On-Line

*HIGH-TECH PAGING COMES TO RURAL VERMONT Workers in White River Junction, commuters in Castleton and vacationers in Pico Peak now have access to wireless e-mail service for their pagers. Rural carrier Datapage leapfrogged traditional technologies in its deployment of a Motorola Flex advanced digital paging system, which, in addition to 1-way alphanumeric paging, allows the carrier to support high bandwidth applications, such as wireless data and e-mail.

"The paging infrastructure maximizes the 900MHz spectrum so that our network has huge capacity, enabling us to build revenue through new subscribers, through carrying roaming traffic from other paging carriers, and to exchange traffic with other carriers so that we can form national service partnerships," said Cesar Sanabria, president of Datapage.

*CDPD -- DON'T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT As society becomes more mobile, retailers are bringing their wares to the consumer instead of waiting for the consumer to come to them, creating revenue-generating opportunities for wireless carriers. For example, merchants at outdoor music festivals, street fairs or sporting events now will be able to accommodate payment-card transactions at the point of-sale through GTE's cellular digital packet data network and an extension of CompuServe's Transactions Services Network.

"A typical credit-card transaction may cost very little and is completed within 3-5 seconds, making CDPD ideal for immediate data transmissions such as point-of-sale transactions," said Byron Smith, vice president-sales, GTE.

One credit-card processor showcased the CDPD solution at the sixth annual Twin Cities Ribfest in Minneapolis, where more than 100,000 people converged downtown to taste and compare ribs from some of the nation's top restaurants. For the first time, visitors could purchase coupons via credit card redeemable for food, beverage and souvenir purchases. In past years, on-line, credit-card verification was not possible because the Ribfest takes place where no dedicated telephone lines are available -- outdoors.

*SOUTHWESTERN BELL PROVIDES SERVICE TO GO In response to consumers' increasing desire for 1-stop shopping, Southwestern Bell is offering Go-Kit, a wireless phone package now available in selected Best Buy and Circuit City stores in Arkansas, Missouri and Texas. The carrier plans to expand the offering to other stores in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas in 1998.

"This is a win-win product for department stores and discount retailers because they can now add wireless phones to their product offering without devoting resources to services issues," said Janie Weeks, Southwestern Bell Wireless Go-Kit product manager.

The kit contains a Motorola Profile 300 handset, battery, charger/transformer and detailed instructions. Southwestern Bell will offer service plans for all Go-Kit customers, regardless of credit status, meaning fewer returns for retailers, according to the carrier. After purchasing a kit, customers call a toll-free number and are connected with a Southwestern Bell Wireless representative, who will help them choose the best service plan for their needs.

*PCS CARRIERS LOOK TO ROAMING AS CUSTOMER HOOK Through a major roaming initiative, Aerial now offers service anywhere in North America where Global GSM technology is available -- more than 600 cities and towns in the United States and Canada. With its recent service launch in Orlando, a market of more than two million POPs, Aerial has completed the bulk of its initial network build-out. The carrier now has more than 900 active cell sites.

At the conclusion of the third quarter, Aerial had nearly 65,000 customers who, on average, were using more than 300 minutes per month and generating more than $70 in revenue per month.

Also keying in on roaming capabilities, PrimeCo has launched PrimeTravel, which allows customers to roam throughout the United States and Canada using a dual-mode/dual-band handset. Through roaming agreements with parent companies AirTouch, Bell Atlantic and US West, as well as an agreement with Clearnet in Canada, PrimeCo said it offers access to three of the country's largest wireless networks covering nearly two-thirds of the U.S. population as well as major Canadian markets.

PrimeCo also has licensing agreements in the works with providers in Canada and Mexico. The company said it expected to offer PrimeTravel service throughout North America by the end of the first quarter of this year.

PrimeCo also has deployed a new technology that allows customers to activate service over the air (OTA). Initially, PrimeCo will use OTA to assign telephone numbers to handsets. In the future, the technology will make roaming more efficient by enabling the transmission codes that designate PrimeCo's preferred roaming partners, according to the carrier. PrimeCo also will use the technology to download software upgrades and other data directly to the customer handsets and to activate new phone features.

