Wireless Asia articles from January 2005

Wireless Asia archives from January 2005

Radiating concern.(Unwired)
January 1, 2005... Twenty years after the invention of the mobile phone, we are still awaiting a definitive finding on its effect on human health. The latest study, by the UK National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB), made headlines in January when board...

DoCoMo consortium plans to super-size W-CDMA.(News Analysis)
January 1, 2005... As W-CDMA finally gets into gear and suppliers are now buzzing about the next stage of W-EDMA's evolution (HSDPA) a group of 26 companies led by NTT DoCoMo plans to up the ante--not to mention potential confusion among consumers--with "Super...

Capacity trumps coverage.(Insight: one month's wireless research)
January 1, 2005... With most industrialized regions enjoying widespread cellular coverage, mobile operators are focusing on expanding the capacity of existing systems to handle more subscribers rather than building out more infrastructure. According to ABI...

Taming remote wireless devices.(Insight: one month's wireless research)
January 1, 2005... Managing an array of wireless devices as fully administered extensions of a company's IT fabric is a daunting task, particularly for smaller businesses less able to exercise control over a growing population of network hungry devices. Strategy...

Pricing strategies key to driving content.(Insight: one month's wireless research)
January 1, 2005... European mobile operators need to overhaul their pricing strategies to kick-start the lagging mobile content market for third-party services such as ring-tones, logos, games, music and videos, according Analysys Research. While the market has...

Women value safety over style.(Insight: one month's wireless research)
January 1, 2005... An IDC study has found that mobile users consider the productivity and convenience benefits of owning mobile phones more important than other fundamental benefits, such as safety and security or style and status. One of the largest segments of...

eAccess seeks to cut Japan's mobile rates by 50%.(News Analysis)
January 1, 2005... With Japan's leading fixed-line carriers turning their noses up at the DSL business in 1998 Dr. Sachio Semmoto boldly claimed he could take on NTT as a DSL reseller. With $45 million seed money from companies like Goldman Sachs and Morgan...

Vodafone struggles in Japan.(Metrics)
January 1, 2005... Santa indeed wasn't kind last Christmas to Vodafone's mobile subsidiary in Japan. Vodafone KK's subscriber growth basically stalled in December as it added just 900 subscribers while rivals NTT DoCoMo and KDDI each picked up around 250,000...

A camera for every phone.(Metrics)
January 1, 2005... Just four years from now, almost 90% of all mobile handsets are expected to have a camera. InfoTrends/CAP Ventures forecasts that the worldwide cameraphone market will expand nearly fivefold--from 178 million units last year to over 860 million...

A group of 26 companies, including Vodafone, Siemens, Alcatel, NEC and DoCoMo, agree to develop and support an advanced mobile technology, branded "Super 3G," which will offer transmission speeds at more than ten times the speed of current 3G services.(Movements)
January 1, 2005... A group of 26 companies, including Vodafone, Siemens, Alcatel, NEC and DoCoMo, agree to develop and support an advanced mobile technology, branded "Super 3G," which will offer transmission speeds at more than ten times the speed of current 3G...

The UK government is expected to generate proceeds of up to GBP2.5b ($5b) from the auction of new 3G mobile licenses planned for 2007, according to Quotient Associates.(Movements)
January 1, 2005... The UK government is expected to generate proceeds of up to GBP2.5b ($5b) from the auction of new 3G mobile licenses planned for 2007, according to Quotient Associates. This is one-tenth of the GBP22.5 billion netted from the first auction in...

Hutchison Whampoa pays 469.56m euros ($628m) to buy out CIRtel International's 1.6% stake in Hutchison 3G Italia.(Movements)
January 1, 2005... Hutchison Whampoa pays 469.56m euros ($628m) to buy out CIRtel International's 1.6% stake in Hutchison 3G Italia, paving the way for yet another Hutchison telecoms asset spin-off.

Vodafone Germany is streaming a full-length movie.(Movements)
January 1, 2005... Vodafone Germany is streaming a full-length movie to its 3G handsets--one day before the film is broadcast on television.

mmO2 plans to launch Europe's first HSDPA-based 3G.(Movements)
January 1, 2005... mmO2 plans to launch Europe's first HSDPA-based 3G mobile broadband data network this summer.

