RCR Wireless News articles from April 2003

RCR Wireless News archives from April 2003

Sony undergoes restructuring, says it won't affect handset biz.(News)
April 7, 2003... Sony Corp. announced a major restructuring the company said works under its new "integrated and decentralized'' approach to business. The company rearranged its executive structure, and reorganized its business into seven entities. The...

Mountain Union Telecom acquires VelociTel towers.(News)
April 7, 2003... Daniels & Associates announced it represented Mountain Union Telecom in the acquisition of 21 towers in Puerto Rico from VelociTel Corp. Mountain Union now owns and operates more than 200 towers throughout California, the northeastern...

C-Cubed offers mobile telecom to military, reporters told to turn off phones, Al Jezeera tries texting.(News)
April 7, 2003... Byline: EMILY MOTSAY C-Cubed Corp. is working with various mobile communications companies to enable mobile video conferencing, voice and data communications in ViewCase, a system designed to allow deployed military forces to communicate...

Virgin Mobile USA launches 'American Oddball' campaign to rival AT&T deal with Fox.(Business)
April 7, 2003... Mobile virtual network operator Virgin Mobile USA is looking to tap into the hype surrounding the Fox TV show "American Idol'' with its own text messaging campaign. The move is a response to AT&T Wireless Services Inc., which has a major...

TeliaSonera announces job cuts.(Global Wireless)
April 7, 2003... As expected, the merger of Sweden's Telia and Finland's Sonera will see layoffs in the second quarter of 2003, and TeliaSonera's Swedish and Finnish operations said they have both initiated discussions with personnel organizations. About 400...

Alcatel announces 3G win in Austria.(Business)
April 7, 2003... Alcatel has announced a much-needed third-generation contract win with Austria's Tele.ring for a turnkey UMTS network. The deployment will begin in May, with the first phase covering mainly Vienna, Graz and Linz-about 25 percent of Austria's...

Dobson restructures loan.(Business)
April 7, 2003... Dobson Communications Corp. reported that its majority shareholder, Dobson CC L.P., and Bank of America N.A. have reached an agreement in principle amending and restructuring DCCLP's loan that would allow DCCLP to maintain controlling interest...

Cingular Wireless names Stephenson to succeed Forsee.(Business)
April 7, 2003... Cingular Wireless L.L.C. named Randall Stephenson to succeed Gary Forsee as chairman of the nation's second-largest wireless operator. Stephenson also serves as chief financial officer at Cingular's parent company SBC Communications Inc. ...

GSM to dominate in Latin America by '08.(Global Wireless)
April 7, 2003... The Latin American mobile market is poised to double during the next six years, growing from 98.7 million subscribers in 2002, to 209 million subscribers in 2008, according to a report from market research firm Telecom Trends International. ...

Companies educate cell-site owners on lease options.(Business)
April 7, 2003... Byline: EMILY MOTSAY Cutting capital expenditures has become a necessary practice for industry players struggling to stay in the game. Now having brought cap ex about as low as it can go, companies are looking for other ways to cut costs....

Moi?(Opinion)
April 7, 2003... Byline: Jeffrey Silva He represents a district in Southern California. He's an Army vet. He's an ex-businessman who once chaired the Consumer Electronics Association. So who can blame Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) for waxing patriotic over...

Flarion, IPWireless fight for turf in new tech battle.(Business)
April 7, 2003... Byline: SAM OMATSEYE Called alternative technologies today, IPWireless Inc.'s and Flarion Technologies Inc.'s technologies are poised to provide the turf for the next technology wars of the wireless world-the quest to offer high-speed,...

NextNet teams with iMax for Philippines broadband access.(Business)
April 7, 2003... Broadband wireless access provider NextNet Wireless has paired with Internet service provider iMax Communications Inc. to deliver non-line-of-sight broadband wireless services in the Philippines using NextNet's Expedience system. IMax...

Cingular continues hunt for nationwide presence.(News)
April 7, 2003... Byline: DAN MEYER With nearly 22 million subscribers and a network covering more than 198 million potential customers, Cingular Wireless L.L.C. can comfortably lay claim to having one of the largest wireless networks in the United States....

Oral argument in Newman case scheduled for June.(Business)
April 7, 2003... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit in Richmond has scheduled oral argument for June in Christopher Newman's challenge of a lower court ruling dismissing his $800 million brain-cancer lawsuit against...

SmartServe, Summus, Boost detail content deals.(News)
April 7, 2003... Content deals continue to funnel through the pipe, with a range of handset makers, carriers and content companies announcing deals in the area. First, application provider SmartServ Online Inc. said it scored a major deal with an unnamed...

