Wireless Asia articles from May 2004

Wireless Asia archives from May 2004

Can Nokia get its groove back?(Unwired)
May 15, 2004... After the tough telecom winter, the thaw is in for the vendors. They might be unrecognizable from three years ago, but the major infrastructure providers are virtually all back in the black. It's a different proposition in the handset...

Vendors turn focus to TD-SCDMA handset supply.(News Analysis)
May 15, 2004... TD-SCDMA has received a great deal of attention lately, spurred on by an influx of international players and two high-profile industry gatherings--the TD-SCDMA Summit in March and TD-SCDMA Industry Alliance in April. With China's 3G licenses...

Enterprise to drive voice over Wi-Fi.(Insight)
May 15, 2004... Dual-mode cellular/voice over-Wi-Fi enabled handsets won't be available until later this year, yet ABI Research predicts that the phones will account for about 7% of all handset sales by 2009 Enterprise users and the need for data-intensive...

More smartphones to feature open OSs.(Insight)
May 15, 2004... Although 97% of data-capable handset devices shipped in 2003 were powered by proprietary operating systems, smartphones with third-party open OSs accounted for 11% of the value of total shipments. Sales of open-OS devices are forecast to grow...

M2M market set for explosive growth.(Insight)
May 15, 2004... Machine to-machine communications over cellular networks are taking off in a number of niche markets, such as the insurance industry where the devices are used to monitor the driving style of policyholders in exchange for lower premiums or for...

WiMAX to dominate wireless broadband.(Insight)
May 15, 2004... The US market for broadband wireless access (BWA) services will grow to $3.7 billion by 2009 and fixed wireless services will account for 3.6% of broadband connections, says a study from BWCS and Senza Fili Consulting. A growing number of...

Korean WIPI rollout gathers pace.(News Analysis)
May 15, 2004... Korea's mobile operators are hurrying to unveil handsets incorporating the locally developed Wireless Internet Platform for Interoperability (WIPI) middleware. SK Telecom (SKT) launched two WIPI 1.2 handsets in Match and announced that...

Nokia: we didn't get the clamshell.(News Analysis)
May 15, 2004... Nokia admits it missed the buzz around the clamshell phone because it conflicted with the firm's own ideas about mobile phone form factors. "For a long time, we actually did have a little bit of trouble figuring out what the hype of the...

Color ring-back tone service: enhancing operators' revenue opportunities.(Advertorial)(Advertisement)
May 15, 2004... In today's ever saturated and tierce marketplace, mobile operators are finding it increasingly difficult to build revenue. To remain at the cutting edge they need to rapidly develop innovative and advanced services that help them reduce churn,...

The US and South Korea resolve a long-standing trade dispute over WIPI.(Movements)
May 15, 2004... The US and South Korea resolve a long-standing trade dispute over WIPI. The two countries have agreed to ensure that competing US systems can continue to operate and grow in South Korean market.

Alcatel and TCL Communications agree to form a mobile handset joint venture.(Movements)
May 15, 2004... Alcatel and TCL Communications agree to form a mobile handset joint venture. TCL will contribute 55m euros ($65.36m) and will take an initial 55% stake, while Alcatel will hold the remaining 45% after contributing 45m euros, including its...

Sony Ericsson.(Movements)
May 15, 2004... Sony Ericsson appoints Miles Flint as its new president after current boss Katsumi Ihara was promoted to a senior post at Sony Corporation.

Ericsson China's president Jan Malm dies of a heart attack.(Movements)
May 15, 2004... Ericsson China's president Jan Malm dies of a heart attack while exercising on a treadmill.

Motorola's quarterly profit triples to $609m as it stole market share in handsets from rivals.(Movements)
May 15, 2004... Motorola's quarterly profit triples to $609m as it stole market share in handsets from rivals. The first quarter earnings were up from $169m for the same period last year. Sales in the quarter rose 42% to $8.56b, the highest level in four...

Ericsson reports a stronger-than-expected profit of 2.99b kronor ($390m) in the third-quarter period.(Movements)
May 15, 2004... Ericsson reports a stronger-than-expected profit of 2.99b kronor ($390m) in the third-quarter period, compared to a loss of 4-31 billion kronor a year ago.

UTStarcom posts a 47% rise in its Q1 net profit to $54.8m.(Movements)
May 15, 2004... UTStarcom posts a 47% rise in its Q1 net profit to $54.8m, boosted by better-than-expected China sales, and raises its outlook for 2004 end 2005.

