RCR Wireless News articles from February 2005

RCR Wireless News archives from February 2005

Wireless helps boost telecom spending.(Wireless Metrics)
February 7, 2005... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA A new report says wireless technology is a big force behind renewed telecom industry spending. The Telecommunications Industry Association said telecom equipment purchases rose 7.9 percent to approximately $784...

Verizon TV new reality show.(News)
February 7, 2005... Byline: COLIN GIBBS Verizon Wireless rolled out its consumer-focused high-speed data service last week with the launch of VCast, offering a slew of video-on-demand and gaming options to subscribers with compatible phones in 32 U.S....

Leap expands foreign calling options to include more than 60 countries.(News)
February 7, 2005... Leap Wireless International Inc. expanded the international long-distance offering for its Cricket wireless service to more than 60 countries. The expanded service will allow customers to call the new markets for 18 cents per minute using a...

Rinne - Six mergers and still standing.(News)
February 7, 2005... Byline: DAN MEYER Few carriers have put as much strain on their technology personnel over the past several years as Cingular Wireless L.L.C. From its beginnings as the merged wireless operations of BellSouth Corp. and SBC Communications...

U.S. wireless penetration to hit 75% by 2010.(News)
February 7, 2005... U.S. mobile-phone penetration is expected to grow from 61 percent last year to more than 75 percent by 2010, according to a new report by The Diffusion Group. The report, "U.S. Mobile Markets: Analysis & Forecasts,'' forecasts more than...

More smart phones set to launch.(News)
February 7, 2005... Industry is awash in high-end phone news, as Cingular Wireless L.L.C. and T-Mobile in Germany showed off new smart phones, and as Panasonic gears up to release a new device running Nokia Corp.'s Symbian-based Series 60 operating system. ...

HP platforms to be deployed in Korea, Sweden, Netherlands.(Global Wireless)
February 7, 2005... Byline: SAM OMATSEYE Be it through enabling platforms or the resulting customer wins, Hewlett Packard Co. often strives to highlight its role as a wireless player. With three recent carrier contracts, the company is drawing the...

SBC's buy of AT&T to benefit wireless plans.(News)
February 7, 2005... Byline: DAN MEYER Turning rumor into fact, SBC Communications Inc. reported a deal last week to acquire former parent company AT&T Corp. for $16 billion, creating a telecommunications provider with vast domestic and international wireline...

Follow the money.(Opinion)
February 7, 2005... Byline: Jeffrey Silva Remember the exhausted cry of victory from the mobile-phone industry when the Senate sealed the deal on relocation fund, E911 and universal service legislation last December? It was in fact a dramatic chain of events...

World Briefs.(Briefs)
February 7, 2005... Two international carriers announced plans for a roaming agreement for Wi-Fi hot spots. Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo Inc. signed a public wireless local area network inter-roaming agreement with Swedish mobile operator TeliaSonera AB. The...

Nextel Partners execs set to cash in under Sprint Nextel buy.(News)
February 7, 2005... Nextel Partners Inc. has adopted a retention and severance program that will make all Nextel Partners executives eligible to receive cash incentives if the carrier exercises its "put right'' in connection with Nextel Communications Inc.'s...

Chinese fixed-line carrier proposes China Unicom buy.(News)
February 7, 2005... Future mobile competition in China could be reduced if the government approves a proposal by fixed-line carrier China Telecom to buy mobile carrier China Unicom, according to international press reports. Under the proposal, China Telecom would...

Va. telecom tax bill dies in committee, author plans to resurrect.(News)
February 7, 2005... A bill favored by CTIA that would have reduced telecom taxes in Virginia was killed by a state Senate committee last week but is expected to be resurrected in a year. "We have decided to not move forward with the bill as is but rather turn...

Alcatel reports full-year profit on strong wireless revenues.(News)
February 7, 2005... Alcatel Corp.'s shares fell on its fourth-quarter results, although the company's mobile business experienced a surge. However, the company reported its first full-year profit in three years with $365 million, in contrast to a loss of $2.5...

