Wireless Asia articles from September 2002

Wireless Asia archives from September 2002

Getting the picture. (Unwired).
September 1, 2002... A couple of weeks traipsing about Europe this summer has given Unwired the opportunity to reflect on the potential of multimedia messaging. No, I didn't have a new multimedia handset. Indeed, that I went two weeks without seeing a computer, and...

MVNOs in retreat as Shell Mobile shuts shop; the newly-born virtual mobile sector is in disarray after another high-profile brand name, Shell Mobile, closed its doors. (News Analysis).
September 1, 2002... The Asian mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) business is fighting for credibility after the closure of a second big brand operation, Hong Kong's Shell Mobile. The company, a JV between Royal Dutch/Shell and local cell-co Sunday,...

Future may be Orange: mobile data and corporate services are helping to revive Australia's 2G market, as the players wait for Hutchison to embark on its high-risk A$3 billion 3G start-up. (News Analysis).
September 1, 2002... With mobile phone penetration up to 65% in Australia, the growth in subscriber numbers is trailing off, but that is being offset by the increasing use of mobile data services, particularly the runaway success of SMS as mobile operators search...

Mobile radiation debate heats up in China: China is setting its own mobile phone radiation standard. But its proposal to set the level at half the international norm has triggered debates within the industry. (News Analysis).
September 1, 2002... China has set its Specific Absorption Rates (SAR) for mobile phones at 1W/kg (one watt per kilogram of tissue), half the international standard of 2W/kg defined by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). ...

The US mobile telephone industry may be able to bid for new airwaves given up by the federal government as early as 2004 but may not be able to use them until 2008. (Movements).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... The US mobile telephone industry may be able to bid for new airwaves given up by the federal government as early as 2004 but may not be able to use them until 2008, according to a plan unveiled by government officials.

The Finnish government says it had nothing to do with Sonera's decision to take a 4.3-billion-euro ($4.24 billion) write-off for its 3G investments in Germany after going to shareholders last year in a billion-euro rights issue to help balance its books. (Movements).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... The Finnish government says it had nothing to do with Sonera's decision to take a 4.3-billion-euro ($4.24 billion) write-off for its 3G investments in Germany after going to shareholders last year in a billion-euro rights issue to help balance...

Hutchison Whampoa chief Li Ka-shing says at a press briefing that the company is "fully committed" to 3G. (Movements).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Hutchison Whampoa chief Li Ka-shing says at a press briefing that the company is "fully committed" to 3G. "The banks support us and businesses in Italy and the UK are fully funded," Li says. Hutchison, which reveals a 1.3 billion euro European...

Vodafone Group in Germany plans to launch 3G services commercially early in 2003. (Movements).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Vodafone Group in Germany plans to launch 3G services commercially early in 2003, starting with limited services for employees and selected large clients.

KPN says it now has more than 100,000 clients for its i-mode Internet mobile service in the Netherlands and Germany. (Movements).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... KPN says it now has more than 100,000 clients for its i-mode Internet mobile service in the Netherlands and Germany. KPN expects that number to reach 1 million clients some time next year.

Eight telecom manufacturers--Ericsson, LG Electronics, Lucent Technologies, Motorola, Nortel Networks, Qualcomm, Samsung and ZTE--sign a MoU. (Movements).
September 1, 2002... Eight telecom manufacturers--Ericsson, LG Electronics, Lucent Technologies, Motorola, Nortel Networks, Qualcomm, Samsung and ZTE--sign a MoU to deliver cdma2000 infrastructure and terminal equipment for 2.1 GHz spectrum, with commercial...

Sony Ericsson invites outside software developers to come up with a "killer application" for its new P800 phone. (Movements).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Sony Ericsson invites outside software developers to come up with a "killer application" for its new P800 phone. The company says it would promote the top 50 applications to mobile operators, who would offer them to P800 customers on their Web...

Siemens IC Mobile COO Lothar Pauly says the firm would stay focused on GSM and UMTS mobile phone standards and rules out a divergence into CDMA. (Movements).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Siemens IC Mobile COO Lothar Pauly says the firm would stay focused on GSM and UMTS mobile phone standards and rules out a divergence into CDMA, saying, "the cost burden is too much".

SchlumbergerSema, signs a contract to supply USIM smart cards. (Movements).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... SchlumbergerSema, signs a contract to supply USIM smart cards to Hutchison 3G UK and Hutchison Whampoa's other 3G operations around the world.

US mobile operator Cingular Wireless announces plans to cut 3,000 employees, or 7.5% of its work-force. (Movements).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... US mobile operator Cingular Wireless announces plans to cut 3,000 employees, or 7.5% of its work-force, in a move it claims would pare costs and run its business more efficiently.

