RCR Wireless News articles from February 2002

RCR Wireless News archives from February 2002

WebLink outlines new bankruptcy plan. (Late News).
February 4, 2002... WebLink Wireless Inc. found its white knight. The paging and messaging carrier said late Thursday it scored a deal with Sun Capital Acquisition Corp., which buys out cash-strapped companies and then funds them back to health. WebLink said...

One network, two GSM players: AT&T, Cingular pool resources.
February 4, 2002... Blurring the line between competitor and partner, the nation's No. 2 and No. 3 wireless operators announced plans to pool resources and share costs associated with expanding their respective GSM/GPRS coverage area along thousands of miles of...

Outlook for smaller players turns somber.
February 4, 2002... Perhaps the great orator Yogi Berra summed up the current condition of rural operators best when he said, "The future is not what it used to be." Sure, he wasn't talking about the wireless industry, but his unique way of describing the future...

Vendors, carriers hawk content.
February 4, 2002... Some of the world's largest wireless vendors are walking somewhat of a fine line. Nokia Corp., Sony Ericsson and others are working to sell network infrastructure equipment and wireless devices to their carrier customers while at the same...

UWB vote appears set for Feb. 14.
February 4, 2002... WASHINGTON--The Federal Communications Commission, despite opposition within the Bush administration and concern on Capitol Hill, appears ready this week to schedule a vote to authorize ultra-wideband technology on Feb. 14. On Thursday,...

As E911 Phase II reporting deadline comes and goes, picture remains murky. (News).
February 4, 2002... WASHINGTON--Wireless carriers implementing enhanced 911 solutions are all over the board in their rollout efforts. "There will be six different companies and they will be filing six different stories, ranging from highly successful to still...

AT&T launches mLife brand. (News).
February 4, 2002... NEW YORK--AT&T Wireless Services Inc. launched its mLife brand advertising and marketing campaign this weekend, a move that should help customers more heavily equate the high profile AT&T name with wireless technology. The mLife marketing...

Motorola signs GSM contract in Indonesia. (News).
February 4, 2002... CHICAGO--Motorola Inc has signed a $170 million GSM network infrastructure contract with Indonesia's largest carrier, Telkomsel. The deal's first phase is scheduled to be completed in December.

Verizon offers new calling plans. (News).
February 4, 2002... BEDMINSTER, N.J.-- Verizon Wireless launched its America's Choice calling plans designed to reward customers with the use of its entire network as the home calling area, large buckets of minutes and free long-distance from the plan's footprint....

FCC to keep re-auction deposits; NextWave outlines court argument. (News).
February 4, 2002... WASHINGTON--The Federal Communications Commission has decided to keep deposits from the re-auction winners of the PCS C- and F-block licenses of bankrupt NextWave Telecom Inc. and Urban Comm-North Carolina Inc. Meanwhile, late on Friday...

NextWave's funding sources questioned. (News).
February 4, 2002... NextWaves Telecom Inc.'s plans to build Out its wireless network were thrown into more disarray last week when some of its much-needed capital investment sources came into question. The week began with Qualcomm Inc.--which has strong ties...

Subscriber additions steer tower industry. (News).
February 4, 2002... Network-sharing deals such as the one AT&T Wireless Services Inc. and Cingular Wireless announced last week are causing less concern for tower companies than the subscriber additions--or lack thereof--anticipated by these and other wireless...

MetroPCS dials service in Miami. (News).
February 4, 2002... Showing Rocky Balboa-like resilience, MetroPCS was set to become the latest wireless operator to throw its hat into a crowded consumer arena with its planned service launch this week in the Miami area. The carrier--which won licenses in the...

Crowd of device makers set to squeeze new offerings into tight business market. (News).
February 4, 2002... Corporate information-technology departments are soon going to have their hands full. Device makers stretching from Palm Inc., Handspring Inc. and Research In Motion Ltd. to Sharp Electronics Corp., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and Nokia...