2 Sprint PCS affiliates select Nortel for 1x.(Late News)
February 7, 2005... Nortel Networks Ltd. said it has won wireless infrastructure contracts from two carriers, Horizon PCS Inc. and iPCS inc. Under a four-year, estimated $14 million deal, Nortel will replace Horizon's existing CDMA network in Ohio, Indiana and...

GM to make OnStar standard feature with 2007 models.(Wireless Metrics)
February 7, 2005... The world's largest automaker, General Motors, said it will make OnStar a standard feature on all of its vehicles in the United States and Canada by 2007. The move marks a major milestone for the wireless telematics and communications service,...

Rural carriers urge hard line for giving wireless USF subsidies.(News)
February 7, 2005... The Organization for the Promotion and Advancement of Small Telecommunications Companies urged the Federal Communications Commission to set stringent standards for competitors-usually wireless carriers-to receive universal-service subsidies and...

Industry, gov't wrestle Wi-Fi at 5 GHz.(News)
February 7, 2005... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The Federal Communications Commission is investigating reports that Wi-Fi devices were responsible for disrupting radar at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, a probe that comes amid the Bush administration's failure to...

Flarion downplays Sprint's decision to join WiMAX Forum.(News)
February 7, 2005... Byline: SAM OMATSEYE Sprint PCS may be going out on a date with WiMAX, but it does not guarantee a wedding ring. That's the way another technology provider, Flarion Technologies Inc. with its Flash-OFDM, approaches the carrier's decision...

M is for Mobile in MTV.(News)
February 7, 2005... Byline: COLIN GIBBS If Van Toffler has his way, the "M'' in MTV may soon stand for "mobile.'' Toffler, who ascended to the presidency of MTV Networks in October, has worked aggressively to move beyond simply selling ringtones and...

Sprint results propel industrywide customer adds to new record.(News)
February 7, 2005... Byline: DAN MEYER Rounding out what has been a record-setting quarter for the country's nationwide operators, Sprint Corp. reported fourth-quarter 2004 results last week that pushed net customer additions by the industry's big 5 past the...

Nokia VC arm gets new name, new partners.(News)
February 7, 2005... Byline: MIKE DANO Nokia's venture-capital effort is getting a face lift and a new $350 million fund, news that comes as the venture-capital market slowly reawakens from the doldrums of the past several years. "The global technology...

Triton, SouthernLinc aim to keep customers close with branding efforts.(News)
February 7, 2005... Byline: DAN MEYER The Southeast is in for a pair of new branding efforts from regional operators looking to reposition their brands in an ever-changing industry. Triton PCS Inc.'s SunCom Wireless brand and SouthernLinc are each launching...

MSV announces public-safety rate, PTT handset.(News)
February 7, 2005... Mobile satellite communications provider Mobile Satellite Ventures announced a new rate plan program and a push-to-talk handset, both aimed at satisfying the needs of the public-safety and first-responder markets. The company said the new...

2005 mobile adult content market to hit $955M.(Wireless Metrics)
February 7, 2005... Adult content could become a killer application for third-generation networks with the increased popularity of video streaming and fast data downloads, according to a report by Visiongain. The report, "Mobile Adult Content 2005,'' estimates...

Symbian enhances OS with Version 9.(Global Wireless)
February 7, 2005... Operating system company Symbian announced a new version of its platform, which the company said includes a variety of features to support more advanced applications as well as to protect against viruses. "Symbian's strategic focus is to...

Mistakes of the past not repeated in Auction 58.(News)
February 7, 2005... Byline: DAN MEYER Total bids crawled past the $2 billion mark last week after 37 rounds of the Federal Communications Commission's Auction 58 of 242 wireless spectrum licenses. The auction is expected to generate around $3 billion in bids...

