RCR Wireless News articles from February 2003

RCR Wireless News archives from February 2003

5GHz accord reached. (Late News).
February 3, 2003... The Bush administration and industry reached agreement supporting a global allocation of 5 GHz spectrum for unlicensed wireless technologies that would operate at power levels that do not interfere with military radar, culminating months of...

Sierra Wireless pondering new strategy? (Late News).
February 3, 2003... While Sierra Wireless Inc. posted revenues ahead of its fourth-quarter expectations, the wireless modem maker offered a dreary forecast for the coming months--prospects that may force the company to embark on a new business strategy and expand...

What's next for NextWave?
February 3, 2003... With control over its wireless licenses restored by last week's Supreme Court decision, NextWave Telecom Inc. now must decide what to do with its 95 spectrum licenses covering more than 160 million potential customers in 40 of the nations top...

TD-SCDMA moves closer to viability.
February 3, 2003... China's homegrown technology known as TD-SCDMA is creeping up from the industry's subconscious as it attracts more resources and quiet maneuvers from major players. Buoyed by the Chinese government's recent decision to allocate spectrum to...

AT&T Wireless, Sprint PCS team up to meet siting needs.
February 3, 2003... NEW YORK -- To lower overhead and increase revenues, AT&T Wireless Services Inc. announced a series of initiatives at its media and analyst meeting last week, including a tower sharing agreement with Sprint PCS and a strategic relationship with...

RF brain damage link found in Swedish study.
February 3, 2003... WASHINGTON -- A Swedish-funded study published in an U.S. government health journal says mobile-phone exposure caused. brain damage in lab rats. The study, published last Wednesday in the online edition of the journal Environmental Heath...

Changes ahead for tower players. (News).
February 3, 2003... With a myriad of tower-related news announcements emerging in January, 2003 is shaping up to be a make-or-break year for the tower industry, and it seems likely that a year from now the sector's landscape will be irrevocably changed. Since...

NTSB takes up role in driver distraction issue. (News).
February 3, 2003... WASHINGTON -- The National Transportation Safety Board, the agency usually associated with probes of airplane crashes, train derailments, pipeline ruptures and wayward vessels, plans soon to release findings and possibly recommendations...

With slower growth, carriers now face market-share battle. (News).
February 3, 2003... With wireless subscriber growth in 2002 expected to fall short of the previous year's results, carriers now appear set for a market share war that is already showing signs of possible winners and losers. Following Cingular Wireless L.L.C.'s...

NextWave to keep licenses, Powell calls for bankruptcy code changes. (News).
February 3, 2003... WASHINGTON--The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last Monday that bankrupt NextWave Telecom Inc. can keep its licenses, leading the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission to call on Congress to pass legislation to protect future FCC auctions...

Innovation from chipmakers to spur handset advances. (News).
February 3, 2003... Whether it means lower noise, lower power consumption or smaller size, chipmakers are becoming perhaps the most innovative sector in the wireless industry. Texas Instruments Inc., Toshiba America Electronic Components Inc., Nokia Corp. and...

Rohn reveals restructuring plans. (News).
February 3, 2003... PEORIA, Ill.--Infrastructure equipment provider Rohn Industries Inc. announced it has secured a $10 million credit facility it believes strengthens its long-term financial health and stability and that it has decided to consolidate its...

FCC grants MSS providers spectrum use flexibility. (News).
February 3, 2003... WASINGTON--The Federal Communications Commission last week granted mobile satellite service providers flexibility to integrate ground-based transmitters into their operations, but also reallocated 30 megahertz from the troubled satellite sector...

Java Community Process members outline wireless Java road map. (News).
February 3, 2003... SANTA CLARA, Calif.--A range of big-name wireless players within the lava Community Process released what they call the road map for dealing with Java technology within the wireless industry, specifications they say will unify and harmonize the...

Verizon maintains position as industry pacesetter. (Carrier Profile: Verizon Wireless).
February 3, 2003... Though all can agree that the nation's No. 1 wireless operator, Verizon Wireless, continues to make impressive gains in a tough economy, the future of the carrier's corporate structure is much less clear. Speculation continues about...

