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To: JGoren who wrote (5529)	1/21/2000 8:28:00 PM
From: Ruffian	Respond to of 13582

Groovy, Baby: Motorola Gets Shagadelic By Monica Alleven Motorola's Network Solutions Sector faces fierce competition in the wireless Internet market, which may explain why division head Bo Hedfors is talking to Austin Powers. Well, it's not the Austin Powers, just an actor who plays him, and his dialogue on stage with an engaging Hedfors is part of NSS' annual employee meetings. More than ever, it's dire that Motorola fire up the ranks. Competitors Nortel and Qualcomm are hot on the trail of groovy advertising and hot stock options. Motorola, still shaking its image as the stodgy old giant, could use a little help in its image makeover. Who better to tap than the wildly offensive but hugely popular International Man of Mystery? The employee meetings are a big production, with high-tech wizardry and video to hold the attention of Motorola's average employee: the 27-year-old engineer who isn't inclined to sit through a three-hour presentation by exe-cutives in three-piece suits. The show, which kicked off earlier this month in Rosemont, Ill., will visit eight NSS office locations around the world, psyching up employees with Motorola's intent to be the leader in Internet gear. Moe Grzelakowski, senior vice president and general manager of strategic marketing at NSS, makes no bones about it. The meetings are designed not only to inspire employees, but also to retain employees in today's incredibly competitive market. There's also the obvious but often overlooked reason: "We're a communications company, and we believe a lot in communicating with our employees," says Grzelakowski, whose on-stage talk with a Julia Child impersonator revolves around what's cooking with Aspira, Motorola's Internet protocol-based architecture. Not everyone within Motorola gets to work on the cool, fun stuff, Grzelakowski says. But it's important that everyone from a factory head to a software developer understand the vision and get excited about the company's goals. All told, about 13,000 employees from various divisions within NSS will see the show, which costs the company about $100 per employee. Are the elaborate employee meetings worth the money? Motorola apparently thinks so; NSS has been staging similar productions for three years now, and various measurements point to better production and morale. Whether the goofy, horse-toothed Austin Powers character comes across as rude, lewd or hilarious, it's sure to beat a PowerPoint presentation. Wireless Week

To: JGoren who wrote (5529)	1/21/2000 8:29:00 PM
From: Ruffian	Respond to of 13582

Congress Eyed On DE Rule By Caron Carlson WASHINGTON--There they go again. FCC Chairman William Kennard says small business criteria for the re-auction of NextWave Personal Communications Inc.'s licenses will not change, yet larger players already are looking to skirt the restriction. A hearing on the matter is tentatively scheduled before the Senate Budget Committee in early February. Retaining the so-called "designated entity" rule and entertaining requests for waivers may be one way for the FCC to uphold the letter of the law that set aside the C- and F-Block PCS spectrum for small business and at the same time permit deep-pocket players to push up the bids. Sources say several companies applied for waivers last year, well before the re-auction was planned, and giant SBC Communications Inc. was preparing a waiver request late last week. An additional hurdle to the auction for most cellular and PCS operators is the 45 megahertz spectrum cap. Worried that its members will be shut out of the bidding for the highly coveted spectrum while other big players might find a way in, CTIA called for Congress to "clarify that there will be a fair and equitable re-auction process free from any special FCC deals." Without naming Nextel Communications Inc., CTIA alluded to the exclusive licensing agreement the company signed with the FCC's general counsel last Aug. 10. "We have already seen, through legislation the FCC supported last year, they can and will support a sweetheart deal that allows one company to acquire the licenses, and short-change taxpayers by selling the spectrum at less than market value," says Steve Berry, CTIA senior vice president for congressional affairs. A new law may be the most auspicious vehicle for settling the question. "Congress may be the only place that can very clearly define a fair and equitable way to get this spectrum out there," Berry adds. Although passage of a law is highly unlikely to occur before the scheduled July 26 auction, many in the industry see that date as fluid. The entire debate over the designated entity rules may prove academic if NextWave succeeds in having the court overturn the FCC's cancellation of its licenses. The company, which has tried since last summer to receive confirmation of its reorganization plan, won a skirmish last week when the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York refused an FCC request to temporarily stop the proceedings in the bankruptcy court. The FCC was ordered to appear before the bankruptcy court last Friday to "show cause" why its cancellation of the licenses was legal. Meanwhile, NextWave may ask the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, possibly this week, to rehear the case, which it decided in favor of the FCC in November. "There are three to four fundamental legal issues that were raised by NextWave and not addressed in the court's opinion," says Michael Wack, an attorney for NextWave. "The FCC has made it clear that rather than accept full payment on an accelerated basis and put the licenses into productive use, it would prefer to litigate."