SBC Communications

NEW YORK-AT&T Wireless Services Inc. has reportedly set a Feb. 13 deadline for companies interested in submitting bids to acquire the nation’s third-largest wireless carrier, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company expects to have …

NTT DoCoMo Inc., which owns a 16-percent stake in AT&T Wireless Services Inc., said it has agreed to a temporary waiver of its consultation rights under its investor agreement in the U.S.-based carrier to be notified of and receive information …

AT&T Wireless Services Inc.’s future as well as the future plans of its suppliers and employees were put on hold last week as the carrier announced its board of directors had decided “to explore the company’s strategic alternatives,” which most …

WASHINGTON-While technology is seemingly off the political radar screen this election year, some candidates are pushing agendas that could indirectly impact industry and possibly even a blockbuster AT&T Wireless Services Inc. deal. The dynamics change in an election year, especially …

WASHINGTON-California Public Utilities Commission member Susan Kennedy has decided not to offer a competing bill of rights for telecom consumers-one that exempts mobile-phone carriers from new rules-during Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s review of existing state regulations. “We will not put out …

The rumor mill kicked into high gear last week with published reports claiming a handful of domestic and international wireless carriers are targeting AT&T Wireless Services Inc. as a possible merger partner. The reports began with claims that Cingular Wireless …

WASHINGTON-FCC Chairman Michael Powell refused to say on Wednesday whether the Federal Communications Commission would allow Cingular Wireless L.L.C. to buy AT&T Wireless Services Inc. as has been widely rumored. “I have a very strong policy. I don’t endorse or …

Wireless stocks posted strong gains in early Wednesday trading following renewed rumors of a possible merger between Cingular Wireless L.L.C. and AT&T Wireless Services Inc. and an upgrade of the wireless sector from neutral to positive by Lehman Brothers. The …

NEW YORK-Cingular Wireless L.L.C.’s parent companies SBC Communications Inc. and BellSouth Corp. are reportedly looking at an initial public offering for their wireless division sometime next year to help fund expansion plans that could include a merger with industry rival …

NEW YORK-Verizon Communications Inc. said it expects to record an after-tax fourth-quarter charge of approximately $2.8 billion related to a voluntary separation plan under which 21,260 employees left the company’s payroll this quarter. Verizon, which is the majority owner of …

NEW YORK-SBC Communications Inc. told investors at the Lehman Brothers Fifth Annual Telecom, Trends & Technology Conference that it plans to reduce its workforce by 3,000 to 4,000 employees during the current fourth quarter as part of an ongoing staff …

WASHINGTON-Wireless carriers that receive universal-service support should submit to auditing to ensure that the subsidies they receive are being used to upgrade and improve networks in rural America, FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein told reporters following his speech Thursday at the …

WASHINGTON-Wireless has always been regulated at the state level, so that sector should not be used as evidence of no state regulation, said James Bradford Ramsay, general counsel of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, after Dorothy Atwood, senior …

SAN ANTONIO-In a letter to Federal Communications Commission chairman Michael Powell, Cingular Wireless L.L.C. parent company SBC Communications Inc. said it is ready to implement wireless local number portability through its entire 13-state service area today regardless if customers live …

With the blessing of its parent companies SBC Communications Inc. and BellSouth Corp., Cingular Wireless L.L.C. is reportedly set to acquire one of its competitors as early as next year, according to a Business Week report. The report cited unnamed …

Wireless carriers continued their push for more research on whether tower facilities kill large numbers of birds, while environmental groups shook their collective finger at the government, alleging the Federal Communications Commission is breaking the law in comments filed with …

Just what are Craig McCaw and Nextel Communications Inc. up to, separately or together? Is there a grand plan waiting to be hatched or just some heady hedges that may-or may not-lead to something big? There’s enough of a history …

WASHINGTON-The House of Representatives last week passed the E911 Implementation Act of 2003 by voice vote. “While most state governments tax cell-phone users for upgrades and implementation of enhanced 911 services, that money often has been diverted for other uses. …

Nextel Communications Inc. filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission disputing NextWave Telecom Inc.’s and Cingular Wireless L.L.C.’s plans seeking a waiver concerning $170 million in interest on 34 C- and F-block PCS licenses Cingular is attempting to acquire from …

Cingular Wireless L.L.C. for the first time reported financial results separate from its parent companies SBC Communications Inc. and BellSouth Corp. Cingular reported net subscriber additions of 745,000 for the third quarter, bringing its nationwide customer base to 23.4 million. …

WASHINGTON-A think tank funded by the wireless industry and other tech sectors today warned in a new study that U.S. cellular subscribers could pay over $16 billion a year-or about $10 per month extra-to pay for taxes and regulations imposed …

WASHINGTON-Commerce Department Deputy Secretary Samuel Bodman in June was urged by government investigators to take administrative action against then-Bush telecom advisor Nancy Victory for ethics violations connected with a 2001 party thrown for her by wireless lobbyists in advance of …

German telecommunications giant Deutsche Telekom said it expects customer churn from its T-Mobile USA Inc. operations to increase during the current third quarter due to expiring one-year contracts from its launch in California and Nevada last summer. A DT spokesman …

Often seen as lacking a strong next-generation wireless data roadmap, Cingular Wireless L.L.C. has began to nudge its way up the wireless data ranks thanks to the continued strength of its Mobitex network, the pursuit of spectrum to support high-speed …

ATLANTA-Reinforcing its relationship with parent companies BellSouth Corp. and SBC Communications Inc., Cingular Wireless L.L.C. launched its FastForward device that allows wireless customers to automatically forward unlimited calls from their mobile devices to their landline telephone numbers. The service, which …