Powell calls DTV transition 'a tough wrestling match'. (News).
February 3, 2003... WASHINGTON--The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday refused to get sucked into a debate between the broadcasters and the cable operators regarding the state of the digital TV transition. "It is a tough wrestling...

GPS coalition fires another salvo against ultra-wideband. (News).
February 3, 2003... WASHINGTON--A coalition that has consistently fought against rules allowing for ultra-wideband technologies has fired another salvo in the debate just as the Federal Communications Commission is considering whether to relax rules it adopted a...

Hail to the red, white and blue. (Opinion).
February 3, 2003... How well do you know the wireless industry? Take my quiz: The big news this month is: The Supreme Court ruling that NextWave Telecom Inc. is entitled to 90 PCS licenses for which the company successfully bid in the mid-1990s before...

The good hands people. (Opinion).
February 3, 2003... Want to hear a man-bites-dog story? Wireless firms are filing health-related lawsuits. Yep, even as the mobile-phone industry chalks up one victory after another in health litigation and points to court decisions as vindication of their claims...

Sugrue: Wireless bureau spent too much time on CPP. (News).
February 3, 2003... WASHINGTON--If Thomas Sugrue could go back and change one thing from his tenure as chief of the FCC's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, he would not have spent so much time on developing rules for calling party pays. "Calling party pays...

Probe requested into Victory party. (News).
February 3, 2003... WASHINGTON--A key House lawmaker has requested a probe into whether the Bush administralion's top telecom official acted properly in allowing wireless lobbyists to throw her a party in October 2001 and shortly afterward announcing support for...

Wayport expands Wi-Fi network with AT&T Wireless agreement. (Business).
February 3, 2003... NEW YORK--AT&T Wireless Services Inc., which offers its own Wi-Fi service at Denver International Airport, has expanded its 802.llb access options through a roaming agreement with Wayport Inc., Austin, Texas, a large, privately held wireless...

Laptop makers incorporate multimode Wi-Fi chips. (Business).
February 3, 2003... NEW YORK--IBM Corp., NEC and Toshiba Corp. have begun shipping laptop computers incorporating Atheros Communications' multimode 802.11 a/b chipsets, and Hewlett-Packard Co. will soon ship laptops with built-in 802.11 a/b/g chipsets from the...

Broadbeam targets smaller companies with Mobile Solutions System. (Business).
February 3, 2003... NEW YORK--Broadbeam Corp., Cranbury, N.J., a provider of mission critical mobile solutions for the field force workers of large companies, has introduced a new Mobile Solutions System targeted at smaller companies. The 10-year-old,...

In-building enhancements will help drive wireline replacement. (Business).
February 3, 2003... Let me get this straight: From the living room of my eighth-floor apartment, wireless service is crystal clear. But walk a few feet into the bedroom, and I hear static. Thirty miles up the road, from a friend's basement apartment, I get no...

LGC deploys in-building solution at airports. (Business).
February 3, 2003... SANJOSE, Calif. -- LGC Wireless announced its in-building wireless solution, InterReach Unison, is now being used in Honolulu International, Denver International and Dallas Love Field Airports. The company also has products in several other...

BellSouth files patent lawsuit against Glenayre, Call Sciences. (Business).
February 3, 2003... ATLANTA -- BellSouth filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Glenayre Technologies Inc. and Call Sciences Inc. alleging that the companies are infringing on BellSouth's patent on call routing technology, used for "one number service"...

Wireless stock watch.
February 3, 2003... Wireless Stock Watch January 22-January 29 CARRIERS CLOSING PERCENT EXCH COMPANY 1/29 & 1/22 CHANGE NAS AirGate PCS ...

Paybox closes consumer business, reshifts focus to business market. (Global Wireless).
February 3, 2003... FRANKFURT, Germany-Following the exit of the company's majority shareholder, European mobile-commerce company Paybox said it will shut down its consumer-oriented services--which totals 750,000 users--and will focus solely on the...