Issa softens CDMA-only stance.(News)
April 7, 2003... Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), who late last month led the charge for the military to deploy CDMA technology in post-war Iraq, on Wednesday seemed to step back from his CDMA-only position when he urged the Semiconductor Industry Association to...

Lawmakers again try to make Internet tax moratorium permanent.(Business)
April 7, 2003... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER Lawmakers are attempting to pass a permanent Internet tax moratorium for a third time. Legislation introduced last week in both the House and the Senate would make permanent a moratorium that has been in...

InfoSpace announces executive moves.(Business)
April 7, 2003... Wireless and Internet software maker Info-Space announced it added several new top executives, moves the company said were part of an effort to redefine the company's focus and business. Kathleen Rae, a former executive at Ignition Partners...

ABI predicts speech technology growth.(Business)
April 7, 2003... Speech recognition technologies will play an important role in the financial services and telecommunications industries, according to a new study from Allied Business Intelligence, and will push the speech technology market from $677 million in...

Morgan Stanley cuts telecom ratings.(Business)
April 7, 2003... Morgan Stanley cut its rating on the U.S. telecommunications industry to "cautious'' from "in line,'' according to a Reuters report. The firm cited the recent strong stock performance and reduced earnings expectations compared with the...

Russia's wireless sector sees 17-percent growth.(Global Wireless)
April 7, 2003... Russia witnessed 21.12 million phone users at the end of March, representing a 17-percent jump from the end of 2002, according to telecom consultancy AC&M. Most of the net additions happened in Moscow. Carrier Vimpelcom had the lion's...

Happy Birthday to cellular.(News)
April 7, 2003... The portable cell phone turned 30 April 3. Indeed, the first wireless call from a handheld portable phone was made by then-Motorola Inc. general manager Martin Cooper, who set the tone for the competitive business by dialing up rival AT&T Bell...

Uptake in services will require infrastructure spending.(Business)
April 7, 2003... Byline: SAM OMATSEYE With prediction of increased infrastructure spending, a study has shown that it is not all gloomy on the wireless front. According to the Telecommunications Industry Association, wireless infrastructure spending...

UIEvolution scores ESPN pact.(Business)
April 7, 2003... Byline: MIKE DANO UIEvolution (pronounced U-I-Evolution) believes it has created just that-an evolution in the user interface for wireless. And though that claim has been made by a number of wireless companies over the years, UIEvolution...

Wireless distances itself from hearing-aid compatibility standard.(Business)
April 7, 2003... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA Mobile-phone carriers claim an industry-approved interference standard for wireless handsets and hearing aids is inadequate and needs more work. But it does not appear the objection will prevent the Federal...

SMS finds application in emergency alerts; Hong Kong quells SARS scare, U.K. plans use in terror warnings.(Global Wireless)
April 7, 2003... Short message service is finding a new application in several countries for emergency alert services. The deadly Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome virus is sweeping through Southeast Asia, and Hong Kong in particular saw a high incidence...

TeliaSonera, Tele2 ask PTS for delay.(Global Wireless)
April 7, 2003... Byline: GERARD O'DWYER Telecom operators TeliaSonera and Tele2 have applied to the Swedish national regulator PTS requesting a 12-month postponement in the rollout of their shared third-generation network. Given that Sweden's...

Galileo's gravity.(Opinion)
April 7, 2003... Byline: Sandra Wendelken The U.S.-based global positioning system, which is getting a lot of media play due to its large role in the Iraqi war, is set to see competition. However, not anytime soon. The monopoly satellite navigation system...

RIM legal troubles persist amid upbeat 4Q report.(News)
April 7, 2003... Byline: MIKE DANO A cloud of legal troubles persisted over BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd., even as the company announced quarterly revenues ahead of expectations. Indeed, RIM is facing fights on two legal fronts as it faces off...

Motorola leaves synch business, selling Starfish to Pumatech.(News)
April 7, 2003... Byline: MIKE DANO Motorola Inc. announced it sold its Starfish Software Inc. business, the company's once highly valued synchronization subsidiary, to rival Pumatech Inc. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, though it's very...

Appeals court appears skeptical to Sprint, Cingular numbering request.(Late News)
April 7, 2003... A federal appeals court appeared skeptical on Friday to two wireless carriers' request that the court say the Federal Communications Commission did not act rationally when it said states may be allowed to create a special area code for wireless...

3D technology makes its way into wireless.(News)
April 7, 2003... Byline: MIKE DANO Wreless may soon enter the third dimension. So rapid seems to be the evolution of the mobile phone that the color screen is still relatively new. But innovation isn't stopping there. Mobile-phone users likely will see...