Qualcomm reports a quarterly profit of $488m compared to $103m a year earlier.(Movements)
May 15, 2004... Qualcomm reports a quarterly profit of $488m compared to $103m a year earlier. Separately, the company invests $14m in Chinese CDMA phone designer TechFaith as part of its strategy to increase its market share in the mainland.

Ericsson makes a cash bid for the remaining shares in its listed subsidiary in Italy.(Movements)
May 15, 2004... Ericsson makes a cash bid for the remaining shares in its listed subsidiary in Italy, saying it wanted to simplify its structure.

Research in Motion clinches a deal with Motorola to license its popular BlackBerry wireless email service.(Movements)
May 15, 2004... Research in Motion clinches a deal with Motorola to license its popular BlackBerry wireless email service on some of Motorola's mobile phones.

GSA president Alan Hadden says the industry group will lobby Chinese policymakers in Beijing this month to issue 3G licenses by next year.(Movements)
May 15, 2004... GSA president Alan Hadden says the industry group will lobby Chinese policymakers in Beijing this month to issue 3G licenses by next year. Hadden's statement comes days after the Mil says it will not rush to pre-maturely issue 3G licenses.

Nortel Networks fires its CEO and president Frank Dunn with "cause", and replaces him with William Owens, a former vice chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, who has been a Nortel director since 2002.(Movements)
May 15, 2004... Nortel Networks fires its CEO and president Frank Dunn with "cause", and replaces him with William Owens, a former vice chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, who has been a Nortel director since 2002. In addition, former CFO Douglas Beatty...

Information Industry minister Wang Xudong says that China will not rush to pre-maturely issue 3G licenses, as network testing is still ongoing.(Beijing)
May 15, 2004... Information Industry minister Wang Xudong says that China will not rush to pre-maturely issue 3G licenses, as network testing is still ongoing. He also says the Mil is no rush to further regulate mobile pricing, identifying his priority as...

China agrees to delay indefinitely the implementation of WAPI, its homegrown wireless networking encryption technology, putting an end to a contentious dispute between US and China which US officials have suggested might be taken to the WTO.(Beijing)
May 15, 2004... China agrees to delay indefinitely the implementation of WAPI, its homegrown wireless networking encryption technology, putting an end to a contentious dispute between US and China which US officials have suggested might be taken to the WTO. In...

The MII dismisses rumors that it is planning to issue new licenses for mobile phone manufacturing.(Beijing)
May 15, 2004... The MII dismisses rumors that it is planning to issue new licenses for mobile phone manufacturing this year.

China Mobile will buy the last ten provincial mobile networks from its parent for $3.65b-$2b in cash and $1.65b in deferred payments.(Hong Kong)
May 15, 2004... China Mobile will buy the last ten provincial mobile networks from its parent for $3.65b-$2b in cash and $1.65b in deferred payments. The assets involved in this deal are located in less developed parts of the country, namely Gansu, Guizhou,...

OFTA extends the consultation period on expiring 2G licenses.(Hong Kong)
May 15, 2004... OFTA extends the consultation period on expiring 2G licenses to June from the previous deadline of April.

Hutchison Telecom is seeking quotes from vendors for a cdma2000 1x network in a move to defend the regulatory threat.(Hong Kong)
May 15, 2004... Hutchison Telecom is seeking quotes from vendors for a cdma2000 1x network in a move to defend the regulatory threat of a retrieval of its under-utilized spectrum in the city.

State-run Bangladesh Telephone and Telegraph Board will launch its commercial mobile service by December.(Dhaka)
May 15, 2004... State-run Bangladesh Telephone and Telegraph Board will launch its commercial mobile service by December with rates lower than that offered by the four existing mobile operators.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority expects to earn $873m by 2007.(Colombo)
May 15, 2004... The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority expects to earn $873m by 2007 from license renewals for three of its four existing mobile operators.

Space Telecom, a consortiums formed by Damascus-based Syriatel and Pakistan Oil Fields, misses a deadline to make a 25% down payment for a Pakistan cellular license.(Colombo)
May 15, 2004... Space Telecom, a consortiums formed by Damascus-based Syriatel and Pakistan Oil Fields, misses a deadline to make a 25% down payment for a Pakistan cellular license due to a dispute between the consortiums partners.

Telekom Malaysia may take a stake in India's Idea Cellular.(Kuala Lumpur)
May 15, 2004... Telekom Malaysia may take a stake in India's Idea Cellular, a venture formed between Tatas, Birlas and AT&T Wireless Services.

DiGi Telecom contracts Siemens mobile to install 170 EDGE base stations in the area.(Kuala Lumpur)
May 15, 2004... DiGi Telecom contracts Siemens mobile to install 170 EDGE base stations in the area around Kuala Lumpur.