New York, D.C., San Fran first to be retuned in rebanding plan.(News)
February 7, 2005... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER Some of the nation's most populous areas, including New York, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, will be the first to begin the 800 MHz reconfiguration process, said the 800 MHz Transition Administrator....

Global migration from fixed to mobile telephony.
February 7, 2005... Byline: SAM OMATSEYE It may not be a big bang, but the telecom world is witnessing a gradual shift of gravity from wireline usage to wireless. "The main drivers are the end users,'' remarked Mikko Salminem, director of fixed-to-mobile...

Talking while driving significantly slows reaction times, says study.(News)
February 7, 2005... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA First, talking on a cell phone while behind the wheel was likened to drinking and driving. Now, drivers yakking on cell phones are being compared to senior citizens-slow reactions and all. That is the conclusion...

Nortel posts half-year profit.(News)
February 7, 2005... Nortel Networks Ltd. brought some good news to its investors by announcing a profit in its first-half 2004 financial results. The first- and second-quarter results sent shares up. In the first quarter, the company recorded a net income of...

Is it Live or is it Memorex?(Opinion)
February 7, 2005... Byline: Tracy Ford Wireless is betting big on mobile TV. The question, it seems, is not whether mobile TV will take off, but how it will take off, how it will be transmitted, who will provide content and how the business model will work....

Cingular billing suit back in state court.(News)
February 7, 2005... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA Cingular Wireless L.L.C. is facing a potentially costly class-action billing lawsuit brought by a consumer represented by the same Chicago lawyer who dogged the mobile-phone industry throughout the 1990s with...

With sale to VeriSign, LightSurf founders dive into life sciences.(News)
February 7, 2005... Byline: MIKE DANO As the dust settles around VeriSign Inc.'s $270 million acquisition of picture-messaging company LightSurf Technologies Inc., wireless entrepreneurs and LightSurf founders Philippe Kahn and Sonia Lee are already gearing...

Girls got game.
February 7, 2005... Byline: COLIN GIBBS When publisher THQ Wireless surveyed its customers last year to better grasp the mobile gaming market, executives were expecting to find the "average'' video game player. Instead, they found that there is no "average''...

Gov't VC telecom fund languishes.
February 7, 2005... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA A venture-capital fund created by Congress in 1996 to aid small telecom firms has little to show today for the $50 million-plus received in auction-related proceeds, a demise of a once-promising program that has...

Openwave ponders its place in wireless Internet.(News)
February 7, 2005... Byline: MIKE DANO The top executives for wireless Internet vendor Openwave Systems Inc. holed up this past weekend in a hotel in Sonoma, Calif., to hammer out the company's strategy for the next three years. David Peterschmidt, Openwave's...

Stock Watch: January 29 - February 3.(Wireless Metrics)
February 7, 2005... table: Stock Watch: January 29 - February 3 * 3 graphics: Market Diary * Indices * RCR Index: see print copy.

Fast Fact.(Wireless Metrics)
February 7, 2005... Looking at European statistics for mobile-phone ownership, Iceland, Italy, Portugal, Sweden and the United Kingdom have all exceeded 100-percent market penetration with Luxembourg reporting 133 percent. Source: Mobile Data Association, Jan....

Stock Watch: February 4 - February 10.(Wireless Metrics)
February 14, 2005... table: Stock Watch: February 4 - February 10 * 3 graphics: Market Diary * Indices * RCR Index: see print copy.

Kineto Wireless, BenQ partner on converged device.(News)
February 14, 2005... Kineto Wireless said it is collaborating with BenQ to develop Unlicensed Mobile Access-enabled dual-mode GSM-Wi-Fi handsets. BenQ said it will use Kineto's UMA client software, test tools and integration services for its P50 Pocket PC...

Indian carrier tops 10M subscribers.(Wireless Metrics)
February 14, 2005... Carrier Reliance Infocomm announced it has exceeded the 10-million subscriber milestone for its CDMA2000 1x service since it launched the network in May, 2003. With its `R-Connect' high-speed Internet service, the carrier said it has...