European operators announce MMS interconnect, pricing plans. (Global Wireless).
February 3, 2003... LONDON--Three U.K operators announced an interconnection deal for multimedia messaging service, the first such announcements in the United Kingdom. MmO2, Orange and T-Mobile will allow users of their MMS services to send and receive MMS...

NTT DoCoMo halts sales of defective NEC handsets. (Global Wireless).
February 3, 2003... TOKYO--NTT DoCoMo Inc., the largest mobile carrier in Japan, said it will stop selling the latest mobile handset manufactured by NEC Corp. because the handset might generate heat. According to NTT DoCoMo, the N504iS handset might generate heat...

Microsoft signs deals with Vodafone, Bell Mobility. (Global Wireless).
February 3, 2003... REDMOND, Wash.--Microsoft Corp. signed deals with Vodafone and Bell Mobility to offer its range of wireless content services, further moves by the company to expand its MSN services into the wireless world. Under the Vodafone agreement, MSN...

Norway relaxes 3G terms. (Late News).
February 10, 2003... The Norwegian government said it will ease third-generation license conditions as it increases competition with plans to auction two more 3G licenses in the country. The regulator said the minimum conditions for 3G coverage will be reduced...

Hutchison announces U.K. pricing, launch details. (Late News).
February 10, 2003... U.K. newcomer Hutchison 3G has released additional pricing details for its third-generation service, dubbed "3," which it says will formally launch on March 3, with pre-orders beginning online Feb. 22. The operator also announced two types of...

States get tougher on wireless.
February 10, 2003... WASHINGTON -- The mobile-phone industry last week suffered two major legal defeats in consumer litigation as federal judges in Missouri and Georgia remanded two lawsuits--one filed y Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon--to state courts. The...

Legislation addresses mobile gaming apps.
February 10, 2003... WASHINGTON -- Just as the wireless industry dips its toe into the gaming business, Congress has signaled it wants regulations to protect consumers against fraud and excessive financial loss as the sector migrates to the Internet. Rep....

Nokia hopes N-Gage will play.
February 10, 2003... Nokia Corp. unveiled the specifics of its forthcoming N-Gage mobile-phone/video-game device--including a before-Christmas release date--in conjunction with two "Get Ready to N-Gage" events in London and Sydney, Australia. But industry...

4Q results test Swedish faith.
February 10, 2003... OSLO, Norway -- Having taken a share-price beating early last week, L.M. Ericsson's stock soared last Thursday on the company's appointment of Carl-Henric Svanberg to replace Kurt Hellstrom as chief executive officer and president. Last Monday,...

Up close and personal: content picks up steam. (News).
February 10, 2003... The momentum behind wireless content--especially branded and exclusive content--seems to be rapidly picking up steam, with dozens of small U.S. and European-based content providers, as well as carriers, jostling for market position. ...

New 802.16 standard offers some 4G features. (News).
February 10, 2003... NEW YORK -- The new 802.16a IEEE standard is "approved, finished, a closed book," and it is part of the larger 802.16 standard, which provides all the features of 4G except mobility, although that capability is coming soon, said Roger Marks,...

Sprint leadership search turns sour. (News).
February 10, 2003... Sprint Corp.'s search for new leadership is on hold as lawsuits and allegations of tax-shelter improprieties turned what was expected to be a smooth management change into a possible long-running soap opera worthy of daytime TV. The drama...

Aether, Sun enter integration product agreement. (News).
February 10, 2003... OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- Wireless enterprise company Aether Systems Inc. announced it integrated its Fusion wireless module technology with Sun Microsystems Inc.'s Sun One product line. The agreement will expand the companies' current...

RIM signs deal with Nextel Partners. (News).
February 10, 2003... WATERLOO, Ontario -- BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. and its partners continued to flood the industry with news of new deals, customers and product upgrades, all in an effort to drum up support for wireless enterprise sales. RIM's...