Wireless depreciation amendment on deck. (News).
February 4, 2002... WASHINGTON--The wireless industry would be able to write off wireless equipment, except towers, for five years if an amendment to the pending economic-stimulus package passes. The amendment, by Sen. Blanche L. Lincoln (D-Ark.), would allow...

Motorola/Nokia/Telsim lawsuits allege fraud, Mafia connections. (News).
February 4, 2002... NEW YORK--The lawsuit Motorola Inc. and Nokia Corp. brought last week against the owners of Telsim and the counterclaims in response have shone a spotlight on equipment vendor-financing practices of recent years and cast a shadow over Turkey's...

NTIA asks FCC to look at private-wireless spectrum needs. (News).
February 4, 2002... WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration late last week said the Federal Communications Commission should re-examine private-wireless spectrum needs of the energy, water and railroad sectors, signaling a possible policy shift that took on added...

Smart cards may gain prominence in post-Sept. 11 world. (News).
February 4, 2002... NEW YORK--With security and privacy concerns becoming more pronounced in the United States following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the Smart Card Alliance is pressing its case that these computer chips, widely used abroad, offer a...

New batch of brain-cancer lawsuits to be filed this week. (News).
February 4, 2002... WASHINGTON--The mobile-phone industry today is expected to get hit with a new wave of brain-cancer lawsuits, a development that ratchets up the stakes in a legal battle that most likely will play out in grand style later this month in Baltimore...

Teledesic contracts Alenia Spazio for first satellites. (News).
February 4, 2002... BELLEVUE, Wash.--Teledesic L.L.C. said it signed an agreement with Italian satellite manufacturer Alenia Spazio Spa to build satellites for Teledesic's network. The agreement covers construction of Teledesic's first two satellites....

MSS interest picks up. (News).
February 4, 2002... With horror and disbelief, the United States learned on Sept. 11 exactly where its strengths and weaknesses lie. Wireline and wireless networks not already impacted budded under the overwhelming rush of calls in and out of New York City and...

USTR: Key to China trade is enforcement. (News).
February 4, 2002... WASHINGTON--The Bush administration last week said achieving benefits from U.S.-China trade will require vigorous enforcement and China's adherence to global trading rules, major challenges American wireless firms will face as they attempt to...

Wireless, states argue LNP mandate. (News).
February 4, 2002... WASHINGTON--The wireless industry and state regulators are debating whether wireless local number portability should be implemented as mandated on Nov. 24--the desire of state regulators--or delayed--industry's preference. "As anyone who...

Survey finds cellular service costs fell in 2001. (News).
February 4, 2002... LOS ANGELES--The latest Econ One survey showed that costs of cell-phone service in the United States dropped greatly during 2001, especially in those cities that traditionally offer the highest prices and in calling plans that offer the most...

NextWave nightmares. (Opinion).
February 4, 2002... I had the worst nightmare. I dreamed that the Federal Communications Commission decided not to give the deposit money back to the "winners" in the re-auction of NextWave Telecom Inc.'s PCS licenses. Evidently, some people at the agency...

Supply-side broadband. (Opinion).
February 4, 2002... No doubt President Bush's well-received State of the Union address last Tuesday night disappointed the digerati. The commander-in-chief somehow failed to fit in a mention of "broadband" in a speech to a nation fighting a two-front war against...

Wi-Fi passes economic forum test with only minor delay. (News).
February 4, 2002... NEW YORK--The World Economic Forum, a five-day event that concludes Feb. 4, posed a host of challenges that pushed the envelope for the Wi-Fi network provided to keep the 3,000 government and business leaders attending in touch and up to date....

FCC gets back 13,500 private-wireless call signs. (News).
February 4, 2002... WASHINGTON--About 13,500 private-wireless calls signs have been returned to the Federal Communications Commission as part of its ongoing audit of the private land mobile radio database. "We think it is great.... This provides those that...