Motorola.(Movements)
January 1, 2005... Mike Zafirovski has resigned as president and COO of Motorola, a year after being passed over for the top job at the group.

The FCC will auction licenses.(Movements)
January 1, 2005... The FCC will auction licenses for 3G services in the 1710-1755 MHz and 2110-2155 MHz bands as early as June 2006.

Kyocera Wireless plans to cut about 600 jobs.(Movements)
January 1, 2005... Kyocera Wireless plans to cut about 600 jobs in San Diego as it moves manufacturing and repair work to other countries to cut costs.

Siemens plans to set up a 3G application software R&D center in Hangzhou.(Movements)
January 1, 2005... Siemens plans to set up a 3G application software R&D center in Hangzhou, the capital of east China's Zhejiang province.

Gemplus International carries out the world's first high-speed Java SIM card applet download over the live 3G infrastructure of 3 Hong Kong.(Movements)
January 1, 2005... Gemplus International carries out the world's first high-speed Java SIM card applet download over the live 3G infrastructure of 3 Hong Kong. Using a communication channel based on USIM and OTA technology, Gemplus was able to download a data...

Samsung Electronics develops the world's first mobile phone with motion-recognition capabilities that allows users to dial by waving the phone to write numbers in the air instead of pressing a keypad.(Movements)
January 1, 2005... Samsung Electronics develops the world's first mobile phone with motion-recognition capabilities that allows users to dial by waving the phone to write numbers in the air instead of pressing a keypad. Samsung says the new device used a...

Vonage and UTStarcom announce a partnership to introduce a portable Wi-Fi handset configured.(Movements)
January 1, 2005... Vonage and UTStarcom announce a partnership to introduce a portable Wi-Fi handset configured with Vonage's VoIP service and usable across 802.11b networks.

Beijing: China Unicom is in discussions with Yulong Computer (Shenzhen) about ordering the handset maker's CDMA/GSM dual-mode PDA phone, which would be the first of its kind in the world.(Newsmap: around Wireless Asia)
January 1, 2005... BEIJING: China Unicom is in discussions with Yulong Computer (Shenzhen) about ordering the handset maker's CDMA/GSM dual-mode PDA phone, which would be the first of its kind in the world. The retail price of the phone is likely to be set...

>Beijing: China Mobile penalizes value-added wireless service provider LinkTone for billing clients for services that should have been free.(Newsmap: around Wireless Asia)
January 1, 2005... BEIJING: China Mobile penalizes value-added wireless service provider LinkTone for billing clients for services that should have been free. The cellco will withhold LinkTone's WAP revenues for six months and suspend approval of new product...

>Beijing: China Telecom and China Netcom, in cooperation with Huawei Technologies, ZTE and UTStarcom, have set up a new telecom alliance called the China Fixed Phone Network & PHS Terminal Alliance (CFPTA).(Newsmap: around Wireless Asia)
January 1, 2005... BEIJING: China Telecom and China Netcom, in cooperation with Huawei Technologies, ZTE and UTStarcom, have set up a new telecom alliance called the China Fixed Phone Network & PHS Terminal Alliance (CFPTA). The alliance is a non-profit...

Shenzhen: Huawei Technologies reports record sales of $5.8b for 2004, a 45% increase year-on-year.(Newsmap: around Wireless Asia)
January 1, 2005... SHENZHEN: Huawei Technologies reports record sales of $5.8b for 2004, a 45% increase year-on-year. International sales rose 117% to $2.28b compared to 2003 while domestic sales grew 18% year-on-year to $3.3b.

Shenzhen: ZTE signs a deal with Malaysian operator Electcoms to provide GoTa (global open trunking architecture), a digital trunking communications system using cdma 2000 1x technology, to cover the whole country.(Newsmap: around Wireless Asia)
January 1, 2005... SHENZHEN: ZTE signs a deal with Malaysian operator Electcoms to provide GoTa (global open trunking architecture), a digital trunking communications system using cdma 2000 1x technology, to cover the whole country. The first phase of the...