Oscar celebs get Cingular Razr, Samsung handsets for BRIT Awards.(Wireless Metrics)
February 14, 2005... The 25 top Academy Award acting and directing nominees will receive a special-edition black Motorola Razr V3 with three months of complimentary service from Cingular Wireless. Features include a camera with digital zoom, mpeg video player,...

Qualcomm pens CDMA deals, Venezuela to launch DO.(News)
February 14, 2005... Qualcomm Inc. said it has entered into CDMA2000 agreements with two companies, while a carrier has launched CDMA2000 EV-DO technology in Venezuela. The CDMA proprietor said it entered separate licensing agreements with BenQ Corp. of Taiwan...

Mobile gaming field shrinks, Kayak, Synergenix merge.(Late News)
February 14, 2005... The mobile gaming field continues to shrink as California-based start-up Kayak Interactive announced it is joining forces with Swedish publisher Synergenix Interactive. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Kayak launched early last...

Nokia to include Flash technology in Series 60 platform.(News)
February 14, 2005... Nokia Corp. announced it will include Macromedia's Flash technology in its Series 60 platform, which will then be available to device makers building Series 60 handsets. The move marks Flash's latest step into the wireless marketplace. "We...

Hasbro readies phone for kids using two-way radio technology; Device includes digital camera, text messaging.(News)
February 14, 2005... Toy company Hasbro is targeting what it calls the "tween'' market with a new gadget that bridges the gap between toys and communication devices. The company's new Chatnow Two-Way Radio Communicator includes an integrated digital camera and...

Dobson, UbiquiTel change exchange offers.(News)
February 14, 2005... Two U.S. wireless carriers made changes to previously announced exchange offers, with one company suspending its offer. Regional wireless operator Dobson Communications Corp. said it has filed a "pre-effective'' amendment to its...

GPS market gets boost from recreational apps.(News)
February 14, 2005... The market for global positioning system applications is on the rise thanks to GPS functionality being applied to more recreational objects, according to new studies released by ABI Research. According to the studies, new markets are...

Cellport sues Porsche for patent infringement.(News)
February 14, 2005... Telematics company Cellport Systems said it is suing Porsche North America Inc. for patent infringement. Cellport also has filed similar lawsuits against Bury GmbH & Co., THB USA Inc. and Henry Bury Mielec Sp. The lawsuit, filed in...

911 funding not included in Bush budget.(News)
February 14, 2005... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER After years of fighting and lobbying, public safety scored a major victory late last year with the passage of the Enhanced 911 Act, but it now appears to be a hollow victory. When President George W....

Wireless stocks solid.(News)
February 14, 2005... Byline: MIKE DANO The multi-billion dollar wireless industry remains a good bet for investors despite the cutthroat nature of the market and the always-evolving technology, according to reports. However, the sector will continue to have...

Nextel accepts FCC 800 MHz pact.(News)
February 14, 2005... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER "On behalf of Nextel, it is my honor to answer yes,'' said Tim Donahue, chief executive officer of Nextel Communications Inc. With that Donahue handed over an acceptance letter to Michael Powell,...

3G buildout complicated by multi-service networks, consolidation.(Focus)
February 14, 2005... Byline: SAM OMATSEYE Building the network for a single-service protocol provided its own challenges. GSM, despite its worldwide acceptance, had to work out a profitable model. That compelled carriers to determine what kind of base stations...

Bush budget would dump TDF.(News)
February 14, 2005... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The Bush administration last week proposed abolishing the Telecommunications Development Fund, a congressionally chartered venture-capital firm with a dismal track record in wireless and high-tech startup investments...

Flextronics to make reference design for Microsoft OS.(News)
February 14, 2005... Electronics manufacturing company Flextronics International Ltd. will make a smart phone reference design for companies looking to build devices running Microsoft Corp.'s smart phone operating system, the companies announced today. Flextronics...

