THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, March 26, 1996 TAG: 9603260347
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D6 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Business Briefs
LENGTH: Medium: 87 lines
Wireless phone subscribers in the United States increased by 40 percent, or 9.6 million customers, last year, the Cellular Telephone Industry Association reported. That's as many new subscribers as the industry added in its first nine years, said Thomas Wheeler, CTIA president. Today, 13 percent of all Americans have wireless phones, the report said. Wireless revenues also have grown, CTIA said, up 34 percent to $19 billion from 1994's $14.2 billion. At the same time, prices to consumers have dropped, the group said. The average monthly bill in 1995 was $51, 9 percent lower than it was in 1994. (Bloomberg Business News) MCI plans grand opening at Newport News center
MCI Communications Corp. will hold a grand opening for its new Newport News Mass Markets Center in the Sherwood Shopping Center in Denbigh. The grand opening will feature a ribbon-cutting ceremony and tours of the facility at 10:30 a.m. today at 13785 Warwick Blvd. U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott, Mayor Barry DuVal, MCI officials and employees will be among those attending the celebration. The telemarketing center will employ 1,000 workers by the end of this year with an annual payroll of $20 million. The facility occupies a former 75,000-square-foot Lowe's store. (Staff)
Richmond's Massey Coal
owns 60% of its market
The A.T. Massey Coal Co., thanks to recent contract acquisitions, now owns at least 60 percent of the metallurgical coal market in North America, according to an industry newsletter. A study done by ``Coal Outlook'' shows Richmond-based Massey recently captured up to 3 million new tons of metallurgical coal, used to make steel. Massey won the contracts partly by cutting prices from $1.50 to $3 a ton. The company also offered customers a better-quality coal and obtained lower railroad rates from CSX Transportation, the newsletter said. Massey, whose mining operations are in southern West Virginia, eastern Kentucky and Tennessee, has increased production from 21.2 million tons in 1993 to 27.4 million tons in 1995. (Associated Press)
Vulkan managers charged
with influence peddling
Two managers of the troubled Vulkan Verbund AG shipbuilder have been charged with influence peddling, prosecutors said. The director of Vulkan's defense division, Werner Schwarz, and an unidentified director of a Vulkan subsidiary were accused of paying a bribe of $27,500 to win favor in the awarding of government contracts. Vulkan, Germany's largest shipbuilder, also faces a criminal complaint that former management fraudulently misdirected aid money earmarked for eastern German yards. Vulkan filed for insolvency in February to gain legal protection from its creditors. (AP)
Government recalls faulty
hand-held hair dryers
The government announced a recall Monday of 12,000 hand-held hair dryers because they do not have plugs that can protect users from electrocution if the appliances are dropped in water. Bill's Dollar Stores of Jackson, Miss., sold the dryers throughout the South for $5 each between May 1995 and February, the government said. They were labeled ``International Professional Styler'' or ``Acesonic Professional Styler.'' Consumers should return them to any Bill's Dollar Store for an exchange or refund, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said. (AP)
AT&T to offer cell phones
from vending machines
Soon you will be able to buy a cellular phone the same way you buy potato chips and soft drinks - by vending machine. AT&T Wireless Services in Florida said it would begin using an automated kiosk this summer to dispense ready-to-use wireless phones. A touch-screen video monitor allows the customer to browse through various models and financing options, then processes credit applications. Once a customer is approved, the kiosk dispenses a package containing a telephone, battery charger and electronic adapter for a car's cigarette lighter. Initially, the vending machines will be available only in Florida. But eventually they will be allowed to operate independently throughout the country. (AP)
KEYWORDS: RECALL by CNB