Letter.
February 4, 2002... Salmasi harmed industry To the Editor: I have to agree with Nga Nguyen's letter to the editor in RCR Wireless News' s Jan. 14 edition, concerning your choice for "Person of the Year". If it was your purpose to choose the person,...

Balance sways between privacy, security concerns. (Privacy).
February 4, 2002... WASHINGTON--As the world changed on Sept. 11, so did the debate surrounding privacy protections. Suddenly the issue was not whether the government should mandate--either through legislation or regulation--that companies protect consumer...

Analysts welcome AT&T Wireless 4Q adds: Carrier one of few to meet targets. (Business).
February 4, 2002... AT&T Wireless Services Inc. took a big hit in the fourth quarter when it shed its fixed-wireless business, but found itself in good favor with analysts after the carrier announced last week that it had met subscriber number expectations. ...

Telecom defaults cramp wireless funding options. (Business).
February 4, 2002... NEW YORK--Telecommunications companies have dominated a wave of bond defaults that reached a 10-year high in 2001, and the investment community has braced itself for a bigger crest to hit later this year, before the tide subsides. Perhaps...

ADC announced it has implemented its Singl.eView convergent billing solution for Appiant Technologies Inc. (Business Briefs).
February 4, 2002... ADC announced it has implemented its Singl.eView convergent billing solution for Appiant Technologies Inc. Singl.eView was launched in conjunction with Appiant's unified communication service, inUnison, which offers unified messaging with phone...

Intrado Inc. said Iowa Wireless Services, Pyxis Communications and U.S. Unwired Inc. all signed three-year contracts with Intrado to provide Phase I and Phase II E911 services. (Business Briefs).
February 4, 2002... Intrado Inc. said Iowa Wireless Services, Pyxis Communications and U.S. Unwired Inc. all signed three-year contracts with Intrado to provide Phase I and Phase II E911 services. In addition, North East Colorado Cellular Inc. agreed to renew its...

Microsoft Corp. (Business Briefs).
February 4, 2002... Microsoft Corp. said it created a wireless group within its Mobile Solutions Partner Program to ensure that other companies' products and services work smoothly with Microsoft's wireless systems. Microsoft's Mobility Partner Advisory Council...

Sprint PCS launched its Sprint Sync Services as an enhancement to its current Voice Command offering. (Business Briefs).
February 4, 2002... Sprint PCS launched its Sprint Sync Services as an enhancement to its current Voice Command offering. Powered by Fusion One, the feature is expected to help customers manage contact information stored on various devices in multiple locations...

W-CDMA migration challenges engineers. (Business).
February 4, 2002... CDMA vendors say they are better equipped to build wideband CDMA networks because the third-generation system uses code-based engineering, unlike TDMA technology, which requires time-based engineering skills. Because migrating to a new...

Chip sector losses underline sagging handset sales. (Business).
February 4, 2002... Although recent quarterly results still paint a gloomy picture on the semiconductor front, a look at the horizon indicates some light--about the size of a chip. Texas Instruments, Toshiba Corp. , Fujitsu Ltd. and NEC Corp. announced their...

Geoworks faces tough times, aims to sell flagship AirBoss application product. (Business).
February 4, 2002... Wireless data infrastructure provider Geoworks Corp. announced a series of drastic moves and a depressing third-quarter report, news that sent the company's stock rocketing down almost 40 percent in trading last week to just under 50 cents per...

Wireless stock watch.
February 4, 2002... Wireless Stock Watch CLOSING CLOSING PERCENT EXCH COMPANY 1/30/02 1/23/02 CHANGE GAINS NAS ADC Telecommunications 5.01 ...

KPN to buy E-Plus interest from BellSouth. (Global Wireless).
February 4, 2002... Dutch telecommunications giant KPN will buy the remaining 22.5-percent interest in German mobile-phone operator E-Plus that it does not already own from U.S.-based BellSouth Corp. for about $1.06 billion in KPN stock, giving KPN full control of...