Islamabad: Warid Telecom and Mobilink-GSM enter into an interconnection agreement.(Newsmap: around Wireless Asia)
January 1, 2005... ISLAMABAD: Warid Telecom and Mobilink-GSM enter into an interconnection agreement for GSM traffic to establish connectivity between the two cellular providers.

Jakarta: Telekom Malaysia is seeking a controlling share in Excelcomindo after acquiring 27.3% of the country's third-largest mobile operator.(Newsmap: around Wireless Asia)
January 1, 2005... JAKARTA: Telekom Malaysia is seeking a controlling share in Excelcomindo after acquiring 27.3% of the country's third-largest mobile operator. Telekom signed a deal acquiring the stake valued at $314m from Nynex Indocel Holding (Verizon)...

Manila: PLDT is holding talks with carriers overseas with the aim of taking its mobile services to hundreds of thousands of expatriates Filipinos this year..(Newsmap: around Wireless Asia)
January 1, 2005... MANILA: PLDT is holding talks with carriers overseas with the aim of taking its mobile services to hundreds of thousands of expatriates Filipinos this year. The PLDT group wants to cash-in on about eight million overseas Filipinos who send...

New Delhi: state-owned MTNL claims it would take a financial hit of INR4.50b ($102.3m) annually.(Newsmap: around Wireless Asia)
January 1, 2005... NEW DELHI: State-owned MTNL claims it would take a financial hit of INR4.50b ($102.3m) annually due to the new access deficit charge announced by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

New Delhi: Tata Teleservices launches its CDMA and fixed-wireless services in the Indian state of Rajasthan.(Newsmap: around Wireless Asia)
January 1, 2005... NEW DELHI: Tata Teleservices launches its CDMA and fixed-wireless services in the Indian state of Rajasthan, saying it will invest INR1.75 billion ($40m) to cover 320 towns across the state.

Seoul: LG Telecom files a court injunction against rival SK Telecom over alleged handset subsidies it is using to attract customers.(Newsmap: around Wireless Asia)
January 1, 2005... SEOUL: LG Telecom files a court injunction against rival SK Telecom over alleged handset subsidies it is using to attract customers. LG says that since customers were given the right to switch operators and keep their original number in...

TU Media, a unit of SK Telecom, launches a trial of its much-awaited mobile television service via satellite.(Newsmap: around Wireless Asia)
January 1, 2005... SEOUL: TU Media, a unit of SK Telecom, launches a trial of its much-awaited mobile television service via satellite. The new service promises to offer high-definition digital TV programming for handsets and in-vehicle mobile equipment.

Samsung Electronics announces its first decline in net income in six quarters but reports a record-setting net profit for all of 2004.(Newsmap: around Wireless Asia)
January 1, 2005... SEOUL: Samsung Electronics announces its first decline in net income in six quarters but reports a record-setting net profit for all of 2004. In Q3, Samsung's net profit fell 1.9% to 1.82 trillion won ($1.75b) as weak prices of mobile...

Taipei: Taiwan's three major cellcos are set to launch 3G services in mid-2005.(Newsmap: around Wireless Asia)
January 1, 2005... TAIPEI: Taiwan's three major cellcos are set to launch 3G services in mid-2005. FarEasTone and Chunghwa Telecom are both expected to launch 3G services at the end of June, followed by Taiwan Cellular later in Q3. Chunghwa is testing...

Taipei: Hong Kong-based China Motion enters the Taiwan market as an MVNO operator by offering mobile services over Far EasTone's network for Taiwanese expatriates in China.(Newsmap: around Wireless Asia)
January 1, 2005... TAIPEI: Hong Kong-based China Motion enters the Taiwan market as an MVNO operator by offering mobile services over Far EasTone's network for Taiwanese expatriates in China. China Motion is the second company, after Taipei-based Hicall...

