SBC Communications

Since its exit from the highly competitive U.S. mobile handset market in late 1998, Siemens AG has vowed to return. The German manufacturer will make its comeback this summer, but to a mobile-phone market that is even more crowded and …

NEW YORK-GTE Corp. is hopeful the Federal Communications Commission will approve its merger with Bell Atlantic Corp. before the 700 MHz spectrum auctions in May so the combined company can focus undivided attention on the bidding. “The 700 MHz auction …

The Supreme Court let stand a lower court ruling that Baby Bell telephone companies cannot resell long-distance service to local subscribers. Last June, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit affirmed a Federal Communications Commission decision …

ANKARA, Turkey-The Turkish government announced the time frame for auctioning two new wireless telephone licenses. The tender for two Global System for Mobile communications licenses is scheduled for March, Reuters reported. Each is expected to bring $650 million. The government …

Speculation circulated last week that Germany’s Deutsche Telekom AG is in talks with Qwest Communications International Inc. about a possible merger between the two, while SBC Communications Inc. and BellSouth Corp. also were rumored to be in merger talks. There …

Motorola and SkyTel announced they have signed a memorandum of understanding to expand two-way wireless communications solutions to Latin America. In particular, SkyTel said it will make Motorola’s PageWriter 2000X two-way pager available in Latin American markets. The pagers previously …

NEW YORK-Aided by a federal regulatory regime that has leveled the playing field for newcomers, broadband telecommunications competitors are coming on strong in their efforts to wrest business customers from incumbents. “There are significant opportunities, a $100 billion business marketplace …

RICHARDSON, Texas-HighwayMaster Communications Inc., a provider of wireless voice and data communications services to the commercial trucking and service vehicle industries, has been chosen to provide Ameritech and other member companies of SBC Communications Inc. with more than 28,000 of …

The Department of Justice last week said SBC Communications Inc. has not sufficiently opened its local exchange market in Texas to be allowed into the long-distance market in that state. The Federal Communications Commission will make the final determination, but …

WASHINGTON-There is a split at the Federal Communications Commission regarding whether the agency should be lobbying for changes in the law that would protect radio-frequency licenses from bankruptcy. I “do not support the statements made by [FCC Chairman William Kennard] …

WASHINGTON-An FCC staff proposal for the implementation of calling party pays service is being heavily debated by the commissioners’ offices-a debate that could lead to its removal from this week’s Federal Communications Commission’s Open Meeting agenda. CPP is similar to …

NEW YORK-Qualcomm’s meteoric stock price appreciation in 1999 may well be a unique phenomenon that other companies are unlikely to replicate. Nonetheless, other established and new telecommunications players seem poised to offer substantial returns on investment, J. Michael Gallipo, portfolio …

NEW YORK-Bell Atlantic Corp., GTE Corp. and Alltel Corp. signed an agreement last week to exchange wireless interests in 13 states, eliminating the overlapping cellular properties that would result from the combination of Bell Atlantic and Vodafone AirTouch plc, announced …

NEW YORK-Alamosa PCS Holdings Inc., a Sprint PCS affiliate, raised $182.1 million Feb. 3 in a 10.71 million-share initial public offering priced at $17 each, $2 above the maximum it anticipated. Salomon Smith Barney was lead manager of the IPO. …

WASHINGTON-Two attempts to stop litigation involving bankrupt wireless operator NextWave Telecom Inc. failed last week as both a federal appeals court and a bankruptcy judge refused requests to interpret a recent appeals court ruling in such a way that it …

It is a generally accepted fact that today’s dollar doesn’t buy as much as it used to, but in the case of wireless airtime, it may actually buy more. “Since the introduction of PCS, there is a whole new paradigm …

NEW YORK-As 1999 drew to a close, two mutual fund managers, one overseeing a diverse investment portfolio, the other specializing in telecommunications, offered contrasting views of the year-2000 stock market outlook. Peter M. Donovan, president of Wright Investors’ Service Inc., …

NEW YORK-The discriminatory patchwork of state and local taxes on telecommunications carriers imposes a roadblock to providers of the highways over which all Internet traffic travels, according to recent testimony before a federal commission. To remedy that disparity and confusion, …

At the end of each year, the RCR editorial staff looks back on the news events that made RCR headlines and decides which were the most significant, industry-impacting stories of the past 12 months. Here are our picks for 1999 …

SAN DIEGO-Leap Wireless International Inc. announced it has entered into an agreement to purchase personal communications services licenses in Denver and Pittsburgh for an undisclosed amount. The agreement, if completed, will give Leap the right to add nearly 5 million …

WARSAW, Poland-France Telecom placed a binding offer for a strategic stake in Poland’s majority state-owned telecom operator Telekomunikacja Polska (TPSA), Reuters reported. Following SBC Communications Inc.’s withdrawal from the tender last month, the French operator is the only bidder for …

WASHINGTON-The wireless industry will enter the third millennium A.D. as the envy of the telecommunications industry. It is arguably the most competitive sector. It is innovative, with three different digital standards and third-generation wireless becoming reality. And it has conquered …

Vodafone AirTouch plc Friday launched a hostile takeover bid for Mannesmann AG after the German company flatly rejected an earlier all-stock bid of about $106 billion. “We made a friendly approach to Mannesmann last Sunday,” said Chris Gent, Vodafone AirTouch’s …

NEW YORK-Not unexpectedly, the multiservice telecommunications giants led the way in revenues and profits for the first half of this year. Profit leaders Bell Atlantic Corp. led in profits for the period, posting $2.315 billion, a 19.5-percent increase from the …

It could have been an isolated path for TDMA operators going forward as they struggled for economies of scale in their businesses, but with a new agreement with the GSM Association, the Universal Wireless Communications Consortium hopes to gain access …