Following steps of major players, regionals grow in Q4.(News)
February 14, 2005... Byline: DAN MEYER The wireless industry's record customer growth during the final three months of 2004 received contributions last week from a regional operator and a pair of affiliates, showing-though proportionally smaller than the...

InnoPath releases DeltaUpgrade Plus 3.0.(News)
February 14, 2005... Over-the-air technology provider InnoPath Software Inc. announced the release of DeltaUpgrade Plus 3.0, the latest version of its offering that allows carriers and subscribers to remotely update mobile phones. The updated product supports...

Sorrent to publish Ecko content.(News)
February 14, 2005... Mobile entertainment publisher Sorrent Inc. plans to announce an agreement to publish content based on noted urban fashion designer Marc Ecko. Sorrent will develop a suite of offerings based on Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under...

Azure debuts new revenue assurance platform.(News)
February 14, 2005... Revenue assurance company Azure Solutions Ltd. today released the first part of its next-generation platform, which the company said will protect wireless carriers against gaps in their systems that could be costing them hundreds of millions of...

Nokia updates Series 60 software platform.(News)
February 14, 2005... Nokia Corp. today released the third version of its Series 60 software platform for mobile phones. The platform, based on the Symbian operating system, features Nokia's user interface and software technologies. The updated software...

Scrambled messages sent on digital TV transition.(News)
February 14, 2005... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER The transition to digital TV moves forward-or does it? The messages were mixed last week as the Federal Communications Commission denied broadcasters must-carry rights and industry leaders called for a hard...

Sun unveils carrier, vendor deals.(News)
February 14, 2005... Sun Microsystems Inc. announced a series of new deals in conjunction with the 3GSM show, news that highlights the company's focus on the carrier market while its technology for handset makers continues to gain traction. "Java is now making...

International handset makers gain favor in China.(Global Wireless)
February 14, 2005... Byline: MIKE DANO Although it once looked like local Chinese handset players would be able to defend their home turf and control the world's largest wireless handset market, now it appears that size and scale may win out in the end. ...

Plenty of chipmakers announce product advances.(News)
February 14, 2005... Byline: SAM OMATSEYE The big chip news of the week is filled with promise, and Sony Corp., IBM Corp. and Toshiba all say the result will be groundbreaking-when they deliver what analysts describe as an ambitious new chip called Cell. ...

Ericsson beats expectations, stock drops on news.(News)
February 14, 2005... Byline: MIKE DANO Ericsson largely beat Wall Street expectations with its solid fourth-quarter results, but investors sent the stock down more than 8 percent to $28.27 per share. The move comes as investors drop stocks from a variety of...

Different visions, goals expressed for telecom reform with wireless seen as savior.(News)
February 14, 2005... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER Different visions of telecommunications reform were on display last week when two powerful senators indicated a go-slow listening approach, the House telecommunications subcommittee indicated a move toward...

Auction 58 bids slow to crawl.
February 14, 2005... Byline: DAN MEYER With new bids waning, the Federal Communications Commission increased the number of rounds per day in its ongoing auction of 242 spectrum licenses in the 1.9 GHz band last week and by last Friday was limiting each round...

A bet on mobile gambling could be next sure thing But U.S. market must deal with 'legality' or lose out; But U.S. market must deal with 'legality' or lose out.
February 14, 2005... Byline: COLIN GIBBS Ringtones are a roaring success, investors are smitten with wireless video games, and even porn is headed to handsets. But the smartest money in mobile entertainment may be on gambling. Still in its infancy, the...

Poizner bid still stuck on telecom holdings.
February 14, 2005... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointee Steve Poizner is not on the California Public Utilities Commission yet because of a legally and financially complex clearance process involving the former tech executive's stock...