Taipei: Chunghwa Telecom selects Ericsson to provide indoor coverage for the world's tallest building, the 508-meter, 106-floor Taipei 101.(Newsmap: around Wireless Asia)
January 1, 2005... TAIPEI: Chunghwa Telecom selects Ericsson to provide indoor coverage for the world's tallest building, the 508-meter, 106-floor Taipei 101. The indoor system will incorporate GSM900, GSM1800, cdma800, cdma2000 and W-CDMA in a common...

Taipei: FarEasTone pays $38m for a 55.3% stake in local computer, communications and consumer electronics retailer Arcoa Communications.(Newsmap: around Wireless Asia)
January 1, 2005... TAIPEI: FarEasTone pays $38m for a 55.3% stake in local computer, communications and consumer electronics retailer Arcoa Communications. The firms will provide MVNO services this year, with Arcoa selling FarEasTone services under its own...

Tokyo: Japan now has more than 9,000 Wi-Fi hotspots in major cities, offering speeds of between 2 and 5 Mbps.(Newsmap: around Wireless Asia)
January 1, 2005... TOKYO: Japan now has more than 9,000 Wi-Fi hotspots in major cities, offering speeds of between 2 and 5 Mbps. NTT Communications runs about 2,200 hotspots, adding 165 new ones in Tokyo subway stations in December alone. The company plans...

Tokyo: Vodafone KK will encourage customers to shift to 3G handsets as its plans to stop offering 2G services.(Newsmap: around Wireless Asia)
January 1, 2005... TOKYO: Vodafone KK will encourage customers to shift to 3G handsets as its plans to stop offering 2G services. Vodafone president Shiro Tsuda says the company will offer its last 2G handset next year.

Tokyo: NTT DoCoMo is selling what is being claimed as the world's first Wi-Fi/cellular dual-mode phone.(Newsmap: around Wireless Asia)
January 1, 2005... TOKYO: NTT DoCoMo is selling what is being claimed as the world's first Wi-Fi/cellular dual-mode phone. The N900iL is a dual-network handset designed as a standard FOMA phone that can also place VoIP calls over a wireless network.

Singapore: the Infocomm Development Authority announces plan to allow the country's mobile players more pricing flexibility to boost competition.(Newsmap: around Wireless Asia)
January 1, 2005... SINGAPORE: The Infocomm Development Authority announces plan to allow the country's mobile players more pricing flexibility to boost competition. Operators will be able to charge different prices for intra-network calls, following a period...

Making media mobile: cellcos and media players have finally joined together.(Cover Story)
January 1, 2005... The combination of traditional media content and mobile phones seems like a no-brainer--cellcos need content, and media giants need new distribution channels. But the reality has been far trickier and rockier as both sides struggled to...

Push comes to shove: squaring off over PoC: push-to-talk is here--but it's still pre-standard, and some of it isn't even packet-based PoC, but circuit-switched technology from Kodiak. Critics are accusing Kodiak of sabotaging the PoC roadmap, but either way, the debate highlights one key issue: operators launching the services have to get it right the first time.(Wireless Tech)
January 1, 2005... One of the most talked about and anticipated mobile apps of 200/4 was push-to-talk--the ability to essentially turn a mobile phone into a walkie-talkie by giving it trunked radio functionality. The buzz surrounding push-to-talk typically...

Planning the future wireless world.(1_2_1)
January 1, 2005... Even as 3G starts to hit its stride, members of the Wireless World Research Forum (WWRF) are already looking ahead--not to 4G as such, but a world where wireless broadband is heterogeneous and ubiquitous. Mikko A. Uusitalo, WWRF chairman and...

Big plans for the small screen: mobile TV broadcasts have started in South Korea while a number of other trials are taking place across the globe. Despite a limited range of handsets and small screens, many analysts see a strong market for mobile TV--the key will be to price and package it correctly.(Applications)
January 1, 2005... One of my favorite lines on the increasingly talked about topic of mobile TV is that now that it's coming, all we'll need to do next is find some friends with particularly small heads to watch it with. Probably a tad harsh, but it does...