*CELEBRITIES DISH OUT SAMSUNG'S MESSAGE Samsung Telecommunications (STA) will spend $10 million during a 6-week campaign to reach consumers through the distinctive voices and recognizable faces of celebrity endorsers such as Philadelphia 76ers guard Jerry Stackhouse, who plays a game while stuck in traffic; Joan Rivers and her daughter Melissa, who have a friendly argument over Joan having the No. 2 position on Melissa's 99-number recall; and MTV personality Daisy Fuentes, who denounces phone booths as a thing of the past.

"Consumers are bombarded with hundreds of telecommunications commercials touting pricing and features," said Diane McKenna, manager of marketing for STA. "This campaign is designed to cut through the clutter and present Samsung wireless phones in a unique way, as part of everyday life."

Celebrities were chosen to target a broad spectrum of consumers in order to capitalize on niche markets as well as more mainstream purchasers of wireless phones, according to Samsung.

*GSM SUBS ECLIPSE CELLULAR'S PACE RECORD PCS companies that provide GSM service in the United States and Canada now have more than 1 million customers. To put GSM growth in perspective, Don Warkentin, GSM Alliance chairman and president of Aerial Communications, pointed out that the U.S. cellular industry took more than three years to accomplish what the GSM companies have done in the past 10 months. Warkentin added that there are now 12 GSM carriers operating in nearly 700 cities in 32 U.S. states and three Canadian provinces.

The GSM Alliance was established several months ago to bring the networks together in an attempt to leverage seamless wireless communications throughout North America. The alliance addresses such issues as roaming, customer care, national distribution and data communications.

According to the GSM MoU Association, there are more than 60 million GSM customers worldwide, 256 association members in 110 countries with more than 200 active networks. Twelve GSM networks now have passed the 1-million-customer milestone. One-third (68) of the world's GSM network operators in live commercial operation each have more than 100,000 customers; four of those operators are located in the United States.

*AMERITECH CELLULAR TO USE MICROBURST TECHNOLOGY Ameritech is planning to deploy MicroBurst technology from Aeris Communications for short-burst data applications throughout its cellular territory.

The technology transmits short data packets of information over the control channels of a cellular network for such applications as global positioning systems (GPS), remote monitoring, automated meter reading and security alarm systems. The centralized network architecture makes it easy for carriers to activate the technology with no up-front capital and minimal disruption to existing network-management responsibilities, according to Aeris.

*'PAGING DICK TRACY' SkyTel has been named the exclusive service provider for a new Beepwear pager watch, which can be configured to receive messages on a local or nationwide basis via SkyTel's nationwide network. The watch is from MTX Paging Products, a joint venture between Motorola and Timex.

Wearers can access as many as three information services providing news, sports and entertainment headlines as well as store as many as 16 messages. SkyTel is providing service plans, customer support and seamless activation. MTV to Page Teens

In a continuing effort to promote pager use and to find new markets, Nationwide Network Services (NNS) has teamed with MTV to create the MTV Pager Network. Through the network, MTV will provide regular updates and special messages on such topics as programming, promotions and other relevant news.

"Basically, we took existing pager technology and created an entertainment network that will inform users about style, fashion, entertainment and other issues," said Tony Gordon, vice president of NNS. "It is an extremely targeted method of contacting specific individuals who have expressed interest in receiving information."

MTV pager users will be sent a toll-free phone number electronically. Upon responding, they will hear information on a variety of topics. Gordon said MTV and NNS recognized the "etiquette" involved in using the pager for entertainment news. He said pages will not be sent during school or nighttime hours, and that information would be appropriate for the targeted market.

*MORE DIGITAL LAUNCHES With the flurry of activity occurring within the wireless industry, it seems that digital systems are being launched almost daily. Here is a rundown on some of the latest service offerings:

Alltel has begun offering digital wireless phone service in central Arkansas. When customers travel out of the greater Little Rock area, their phones automatically will switch from the digital to analog operation.

AT&T has launched digital PCS service in the following markets:

* Cleveland-Akron-Canton, offering all-in-one communications with voice, paging and e-mail messaging

* The metropolitan area surrounding St. Louis, offering numerous advanced features such as caller ID, alphanumeric and numeric paging, short e-mail messaging, and voice mail with a message-waiting indicator

* Southeast Michigan, offering a "smart" phone that is dual-band/dual-mode, which allows the customer to use the phone in both digital and analog service areas.