It's all about coverage, reseller survey finds.(Business)
April 7, 2003... Byline: DAN MEYER Despite claims by some in the wireless industry that the latest and greatest technologies will drive wireless subscriber growth, a comprehensive survey of wireless reseller agents found that it's the basics that are...

M/A-Com demonstrates public-safety interop solution.(News)
April 7, 2003... Byline: EMILY MOTSAY M/A-COM demonstrated its interoperability solution for public-safety agencies here last week as part of its nationwide Interop 2003 Tour. With M/A-COM's system, NetworkFirst, public-safety agencies at the local,...

Burns calls for universal-service summit with FCC.(News)
April 7, 2003... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.), chairman of the Senate communications subcommittee, called for a universal-service summit to determine whether legislation is necessary to save the universal-service fund from...

Upton snares support for relocation fund bill.(News)
April 7, 2003... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA House telecommunications subcommittee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and the Department of Defense appear to have struck a deal on key wireless legislation, paving the way for likely passage this week of a relocation...

SpectraSite reports uptick in 4Q revenues.(News)
April 7, 2003... SpectraSite Inc. late last week quietly reported its fourth quarter and year-end 2002 results. Total revenues for the fourth quarter were $81.7 million, up from the previous year's $72.2 million, with site leasing revenues up 17 percent to...

More Sprint PCS affiliates warn of tough road ahead.(News)
April 7, 2003... Byline: DAN MEYER The trail of financially troubled Sprint PCS affiliates grew longer last week as privately held Horizon PCS Inc. reported it could file for bankruptcy protection within the next six months if it's unable to restructure...

Qwest tries to reinvigorate wireless with partnerships.
April 7, 2003... Byline: DAN MEYER With about half of its customers who disconnect their wired phone service going to wireless-only service, Qwest Communications International Inc. is taking a second look at the future of its wireless division. The...

Clarification.(Correction)
April 7, 2003... In the push-to-talk story on page 4 of the Mach 31 issue of RCR Wireless News, the headline should have stated that Sprint PCS President Len Lauer said the carrier would offer a competitive PTT service and that it would be a broadly focused...

War complicates trade agenda.
April 7, 2003... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The global market the wireless industry is depending on for growth and profitability in the coming years could become ensnarled in a conflict between trade policy and national security objectives of the Bush...

Numerex purchases Cingular's share of Cellemetry.(Business)
April 7, 2003... Telemetry company Numerex Corp. announced it purchased Cingular Wireless' 40 percent share in Cellemetry L.L.C. for about $5 million, a move Numerex said underscores its belief in the future of its wireless data business and the viability of...

3G contract rebids give vendors second chance.
April 7, 2003... Byline: SAM OMATSEYE In the sweepstakes of 3G contracts, smaller equipment vendors hope to outplay the bigger names by taking advantage of their product strengths and delays in UMTS rollouts. Companies like Motorola Inc., Nortel...

Range of choices in choosing runtimes, OS platforms.(Business)
April 7, 2003... Byline: MIKE DANO Wireless developers certainly have a range of platforms from which to choose. First, Java 2 Micro Edition made a big splash as all the major handset makers decided to include the technology in millions of mobile...

Wi-Fi: Is it worth the effort?(Focus)
April 14, 2003... Byline: ELIZABETH V. MOONEY The Wi-Fi race is on in earnest in the United States, but it is too soon to tell who will win and whether the prize will prove worth the effort. "The whole landscape today is very fragmented, with mobile...

Cingular resellers revolt.(Late News)
April 14, 2003... Byline: DAN MEYER Citing concerns over reseller compensation, a lack of appealing handset offerings and network quality issues, Chicago area independent wireless agent Areawide Cellular said it was removing Cingular Wireless L.L.C....

WISPs creative in championing cause.
April 14, 2003... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA Just as innovative wireless Internet service providers pose an irregular threat to mobile-phone carriers, especially those without a Wi-Fi partner, WISP advocates are pursuing creative strategies to advance their...

Wireless companies face DHS gridlock.(News)
April 14, 2003... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA Even as the war in Iraq winds down, battles continue to rage in the nation's capital over reconstruction boycotts, homeland security gridlock and cyber security vulnerability, hot-button issues that cloud prospects...

CoWave merges with Advanced Radio Cells to take on mesh networks.(Business)
April 14, 2003... Byline: ELIZABETH V. MOONEY A new company, Arcwave Inc., is the result of the April 9 merger between two privately held broadband wireless equipment vendors, CoWave Networks and Advanced Radio Cells Inc. Advanced Radio Cells is an...

