Wireless Asia articles from December 2003

Wireless Asia archives from December 2003

Needing some assurance.(Unwired)
December 15, 2003... In the telecom world, there is no topic more sensitive than fraud, if it is referred to at all, it is couched in terms of "revenue leakage"; no carrier executive would ever be impolite enough to actually utter the f--word. Of course, fraud...

Broadband wireless breaks out Down Under.(News Analysis)
December 15, 2003... Competition is intensifying in Australia's retail broadband market, with wireless and wireline offerings jostling for business. Following on the breakthrough agreement for Optus to lease Telstra's DSL infrastructure, two smaller wireless...

Letter to editor.(Letter to the Editor)
December 15, 2003... Dear Editor, In his otherwise very accomplished article, Tony Char n his column on N-Gage (Wireless Asia, October), implied that there may be a higher than normal "inventory risk for mobile operators and distributors in selling a new...

Nokia vs. CDMA.(News Analysis)
December 15, 2003... Nokia doesn't like the CDMA business environment. It's fragmented, proprietary and rife with "segregation", according to Soren Petersen, senior vice president and GM of Nokia's CDMA business unit. But CDMA constitutes 20% to 25% of the...

Winning in mobile games.(Insight: one month's wireless research)
December 15, 2003... Mobile games is about to become the largest mobile entertainment application, says Alexander Resources, forecasting revenues to grow from just under $500 million in 2002 to nearly 12 billion by 2006. It says the acceptance of a new...

SMS bigger than Hollywood.(Insight: one month's wireless research)
December 15, 2003... SMS traffic industry will generate $48.7 billion in 2003, making it bigger than the music industry or Hollywood--and next year will be bigger than both of them combined. A new report has identified growth in fresh areas for SMS--adult and...

Corporate IM study.(Insight: one month's wireless research)
December 15, 2003... The Yankee Group is studying the use of instant messaging (IM) in corporate environments, examining usage data, user behavior, application integration strategies and future enterprise deployment plans. The study is expected to run through...

OSS growth.(Insight: one month's wireless research)
December 15, 2003... The worldwide OSS market will grow at 7% CAGR in 2003-07 to $40.5 billion, but commercial software spending will grow at an even faster pace of 11% CAGR, says RHK. Customers will increasingly opt for off-the-shelf OSS products rather than...

Enterprise fuels WLAN demand.(Insight: one month's wireless research)
December 15, 2003... The WLAN 802.11 access point and bridge market grew 9% sequentially in 3Q03 over the second quarter to $457 million, says the Dell'Oro Group. The biggest driver was accelerated demand for enterprise class access points, up 25% to $121...

Phone smarts hold back recycling.(News Analysis)
December 15, 2003... The Introduction of multimedia into the handset has had an unexpected result: the rate of recycling has slowed, as consumers have become more reluctant to get rid of their phone. "The recycle rate is actually declining industry-wide," says...

Multiple-app SIM cards promise Wi-Fi roaming.(News Analysis)
December 15, 2003... Service providers and end-users agree--Wi-Fi needs to roam. Hence clearinghouses like GRIC and iPass have been adding Wi-Fi to their list of access services, while standards-based roaming clubs have emerged, such as the Wireless Broadband...

The Pentagon is investigating allegations of corruption.(Movements)
December 15, 2003... The Pentagon is investigating allegations of corruption in the award of mobile licenses in Iraq.

The mmo2 alliance is in talks with Bouygues Telecom of France, Cingular and AT&T Wireless and other companies in Greece.(Movements)
December 15, 2003... The mmo2 alliance is in talks with Bouygues Telecom of France, Cingular and AT&T Wireless and other companies in Greece to share expertise and boost market clout.

Wind launches i-mode service to the Italian market.(Movements)
December 15, 2003... Wind launches i-mode service to the Italian market, the seventh offshore market for the Japanese mobile data service, and following the licensing of i-mode to Greek mobile carrier Cosmote.