Globe Telecom signs up over 100,000 subscribers to its new ring-back tone service.(Manila)
May 15, 2004... Globe Telecom signs up over 100,000 subscribers to its new ring-back tone service within a week of the service launch.

Information and Communication Minister Chin Dae-je says the ministry will encourage mobile operators.(Seoul)
May 15, 2004... Information and Communication Minister Chin Dae je says the ministry will encourage mobile operators to promote W-CDMA technology.

LG Telecom and Hanaro Telecom urge the government to ban market leader KT from offering Wi-Fi connectivity.(Seoul)
May 15, 2004... LG Telecom and Hanaro Telecom urge the government to ban market leader KT from offering Wi-Fi connectivity, saying KT's more could harm fair competition in the country's hyper-competitive telecoms market.

Samsung SDI, a flat-display affiliate of Samsung Electronics.(Seoul)
May 15, 2004... Samsung SDI, a flat-display affiliate of Samsung Electronics, develops world's first organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display for use in mobile handsets.

KDDI's profit doubled to a record 117.02 billion yen ($1.063 billion) last fiscal year ending March 31.(Tokyo)
May 15, 2004... KDDI's profit doubled to a record 117.02 billion yen ($1.063 billion) last fiscal year ending March 31. The company will cut the monthly charge for its "Packet Discount" data service for CDMA One and cdma2000 1x subscribers from 1,200 yen...

Vodafone K.K. will offer a series of specially designed new phones.(Tokyo)
May 15, 2004... Vodafone K.K. will offer a series of specially designed new phones starting in May to lure subscribers away from its rivals.

NTT DoCoMo is set to name senior executive vice president Shiro Tsuda to replace Keiji Tachikawa as its president.(Tokyo)
May 15, 2004... NTT DoCoMo is set to name senior executive vice president Shiro Tsuda to replace Keiji Tachikawa as its president when Tachikawa steps down later this year.

NTT DoCoMo starts offering an international roaming-in service to enable mobile subscribers of DoCoMo's 21 international partners in 19 countries and territories.(Tokyo)
May 15, 2004... NTT DoCoMo starts offering an international roaming-in service to enable mobile subscribers of DoCoMo's 21 international partners in 19 countries and territories to use DoCoMo's 3G FOMA service while in Japan.

Hutchison Telecoms Australia terminates discussions with Telstra about selling its existing CDMA business.(Sydney)
May 15, 2004... Hutchison Telecoms Australia terminates discussions with Telstra about selling its existing CDMA business after the two firms failed to agree to a deal.

Telstra will invest $100m in upgrading its cdma2000 ix network.(Sydney)
May 15, 2004... Telstra will invest $100m in upgrading its cdma2000 ix network to EV-DO.

Telstra launches a BlackBerry-enabled Nokia 6820 handset.(Sydney)
May 15, 2004... Telstra launches a BlackBerry-enabled Nokia 6820 handset for its business customers.

Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) indicates that it may soften its stance on 3G licensees if they miss the year-end deadline for a full rollout.(Singapore)
May 15, 2004... Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) indicates that it may soften its stance on 3G licensees if they miss the year-end deadline for a full rollout. IDA CEO Tan Ching Yee says the regulator is in discussions with operators and may back off from...

M1 reports a net profit of S$47m ($28m) in the first three months to March, up 25.7% from the same period a year earlier, primarily driven by a cut in corporate tax rates.(Singapore)
May 15, 2004... M1 reports a net profit of S$47m ($28m) in the first three months to March, up 25.7% from the same period a year earlier, primarily driven by a cut in corporate tax rates. M1 CEO Neil Monteflore says the company will probably introduce 3G...

SingTel decides to withdraw from participating in a bidding.(Singapore)
May 15, 2004... SingTel decides to withdraw from participating in a bidding for a mobile license in Pakistan.

Bharti Tele-Ventures reports a consolidated net profit of 3.04b rupees ($69m).(New Delhi)
May 15, 2004... Bharti Tele-Ventures reports a consolidated net profit of 3.04b rupees ($69m) for its fourth quarter to March 31.

Bharti purchases a 67.5% stake in rival Hexacom.(New Delhi)
May 15, 2004... Bharti purchases a 67.5% stake in rival Hexacom for 4.3b rupees ($98.4m).