Qualcomm says it holds TD-SCDMA patent rights. (News).
February 10, 2003... Qualcomm Inc. says it is ready to flex its patent muscles for TD-SCDMA technology if China fails to recognize Qualcomm's intellectual property rights to the technology. Although the Chinese government has not issued any IPR statement on...

Kelly new CEO at Metrocall. (News).
February 10, 2003... ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- Paging and messaging carrier Metrocall Holdings Inc. said Vincent Kelly will replace William Coffins as the carrier's president and chief executive officer. Metrocall wasn't immediately available to comment on the...

FCC expected to keep current UWB rules. (News).
February 10, 2003... WASHINGTON -- The Federal Communications Commission s meeting this week to consider how to deal with 14 reconsideration petitions regarding its rules allowing for ultra-wide band technology will be anti-climatic, said Edmund Thomas, chief of...

Verizon Wireless Puerto Rico launches Express Network. (News).
February 10, 2003... SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Verizon Wireless Puerto Rico said it has launched its cdma2000 1x voice and data network called Express Network using Lucent Technologies Inc.'s equipment, software and services. "Verizon Wireless Puerto Rico is able to...

GSM: still king of the hill; technology takes shots, but keeps adding subscribers. (Focus: GSM Update).
February 10, 2003... The alleged weaknesses of GSM technology are well documented by its critics. One, it is not as scalable or efficient as competing technology CDMA. Two, it is merely the beneficiary of an aggressively pursued political agenda, buoyed by a...

Ex-NextWave exec to head WRC delegation as industry reacts to 5 GHz deal. (News).
February 10, 2003... WASHINGTON -- President Bush last week appointed telecom insider Janice Obuchowski to head the U.S. delegation to the World Radiocommunication Conference later this year, an expected move that follows an industry-government compromise that...

Rogers teams with Microsoft Canada. (News).
February 10, 2003... TORONTO -- Canadian wireless operator Rogers AT&T Wireless signed a strategic agreement with Microsoft Canada to provide mobile access to Microsoft Office applications from wireless devices, The agreement calls for the companies to jointly...

The Mother of all Forums. (Opinion).
February 10, 2003... Launching messaging services that only work on the same network is just plain dumb. Customers are used to communicating with phones. They use them to talk to other people, wherever the other people are, whatever network they are on. Customers...

District of Columbia. (Opinion).
February 10, 2003... In the introduction to The Discovers, author-historian Daniel Boorstin writes: "This is a story without end. All the world is still an America. The most promising words ever written on the maps of human knowledge are terra incognita--unknown...

Bush plan could give wireless relief from mandates. (News).
February 10, 2003... WASHINGTON -- While spectrum policy and government technology funding initiatives are key elements of the 2004 budget unveiled by the Bush administration last week, a less-publicized White House proposal to expand cost-benefit analysis in...

Adelstein wary of wireless getting universal service funds. (News).
February 10, 2003... WASHINGTON -- Wireless carriers were appalled last week when the most junior member of the Federal Communications Commission said that rural telephone companies "have a friend at the FCC" after telling them of many ways he hopes to reform the...

GAO recommends new spectrum commission. (News).
February 10, 2003... WASHINGTON -- Government auditors urged Congress to set up an independent commission on spectrum management. The Government Accounting Office recommended the Federal Communications Commission and the assistant secretary of commerce for...

Industry pushes for push-to-talk. (Business).
February 10, 2003... With Nextel Communications Inc. leading the way, push-to-talk technology is on the cusp of widespread interest. Major North American carriers are bracing to do battle with Nextel, which has acquired new subscribers in great numbers,...

Sendo-Microsoft lawsuit paints bitter partnership. (Business).
February 10, 2003... Microsoft Corp.'s answers to Sendo's lawsuit, filed last week in a Texas court, further illuminate the bitter fight between the two companies, as well as provide insight into the complicated and cutthroat market for high-end mobile phones. ...