Nortel Networks chief Frank Dunn expects the telecoms sector to see better times next year as business picks up and technology advances.(Movements)
December 15, 2003... Nortel Networks chief Frank Dunn expects the telecoms sector to see better times next year as business picks up and technology advances. But he doesn't expect capex to return to the boom levels seen in 1999 and 2000.

Alcatel Shanghai Bell and Intel sign an MoU to jointly promote mobile Internet applications.(Movements)
December 15, 2003... Alcatel Shanghai Bell and Intel sign an MoU to jointly promote mobile Internet applications using the Linux operating system in China.

Nortel Network's much-awaited restated results for fiscal 2000 to mid-2003.(Movements)
December 15, 2003... Nortel Network's much-awaited restated results for fiscal 2000 to mid-2003 yields an extra $505 million in net profit for the period.

Nokia is standing by its forecast for slightly lower fourth-quarter profits.(Movements)
December 15, 2003... Nokia is standing by its forecast for slightly lower fourth-quarter profits as the company outlines a growth strategy that includes increased software development and making more gadgets with greater technology.

Network Associates and NTT DoCoMo jointly develop a key technological element for a compact anti-virus engine.(Movements)
December 15, 2003... Network Associates and NTT DoCoMo jointly develop a key technological element for a compact anti-virus engine, based on Network Associates' McAfee Security technology, for mobile handsets.

Hutchison Whampoa and Dutch carrier KPN resolve their legal dispute regarding Hutchison 3G UK.(Movements)
December 15, 2003... Hutchison Whampoa and Dutch carrier KPN resolve their legal dispute regarding Hutchison 3G UK, after KPN agreed to sell its entire 15% stake in 3UK to Hatch for 90 million pounds ($149.6 million).

ShinSat and AsiaSat say the administrations of China and Thailand have concluded a frequency coordination agreement between both countries.(Movements)
December 15, 2003... ShinSat and AsiaSat say the administrations of China and Thailand have concluded a frequency Coordination agreement between both countries, settling all concerned ITU filings of both sides.

Qualcomm posts a 53% increase in fiscal fourth-quarter profit.(Movements)
December 15, 2003... Qualcomm posts a 53% increase in fiscal fourth-quarter profit, helped by a tax benefit in its investment unit and strong demand for its 3G wireless chips.

GSM Association says GSM's subscriber base will break the 1 billion mark.(Movements)
December 15, 2003... GSM Association says GSM's subscriber base will break the 1 billion mark some time early next year.

UTStarcom and Panasonic Mobile agree to collaborate on 3G phones (including TD-SCDMA) for China and other markets.(Movements)
December 15, 2003... UTStarcom and Panasonic Mobile agree to collaborate on 3G phones (including TD-SCDMA) for China and other markets via a JV called Universal Communications Technology Hangzhou.

Sony announces plans to take on N-Gage and the iPod in one go with the PSP.(Movements)
December 15, 2003... Sony announces plans to take on N-Gage and the ipod in one go with the PSP, an integrated handheld gaming device/phone that includes a digital music and video player--all for under $60.

Beijing: the Ministry of Information Industry implements a mobile-to-mobile interconnection charge of 0.06 yuan.(Newsmap: around Wireless Asia)
December 15, 2003... Beijing: The Ministry of Information Industry implements a mobile to mobile interconnection charge of 0.06 yuan ($0.007) per minute.

Beijing: China has now more mobile users than fixed line users.(Newsmap: around Wireless Asia)
December 15, 2003... Beijing: China has now more mobile users than fixed line users, according to MII statistics. At end-October China had 256.9 million mobile users and 255.1 million wireline subscribers.

Chongqing: China Putian signs a deal with Chongqing Institute of Posts and Telecommunications.(Newsmap: around Wireless Asia)
December 15, 2003... Chongqing: China Putian signs a deal with Chongqing Institute of Posts and Telecommunications to produce the first TD-SCDMA mobile phone by 2005.