Virgin Mobile USA tops 3M subs.(Wireless Metrics)
February 14, 2005... Virgin Mobile USA L.L.C. said it has surpassed the 3-million subscriber mark two-and-a-half years after launching its youth-oriented prepaid mobile virtual network operator service using Sprint PCS' wireless network. The MVNO was originally...

MauiGames tech allows embedded ads within wireless games.(News)
February 14, 2005... MauiGames said it is offering a proprietary technology that allows companies to deliver embedded advertisements in mobile-phone games. The product, which has been shipped in more than 50,000 games, enables the delivery of graphic and text...

Fuji releases printer for camera-phone use.(News)
February 14, 2005... Fuji Photo Film U.S.A. Inc. released a new portable printer the company said is designed specifically for camera-phone users to print out their phone images. The company said its new MP-70 portable printer will be available commercially this...

IPWireless ships HSDPA chipsets.(News)
February 14, 2005... IPWireless said it has begun commercially shipping its HSDPA chipset with inherent advantages of its TD-CDMA technology. The company said the chipset works in plug-and-play PCMCIA cards and desktop modems for UMTS TDD networks in the 1900...

Nortel signs over manufacturing facility to Flextronics.(Global Wireless)
February 14, 2005... Nortel Networks Ltd. said it has completed the transfer of its manufacturing operations and other assets in Montreal to Flextronics. The related assets include product integration, testing, repair and logistics operations of Nortel Systems...

Kansas judge rules Sprint class-action can proceed.(News)
February 14, 2005... Byline: DAN MEYER A Kansas court ruled last week that a multibillion-dollar class-action lawsuit brought against Sprint Corp. for how it recombined its wireless and wireline stocks last year could move ahead. The lawsuit names both current...

Where are they now?(Opinion)
February 14, 2005... Byline: Jeffrey Silva They are battling each other to buy the Washington Nationals, the new baseball team here that will make lawmakers and their staffs all the more inaccessible when spring finally arrives. I hope to join Hill types in...

Infrastructure Awards.(Wireless Metrics)
February 14, 2005... Following are mobile infrastructure contracts announced in January: Ericsson Australia With Telstra as the exclusive W-CDMA vendor to the carrier for up to five years, including layered architecture core and radio access network...

3GSM Briefs.(Briefs)
February 14, 2005... Bytemobile released its new Optimization Service Node Monaco Edition software, which allows operators to accelerate data delivery on wireless handsets. Cingular Wireless L.L.C. will use Motricity's Fuel Mobile Content Distribution Platform...

Motient ups stake in MSV to 49.(News)
February 14, 2005... Byline: MIKE DANO Motient Corp. announced it will up its stake in Mobile Satellite Ventures to 49 percent, just under what it needs to control the company. Motient's stock was up more than 10 percent on the news to about $32.35 per share....

Aloha Partners beefs up 700 MHz holdings.(News)
February 14, 2005... Aloha Partners L.P., which claims to be the largest holder of 700 MHz spectrum in the country, reported a definitive agreement to purchase the second- and third-largest 700 MHz spectrum holders Cavalier Group L.L.C. and DataCom Wireless L.L.C....

FCC affirms MSS carriers can offer ground services.(News)
February 14, 2005... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The Federal Communications Commission reaffirmed a 2003 decision allowing mobile satellite service licensees to integrate an ancillary terrestrial component into their systems, rejecting a cell-phone industry demand...

Cultural differences.(Opinion)
February 14, 2005... Byline: Tina Eichner When I first heard the news of Carly Fiorina's dismissal from HP last week, I was curious to see how the media would play the story. Since she was frequently billed as the most powerful woman in high tech and arguably...

Sprint highlights 2004 accomplishments, looks forward to networks, Nextel merger.(News)
February 14, 2005... Byline: DAN MEYER Following a robust 2004 in which the company posted both increased financial and operational metrics, Sprint Corp. said it expects more of the same in 2005 bolstered by the company's increasing exposure to its high-growth...