Cellular One of San Luis Obispo, CA, has introduced TDMA IS- 136, marketed as digital PCS, to its San Luis Obispo County customers.

Comcast has launched its $200 million digital PCS, providing digital coverage throughout its entire network. All 450 cell sites are equipped to provide both analog and digital service.

Powertel has begun to offer PCS in Atlanta. The carrier now provides its customers with a contiguous digital network spanning Alabama; Florida; Georgia; Mississippi; Hilton Head, SC; and Tennessee.

VoiceStream Wireless has launched its digital network in Wichita, KS, offering customers telephone, voice-mail and messaging services using lightweight, portable, pocketsize handsets.

*IN OTHER NEWS AirTouch will acquire interests owned by U.S. Cellular and its parent organization, Telephone and Data Systems, in cellular systems serving Seattle and Olympia, WA; Tucson, AZ; Duluth, MN; and rural areas in Arizona, Colorado and Idaho. AirTouch will issue about 5 million shares of common stock and about $50 million in cash for the interests, which represent about 900,000 POPs.

Ericsson will establish a new RF-power design center in Philadelphia. The company already operates an assembly and design center for RF products in Morgan Hill, CA. Separately, Ericsson and Tellabs have extended their collaboration partnership for another seven years.

Arch Communications has expanded its transmission capacity with the purchase of a fourth satellite channel from SpaceCom. The new channel will accommodate increases in paging traffic expected to result from Arch's addition of 50 new downlink sites. Separately, Arch has signed a definitive agreement to sell its site- management business to Telecom Towers for $40 million.

Boston Technology has broken ground in Wakefield, MA, for a new, 168,000-square-foot corporate headquarters next to its existing facility on the shore of Lake Quannapowitt. The current building will continue to house the company's research and development facilities. Construction is scheduled for completion by January 1999.

Eileen Duff has joined the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA) as director for external and industry relations in charge of health and product usage issues. Duff most recently was an assistant to former FCC commissioner Rachelle Chong and formerly was with McCaw Cellular as a regulatory analyst. Separately, Kari-Pekka ("K-P") Wilska, president of Nokia Mobile Phones, and Richard Ekstrand, president and CEO of Rural Cellular, were elected to the CTIA board of directors.

Harris Semiconductor and OTC Telecom have entered a partnership to develop a new wireless LAN product that will enable network communications at an 11Mb/s data rate using direct-sequence, spread-spectrum technology. Alpha roll-out is scheduled for early this year.

World Wireless Communications has acquired Austin Antenna.

IBM's Global Mobile Solutions group has joined the newly created Wireless Data Forum, formerly the CDPD Forum.

Investment banking firm Sokoloff and Company and Liberty Lease Finance have formed a new company, Liberty Telecom LLC, to provide "creative lease financing" for telecommunications companies.

ON THE MOVE TruePosition has relocated to 1111 W. DeKalb Pike, 2nd Floor, Wayne, PA 19087. Telephone 610-631-7500; fax 610-631-7501.

Teligent has moved to 8065 Leesburg Pike, Suite 400, Vienna, VA 22182. Telephone 703-762-5100; fax 703-762-5101.

Reltec has relocated to 5900 Landerbrook Drive, Suite 300, Cleveland, OH 44124. Telephone 440-460-3600; fax 440-460-3690.

Brite has moved to 250 International Parkway, Suite 300, Heathrow, FL 32746.

-- By Ellen Jensen

Thanks to technological advancements the world is shrinking, the global marketplace is expanding and more consumers are conducting business while on the move. In response, Logica and Cellnet have formed the Global Mobile Commerce Forum (GMCF) to support the development of the growing mobile commerce market. The two companies created the forum with the following intent:

To agree and quantify a common vision of the market opportunity

To identify and tackle technical, regulatory and specification barriers to market development

To facilitate standardization (by enhancements through existing bodies wherever possible)

To collect and widely publicize existing and evolving technical and marketing data form trials

To encourage partnerships to develop and test new technologies and markets.

Mobile commerce is defined as "the delivery of electronic commerce capabilities directly into the consumer's hand via wireless technology," according to Kevin Duffy, Logica's managing consultant for mobile innovation and the Forum's executive chairman.

