BROWSING: Powertel Inc.

Finnish operator Sonera Ltd. agreed to purchase 9.1 percent of GSM operator Powertel Inc. last week, giving Powertel a financial partner to pursue strategic acquisitions.Sonera will acquire 100,000 Powertel shares from Ericsson Inc. for $122.7 million, throwing another player into the Global System for...

Personal communications services carriers can be credited with spurring huge demand for wireless service, but they continue to struggle with brand awareness and perceptions customers have about coverage."It's a brand game and a consumer-marketing game," said Andrew Sukawaty, president of nationwide carrier Sprint PCS,...

The economy is rolling along, wireless subscriber additions are climbing and merger and acquisition activity is heating up.This is good news for the personal communications services industry, which last year found itself suffering from tight financing and a general underperformance in small capitalized stocks....

The popularity of prepaid wireless services has skyrocketed in the United States, but carriers are experiencing a not-so-pleasant side effect- high churn-and many are challenged by the need to expand prepaid offerings without exposing themselves to this phenomenon.Prepaid wireless service has become an important...

Wireless carrier marketing efforts during the last year have largely focused on new pricing schemes, but that may be about to change.AT&T Wireless Services Inc. kicked off the trend more than a year ago when it introduced its Digital One Rate plan. In the...

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 $1,800 per month per tower...

Granite Systems Inc., a Manchester, N.H.-based provider of network configuration management systems for the telecommunications industry, plans to announce its Network Interface Module this week at SuperComm in Atlanta.The NIM is designed to facilitate automated discovery and reconciliation of network configuration data, said the...

NEW YORK-Carriers, resellers and handset makers involved in domestic prepaid wireless services have much in common with ancient mariners navigating the narrow Straits of Messina where the mythical monsters of Scylla and Charybdis threatened them on either shore."Carriers recognize there is something to this...

In the last two weeks alone, Crown Castle International Corp. has more than doubled its tower portfolio in the United States and United Kingdom, securing a top position for itself among independent tower companies.The most recent transactions with Powertel Inc. and the U.K.'s One...

U.S. Global System for Mobile communications carriers took a financial beating in 1998, but analysts expect 1999 to look brighter for these carriers as they look to butter up their bottom lines and find strategic partners.Tight financing, high churn levels and a general under-performance...

Personal communications services network buildout is largely complete in the nation's largest markets, and carriers this year are beginning to focus their attention on filling in coverage and building out secondary markets, say industry experts.Brian Cotton, research manager for wireless at Frost & Sullivan,...

NEW ORLEANS-The Universal Wireless Communications Consortium and the GSM North American Alliance announced plans to work to achieve interoperability between TDMA and GSM technology, a move that could facilitate national and global consolidation among carriers with incompatible technologies and in particular allow SBC Communications...

WEST POINT, Ga.-In its continuing effort to shift the main focus of its operations from cellular to personal communications services, Powertel Inc. announced it signed an agreement to sell its InterCel cellular division to Public Service Cellular Inc.Powertel said Public Service Cellular will purchase...

STOCKHOLM, Sweden-L.M. Ericsson and Powertel Inc. said they will conduct trials of Ericsson's "GSM on the Net" solution, which provides business communication services over an integrated Global System for Mobile communications-Internet Protocol network.Powertel began installing GSM on the Net in December at its West...

NEW YORK-Denmark-based Bosch Telecom Inc., which introduced the World 718 phone in June, has decided to close its Dallas office for U.S. sales and marketing, although it will continue selling the handsets here.The World 718 phone can operate on Global System for Mobile Communications...

NEW ORLEANS-Independent tower companies hoping to cash in on the anticipated sale of tower assets by wireless carriers still are waiting for the first big deal to set the standard for future purchase/lease-back arrangements.Many attendees at last week's 1998 Tower Industry Summit & Trade...

NEW YORK-When it comes to American pure-play personal communications services IPOs, the million-dollar question is, "Where did they go?"Sprint Corp. may hold the answer with its planned initial public offering this fall of $500 million to $1 billion in common stock to finance a...

ALEXANDRIA, Va.-Personal communications services provider Powertel Inc. has joined the other nearly 1,300 members of the Personal Communications Industry Association, said the trade association.Powertel, based in West Point, Ga., has PCS licenses in 12 states.

While the majority of wireless carriers are moving toward outsourcing their handset distribution needs, Powertel Inc. is moving in the opposite direction.The West Point, Ga.-based personal communications services company recently ended its relationship with Brightpoint Inc., a distribution and value-added logistics services provider, and...

MACON, Ga.-Personal communications services provider Powertel Inc. said it opened its second retail outlet-a full-service, 9-foot by 11-foot kiosk-in the Macon Mall in Macon, Ga.In addition to selling handsets and calling plans, staff at the kiosk also can activate service and take bill payments,...

Trying to compete with satellite-industry giants, Celsat America Inc., a small, domestic player in the mobile satellite services arena, filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission opposing the allocation of any new spectrum to applicants that already have licenses."According to the FCC public notice,...

NEW YORK-Triton PCS Inc., a startup Time Division Multiple Access carrier based in Malvern, Pa., was expected to sell privately late last week its first debt issue, which comprises $300 million in senior subordinated discount notes due 2008.AT&T Wireless Services Inc. contributed 20 megahertz...

In the summer of 1989, one of my favorite bands, the B-52s, released an album with the big hit-tune "Roam," in which singer Kate Pierson encouraged listeners to "roam around the world." Well, it took me nine years, Kate, but I finally took you...

RICHARDSON, Texas-Siemens Wireless Terminals began delivery of its first digital handset, the g1050, which features a high-resolution graphic display, noise-canceling microphone and voice memo for recording brief messages.The Global System for Mobile communications-based phone initially will be available through personal communications services operators Omnipoint...