Audio manager kit.(tools)
January 1, 2005... BSQUARE releases the BSQUARE Audio Manager (BAM), a solution for makers of Microsoft Windows Mobile-based devices. BAM simplifies integrating audio peripherals with other essential phone subsystem components. It also speeds development by...

eZiText for BREW.(tools)
January 1, 2005... Zi Corp announces the commercial availability of the eZiText adaptation kit for Qualcomm's BREW solution. The kit is a software package for handset manufacturers that simplifies the integration of predictive text input functionality. The BREW...

Tool kit for RFID handsets.(tools)
January 1, 2005... Nokia introduces a set of tools to enable two-way interaction between RFID-enabled mobile phones and back-office applications, such as work scheduling, task management or information databases. The tool kit is targeted at enterprises with...

Fast video call set-up.(tools)
January 1, 2005... Dilithium Networks demonstrates its new AnswerFast Plus technology over live 3G networks in the UK and Australia. AnswerFast Plus allows mobile video calls to be set up in less than 1 second, resulting in call set-up times comparable to voice...

Web page analysis engine.(tools)
January 1, 2005... NEC says it has successfully developed a Web page analysis engine that makes viewing Web pages on a variety of mobile terminals such as PDAs and mobile phones easier, regardless of differences in display resolution and screen size. The layout...

SmarTone and Vodafone in co-branding partnership.(deals)
January 1, 2005... SmarTone signs a new partner network agreement with Vodafone, making SmarTone Vodafone's exclusive partner in Hong Kong. SmarTone will re-brand its business to SmarTone-Vodafone. Under the terms of the agreement, both companies will cooperate...

DoCoMo invests in Chinese LBS.(deals)
January 1, 2005... NTT DoCoMo invests $4 million in newly issued stock for an equity stake in Emcore Technology, which owns Chinese location-based service subsidiary Beijing Lingtu Spacecom Technology.

Hotmail access for BPL Mobile.(deals)
January 1, 2005... MSN India and Mobile 365 forge a strategic mobile alliance with Indian cellco BPL Mobile, allowing BPL users in Mumbai, Maharashtra, Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry to access their Hotmail accounts and chat with their MSN buddies via...

i-mode goes to Russia.(deals)
January 1, 2005... NTT DoCoMo and Russian cellco Mobile TeleSystems form an exclusive partnership under which MTS will launch i-mode in Russia and other CIS countries, including the Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Belarus. MTS plans to introduce i-mode in Russia before...

SmarTone launches consumer 3G.(out now)
January 1, 2005... SmarTone launches its consumer version of 3G by way of its SmarTone iN multimedia content portal New content geared for 3G includes video calls combined with animated characters, live news, live AV cam monitoring, multiplayer online games and...

BREW Developer Lab opens in Mumbai.(out now)
January 1, 2005... Qualcomm opens a BREW Developer Lab in Mumbai, India. The new lab will provide Indian application developers access to the latest BREW-enabled handsets, software and testing tools. In addition, the tab provides developers access to hands-on...

Dual-mode SIM for World Wind.(out now)
January 1, 2005... Axalto delivers what it says is the world's first commercial GSM/CDMA dual-mode Simera Airflex card to China Unicorn for its World Wind service. The dual-mode SIM allows World Wind users to choose to switch between Unicom's GSM or CDMA networks...

Virtual snowball fight.(out now)
January 1, 2005... SnowBallWars.com launches a virtual snowball fight app in which users send SMS text or animated MMS "snowballs" at friends and family. Users can throw up to five free SMS snowballs or one free MMS snowball. Additional snowballs cost extra, but...

3G Reality Center opens in Seoul.(deals)
January 1, 2005... Alcatel and SK Telecom sign an agreement to jointly open and maintain a 3G Reality Center (3GRC) in Seoul. The 3GRC will serve as a venue for the testing, integration and development of GSM technology-based 2.5G and 3G mobile multimedia...

InnoPath and WDSGlobal in OTA tie-up.(deals)
January 1, 2005... InnoPath Software partners with WDSGlobal to integrate InnoPath's DeltaUpgradePlus solution into WDSGlobal's Integrated Service Framework, enabling wireless operators and handset manufacturers to easily configure user settings and efficiently...