Shenzhen: Huawei Technologies enters the PHS market with launch of three PHS handsets, pricing from 700-800 yuan ($85-96).(Newsmap: around Wireless Asia)
December 15, 2003... Shenzhen: Huawei Technologies enters the PHS market with launch of three PHS handsets, pricing from 700-800 yuan ($85-$96). Huawei says it has received contracts worth over 100 million yuan for the supply of 200,000 handsets.

Hong Kong: CSL slashes sharply its investment in 3G by nearly 90% in the first three years of operation.(Newsmap: around Wireless Asia)
December 15, 2003... Hong Kong: CSL slashes sharply its investment in 3G by nearly 90% in the first three years of operation by limiting coverage to high-usage districts.

Hong Kong: Hutchison Whampoa chairman Li Ka-shing admits that the company has pushed its 3G break-even target back by a year to 2006.(Newsmap: around Wireless Asia)
December 15, 2003... Hong Kong: Hutchison Whampoa chairman Li Ka-shing admits that the company has pushed its 3G break-even target back by a year to 2006, blaming delays in handset deliveries from Motorola and other suppliers.

Hong Kong: China Unicom HK expects acquisition of remaining provincial GSM networks owned by its mainland parent and disposal its paging business to boost its pro forma 2003 earnings per share by 14%.(Newsmap: around Wireless Asia)
December 15, 2003... Hong Kong: China Unicom HK expects acquisition of remaining provincial GSM networks owned by its mainland parent and disposal its paging business to boost its pro forma 2003 earnings per share by 14%. The deal, worth HK$10.6 billion ($1.36...

Hong Kong: SmarTone Communications pushes back its 3G rollout.(Newsmap: around Wireless Asia)
December 15, 2003... Hong Kong: SmarTone Communications pushes back its 3G rollout to late next year because of a lack of handsets.

Jakarta: Mobile operator Excelcomindo reduces its debt to $299.4 million.(Newsmap: around Wireless Asia)
December 15, 2003... Jakarta: Mobile operator Excelcomindo reduces its debt to $299.4 million after the company repaid $70 million of its debt using funds from a Rp1.25 trillion ($146 million) bond.

Jakarta: Telkom reports a drop in third-quarter net profit compared to last year.(Newsmap: around Wireless Asia)
December 15, 2003... Jakarta: Telkom reports a drop in third-quarter net profit compared to last year despite a spike in revenues thanks to growth at mobile unit Telkomsel.

Jakarta: Indosat expects to complete merging two mobile units into the parent group by 2005.(Newsmap: around Wireless Asia)
December 15, 2003... Jakarta: Indosat expects to complete merging two mobile units into the parent group by 2005. President Widya Purnama says the merger would help the company keep its share of the country's growing cellular market at 31%.

Manila: Globe and Digitel are reportedly close to finalizing an interim agreement with MCI.(Newsmap: around Wireless Asia)
December 15, 2003... Manila: Globe and Digitel are reportedly close to finalizing an interim agreement with MCI, paving the way to resolve the long-running international termination rates dispute between Philippine and US carriers.

Manila: Digitel will issue $31.1 million in bonds.(Newsmap: around Wireless Asia)
December 15, 2003... Manila: Digitel will issue $31.1 million in bonds to fund the continued rollout of its Sun Cellular network.

Manila: Globe Telecom contracts Nokia to roll out an EDGE network.(Newsmap: around Wireless Asia)
December 15, 2003... Manila: Globe Telecom contracts Nokia to roll out an EDGE network for metro Manila.

Seoul: SK Telecom denies a media report that it is considering killing off its W-CDMA project.(Newsmap: around Wireless Asia)
December 15, 2003... Seoul: SK Telecom denies a media report that it is considering killing off its W-CDMA project, due for launch by the end of this year.