Tata Teleservices plans to invest 700m rupees ($15.8m) on network expansion, billing systems, IT infrastructure and customer care facilities this year.(New Delhi)
May 15, 2004... Tata Teleservices plans to invest 700m rupees ($15.8m) on network expansion, billing systems, IT infrastructure and customer care facilities this year. Tata COO Y Pandit says the money will be raised partly through debt and partly through...

Enterprises slowly smarten up to smartphones: the mobile phone is now smart enough to tackle enterprise applications, but so far few companies have taken the plunge to deploy smartphones as part of their information technology infrastructure.(Cover Story)
May 15, 2004... Secret agent Maxwell Smart thought he was, well, "pretty smart" whenever he took off his shoe and turned it into a mobile phone to call his boss back at Control headquarters, but little did he realize the implication of the "smart" phone. ...

CDMA 450 all you need to know: as the first version of CDMA to break into Europe, CDMA 450 and its 50-kilometer cells may yet find its place in the sun. But the standard badly needs phones, and a roaming deal or two wouldn't go astray either.(Wireless Tech)
May 15, 2004... WHAT IT IS CDMA 450 is cdma2000 technology deployed in the 450-MHz range, now operating in more than 20 markets worldwide. THE SPIEL The CDMA 450 proposition is that it is a highly efficient--if not the most efficient--2.5G-3G...

Mobile gaming: the quest for critical mass: mobile games are growing in popularity across the Asia Pacific, but they're light years away from critical mass, and may stay that way unless operators get proactive and handset vendors get serious about interoperability and customization.(Wireless APPS)
May 15, 2004... Mobile gaming has long been touted as a huge killer app for mobile data services. But it's only been recently that the mobile industry has seen the first signs that gaming has real growth potential. Industry figures as well as anecdotal...

The price of in-flight mobile.(Wireless Forum)
May 15, 2004... Pop quiz: four of the following are real headlines from the Internet, but only one is true. The rest are hoaxes that ran on April 1 (known in some countries as April Fool's Day, a holiday in which we make stuff up to see how gullible the test...

Arresting an airborne virus: the mystery of the mobile virus hides inside the 'perfect storm' of wireless and Internet convergence.(Wireless Biz)
May 15, 2004... The rampaging worms and viruses in the computer world that cause billions in damages may soon spread to the wireless industry as more sophisticated Internet-enabled devices enter the market and customers begin using them the way mobile...

Wi-Fi OSS/billing platform.(tools)
May 15, 2004... Bonsai Networks says it will license its Wi-Fi OSS/billing platform to other billing software providers. The Bonsai 2.0 Service Enablement Platform enables convergent billing platforms to provide Wi-Fi session information via Bonsai's Wi-Fi...

Wireless data assurance.(tools)
May 15, 2004... Network management provider Concord Communications launches its Wireless Service Assurance Solution, a network performance management solution that ensures data service delivery across carrier, service provider and Wi-Fi networks without the...

Open-source WLAN access controller.(tools)
May 15, 2004... Wificom Technologies releases its SAB Gateway software under the GNU General Public License (GPL) onto open source software development Web site SourceForge.net. The SAB Gateway is a WLAN access controller implemented in Perl. The company is...

Multiplayer java game kit.(tools)
May 15, 2004... Nokia and Sun Microsystems announced the upcoming release of SNAP Mobile, an online multiplayer gaming solution for Java games that allows game developers to create Java games with a mobile online multiplayer gaming component. SNAP Mobile is...

Optimization for WAP 2.0.(tools)
May 15, 2004... Flash Networks releases its NettGain 1200 wireless data optimization solution for WAP 2.0 traffic and applications.

Cam-phone pics printed here.(deals)
May 15, 2004... Hong Kong cellco SmarTone partners with Fotomax to enhance its camera-phone photoprinting service, which allows camera-phone users to have pictures printed as stickers or as 2R/3R/4R photos, the latter of which can be picked up at Fotomax...

IP messaging apps deal.(deals)
May 15, 2004... Ferma and Convedia sign a marketing partnership agreement to jointly develop prepaid and messaging applications such as unified communications, mobile Internet and push-to-talk for IP-based 3G service providers.

MMS voicemail collaboration.(deals)
May 15, 2004... VoxSurf and Anam collaborate to launch a new MMS voicemail service. In essence, the VoxSurf VxOne voicemail system uses the MMS Direct component of Anam's Eclipse MM Exchange to deliver the voicemail as an MMS audio file directly to the...

MMS gateway contract.(deals)
May 15, 2004... Aicent signs an MMS gateway service contract with China Mobile, which will use the service as its central hub to interconnect its MMS services with international operators.