Japanese mobile handset maker Sharp is in talks with Britain's Vodafone Group to supply its popular camera-phone. (Movements).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Japanese mobile handset maker Sharp is in talks with Britain's Vodafone Group to supply its popular camera-phone. Sharp recently won an order from Vodafone to deliver 1 million cam-phones.

Beijing: Sony Ericsson plans to open a research and development center. (News map: around Wireless Asia).(Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Beijing: Sony Ericsson plans to open a research and development center in Beijing.

Beijing: a survey by the Ministry of Information Industry finds domestic cellphone brands accounted for a combined 17.7% share of China's mobile phone market during the first half of this year. (News map: around Wireless Asia).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Beijing: A survey by the Ministry of Information Industry finds domestic cellphone brands accounted for a combined 17.7% share of China's mobile phone market during the first half of this year. Meanwhile, the MII says China signed up about 4...

Shenzhen: Huawei Technologies and Ericsson conclude a worldwide patent license agreement. (News map: around Wireless Asia).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Shenzhen: Huawei Technologies and Ericsson conclude a worldwide patent license agreement under which Huawei receives a non-exclusive, non-transferable license under Ericsson's patent portfolio for the W-CDMA/UMTS standard.

Hong Kong: China Mobile (Hong Kong) beats market forecasts with a 10% increase in first-half profits on subscriber growth and stabilizing per-user revenue. (News map: around Wireless Asia).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Hong Kong: China Mobile (Hong Kong) beats market forecasts with a 10% increase in first-half profits on subscriber growth and stabilizing per-user revenue--and, in the process, dethrones Vodafone Group as the world's biggest cellular carrier.

Hong Kong: location-based services provider The Pinpoint Company and Hutchison Telecom launch what they say is the city's first location-based workforce management service. (News map: around Wireless Asia).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Hong Kong: Location-based services provider The Pinpoint Company and Hutchison Telecom launch what they say is the city's first location-based workforce management service exclusively for Orange corporate customers in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong: OFTA issues a consultation paper on the creation of a class license for the provision of wireless LAN services in the 2.4 GHz or 5.5-5.7 GHz bands. (News map: around Wireless Asia).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Hong Kong: OFTA issues a consultation paper on the creation of a class license for the provision of wireless LAN services in the 2.4 GHz or 5.5-5.7 GHz bands. OFTA is proposing a streamlined process under which those wishing to operate public...

Bangkok: Advanced Info Service expects to have 11 million mobile subscribers by the end of the year, up from a previous forecast of between 9.5 million and 10 million. (News map: around Wireless Asia).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Bangkok: Advanced Info Service expects to have 11 million mobile subscribers by the end of the year, up from a previous forecast of between 9.5 million and 10 million. The company plans to spend $200 million to expand its network further to...

Dhaka: Bangladesh plans to float telecom bonds worth 5.94 billion taka ($102.59 million) to finance a cellular mobile phone project of state-owned Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board (BTTB). (News map: around Wireless Asia).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Dhaka: Bangladesh plans to float telecom bonds worth 5.94 billion taka ($102.59 million) to finance a cellular mobile phone project of state-owned Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board (BTTB). BTTB is calling for tenders to supply and...

Jakarta: incumbent telco Telkom scraps IPO plans for its cellular unit Telkomsel after a management study decided against it. (News map: around Wireless Asia).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Jakarta: Incumbent telco Telkom scraps IPO plans for its cellular unit Telkomsel after a management study decided against it. Some analysts speculate that spinning off Telkomsel would hurt Telkom's own share price since the cellular operation...

Kuala Lumpur: Maxis Communications reports a 12% rise in first-half net profit to 494.3 million ringgit ($130 million) on a 26% rise in revenue as the cellco gained 475,000 new subscribers for a total of 2.77 million. (News map: around Wireless Asia).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Kuala Lumpur: Maxis Communications reports a 12% rise in first-half net profit to 494.3 million ringgit ($130 million) on a 26% rise in revenue as the cellco gained 475,000 new subscribers for a total of 2.77 million. Maxis credits the growth...

Seoul: KTF and LG Telecom jointly petition the Ministry of Information and Communication to suspend SK Telecom's operations for violating conditions imposed on it when the MIC approved its merger with Shinsegi Telecomm earlier this year. (News map: around Wireless Asia).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... KTF and LG Telecom jointly petition the Ministry of Information and Communication to suspend SK Telecom's operations for violating conditions imposed on it when the MIC approved its merger with Shinsegi Telecomm earlier this year. KTF and LGT...