Seoul: SK Telecom plans to set up a joint venture with Toshiba and others for satellite digital media broadcasting, with SK holdings a major stake of between 30% and 33% in the new company, while Toshiba will have a 10% stake.(Newsmap: around Wireless Asia)
December 15, 2003... Seoul: SK Telecom plans to set up a joint venture with Toshiba and others for satellite digital media broadcasting, with SK holdings a major stake of between 30% and 33% in the new company, while Toshiba will have a 10% stake. The new entity...

Tokyo: Japan Telecom Holdings report a $955.2 million loss for its fiscal first half.(Newsmap: around Wireless Asia)
December 15, 2003... Tokyo: Japan Telecom Holdings reports a $955.2 million loss for its fiscal first half due to a $1.5 billion special loss on the sale of its fixed line operations.

Tokyo: NTT DoCoMo and Intel confirm plans to develop advanced semiconductors.(Newsmap: around Wireless Asia)
December 15, 2003... Tokyo: NTT DoCoMo and Intel confirm plans to develop advanced semiconductors for DoCoMo's 3G handsets.

Tokyo: Casio Computer and Hitachi announce plans for a JV next April.(Newsmap: around Wireless Asia)
December 15, 2003... Tokyo: Casio Computer and Hitachi announce plans for a JV next April to unite their cellphone businesses.

Tokyo: Vodafone KK begins offering Vodafone Live! service on its W-CDMA network.(Newsmap: around Wireless Asia)
December 15, 2003... Tokyo: Vodafone KK begins offering Vodafone Live! service on its W-CDMA network, with a W-CDMA/GSM dual mode handset supplied from Sanyo.

Sydney: Telstra deploys its second SMSC in Sydney.(Newsmap: around Wireless Asia)
December 15, 2003... Sydney: Telstra deploys its second SMSC in Sydney and upgrades its existing site in Brisbane in a bid to meet the ongoing demand for SMS.

Sydney: Vodafone will go it alone to build a 3G network after discussions with Telstra and SingTel Optus fell through.(Newsmap: around Wireless Asia)
December 15, 2003... Sydney: Vodafone will go it alone to build a 3G network after discussions with Telstra and SingTel Optus fell through. Vodafone managing director Grahame Maher says the three failed to reach a 3G partnership mainly because of time, as both...

New Delhi: Bharti Tele-Ventures applies for unified access licenses to provide mobile services in six new zones.(Newsmap: around Wireless Asia)
December 15, 2003... New Delhi: Bharti Tele-Ventures applies for unified access licenses to provide mobile services in six new zones. Bharti, which already provides services to about 5.4 million users in 15 of India's 22 zones, aims to establish a "complete...

New Delhi: Indian mobile operators give up on more legal challenges to the government's plan of unified licensing.(Newsmap: around Wireless Asia)
December 15, 2003... New Delhi: Indian mobile operators give up on more legal challenges to the government's plan of unified licensing, but demand more than $4 billion in compensation to their businesses.

Singapore: Cisco Systems, Dan Net, iPass, Microsoft and rovingIP.net join the Wireless Hotspots and Network Internetworking Initiative.(Newsmap: around Wireless Asia)
December 15, 2003... Singapore: Cisco Systems, Dan Net, iPass, Microsoft and rovingIP.net join the Wireless Hotspots and Network Internetworking Initiative spearheaded by Intel and the IDA of Singapore to develop standards for interoperability between different...

Hot or not: we rate wireless' most important trends for 2004.(Cover Story)
December 15, 2003... It's that time of year, when tech journalists try to forget their missed forecasts of the previous Xmas and once more to boldly go where no analyst, researcher or editor has been before. That's right, it's crystal ball time as we pick and...

Mobile insider: Intel may not have been first on the block with a cellphone platform, but Ron Smith, senior VP and general manager of Intel's wireless communications and computing group, assures global technology editor John C. Tanner that it has the building blocks to morph cell phones into wireless computing devices, backed by an army of developers.
December 15, 2003... Wireless Asia: Intel's key message at its recent developers' forum in Taipei was convergence--what's your definition of convergence, and what's Intel doing along those lines? Ron Smith: What we talked about was how computers are adding...

