Report: Sixth-Largest Pager Company Declares Bankruptcy and Closes The Associated Press

HACKENSACK, N.J. (AP) - TSR Wireless, a pager service provider and retailer of wireless devices, has reportedly declared bankruptcy and halted business, leaving 2.5 million subscribers in limbo and 1,700 people jobless. The company, which bills itself as the nation's sixth-largest pager carrier, filed to liquidate its assets under Chapter 7 of the federal bankruptcy code, The Record of Hackensack in New Jersey reported Tuesday.

It wasn't immediately clear where the bankruptcy may have been filed. No TSR filing was recorded Tuesday at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Newark, the court closest to TSR's headquarters in Fort Lee, N.J., according to clerks and computer records there.

Efforts to reach the company were not successful. The main number at headquarters rang unanswered, as did calls and e-mails to TSR customer service.

While the bankruptcy will likely disrupt paging service for TSR customers, the wireless network operators who carried TSR's traffic might offer to honor service contracts in a bid to win those customers permanently. Efforts to reach a TSR carrier named Motient weren't immediately successful.

The newspaper, citing an unidentified finance manager for TSR, reported that TSR Chief Executive Mitch Sacks told workers of the shutdown Monday morning.

According to TSR's Web site, the privately owned company was founded in 1974 and has over 2.5 million pagers in service and more than 275 stores nationwide.

In addition to paging services, the company sells mobile phone services provided by AT&T and Nextel, as well as a variety of mobile phone models and accessories from various manufacturers.

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-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), December 06, 2000