Mobile Phones

WASHINGTON-The wireless industry scored on public safety, liability protection, federal-land antenna siting and sales commissions in Congress last week, while fending off a Pentagon assault on federal spectrum management and a pro-state challenge to federal numbering policy. Wireless gains on …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission has been deluged with a slew of special-interest requests for 36 megahertz of prime spectrum that Congress wants sold this year, a scenario with logistical and policy challenges that offer regulators an opportunity to adopt the …

LONDON-Following weeks of industry speculation, Deutsche Telekom on Friday won its bid to buy U.K. mobile carrier One 2 One in a deal valued at about $13.6 billion. The deal is made up of about $11.2 billion in cash and …

WASHINGTON-A broad cross section of wireless carriers, manufacturers and trade associations called on the Clinton administration to secure an additional 160 megahertz for third-generation mobile phone service and to promote global spectrum harmonization at the World Radiocommunication Conference in Istanbul …

Gore 2000 lists ex-Clinton Commerce official Jonathan Sallet (MCI WorldCom chief policy counsel, husband of former FCC spokeswoman Susan Lewis Sallet and son-in-law of White House counsel Anne Lewis) and wireless businessman Shelby Bryan among top fund raisers. You have …

Having made partners of most wireless handset OEMs with its T9 Text Input technology, Tegic Communications Inc. said it plans to make customers of wireless carriers with a new instant messaging application, as yet unnamed. The current desktop version of …

Drive, fly, go to a movie, sit in the park, eat at a restaurant. Listen for the unmistakable high-pitched ring of a mobile phone traveling over the muffled chatter. Watch as teen-agers pull from their pockets brightly colored pagers, checking …

WASHINGTON-The European Commission said it supports industry efforts to harmonize third-generation mobile phone standards, but refused to retreat from plans to deploy home-grown technology for a pan-European 3G network and suggested U.S. policy will discriminate against foreign manufacturers seeking to …

Rumors that Deutsche Telekom AG is in talks to buy British mobile phone company One2One for about $12 billion continued last week amid renewed speculation the German phone company might also be interested in buying Sprint Corp. Deutsche Telekom has …

WASHINGTON-Dispatch radio operators last week urged U.S. District Judge Thomas F. Hogan to reject a proposed antitrust settlement between the Justice Department and Nextel Communications Inc., arguing it would exacerbate Nextel’s dominance of the specialized mobile radio industry and reward …

FRANKFURT, Germany-Deutsche Telekom AG is rumored to have entered an $11.75 billion bid to acquire British mobile phone company One2One, according to a Reuters report. “We have no comment,” Deutsche Telekom spokesman Stephan Broszio told Reuters. One2One was put up …

WASHINGTON-Nextel Communications Inc. was dealt a major blow last week by the Federal Communications Commission, which told the nation’s top dispatch operator it cannot use private wireless spectrum to build out its nationwide network. “This portion of Nextel’s [waiver] request …

To the Editor, Use of mobile phones is strictly prohibited in hospitals, planes and other specific areas because they may interfere with the normal functioning of the electronic or magnetic equipment due to radiation of electromagnetic waves. Owners manuals provided …

Japan, pushing to be the first in the world to deploy third-generation mobile phone systems, is facing a potential deployment delay as the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications works to solve severe interference issues posed with 3G systems and existing …

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 …

PHOENIX-U S West Inc. said it will debut a bundled package called The Total Package in Phoenix and Tucson, Ariz., including home telephone service, mobile phone service with 300 minutes of calling time, domestic long-distance service and unlimited Internet access …

Two weeks after the ouster of L.M. Ericsson’s President and Chief Executive Officer Sven-Christer Nilsson, the company revealed in its second quarter earnings report some of the financial factors contributing to Nilsson’s dismissal. Meanwhile, competitors Nokia Corp. and Lucent Technologies …

WASHINGTON-AT&T Corp. said Chairman C. Michael Armstrong was elected head of the U.S.-Japan Business Council, a 75-member group that promotes improved business and economic ties between the two countries. Armstrong also chairs the President’s Export Council, which advises the administration …

BERN, Switzerland-Swisscom took a significant step in becoming a major service provider in Europe by acquiring a 58-percent stake in Germany’s No. 3 mobile communications provider, Debitel AG, for $1.62 billion, said Swisscom. The previous majority shareholders-Debis and Metro-each will …

WASHINGTON-FCC Commissioner Michael Powell warned members of the Network Reliability and Interoperability Council last week the millennium bug was a special problem that requires everyone to work together. For that reason, Powell said, information cannot be kept from the Federal …

WASHINGTON-Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle’s (D-S.D.) move to pre-empt the planning commission here from deciding on Bell Atlantic Mobile’s Rock Creek Park tower applications set off protests from local officials, environmentalists and others last week, setting the stage for a …

I say ol’ chap, want to know how you rate as a reporter of mobile phone health & safety issues in the United Kingdom? Ring up the Federation of the Electronics Industry. Not that they’ll tell you, but the folks …

Every year about this time, I long to live in Europe, where holiday lasts for a month. I’m on the beach on the Riviera (because in fantasies, one can always afford the best), soaking up the rays. I’m also skinny, …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission has released the text of its notice of proposed rule making on calling party pays. The CPP item was adopted by the FCC at its Wireless Day in June. CPP is similar to long-distance toll calling, …

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.-According to “World TDMA Digital Cellular Infrastructure Equipment Markets,” a recent report compiled by Frost & Sullivan, Time Division Multiple Access markets are expected to see a compound annual growth rate of 2.7 percent from 1998 through the …