Seoul: SK Telecom plans to further reduce its stake in KT Corp and may also consider a share swap, says president Pyo Moon-soo. SKT owns 9.55% of KT, while KT has a 9.27% stake in SKT. (News map: around Wireless Asia).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Seoul: SK Telecom plans to further reduce its stake in KT Corp and may also consider a share swap, says president Pyo Moon-soo. SKT owns 9.55% of KT, while KT has a 9.27% stake in SKT. Meanwhile, KT Corp plans to sell all or part of its stake...

Seoul: the Ministry of Information and Communication announces plans to combat cell phone spam by requiring spammers to include the word "advertisement", and contact information allowing receivers of spare to contact the sender and complain. (News map: around Wireless Asia).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Seoul: The Ministry of Information and Communication announces plans to combat cell phone spam by requiring spammers to include the word "advertisement", and contact information allowing receivers of spam to contact the sender and complain....

Tokyo: J-Phone says its Sha-mail camera-phone subscriber base passed the 6-million mark on 9 August, up 88% since the start of the year. (News map: around Wireless Asia).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Tokyo: J-Phone says its Sha-mail camera-phone subscriber base passed the 6-million mark on 9 August, up 88% since the start of the year. Sha-mail customers now account for 46.9% of J-Phone's total subscribers.

Tokyo: KDDI agrees to buy over $100 million worth of mobile telephone service equipment from Samsung Electronics. (News map: around Wireless Asia).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Tokyo: KDDI agrees to buy over $100 million worth of mobile telephone service equipment from Samsung Electronics for its planned cdma2000 1x EV-DO wireless service.

Sydney: Telstra and SkyNetGlobal form a strategic partnership to expand Australia's broadband wireless market with 802.11b wireless LAN technology. (News map: around Wireless Asia).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Sydney: Telstra and SkyNetGlobal form a strategic partnership to expand Australia's broadband wireless market with 802.11b wireless LAN technology. As part of the partnership, Telstra agrees to acquire SkyNetGlobal's wireless network...

Sydney: SingTel Optus begins the commercial launch of its MMS service as part of a strategy to lift mobile data revenues. (News map: around Wireless Asia).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Sydney: SingTel Optus begins the commercial launch of its MMS service as part of a strategy to lift mobile data revenues, which Optus says will account for 25% of its total cellular revenue by 2005, compared to 6% today.

Sydney: Hutchison Telecom posts a 20% narrower first-half loss of A$72.7 million ($39.3 million), spurred by heavy investment in its 3G network, which is planned for launch early next year. (News map: around Wireless Asia).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Sydney: Hutchison Telecom posts a 20% narrower first-half loss of A$72.7 million ($39.3 million), spurred by heavy investment in its 3G network, which is planned for launch early next year. Hutchison says its existing Orange mobile business is...

Kuala Lumpur: Time dotCom plans to cut about 500 jobs, or 15% of its workforce, to remain competitive. (News map: around Wireless Asia).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Kuala Lumpur: Time dotCom plans to cut about 500 jobs, or 15% of its workforce, to remain competitive. Meanwhile, the company's chief executive Robert Fox resigns to take up an advisory role in the company. Ahmad Pardas Senin, who was earlier...

Manila: PLDT mobile unit Pilipino Telephone Corporation (Piltel) narrows its net loss to 1.93 billion pesos ($37.12 million) in the first six months of the year. (News map: around Wireless Asia).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Manila: PLDT mobile unit Pilipino Telephone Corporation (Piltel) narrows its net loss to 1.93 billion pesos ($37.12 million) in the first six months of the year, down sharply from a net loss of 18.2 billion pesos in the same period a year ago.

New Delhi: Indian mobile operator Bharti Cellular begins offering cellular phone services. (News map: around Wireless Asia).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... New Delhi: Indian mobile operator Bharti Cellular begins offering cellular phone services in Gujarat, Maharashtra and in the commercial hub of Mumbai.

New Delhi: the Cellular Operators' Association of India says the country's mobile phone subscriber base could rise from its current count of 8 million to 120 million by 2008. (News map: around Wireless Asia).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... New Delhi: The Cellular Operators' Association of India says the country's mobile phone subscriber base could rise from its current count of 8 million to 120 million by 2008, driven mainly by the escalating price war between competing cellcos.

Sri Lanka: mobile operator MTN Networks, fully owned by Telekom Malaysia, announces plans to expand into Jaffna peninsula, encouraged by a five-month ceasefire between the government and separatist rebels. (News map: around Wireless Asia).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Sri Lanka: Mobile operator MTN Networks, fully owned by Telekom Malaysia, announces plans to expand into Jaffna peninsula, encouraged by a five-month ceasefire between the government and separatist rebels. The $10 million investment is the...