FCC to ramp up tower-siting oversight.(News)
April 14, 2003... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER The Federal Communications Commission is ramping up its environmental and historic-preservation oversight of wireless-facilities sitings, Bryan Tramont told attendees at last week's "Essential Tower Law for...

Handset makers continue to flirt with telematics.(News)
April 14, 2003... Byline: MIKE DANO The telematics and fleet management industries continue to move along, with established players focusing on new markets and mobile-phone makers looking for a way in. The latest news on the telematics front comes from...

Relocation fund bill introduced in Senate.(News)
April 14, 2003... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA In a big victory for the Bush administration and the mobile-phone industry, the House telecommunications and Internet subcommittee last week approved legislation establishing a spectrum relocation fund considered...

Giga says wait to buy newly released devices.(News)
April 14, 2003... Businesses looking to deploy wireless devices and services can easily shave costs by waiting for device prices to drop as well as standardizing on one platform, according to research and consulting firm Giga. The firm said device prices...

Ericsson to outsource IT work to HP.(News)
April 14, 2003... L.M. Ericsson said it has signed a memorandum of understanding to outsource its information technology infrastructure to Hewlett-Packard Co. as part of its plans to cut costs and move to profitability. The decision, which will take effect...

Ericsson wins W-CDMA contract in Denmark.(News)
April 14, 2003... L.M. Ericsson said it has signed a contract to supply carrier 3 with W-CDMA equipment in Denmark. The deal comprises radio and transmission, as well as core gear. 3 is the brand name for Hi3G Access' activities in Denmark. In other...

Microsoft tiptoes toward open source codes.(News)
April 14, 2003... Byline: MIKE DANO Microsoft Corp. announced a new program to give manufacturers access to the company's closely guarded Windows CE source code and build devices using the modified code. However, Microsoft is not opening up the source code...

Nokia cuts infrastructure jobs.(Business)
April 14, 2003... Ahead of its quarterly earnings report, Nokia Corp. said it plans to cut 1,800 jobs in its infrastructure division, the second such action in the year. The company also plans to review its research and development plans with a view to...

Wireless 411 may bring extra info to callers, extra cash to carriers.(News)
April 14, 2003... Byline: DAN MEYER, HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER Wireless customers who "cut the cord'' in an attempt to be anonymous soon may have to tell their carrier not to release their telephone numbers. As the wireless industry matures, carriers are...

FCC to keep SAR limits, change RF rules for transmitters.(News)
April 14, 2003... The Federal Communications Commission wants changes to rules governing radiation emitted by mobile-phone transmitters, an agency official said last week. Bryan Tramont, an advisor to FCC Chairman Michael Powell, said proposed rule...

WiMax to set standards for MANs.
April 14, 2003... Byline: SAM OMATSEYE As Wi-Fi is to wireless local area networks, so WiMax is becoming for metropolitan area networks, a broadband technology that looks to compete with and complement both digital subscriber line and cable technologies in...

Carriers begin charging for LNP even as appeal goes to court.(News)
April 14, 2003... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER Some wireless carriers have begun charging their subscribers a fee for implementing wireless local number portability, a mandate they are hoping to overturn in federal appeals court this week. "The...

European alliance looks to thwart Vodafone.(Global Wireless)
April 14, 2003... As rumored earlier this month, Telefonica Moviles, T-Mobile International and Telecom Italia Mobile officially announced a partnership that will allow the three operators to offer near pan-European services to corporate clients. The companies...

T-Mobile USA likely to lead in 1Q net adds, Cingular near bottom.(News)
April 14, 2003... Byline: DAN MEYER Following a fourth quarter that witnessed the smallest nationwide operator leading its larger competitors in customer growth and the No. 2 operator posting its second straight quarter of customer losses, analysts expect...

Upoc/AT&TW/Nokia pact yields camera-phone communities.(Business)
April 14, 2003... Messaging company Upoc Inc. plans to jump into the multimedia messaging craze through a new offering with AT&T Wireless Services Inc. and Nokia Corp., making the company one of the first content providers in the United States to expand into the...

BeamReach completes third-round financing.(Business)
April 14, 2003... Broadband wireless access solutions company BeamReach Networks announced it has completed a $15 million third round of equity financing. "We are using our new capital to move to volume production in anticipation of large scale deployments...

InfoSpace cuts 115 jobs.(Business)
April 14, 2003... Wireless application provider InfoSpace Inc. announced it will cut 115 jobs, slimming the company's work force to 475. The company said the move is part of an effort to refocus on its core business strategies. An InfoSpace spokesman said...