Hong Kong to get first look at Treo. (Global Wireless).
February 4, 2002... HONG KONG--Wireless enthusiasts in Hong Kong will be the first in the world to see the commercial availability of Handspring Inc.'s new wireless Treo device. The company announced it is selling the device through mobile operator SmarTone's...

Matsushita files lawsuit against Samsung. (Global Wireless).
February 4, 2002... TOKYO--Matsushita Electric Industrial, a leading Japanese consumer electronics manufacturer, on Jan. 28 announced that it filed a lawsuit against Samsung Electronics, claiming that the Korean company and three U.S. subsidiaries of Samsung...

Symbian secures additional funding. (Global Wireless).
February 4, 2002... LONDON--Symbian Ltd. said it has secured another funding round from its shareholders, which include Matsushita, Motorola Inc., Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Psion. "Symbian's development to support next-generation wireless standards on Symbian...

America movil sells puerto rico holding. (Global Wireless).
February 4, 2002... MEXICO CITY--America Movil, the wireless spinoff of Mexican telecom giant TelMex, has sold its 50-percent stake in Cellular Communications of Puerto Rico to SBC Communications Inc., according to international press reports. As part of the deal,...

Taiwan 3G auction totals reach $1.3B. (Global Wireless).
February 4, 2002... TAIPEI, Taiwan--Taiwan's 3G auction, which was predicted to be short lived and bring in just over the minimum bid prices, last week saw total bid prices up 31 percent. At the end of bidding last Wednesday, the auction's 13th day, the total bid...

Convergys signs service agreement with Compaq. (Late News).
February 11, 2002... Under the terms of a signed service bureau agreement, Convergys' Geneva Active Revenue Management software will be used for the billing and customer-care support for Compaq Computer Corp.'s iPAQ and iPAQ BlackBerry device customers. The...

Wireless soon expected to surpass wireline. (Late News).
February 11, 2002... Worldwide wireless penetration is expected to surpass wireline service penetration early this year, according to a report from the International Telecommunication Union. The organization reported that there were 1.045 billion fixed lines...

Industry wary; UWB vote on radar screen.
February 11, 2002... WASHINGTON--The Federal Communications Commission, barring last-minute intervention by the Bush administration or Congress, is expected to authorize ultra-wideband technology at Thursday's public meeting, even though significant uncertainty...

Will mLife bring m-success?
February 11, 2002... The closely played game on the field was not the only entertaining aspect of the Super Bowl this year as TV viewers again were bombarded with advertising, including a cryptic message from one of the wireless industry's most well-known names to...

Wireless in Hollywood shaken, not stirred.
February 11, 2002... Remember that scene in 1997's "Tomorrow Never Dies" where Bond, James Bond, manages to outwit the bad guys by remotely driving his car around with a cool little color-screen wireless device, complete with tiny steering wheel? No? How about...

ClearTalk shuns debt, builds out with assets. (News).
February 11, 2002... The traditional operating history for wireless companies has been to spend billions of dollars on licenses, billions of dollars more to build out networks and hope to turn a profit some day. A soft economy is forcing investors to take a harder...

Security issues gain prominence. (News).
February 11, 2002... Notwithstanding a down economy, the wireless technology revolution has begun and interest, if not demand, is approaching an all-time high. Next-generation wireless devices, including the new Palm i705 and Handspring's Treo, as well as...

Verizon sides with NextWave on licenses: In move to get deposit funds back. (News).
February 11, 2002... Claiming the Federal Communications Commission has ignored the court's ruling, Verizon Wireless filed a lawsuit against the FCC in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, asking the court to order the government agency to fully...

Congestion brings better service for mesh networks. (News).
February 11, 2002... Traditional point-to-point and point-to-multipoint wireless broadband networks have proven to be a costly and frustrating undertaking for those brave enough to blaze the trail for the fixed-wireless industry. But as the industry continues...

Pinnacle tries to stave off bankruptcy. (News).
February 11, 2002... SBA Communications Corp. and Pinnacle Holdings Inc. took a beating on the stock market last week after each company announced unfavorable financial news. For many months Pinnacle has traded at less than 25 cents per share, begging concerns...