3G apps now! Applying 3G ahead of the mobile evolution: investors and analysis may be down on 3G, but that doesn't mean cellcos can't offer advanced mobile data services now. No 3G infrastructure? No spectrum? No handsets? No problem! Cellcos with creaky 2G networks have more options available than they think. (Cover Story).
September 1, 2002... Mobile operators worldwide are banking on wireless data to boost their own bottom lines as competition increases and/or mobile markets reach their respective saturation points. Differentiation comes down to a choice between price wars and new...

Asian carriers blaze the trail in global mobile wars; Asia is leading the way in the march towards 3G deployment, but is it by superior business models and technology or just sheer good luck? (Wireless Investment).
September 1, 2002... It can't be easy holding down a business strategy job with a wireless carrier. Consider all the variables. Size and speed are obviously important qualities in the mobile wireless market--and we don't mean being small (as in handsets) but being...

NTT DoCoMo flying. (Wireless Investment).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... NTT DoCoMo is certainly the heavyweight of the Asian challenge. With its current tally of 43 million subscribers, it is a hefty player on the global stage. It has its partners--in particular Hutchison (in Asia and in the UK) and AT&T...

Hutchison committed. (Wireless Investment).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Hutchison remains committed to an ambitious global plan for 3G mobile. Hutchison plans to offer 36 services in Australia, Austria, Denmark, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Sweden, the UK, and (possibly) Finland. It has joint venture 3G...

SK Telecom champion. (Wireless Investment).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Korea's biggest cellco has become a kind of CDMA champion in Asia, notching up the first deployment of cdma2000 1x EV-DO (data optimized) 2.4 Mbps service. The strategy is to push on with "wireless Internet" deployment and rely on it to push up...

Europe in turmoil. (Wireless Investment).
September 1, 2002... Meanwhile, 3G mobile is looking decidedly shaky in Europe. It's not that players don't think that there will be a third generation of mobile services--they do. But they no longer believe the optimistic timescales set at the height of the...

Rearguard action: Chunghwa fights back. (1_2_1).
September 1, 2002... Chunghwa Mobile has regained its spot as Taiwan's biggest mobiles provider, but competition is increasing. At the top end, it faces DoCoMo's i-mode service and, from early next year, a cdma2000 1x service. At the bottom end, a popular PHS...

Thriving with 3G alternatives. (Wheel Of Industry).
September 1, 2002... No prizes for guessing which is the odd one out among these four i-systems; i-mode, i-BURST, i-shot and i-appli. Three are NTT DoCoMo brand names, while i-BURST is a broadband Internet access system developed by California-based ArrayComm. ...

SMS delivery network expansion. (tools).
September 1, 2002... TeleCommunication Systems and Mobileway plan to create what they claim is the largest commercial SMS delivery network. Under a new partnership announced last month, TCS will serve as Mobileway's North America partner in delivering SMS messages...

Extension for flash memory cards. (tools).
September 1, 2002... Hitachi, Ingentix, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co, SanDisk and Toshiba have created a mobile commerce extension standard for flash memory cards for security. It allows flash memory cards to be used for new applications like secure data...

Advanced mobile apps made easy. (tools).
September 1, 2002... Oracle and Ericsson have announced plans to make it possible for Java developers to write more advanced intelligent network applications like mobile messaging and voice control. The Oracle9i JDeveloper and Ericsson Jambala Service Capability...

MMS toolkit from Nokia. (tools).
September 1, 2002... Nokia has released its Mobile Internet Toolkit 3.1 as part of its end-to-end solution for development and deployment of MMS services by operators and content providers. The new version of the toolkit will provide a testing and simulation...

Mobile VPN. (out now).(Orange Business Together)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Orange UK has launched "Orange Business Together," a mobile VPN solution designed to reduce the cost of calling company mobiles from an office fixed line. Customers will be able to set up a closed user group of between ten and 250 mobile and...

Yahoo! Messenger goes mobile. (out now).(Yahoo! Australia and New Zealand and Telstra Mobile)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Telstra and Yahoo! Australia and New Zealand have joined forces to offer the Yahoo! Messenger SMS service to Telstra Mobile customers. The collaboration will allow users to access instant messages from Yahoo! Messenger on both their PCs and...

iiL signs Yugoslavian deal. (deals).(iNFOiSLIVE and Zekstra D.O.O.)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Hong Kong-based mobile entertainment application developer iNFOiSLIVE has signed an agreement with Yugoslavia's Zekstra D.O.O. to provide 16 SMS- and WAP-based applications and platforms.