SMAC invests in LinkRich.(deals)
January 1, 2005... Siemens Mobile Acceleration adds another Chinese company to its roster--LinkRich, a fast growing service provider targeting enterprises. The firm takes existing information from enterprises, government institutions and entertainment offerings...

Alliance for mobile mainframe apps.(deals)
January 1, 2005... Neon Systems and Defywire announce an alliance to co-market and co-sell Neon's Shadow technology with the Defywire Mobility Suite, allowing customers to seamlessly extend mainframe data and applications to a variety of handheld mobile devices.

Gionee selects ART for voice recognition.(deals)
January 1, 2005... Gionee Corp selects the smARTspeak XG embedded speech interface from Advanced Recognition Technologies as the voice recognition standard for its new line of handheld phones for the Chinese market.

Live horse racing on 3 HK.(out now)
January 1, 2005... 3 Hong Kong adds live horse racing video streams to its 3G mobile betting service. Real-time odds, racing results and dividends are also available.

SMS payment in Liaoning.(out now)
January 1, 2005... Smartpay Jieyin launches its electronic payment system in China's Liaoning province, allowing mobile users to pay their phone bills, top up their prepaid accounts, and purchase online gaming time and other merchant offerings by sending an SMS...

Antivirus/spam solution for smartphones.(out now)
January 1, 2005... Trend Micro introduces Trend Micro Mobile Security, a solution to protect mobile phones and PDAs against viruses and SMS spare. With several mobile viruses having already surfaced last year and many people buying or receiving smartphones over...

Enterprise mobile messaging.(out now)
January 1, 2005... InfoBank China launches its high-speed, near-real-time enterprise mobile messaging service in Beijing. The service offers both broadcast services to multiple handsets and message transmission from handsets to computer systems. InfoBank China...

Singapore plans first Chinese TV drama for 3G.(this month's model)
January 1, 2005... Singapore's Media Development Authority (MDA) and MediaCorp Studios are collaborating to develop Asia's first Chinese TV drama exclusively for 36 networks. The Mandarin-language drama--which will star popular Asian idols and be formated...

No magic formula for expansion.(Wireless Forum)
January 1, 2005... It's hard not to get a sense of deja vu at the news Asia's operators are looking at offshore investments for growth. It is even harder not to be a tad cynical. The industry has been here before, in the early 1990s. And for many it proved a...

Size matters.(Streetwise)
January 1, 2005... Finally, 3G has arrived in Hang gong in a big way. Just before Xmas, SmarTone and CSL bit the bullet and joined Hutchison's 3 in launching their 3G networks after over nine months of "testing" the infrastructure. Both SmarTone and CSL said...

Phones vs brain tissue, Part 175.(Short message: around the wireless industry)
January 1, 2005... The debate about the effects of cellphone radiation on human health isn't over yet. The latest study, released in December, comes down against mobiles (again), finding that exposure to radio waves in the same frequency bands as those used in...

Wearing the phone out.(Short message: around the wireless industry)
January 1, 2005... Cellphones made the jump to fashion accessory years ago. By the end of this year, they'll be fashion clothing. Well, sort of. Motorola and apparel maker Burton are expected to unveil a line of snowboarder-focused interactive clothing late...

Buzz shifts to developing markets.(Short message: around the wireless industry)
January 1, 2005... Japan and Korea have been hogging the mobile spotlight in recent years, having launched 3G before everyone else, but that will change in 2005 as the spotlight redirects itself on the next big thing in exciting mobile markets: India, China and...

Airborne mobile viruses.(Short message: around the wireless industry)
January 1, 2005... Mobile viruses are expected to become a growing problem this year, particularly as more people use smartphones for m-commerce transactions. But don't blame the Internet, says Vincent Weafer, senior director of Symantec's threat lab--blame air...

Plant a phone, grow a flower.(Short message: around the wireless industry)
January 1, 2005... Researchers in the U K have taken the concept of phone recycling in a new direction by developing a handset that is not only biodegradable, but will also sprout a flower if you bury it in a pot full of compost. Materials experts at...