Microsoft, rivals champion Web interoperability. (News).
February 11, 2002... In the beginning, Microsoft was the selfish one, the Oliver Twist insisting on its proprietary Windows programs. Recently it invoked resentment from rivals such as Sun Microsystems Inc. and Oracle Corp., which charged Microsoft was engaging in...

Nokia completes W-CDMA calls in lab. (News).
February 11, 2002... HELSINKI, Finland--Nokia Corp. said it made its first third-generation wideband-CDMA packet-data calls between its commercial network infrastructure and terminals in its laboratories. "This milestone, which we have now reached as the first...

Consolidation, sharing good for regional players; Sugrue: Nextel plan 'astute'. (News).
February 11, 2002... NEW YORK--Carrier network sharing and ownership consolidation is both desirable and necessary to improve the fiscal health of the overall wireless industry, including regional players, participants at the Legg Mason Telecommunications...

Gov't agencies differ on sharing spectrum with public safety. (News).
February 11, 2002... WASHINGTON--The Department of Defense said last week that it could share spectrum on a limited basis in the 138-144 MHz band with public-safety first responders. "We believe it is possible to share portions of the 138-144 MHz band with...

NII Holdings misses interest payments. (News).
February 11, 2002... NEW YORK--NII Holdings, formerly known as Nextel International, reportedly missed its latest $41 million interest payments scheduled for last Friday on its 12.75-percent senior serial redeemable notes due 2010, according to Frank Marsala,...

Bush budget may aid 3G spectrum hunt. (News).
February 11, 2002... WASHINGTON--The Bush administration could face congressional opposition to a proposal in its 2003 budget to kill a major telecom infrastructure grant program, but it won support of the cellular industry for plans to reschedule two auctions and...

Vizario targets business users with wireless access. (News).
February 11, 2002... SAN CARLOS, Calif.--Vizario unveiled a new service for information-hungry business customers the company said will deliver virtually any type of information to a wireless device. "This is the next technological step business has been...

Sprint, Verizon meet E911 benchmark, Cingular, Nextel spell out problems. (News).
February 11, 2002... WASHINGTON--tionwide CDMA carriers Sprint PCS and Verizon Wireless Inc. are deploying enhanced 911 Phase II service on schedule, according to reports filed Feb. 1 with the Federal Communications Commission. The picture is not so bright for...

Generation gap. (Opinion).
February 11, 2002... Every day brings more news of cutbacks in the telecommunications industry. The army of new operators, forged in recent years by the forces of privatization, deregulation and competition, is rapidly being decommissioned. Even well-established...

CTIA Inc. (Opinion).
February 11, 2002... With the creative fade of PCIA, CTIA can claim itself the undisputed champion of the wireless cause. In truth, CTIA wrote off PCIA as competition long ago. CTIA has since moved on to put the dot-com crowd into the big tent. The results are...

NTSB probes cell-phone connection in fatal accident. (News).
February 11, 2002... WASHINGTON--The National Transportation Safety Board has launched a probe into the alleged use of a cell phone in a traffic accident here that killed five people, elevating driver distraction to a new level for federal regulators and forcing...

Can you trust wireless broadband?: Industry recovery to be measured in years, not months. (Broadband).
February 11, 2002... When wireless broadband hit the streets in 2000, there were promises of megabandwidth, speedy deployments and connectivity to just about anything you could slap an antenna on. And when the bottom fell out of the wireless broadband industry last...

Funding for middleware firms underscores value. (Business).
February 11, 2002... In the hierarchy of wireless infrastructure, the middleware space tends to be the most invisible. But, of late, even obscure names in that humble arena have continued to wrest attention as the industry comes to terms with their increasing...

Performance, Transat provide billing solution for connecting 802.11b with cellular network. (Business).
February 11, 2002... ROCHESTER, N.Y.--Performance Technologies Inc. and Transat Technologies are using existing technology standards to offer mobile businesspeople a 3G-like experience. The Transat solution allows wireless customers to access the Internet from...