Sprint PCS 4Q beats street. (Business).
February 10, 2003... While nowhere near the 1.1 million customers it added during the fourth quarter of 2001, Sprint PCS reported last week that it signed up 250,000 net customers during the final three months of 2002--higher than many analysts expected--and...

Wireless StockWatch.
February 10, 2003... Wireless StockWatch January 29-February 5 CARRIERS CLOSING PERCENT EXCH COMPANY 2/5 & 1/29 CHANGE NAS AirGate PCS ...

IPass plans IPO. (Business).
February 10, 2003... NEW YORK -- IPass Inc., which provides enterprise connectivity services across varied networks, last week introduced iPassConnect 2.3, which it believes is the first available client for the latest versions of Apple Computer's Mac OS X...

US Unwired stock could be delisted. (Business).
February 10, 2003... LAKE CHARLES, La. -- The Nasdaq Stock Market notified US Unwired Inc. that its common stock is subject to delisting at the opening of business on Feb. 10 due to its failure to comply with Nasdaq's minimum bid price requirements. US Unwired...

S&P removes AirGate from CreditWatch. (Business).
February 10, 2003... NEW YORK -- Standard & Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its 'CCC-' corporate credit rating on AirGate PCS Inc. and removed the Sprint PCS affiliate from its CreditWatch list, where it was placed with negative implications after the carrier...

Aether posts 4Q revenue increase. (Business).
February 10, 2003... OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- Wireless enterprise company Aether Systems Inc. said it scored $29.5 million in revenues for its fourth quarter, up slightly from the $25.2 million it reported in the same quarter last year. The company's net loss for...

Hewlett-Packard aligns with Juniper, Transat for hot-spot solutions. (Business).
February 10, 2003... NEW YORK -- Hewlett-Packard Co. and Juniper Networks made public last week their solutions for helping mobile communications operators tap the revenue potential of public 802.11b hot spots by providing their customers one bill for the use of...

Network Associates ready to bring security solutions to wireless. (Business).
February 10, 2003... SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- The virus protection business of Network Associates Inc. said it will jump into the wire less industry in order to protect wireless users from the potential threat of wirelessly transmitted computer viruses, and announced...

New Valley ends funding plans with Globalstar. (Business).
February 10, 2003... MIAMI -- The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of Globalstar L.P. said late Jan. 31 it has withdrawn its support for a proposed debtor-in-possession financing in the bankrupt mobile satellite telephone company by Miami-based New Valley...

DoCoMo ARPU declines for all segments. (Business).
February 10, 2003... TOKYO -- NTT DoCoMo Inc. released operational data for its third quarter of fiscal year 2002. The operator, which had previously announced it had 152,000 third-generation subscribers at the end of December 2002, reported average revenue per...

Wireless technology company Calypso Wireless Inc. said it will sell broadband video phones to China Telecom. (Business Briefs).
February 10, 2003... Wireless technology company Calypso Wireless Inc. said it will sell broadband video phones to China Telecom under a newly signed three-year, $500 million deal. Calypso said its phones operate over both wide area networks like GSM and CDMA as...

Danish technology and handset accessory company GN announced it will be the original equipment manufacturer of Bluetooth headsets for Motorola Inc. (Business Briefs).
February 10, 2003... Danish technology and handset accessory company GN announced it will be the original equipment manufacturer of Bluetooth headsets for Motorola Inc. The company said its first shipment is expected to go out in the second half of this year. GN's...

KDDI Corp. and Okinawa Cellular said they will introduce BREW application download services. (Business Briefs).
February 10, 2003... KDDI Corp. and Okinawa Cellular said they will introduce BREW application download services using the carrier's CDMA 1xRTT network. KDDI also said it will partner with IBM Japan Ltd. to develop the BREW Business Profile, a set of corporate...

Geoworks Corp. said it will shut down its United Kingdom business in order to minimize its liabilities. (Business Briefs).
February 10, 2003... Geoworks Corp. said it will shut down its United Kingdom business in order to minimize its liabilities and to satisfy its outstanding obligations, and will sell the business to Teleca Ltd. for $500,000. Geoworks offers software design and...