This LAN is your LAN: how Wi-Fi switches bring user awareness to the enterprise network: enterprises have approved Wi-Fi with caution, with concerns ranging from security to network management problems. The answer may be subscriber management software that gives LANs something they've never had before: user awareness.(Wireless Tech)
December 15, 2003... One of the Ironies of the growing hype over public Wi-Fi hot spots is that 802.11b and its cousin, 802.11a, were originally envisioned as wireless access options for private LANs--yet the consumer market currently accounts for the majority of...

Here comes mobile WLAN: low-cost mobile technology is moving into the LAN. Will enterprises adopt?(Wireless Biz)
December 15, 2003... Mobile and local area communications technologies are moving rapidly toward convergence, potentially spelling trouble for landline providers whose dominance inside commercial and residential buildings could be threatened. Although makers...

Java IDE.(tools)
December 15, 2003... Wireless tool set supplier apps for phones releases its Integrated DeveLopment Environment, the first product in their range of developer tools for creating J2ME applications for phones, wireless devices, smartphones and other devices.

European i-mode apps kit.(tools)
December 15, 2003... Borland Software releases its JBuilder Mobile Development for i-mode, which is designed for development of mobile applications for i-mode services outside of Japan. The kit integrates JBuilder and the NTT DoCoMo Doja 1.5 Overseas Edition SDK...

Automated CRM for Symbian users.(tools)
December 15, 2003... CRM vendor Mobile Diagnostix will support Symbian smartphones in the latest version of its Mobile Care Framework, allowing cellcos to provide next-gen automated customer care to subscribers using Symbian-based smartphones.

SIM card IOT tester.(tools)
December 15, 2003... ORGA Test Systems launches IT3 Live!, the latest addition to its IT3 family of test equipment for USIM cards, which is designed to test the interoperability of various technology components and also monitor and analyze these using the company's...

Mobile-PC link-up.(tools)
December 15, 2003... Motorola introduces Mobile PhoneTools 2.0, which allows users to connect their mobile phone and laptop via USB and use the handset as a wireless modem to send and receive text messages and check email, as well as transfer appointment schedules....

JCB-DoCoMo biometric trial.(deals)
December 15, 2003... Japanese credit card company JCB starts a mobile biometric authentication trial project. The trial is testing fingerprint authentication for mobile access to JCB's card member account inquiry service using NTT DoCoMo's F505i mobile phone,...

M-payment merger.(deals)
December 15, 2003... Network365 and iPIN will merge to create a new company, Valista, which will bring together Network365's Asian cellco customer base with iPIN's ISP and landline customers in the US and Europe. The merger is expected to be completed by January...

NWM joins blah! community.(deals)
December 15, 2003... New World Mobility announces a partnership with Brazilian VAS provider blah! to introduce an SMS-based anonymous chat service that allows users to chat with each other in Chinese or English both locally and overseas in the blah! community,...

Mobile2win enters Philippines.(deals)
December 15, 2003... Mobile2win--a JV between Siemens, Contests2win and Softbank--goes live in the Philippines via a tie-up with ZED Sonera to distribute its Java games content.

Telematics hub.(out now)
December 15, 2003... Intelematics Australia launches its Australian Telematics Services Hub (ATSH), which will extend its core telematics and roadside assistance offerings, currently available through their nation-wide call center. It will soon make such services...

1x PC modem.(out now)
December 15, 2003... Novatel Wireless says it will begin shipping its Merlin C386 cdma-1x PC modem this month. The modem offers access speeds of up to 153.6 kbps and is designed to use a CDMA R-UIM card. It is now in trials in Thailand and major Chinese cities.

Multimedia VAS.(out now)
December 15, 2003... New World Mobility introduces its "Mkee" multimedia value added services, providing a range of mobile multimedia and infotainment services for customers with XHTML-enabled color WAP handsets.