Siemens Mobile Acceleration enters China. (deals).(Magus Soft Holding)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Siemens Mobile Acceleration, the Siemens-owned venture fund, has acquired a minority stake in Beijing-based mobile gaining developer Magus Soft Holding for an undisclosed amount. The deal is the outfit's first investment in China.

Two new OMA members. (deals).(Open Mobile Alliance)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Qualcomm and Emblaze both joined the Open Mobile Alliance last month in separate announcements. The OMA aims to develop standards for interoperable wireless data services such as games, MMS or instant messages across various types of handsets...

KGT goes Disney. (deals).(KG Telecommunications Co. and Walt Disney Internet Group)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Walt Disney Internet Group and KG Telecom have entered into a co-operative relationship to distribute Disney Mobile wireless content such as screensavers and ring tones based on Disney characters to KG Telecom's i-mode wireless subscribers.

For women only. (out now).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Indian cellco Spice Telecom--a joint venture between Hong Kong's Distacom and India's Modi Corp--has launched a mobile telephone package designed exclusively for women. The Spice Disha package, launched in Karnataka and Punjab, offers women...

Tri-band GPRS add-on. (out now).
September 1, 2002... Audiovox Communications has released the RTM-8000, touted as the world's first triband GSM/GPRS CompactFlash card. The RTM-8000 card allows PDAs and PocketPCs to connect to GSM 900/1800/1900 networks, enabling users to send and receive voice...

CMG in global messaging deal. (deals).(CMG Wireless Data Solutions and Telefonica Moviles)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Telefonica Moviles and CMG Wireless Data Solutions have signed an agreement under which CMG will act as a provider for Telefonica Moviles in the supply, rollout, optimization and integration of messaging solutions, which will be made available...

Sony Ericsson taps Platypus as partner. (deals).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Australian wireless company Platypus has been chosen as a strategic development partner of Sony Ericsson. Platypus will aid Sony Ericsson in the development of applications for its new mobile devices. In future, Sony Ericsson mobile phones may...

IBM Global/paybox.net m-commerce tie-up. (deals).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... IBM Global Services has teamed with mobile payment provider paybox, net to drive m-commerce through an integration of systems and an expansion of services. Core aspects of the agreement include the joint development of mobile payment...

Fighting fraud the right way. (Forum).
September 1, 2002... It's tempting to take a "death and taxes" view of telecom fraud: that it's always with us and not much can be done about it. But in today's micro-margin telecom business environment every little bit sliced off (or glued back on) to the real...

On the road with 3G. (Street Wise).
September 1, 2002... One of the biggest reasons blamed for the delay of 3G service roll-outs is the lack of terminals. To date, vendors continue to struggle to overcome size, battery and technical issues with 3G handsets. Simply put, they cannot bring all the...

About that so-called 3G market ... (Lynch).
September 1, 2002... It's certainly been a good year for the Qualcomm-cdma2000 1x lobby. Over 11 million shipments of handsets to date, easily exceeding the levels of other 2.5G and 3G platforms such as GPRS and W-CDMA. And now the plaudits are coming thick and...

Nice Sony Ericsson, buddy. (Short message: around the wireless industry).
September 1, 2002... Next time you travel to the US, if a trendy young couple on holiday asks you to take a picture of them with their brand new cell phone, odds are you may be part of a covert marketing scheme. Sony Ericsson kicked off a sort of interactive...

Mobile sacrifice. (Short message: around the wireless industry).
September 1, 2002... Everyone's looking to cut costs these days as CFOs struggle valiantly to find ways to save money, no matter how small or how painful. Take the company mobile phone, for example. That's what Dutch bank ING did after taking a look at its...

Where Hollywood gets its ideas. (Short message: around the wireless industry).
September 1, 2002... Please imagine the following: a leading cellular phone company receives a phone call from a major Hollywood movie producer who needs a hundred cell phones for a film crew that is shooting on location. No problem, says the cellular operator, who...

PR gone wrong. (Short message: around the wireless industry).
September 1, 2002... There may be no such thing as bad publicity, but Vodafone's Australian unit got a bit more than it bargained for last month after two naked men ran onto the pitch during a Tri-Nations rugby match between Australia and New Zealand. It was...

Cell phones go home. (Short message: around the wireless industry).
September 1, 2002... Indian cellco Reliance Mobile Service received government permission last month to expand its mobile services in the remote northeast region of the country beyond its existing service areas in the two main cities of Guwahati and Shillong. State...