China's first Bluetooth test center.(deals)
May 15, 2004... Spanish wireless test solutions provider Centro de TecnologA--a de las Comunicaciones (CETECOM) is selected by China's State Radio Monitoring Center to supply Bluetooth conformance test solutions in Beijing, which will allow Chinese...

Wi-Fi roaming partnership.(deals)
May 15, 2004... WeRoam and Aptilo Networks enter a partnership under which the WeRoam Wi-Fi roaming service will be added to the Aptilo service management platform as a standard option. The deal will allow operators and wireless ISPs using the platform to...

OTA/SIM integration.(deals)
May 15, 2004... Bitfone and Gemplus agree to integrate Bitfone's mProve OTA firmware update solution into the GemConnect Device Manager solution from Gemplus.

UEFA on i-mode.(out now)
May 15, 2004... NTT Communications starts an official "uefa.com" site for i-mode with the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). NTT Com will provide the latest highlights from the official Japanese UEFA site, including game updates, interviews with...

3G remote control.(out now)
May 15, 2004... NTT DoCoMo says it has developed a controller that enables home appliances to be operated with FOMA videophone handsets from virtually anywhere. The controller enables operations such as VCR programming and playback (which can be viewed on the...

Mobile/fixed SMS exchange.(out now)
May 15, 2004... Singaporean cellco StarHub launches an international mobile/fixed-line SMS exchange service with PCCW, which allows StarHub mobile customers to send text messages via their mobile handsets to PCCW fixed-line SMS customers in Hong Kong, and vice...

Golf positioning system.(out now)
May 15, 2004... Karrier Communications ships IntelliGolf version 7.0 golf scorecard software for Palm handhelds and Microsoft Windows Mobile-based Pocket PCs. Version 7.0 includes support for GPS, Bluetooth, WAAS/SBAS, more golf statistics, new putting...

128K Java SIM cards for China.(out now)
May 15, 2004... Axalto delivers China's first Simera (Java) 128K SIM cards to Shanxi Mobile, enabling advanced applications such as SuperPhonebook, SuperSMS, personal information management, games and information subscription. The cards can also store more...

N-Gage QD.(out now)
May 15, 2004... Nokia announces its latest addition to the N-Gage platform: the N-Gage QD mobile game deck, which features a hot-swappable multimedia (MMC) slot for instant gaming, longer battery life, improved gaming controls, brighter screen and smartphone...

Communicating for growth at CommunicAsia 2004.(Advertorial)(Advertisement)
May 15, 2004... The boom in wireless products and services will continue full fledged this year. Firstly, global spending on telecom services will cross the US$1 trillion mark, demand for wireless data services will grow at 30 percent and significant...

CommunicAsia bounces back after year off.(Preview: CommunicAsia 2004)
May 15, 2004... CommunicAsia, the annual information and communications technology trade show in Asia, is once gain being held in Singapore concurrently with two other major exhibitions as well as a number of ICT conferences. The event, running from June...

The marvels of the wireless Internet.(Street wise)
May 15, 2004... Mobile data services didn't exactly start with a full head of steam. There was the disastrous start of WAP with poor handsets and even worst interoperability. Then GPRS didn't deliver as promised--throughput speeds never materialized and...

When you said 'long in the tooth,' I thought ...(Short message: around the wireless industry)
May 15, 2004... This month's sensational improper Bluetooth craze: anonymous sex with strangers! Really! It's called "toothing", and technically it's an application of bluejacking, the practice of detecting nearby Bluetooth-enabled devices and posting...

Analyzing the phone.(Short message: around the wireless industry)
May 15, 2004... Many people are concerned about the impact of mobile phone radiation on health, but what about the overall impact of cellphones on society in general? NTT DoCoMo is on the case, announcing last month the launch of the Mobile Society...

Traffic jams for the office.(Short message: around the wireless industry)
May 15, 2004... It's a given that your wireless LAN speed is only as fast as your backhaul link, but apparently even having a 54-Mbps pipe behind that access point won't help if there's a slow client on the network, according to a new report from the Tolly...

The first of many?(Short message: around the wireless industry)
May 15, 2004... The wireless industry has witnessed the first casualties on both sides of the 3G war. mmO2's UMTS service in the Isle of Man (off Britain's west coast), launched in December 2001, shut its doors last month. It was the world's first 3G upgrade...

Number one with a (RFID) bullet.(Short message: around the wireless industry)
May 15, 2004... In an era of spam hoaxes involving corporate conspiracies, naughty celebrities and former Nigerian treasury agents, it's nice to see something original crop up once in a while. Like the ID sniper rifle, which plays on interest (and paranoia)...