Winbond licenses Ericsson Bluetooth.(deals)
December 15, 2003... Ericsson Technology Licensing signs a licensing agreement with Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturer Winbond. The agreement, which covers the Ericsson Core Bluetooth Radios KE-1 and KD-1, enables Winbond to manufacture complete Bluetooth...

Linux mobile apps MoU.(deals)
December 15, 2003... Alcatel Shanghai Bell and Intel sign an MoU to jointly promote in China advanced mobile Internet applications for the Linux operating environment. Alcatel and Intel will use Alcatel's 3G Reality Center in Shanghai to help mobile service...

First Hop-Tecnomen MMS co-op.(deals)
December 15, 2003... Middleware vendor First Hop and messaging supplier Tecnomen will work together globally to deliver a complete solution for rich content and MMS services to operators. The solution includes First Hop WireLess Broker for delivery, management, and...

Prepaid sat-phone cards.(out now)
December 15, 2003... France Telecom Mobile Satellite Communications Launches Opti-time prepaid cards for use in all Inmarsat digital satellite handsets, including Inmarsat-Fleet, Mini M, B and M.

MTV goes mobile.(out now)
December 15, 2003... MTV Networks Asia Launches a new business division, MTV Mobile, in China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand. MTV Mobile aims to deliver branded local-language mobile content and services such...

Push-to-talk for BREW.(out now)
December 15, 2003... Qualcomm says that BREWChat, the BREW version of its push-to-chat solution, will be commercially available in the first quarter of 2004. Built on Qualcomm's QChat technology, BREWChat enables VoIP-based push-to-talk communications between...

Mobile security--or big brother? to date, cellphones have been free from hacker attack, but the recent breach of N-Gage's copy protection suggests this could be about to change.(Wheel Of Industry)
December 15, 2003... Haven't the hackers been enjoying themselves lately? Apart from causing this writer to lose the best part of a week cleaning out the Swen worm from his hard disk, they scored a major success in making Telstra re-think its entire Big Pond email...

Getting ahead in m-commerce.(Wireless Forum)
December 15, 2003... Mobile commerce barely survived the Internet bubble. But some emerging niche applications could add up to something big. One benefit of mobile commerce is bill consolidation. Both customers and merchants like the idea of putting small...

Dreaming of user experience: in a recent usability survey, 30% of respondents had trouble figuring out how to use all the features on their smartphones.(Street Wise)
December 15, 2003... If you've ever studied philosophy at university, you will know that the logic component of the course is unavoidable. Which is handy, because it helps you to understand that in philosophy there are few absolute rights and wrongs, or true or...

Bluejacking.(Short message: around the wireless industry)
December 15, 2003... Found a mysterious message or picture planted on your mobile phone recently? You've been "bluejacked". It's a fad among young Asian and European mobile users of sending a message to a Bluetooth device in the vicinity. Like any good fad, it...

Nice try.(Short message: around the wireless industry)
December 15, 2003... The recent Rugby World Cup in Australia generated keen rivalry off the field as well as on it. The main clash was between event sponsor Telstra and global cellco Vodafone, a sponsor of several of the teams, including finalist Australia. Telstra...

Spot the exploding battery.(Short message: around the wireless industry)
December 15, 2003... Counterfeit mobile phone accessories have been plaguing handset makers for years--particularly market leader Nokia, whose biggest problem in recent days has been counterfeit batteries that, on occasion, explode (see short message Nov.). An even...

Text forgiveness.(Short message: around the wireless industry)
December 15, 2003... An Australian driver who killed a cyclist while sending a text message walked free after the rider's family said she did not deserve to go to jail. Silvia Ciach, 24, driving at 70 to 80 kph, did not see 36-year-old Anthony Marsh because...

Candid camera.(Short message: around the wireless industry)
December 15, 2003... South Korean camera-phones must be more candid, the government has ruled. After a series of minor scandals, a new law requires handsets to emit a beep whenever a picture is taken. In one notable case, a woman used her camera-phone to snap...