TeliaSonera works out Swedish MMS interconnect deal.(Global Wireless)
April 14, 2003... TeliaSonera has finally gotten into the multimedia messaging service interconnection game in Sweden, several weeks after rivals Vodafone Group plc and Tele2 established MMS interconnection agreements. TeliaSonera, which has about a 50-percent...

Asian operators collaborate on data services.(Global Wireless)
April 14, 2003... Five mobile operators in the Asia-Pacific region have united to further mobile data use. The memorandum of understanding among Hong Kong's CSL, Maxis in Malaysia, Singapore's MobileOne, Smart Communications in the Philippines and Australia's...

Hutchison U.K. concedes to handset subsidies.(Global Wireless)
April 14, 2003... U.K. newcomer Hutchison 3G U.K. has conceded to handset subsidies, with prices of its handsets dropping by as much as $450 from its original prices announced in February, according to current details on its Web site. Handsets in February...

Anatel rejects PCS at 1.9 GHz.(News)
April 14, 2003... Brazilian regulator Anatel has thwarted the plans of wireless local loop provider Vesper to offer mobile services in Brazil's 1.9 GHz spectrum. Anatel this week formally refused a request by Vesper, which is backed by U.S.-based Qualcomm Inc.,...

Palm plans PDA with Wi-Fi capabilities.(News)
April 14, 2003... Palm plans to release a new personal digital assistant that features integrated support for Wi-Fi networks, according to an industry source familiar with the company's plans. The source confirmed a Cnet report detailing the new device, as...

Moody's raises KPN's debt ratings.(News)
April 14, 2003... KPN NV, the Netherlands' largest telecommunications company, received a significant boost from Moody's Investors Service, which raised ratings on the carrier's $16.2 billion in outstanding debt and said it would review the company for further...

Keep off the political grass.(Opinion)
April 14, 2003... Byline: Tracy Ford Much to my surprise, the House-the same body that voted to make French fries Freedom fries-came to its senses last week and decided not to go forward with a plan that would punish certain European and other foreign...

Verizon enhances Express Network.(Business)
April 14, 2003... Verizon Wireless announced a number of enhancements to its Express Network service offering including reduced service plan rates and discounts on equipment. The rate plan changes include cutting the price of its Unlimited Express Network...

All in the family.
April 14, 2003... Byline: DAN MEYER With wireless penetration hovering at around 50 percent, most U.S. wireless carriers are trying to grow their customer base by increasing their focus on attracting different market segments with alternative pricing plans....

Taiwan Cellular orders Tektronix testers.(News)
April 14, 2003... Tektronix Inc. said it has agreed to a multi-unit sale of its protocol testers to Taiwan Cellular Corp. for its networks across Taiwan. The order totals more than $700,000, and Tektronix said its product, the K1297-G20 protocol testers,...

Orphan stocks prevalent in telecom.(Business)
April 14, 2003... Byline: ELIZABETH V. MOONEY At least 30 percent of the approximately 10,000 stocks listed on the three major U.S. exchanges have traded for some period of time at or below $5 a share between 1992 and 2002, according to Crest Advisors. ...

Kansas co-op deploys Alvarion last-mile access.(Business)
April 14, 2003... Byline: EMILY MOTSAY Broadband wireless access solution provider Alvarion Inc. is leading a "quiet revolution,'' according to its vice president of marketing, Carlton O'Neal-a revolution that will result in the delivery of broadband voice...

LeMay leaves Sprint.(Business)
April 14, 2003... Sprint Corp. announced that Ronald LeMay, its president and chief operating officer, has left the company and has entered a separation agreement with Sprint to provide consulting services to the company for one year.

Motorola to supply 1x system to PT Telkom.(News)
April 14, 2003... Motorola Inc. said it has signed a contract to supply PT Telkom with a cdma2000 1x system in 10 provinces of Sumatra, one of the country's largest islands. Motorola describes it as its 15th third-generation contract worldwide and seventh...

Fog of peace.(Opinion)
April 14, 2003... Byline: Jeffrey Silva With the triumphant giddiness of Baghdad's fall-powerfully punctuated by the toppling of a 20-foot-tall Saddam look-alike before cheering, liberated Iraqis-one is ever so tempted to believe we've turned the corner in...

Regulatory wrangling impacts VC investment.(News)
April 14, 2003... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER The constant wrangling over the implementation of the Telecom Act of 1996, including the recently adopted but not released broadband rules from the Federal Communications Commission, has stunted capital...

Texas distracted-driving case headed to court.(News)
April 14, 2003... A major distracted-driving case is going to trial May 5 in Texas state court. Regino Salinas is charged with criminally negligent homicide in connection with an auto accident that killed two people last year. Salinas was indicted by a...