure Web-based reporting system, which provides …

Qualcomm Inc. announced Nashville-based Star Transportation Inc. replaced its multimode, satellite and land-based communication system with Qualcomm’s OmniTracs satellite-based information-management system. Star already has installed more than 430 OmniTracs units, said Qualcomm. OmniTracs is a mobile communications and tracking system …

RICHARDSON, Texas-Ericsson Inc. won a $750 million contract to supply equipment to 14 BellSouth Cellular Corp. markets, including Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. Ericsson will provide base stations, software, services, handsets and 17 switches that will be used …

BETHESDA, Md.-Mobeo Inc. announced it signed a software license agreement with Comstar Inc., under which Comstar may market the mobeo 1.0 interactive stock quote service. Comstar said it will sell the stock information service to existing and new customers in …

The Operators Harmonization Group, an ad hoc assembly of mobile phone operators from around the world, sent its third-generation technology harmonization proposal to the International Telecommunication Union, which meets in Beijing this week. As RCR reported, the agreement defines a …

The paging industry last week experienced a flurry of major resale deals involving several large carriers. BellSouth Corp. followed paging carriers Metrocall Inc., AirTouch Paging and Arch Communications Group Inc. in reselling airtime on PageMart Wireless Inc.’s ReFLEX 25 advanced …