"For the consumer, this will mean that the mobile phone can become an electronic purse handling cash, loyalty points, tickets and identification," Duffy said. "For the service company, mobile commerce will turn cellular phones into a retail outlet in the pockets of their best customers."

The first Plenary Conference of the Forum was held in Heathrow, England, on Nov. 10 and was attended by more than 100 representatives from companies in the telecommunications, banking, retail and smart-card technology sectors. Membership is expected to reach 120 companies by the second Plenary Conference to be held in Cannes, France, this February.

Although some wireless carriers already are transmitting emergency 911 calls, many will have to make some adjustments under the FCC's reconsideration order of Docket 94-102. In that order, the agency has modified some of its wireless 911 rules and reaffirmed others.

The rule that probably will affect carriers the most, at least initially, is the requirement that they transmit all 911 calls to public safety officials without regard to validation procedures intended to identify and intercept ca lls from non-subscribers. Previously, wireless carriers did not have to route the calls from handsets not transmitting a code identification.

"A lot of providers were not delivering the 911 calls if the caller was a roamer or if they had a phone that was not on service with anybody," said Jeff Battcher, manager of media relations for BellSouth Cellular. "BellSouth has always delivered calls ... even if you were a subscriber to our service and didn't pay the bill or decided you didn't want the service anymore, if you still had the phone and dialed 911, we still delivered your 911 call."

Providing the call-back number and location information required by the FCC rules is a fairly straightforward matter for carriers, said Amy Damianakes, director of corporate communications for AirTouch, because the 911 network is not the wireless carriers' domain.

"The easiest way to think of it is that the 911 infrastructure belongs to us," said John Goldman, communications manager, BellSouth Telecommunications. "To get the calls from either a wireline or wireless customer, they have to come through our system."

It boils down to the carriers buying the service from the local telephone company just as they buy other equipment from it, such as dedicated trunks for T1 lines.

Although carriers are not required to go through the local wireline provider, Goldman thinks most of them will.

"It should be cheaper for them, and certainly it is what customers are accustomed to and what the municipalities are used to handling," he said.

Two wireline providers -- BellSouth and U S WEST -- have agreements in place with SCC Communications to enhance their 911 service for wireless carriers. Public safety answering agencies will receive the FCC-mandated 10-digit callback number for wireless emergency calls and be able to identify the area from which wireless 911 calls originate.

According to Al Aldecocea, product manager, U S WEST has been working with the state of Washington and the public safety community there since 1995 to resolve the issues surrounding wireless 911 calls. The company's CellTrace enables the wireless carriers to connect to the existing wireline's 911 network and deliver wireless calls to the public-safety answering point (PSAP) without requiring the PSAP to modify its equipment.

"Even though the technology is different, we make whatever changes are required so the PSAP gets the call in the same fashion as the wireline calls." Aldecocea said. "I would consider ourselves as the facilitators of this interaction between wireless carriers and public safety."

U S WEST's Cell Trace currently is available statewide in Washington and will be available throughout the company's 14-state region by April 1, the date the FCC originally set for completion of these enhancements and which it upheld in its modification ruling. The enhancements to BellSouth's service also are scheduled to be in place by April 1.

In its reconsideration order, the FCC also temporarily suspended enforcement of the requirement that wireless carriers provide 911 access to customers using text telephone (TTY) devices until Oct. 1, but only for digital systems. This is to allow the wireless industry to overcome technical barriers and compatibility problems.

The FCC also upheld its schedule for Phase II of the enhanced 911 plan. Effective Oct. 1, 2001, carriers will be required to identify the location of mobile units making 911 calls within a radius of no more than 125 meters. Although safety is obviously important, there are repercussions to allowing anyone with a wireless phone to dial 911 at will.

George Heinrichs, SCC President and CEO, noted that in 1996 emergency calls from wireless phones averaged more than 59,000 calls each day or 41 calls every minute.

According to Damianakes, AirTouch didn't pass along all 911 calls in a couple of its markets because the PSAPs were being overloaded with calls, many of which were frivolous.

"It's a matter of the emergency agencies being staffed in such a way that they can support the volume of calls and for the industry to be behind the public education effort so that people know when it's appropriate to call 911," Damianakes said.