Personal Communications Services Industry

The U.S. government plans to pursue bid-rigging charges against participants in a multibillion-dollar federal auction of licenses for wireless personal communications services, according to a federal securities document. The threat of civil antitrust lawsuits was disclosed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing by 21st Century Telesis II Inc.

Facing a patent lawsuit that may halt U.S. sales of BlackBerry e-mail pagers, Research in Motion Ltd. said it had finished a new design that would keep the systems running if the company lost the case. The so-called workaround, an alternative technology designed not to infringe patents held by NTP Inc., is done and being tested, co-Chief Executive James Balsillie said Wednesday at a UBS conference in New York. "It's a software upgrade that we are very, very comfortable with," Balsillie said.

As a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service for nine years, Vincent McBride is used to delivering messages from one person to another. Now the Santa Monica man is taking on a more high-tech communications delivery role. McBride was one of only two individuals in the country to win wireless licenses during the Federal Communications Commission's $10-billion entrepreneurs-only auction of airwaves for personal communications services, or PCS.

The Justice Department signed settlements Tuesday with three wireless communications firms, including one in Newport Beach, that were accused of rigging bids during government auctions of radio spectrum licenses. The consent decrees, stemming from suits filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, settle allegations that 21st Century Telesis Corp. of Newport Beach, Omnipoint of Bethesda, Md., and Mercury PCS II LLC of Jacksonville, Miss.

Facing a patent lawsuit that may halt U.S. sales of BlackBerry e-mail pagers, Research in Motion Ltd. said it had finished a new design that would keep the systems running if the company lost the case. The so-called workaround, an alternative technology designed not to infringe patents held by NTP Inc., is done and being tested, co-Chief Executive James Balsillie said Wednesday at a UBS conference in New York. "It's a software upgrade that we are very, very comfortable with," Balsillie said.

The Justice Department signed settlements Tuesday with three wireless communications firms, including one in Newport Beach, that were accused of rigging bids during government auctions of radio spectrum licenses. The consent decrees, stemming from suits filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, settle allegations that 21st Century Telesis Corp. of Newport Beach, Omnipoint of Bethesda, Md., and Mercury PCS II LLC of Jacksonville, Miss.

In an ambitious effort to assure women, minorities and small businesses an ownership stake in the burgeoning wireless communications industry, the Federal Communications Commission adopted rules Wednesday that will give those groups special treatment in a multibillion-dollar radio spectrum sale later this year.

The U.S. government plans to pursue bid-rigging charges against participants in a multibillion-dollar federal auction of licenses for wireless personal communications services, according to a federal securities document. The threat of civil antitrust lawsuits was disclosed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing by 21st Century Telesis II Inc.

As a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service for nine years, Vincent McBride is used to delivering messages from one person to another. Now the Santa Monica man is taking on a more high-tech communications delivery role. McBride was one of only two individuals in the country to win wireless licenses during the Federal Communications Commission's $10-billion entrepreneurs-only auction of airwaves for personal communications services, or PCS.