Mobile Phones

NEW YORK-The dominant impression today of Centennial Cellular Corp., New Canaan, Conn., is connected more to its late 1996 wireless debut in Puerto Rico than to its longstanding analog role on the U.S. mainland. Centennial Puerto Rico Wireless Corp. is …

Canada’s mobile phone market rebounded somewhat at the end of 1997 from lagging subscriber additions that plagued carriers throughout the year, but the results showed a slow expansion of the wireless market even with personal communications services entrants. “I think …

The Australian Communications Authority will auction 10 personal communications services licenses totaling 230 megahertz sometime in April, and the Australian Communications Authority is encouraging U.S. companies that currently use digital Advanced Mobile Phone Service and Code Division Multiple Access technologies …

Look out, Craig McCaw! A low-earth-orbiting pie in the eye-Bill Gates a la mode-could be in your future once the world finds out you’ve joined forces with McCaw expatriates and Nextel mobile moguls to pummel bidders in the LMDS auction …

Just less than a month before the Philippine government plans to hold an auction for new mobile phone licenses, Isla Communications Co. and Globe Telecom Gmcr both launched prepaid Global System for Mobile communications services. The launches represent the first …

WASHINGTON-The Vermont congressional delegation last week applauded Federal Communications Commission Chairman Bill Kennard’s rejection-for now-of federal pre-emption of local zoning regulation, but vowed to continue fighting for legislation to overturn antenna siting provisions of the 1996 telecom act. At the …

Coverage is king, says Iridium North America, which is aiming to help cellular and personal communications services operators offer wireless coverage anywhere in the world. Iridium L.L.C. is a Motorola Inc.-led consortium expected to offer global voice, paging and fax …

South Koreans were eager to sign up for mobile phone service during the last few months of 1997, but some analysts speculate carriers will hit difficult times in 1998 as consumers tighten their belts in the wake of the country’s …

WASHINGTON-The Clinton administration, which now projects $30 billion from spectrum auctions during the next decade despite free-falling license prices, plans to seek legislation from Congress this year to sell 36 megahertz from TV channels 60-69 before 2002. Under last year’s …

As the economic crisis in Asia continues, residents there have been forced to find ways to budget their expenses-which could prove a limited boon to the region’s paging industry. Paging traditionally has been a popular service in Asia, as is …

AT&T Corp. also told analysts it plans to push a calling party pays program for its wireless customers, as well as a dual-band, dual-mode handset with extended battery time. AT&T said it plans this year to offer its wireless customers …

L.M. Ericsson announced it appointed Sven-Christer Nilsson president and chief executive officer of the company, replacing Lars Ramqvist, who will become chairman of the board. Following the company’s annual meeting on March 30, Ramqvist is slated to replace Bjorn Svedberg, …

SINGAPORE-The Telecommunication Authority of Singapore is taking a new approach to encouraging competition in the local wireless market. Beginning April 1, 2000, TAS will lower annual license fees for mobile and paging operators to 1 percent of annual sales. Currently, …

ATLANTA- France Telecom subsidiary France Caraibe Mobiles plans to license LHS Group Inc.’s customer care and billing software for its cellular network, LHS announced. FCM provides digital and analog cellular service in French Departments in the Caribbean. Under the agreement, …

European Telecommunications Standards Institute members last week reached a consensus agreement for a third-generation mobile phone standard, incorporating two major proposals that were on the table. The agreement came after members failed the day before to reach the 71-percent consensus …

CommQuest Technologies Inc. today introduced a tri-band Global System for Mobile communications chipset that will allow global roaming in the 900 MHz, 1800 MHz and 1900 MHz frequency bands using one handset. The two-chip product includes a single-chip Communication Application …

STOCKHOLM, Sweden-L.M. Ericsson said it launched a network function called PrePaid Calling Service for wireless networks that use Advanced Mobile Phone Service and digital-AMPS standards. Ericsson’s new service allows for prepayment of value-added features like fax, voice mail and short …

Samsung is not a household name in the United States, but the consumer electronics giant is hoping its $10 million brand promotion campaign introduced in the fourth quarter and its aggressive strategy to grab a 40-percent share of the U.S. …

Clarence Friend, a wireless industry veteran, founded Newport Beach, Calif.-based Cellular Development Systems L.P. to provide real-time call rating and billing services to the rental car industry. Now, about four years later, his newly patented technology is being implemented in …

Philips Consumer Communications announced Osmo Hautanen, president of the Americas region, will leave the company March 15. Michael Lang, vice president of marketing for the Americas, immediately will assume operational responsibilities for the North American organization on an interim basis. …

LEXINGTON, Mass.-Wildfire Communications Inc. announced that Century Telephone Enterprises Inc. will begin consumer trials of its Network Wildfire service with residential, business and wireless customers in Louisiana and Wisconsin. Century will be the first carrier to install the Wildfire service …

WASHINGTON-The Food and Drug Administration has recommended to Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) that more research be conducted on possible health risks from mobile telephones, but the agency left unclear whether it believes the issue is important enough to warrant funding …

IRVINE, Calif.-L.M. Ericsson and Subscriber Computing Inc. entered a partnership agreement in which Ericsson plans to market SCI’s wireless intelligent network-based prepaid metered billing system for Advanced Mobile Phone Service and digital-AMPS networks, said SCI. Ericsson will handle sales, installation, …

NEW YORK-Some interesting twists are ahead on the road to roaming for personal communications services carriers as they seek to emulate their cellular counterparts, which reap between 15 percent and 20 percent of their gross revenues from long-distance wireless calls. …

KSI Inc., a company with its roots in the defense industry, has developed a location technology that it hopes the industry will embrace as a possible solution to the Federal Communications Commission’s mandate on wireless E911. According to Phase I …