Audiovox, Hyundai enter CDMA pact. (Business).
February 11, 2002... HAUPPAUGE, N.Y. -- Audiovox Communications Corp. and Hyundai CuriTel Inc. in Korea signed an estimated $730 million agreement for Hyundai CuriTel to manufacture CDMA handsets for Audiovox during the next 12 months. Hyundai CuriTel was...

U.S. Cellular, EMS sign supply agreement. (Business).
February 11, 2002... ATLANTA--U.S. Cellular Corp. entered a fulfillment services agreement with EMS Wireless, a division of EMS Technologies Inc., to supply base station antennas. Financial terms of the agreement were not released.

Salt Lake hosts CDMA Olympics. (News).
February 11, 2002... As well as hosting the Winter Olympics, the Salt Lake City area has temporarily displaced San Diego as the home of CDMA-based next-generation services. Sprint PCS is using the games as a backdrop to demonstrate the capabilities of its...

Numerex expands wireless strategy. (News).
February 11, 2002... ATLANTA--Numerex Corp. announced its new expanded long-term wireless strategy, which involves introducing products for machine-to-machine communications working over a variety of technologies. Numerex said its customers will soon be able...

Olympics draws on wireless technology. (News).
February 11, 2002... SALT LAKE CITY, Utah--Wireless technology vendors and carriers are working hard behind the scenes at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Samsung Telecommunications America said it is earning its title as the Official Wireless...

Intel unveils new microprocessors. (Business).
February 11, 2002... As cell phones and personal digital assistants get smarter with increasing applications and services, the pressure is on chipmakers to ease their functionality to offer richer music, movies, games and a slew of enterprise offerings. Intel...

Avesair to acquire WindWire. (Business).
February 11, 2002... RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.--In order to extend its market share, product offerings and mobile media expertise, mobile marketing technology and service provider Avesair will acquire competitor WindWire. Independently, Avesair and WindWire...

Qualcomm houses all acronyms on one chipset. (Business).
February 11, 2002... In spite of its array of industry firsts and innovations, San Diego-based Qualcomm Inc. may be a victim of where it comes from. Stereotyped as a CDMA company, the radio-frequency chipmaker is struggling to be seen simply as a technology...

Palm updates OS. (Business).
February 11, 2002... SAN JOSE, Calif.--In a move to catch up to rival Microsoft Corp. and fulfill its promises to investors, Palm Inc. last week released a trial version of its new operating system, the Palm OS 5, which the company said will support wide area...

Gigamedia debuts PeerSwitch service. (Business).
February 11, 2002... NEW YORK--Gigamedia Access Corp., Herndon, Va., on Feb. 7 began offering commercially its PeerSwitch Service, which allows direct connections to personal computers via two-way pagers, cell phones or handheld computers without the need to copy...

Glenayre, RIM call truce, team on services. (Business).
February 11, 2002... The adage "keep your friends close, but your enemies even closer" seems to be a perfect fit for the new business relationship between Research In Motion Ltd. and Glenayre Electronics Inc. announced last week. The two companies, which for...

Wireless StockWatch.
February 11, 2002... Wireless StockWatch January 30-February 6 GAINS CLOSING CLOSING PERCENT EXCH COMPANY 2/6/02 1/30/02 CHANGE NYS British Telecom ...

Nextel stock on upswing with 4Q results, Sprint PCS punished. (Business).
February 11, 2002... Showing that not all wireless operators had disappointing fourth quarters, Nextel Communications Inc. pre-announced subscriber additions for the quarter at the high end of estimates and outlined positive guidance for this year. The...

ConStat aims to take end user's data pulse. (Business).
February 11, 2002... Hoping to shed light on the potential of wireless data services, Oakland, Calif.-based technology research firm ConStat Inc. has embarked on a year-long study to find out what the buying public wants from the wireless community. ConStat...