KT, formerly known as Korea Telecom, will test Flarion Technologies'. (Business Briefs).
February 10, 2003... KT, formerly known as Korea Telecom, will test Flarion Technologies' flash-OFDM wireless broadband system in Seoul, South Korea, starting in April. Flarion also has signed previously announced field trial agreements with SK Telecom and Hanaro...

Verizon Wireless Puerto Rico said it has launched its cdma2000 1x voice and data network called Express Network using Lucent Technologies Inc. (Business Briefs).
February 10, 2003... Verizon Wireless Puerto Rico said it has launched its cdma2000 1x voice and data network called Express Network using Lucent Technologies Inc.'s equipment, software and services. "Verizon Wireless Puerto Rico is able to offer these advanced...

Survival of the fattest? European operators free of debt enjoy cashflow spoils. (Global Wireless).
February 10, 2003... MANCHESTER, United Kingdom -- Despite economic slowing and sector saturation, profitability of some of Europe's savvy--and lucky--wireless operators is managing to improve across a desolate backdrop. Across the Continent, average revenue per...

TeliaSonera announces mandatory redemption results. (Global Wireless).
February 10, 2003... STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- TeliaSonera announced that as of Feb. 5 holders of Sonera shares, including American Despository Shares, representing 4.4 percent of the shares and votes in Sonera have accepted TeliaSonera's mandatory redemption offer for...

Telenor eyes TDC, relooks at SBC stake. (Global Wireless).
February 10, 2003... HELSINKI, Finland -- Recent divestment moves by Telenor to augment its war chest have given rise to increased market speculation in Scandinavia that the Norwegian telecom company is about to embark on a regional shopping spree with Denmark's...

Vodafone in talks to sell Japan Telecom. (Global Wireless).
February 10, 2003... LONDON -- Vodafone Group plc confirmed that it is in discussions regarding Japan Telecom, its Japanese subsidiary that offers fixed-line service. Vodafone acquired Japan Telecom in stages to gain control of its mobile arm J-Phone last year. ...

MmO2 reports data growth in line with targets. (Global Wireless).
February 10, 2003... LONDON -- European operator MmO2 said it delivered increased data revenues in the last three months of 2002, with data revenues boosted from 15.6 percent of total service revenues in the third quarter of 2002 to 17.7 percent in the fourth...

FCC creates new unit, shuffles positions. (News).
February 10, 2003... WASHINGTON -- The Federal Communications Commission announced a minor shakeup Friday. First, is the creation of the Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Analysis, a new unit--tagged OSP--that will focus on the short- and long-term agency...

Corrections.
February 10, 2003... * On page 3 of the Jan. 20 issue of RCR Wireless News, Jeff Belk, senior vice president of marketing for Qualcomm Inc., was misspelled. * Michael Williams, president of Mesa Communications Group L.L.C, should have been included in Mesa's...

Foes deride 800 MHz consensus plan.(News)
February 17, 2003... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER Opponents of a consensus plan to solve the public-safety interference problem in the 800 MHz band came out in force last week disparaging the plan developed by public safety, private wireless and Nextel...

SMS protocol to get facelift.(News)
February 17, 2003... Byline: MIKE DANO The industry's most successful wireless data application is set to get a facelift. The SMS Forum is getting ready to approve a new version of the Short Message Peer to Peer protocol, the technology that allows...

Tragedy shines spotlight on E911 funding.(Focus)
February 17, 2003... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER A recent tragedy in Long Island Sound off New York City, where four teenage boys apparently drowned after a frantic 12-second call from a wireless phone to 911 was not heeded, has shown the spotlight on the...

Motorola picks Linux OS for phone, Nokia shows Java, TDMA handsets.(Business)
February 17, 2003... Byline: SAM OMATSEYE Nokia Corp. and Motorola Inc.'s separate pursuits of market share underlined their new handset announcements. Nokia, whose handset division continues to perform better than its infrastructure business (where 550...