Mobile Phones

WASHINGTON-House telecommunications subcommittee Chairman Billy Tauzin (R-La.), compromising with Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) on privacy, liability and cancer-research funding, won bipartisan approval last week on legislation to improve E911 wireless capability and foster antenna siting on federal land. The bill, …

ALEXANDRIA, Va.-The Personal Communications Industry Association announced the industry leaders who will speak at the Personal Communications Showcase ’98 conference Sept. 22-25 in Orlando, Fla. Federal Communications Commission Chairman William Kennard will deliver the keynote address at the opening SuperSession, …

Israel Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. said Paging Network Inc. has chosen the enhanced version of its Skystar Advantage very small aperture terminal satellite earth station, called NPCSkystar, for its narrowband personal communications services. NPCSkystar was developed to serve as a …

WASHINGTON-Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.), increasingly distressed about Federal Communications Commission wireless policy management, plans legislation next year that would overhaul the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau and mandate more deregulation. McCain, according to congressional staff and industry officials, plans …

Some U.S. GSM and TDMA operators are irked at Qualcomm Inc. and its lobbying efforts within the U.S. government to frame the third-generation issue as a trade issue with Europe. They say that while Qualcomm is urging the State Department …

Handset and accessory distributor Brightpoint Inc. said it plans to increase its presence in the outsourcing business by providing handset repair and refurbishment services. “This is a value-added service people have historically tried to avoid,” said John Sullivan, executive vice …

WASHINGTON-Nextel Communications Inc., admonished by the Federal Communications Commission for alleged marketing misrepresentations that could-if continued-lead to hefty fines or revocation of licenses, has ordered its sales force not to use pressure tactics or make misleading statements to sign up …

Though the wireless industry remains an employee-driven market, signs indicate the intense demand for employees domestically may be slowing as companies are becoming cost sensitive under intense competition and merger-and-acquisition activity increases. Two years ago, when new personal communications services …

WASHINGTON-The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association is taking the lead on implementing wireless number portability at the same time it waits for the Federal Communications Commission to rule on its request that the wireless number portability rules be delayed or eliminated …

TAIPEI, Taiwan-Low-tier mobile phone service in Taiwan was opened to competition by the country’s Ministry of Transportation and Communications, with a tender announcement expected by December and commercial service rollout by March. The Taiwan Directorate General of Telecommunications under the …

Analysts are indicating now is the time to buy some cheap Canadian wireless stocks, as the mobile phone market finally has rebounded from its 1997 growth slump. BT Alex.Brown Inc. expects Canada’s mobile phone companies to add a total of …

STOCKHOLM, Sweden-L.M. Ericsson said it signed a contract with CTC-Startel, Chile’s largest wireless network operator, to expand its Digital Advanced Mobile Phone Interim Standard-136 network. The contract, valued at $31.5 million, is Ericsson’s third expansion order this year from CTC-Startel, …

Global System for Mobile communications operators in Europe soon could face a formidable opponent for commercial business accounts if Canada’s Telesystem International Wireless Inc. follows through with its plans. The company has emerged not only as the dominant specialized mobile …

Italian telecommunications operator Telecom Italia has abandoned its plans to buy minority interests in certain global holdings of Cable & Wireless plc, the companies confirmed last week. The two have been working for three months to create a global alliance …

Australia The Australian Communications Authority said it prepared a recommendation to the Minister for Communications, the Information Economy and the Arts, for a nationwide reallocation of spectrum in the 3.410 GHz to 3.6 GHz band. The intent of the proposal …

As the digital revolution begins to move at a substantial pace, mobile phone manufacturers have some tough decisions to make. The demand for digital handsets is growing, especially in the CDMA arena, where carriers are screaming for more handsets. More …

STOCKHOLM, Sweden-L.M. Ericsson announced it won a $45 million order to expand the digital Advanced Mobile Phone Service network operated by Telefonica Comunicaciones Personales in central and southern Argentina. This is TCP’s largest expansion order since the original network was …

WASHINGTON-The Congressional Budget Office has informed House telecom subcommittee Chairman Billy Tauzin (R-La.) that his 911 federal land antenna-siting bill will not generate the huge windfall projected by the cellular industry and promised early on to public-safety and health-care professionals …

STOCKHOLM, Sweden-L.M. Ericsson and Toshiba Corp. have merged Ericsson Toshiba Telecommunications Systems K.K. with Nippon Ericsson K.K. in Japan. Ericsson Toshiba Telecommunications was a joint venture between Ericsson and Toshiba. Ericsson owned 60 percent of the company. Nippon Ericsson was …

Wireless carrier CMS St. Cloud, which is operating a cellular network in St. Cloud, Minn., under the name Cellular 2000, is ahead of many rural carriers in deploying digital technology on its network. Needing to upgrade its switch and other …

Comsat Corp. announced it completed the sale of Comsat RSI Inc. to a subsidiary of TBG Industries Inc. for $116.5 million. CRSI designs, manufactures and integrates earth stations and wireless and advanced antenna systems. Comsat will use proceeds for the …

STOCKHOLM, Sweden-L.M. Ericsson announced plans to introduce late next year a phone with roaming capability on Global System for Mobile communications 900 MHz and 1800 MHz, digital Advanced Mobile Phone Service 800 MHz and 1900 MHz, and analog 800 MHz …

WASHINGTON-Wireline provider Grupo CentroAmericano de Telecomunicaciones (GCA Telecom) has become the first private-sector company to provide basic telephony services in El Salvador. To help deploy services faster and easier in badly underserved areas, the company is using microwave radio and …

DENVER, United States-Personal Communications Services (PCS) carriers have made significant inroads into the U.S. wireless telecommunications industry, weakening the entrenched cellular carriers’ net additions and driving down airtime prices. The total number of PCS subscribers in the States reached 3.1 …

BEIJING-China Telecom is still very much a monopoly carrier in China, but change is on the horizon. By year-end, the new Ministry of Information Industry will have concluded its massive restructuring and finally may be ready to accept a sweeping …