RCR Wireless News articles from January 2003

RCR Wireless News archives from January 2003

Finland sees record phone sales in December. (Late News).
January 6, 2003... Handset makers enjoyed a bit of good news to begin 2003 with reports that Finland saw record sales of mobile phones in December 2002. Wholesale deliveries of mobile phones in Finland numbered 175,000 in December, beating a previous record of...

RadioShack reduces earnings forecast on weak Sprint PCS sales. (Late News).
January 6, 2003... Citing weaker than expected sales and gross margins of Sprint PCS products and services in its retail outlets, RadioShack Corp. reduced its earnings per share forecast for the fourth quarter from between 63 cents and 68 cents per share to...

When only cuts impress: Ericsson job losses rouse Sweden.
January 6, 2003... OSLO, Norway -- Ericsson's mid-November confirmation that its sweeping restructuring and job slashing would lead to a 50-percent reduction in its research and development staff struck a raw nerve in Sweden. By the end of 2003, Ericsson will...

Sprint PCS closer to offering location services.
January 6, 2003... Sprint PCS could offer commercial location-based services as early as next month, according to sources familiar with the situation. However, there are indications the carrier may be pushing back those plans to later this year, a move likely due...

Struggling with iPCS, AirGate delays financials.
January 6, 2003... The tenuous financial health of Sprint PCS' affiliates was again highlighted last week as one of its largest network partners, AirGate PCS Inc., said it would delay filing its annual 10-K report to allow additional time for the company to...

Nokia dances fine line with Club Nokia wireless portal. (News).
January 6, 2003... The nascent wireless data industry in the United States has attracted a range of diverse players, from wireless-specific content providers to record companies to giant media conglomerates like Walt Disney Co. But a relatively new player has...

AT&T Wireless clause allows carrier to back out of W-CDMA, though chance is not likely. (News).
January 6, 2003... When AT&T Wireless Services Inc. and its Japanese technology and financial partner NIT DoCoMo Inc. made their year-end W-CDMA deployment plan announcement, the move seemed to indicate AT&T Wireless was firmly behind the eventual rollout of...

Rural cellcos commit to digital to ensure roaming revenues. (News).
January 6, 2003... When Centennial Communications Corp. announced it would overlay its TDMA network with GSM technology, the carrier said the decision came after it had signed roaming agreements with both AT&T Wireless Services Inc. and Cingular Wireless L.L.C....

Cingular's CEO shuns CES keynote slot. (News).
January 6, 2003... LAS VEGAS -- Stan Sigman, the new head of Cingular Wireless L.L.C., will not give a keynote speech during the Consumer Electronics Show, an appearance originally slated for Cingular's former president and CEO Stephen Carter. Sigman bowed out of...

Cingular adds downloadable games. (News).
January 6, 2003... Cingular Wireless L.L.C. became the latest U.S. carrier to offer downloadable games, quietly launching the service in early December, leaving T-Mobile USA Inc. as the only nationwide network operator without an application download service. ...

800 MHz comments due Feb. 3. (News).
January 6, 2003... WASHINGTON -- The Federal Communications Commission is requesting comments on the plan submitted on Christmas Eve by the private-wireless and public-safety communities and Nextel Communications Inc. to solve the public-safety interference...

Class-action lawsuit filed against Motorola over Telsim financing. (News).
January 6, 2003... NEW YORK -- A law firm, Stull, Stull and Brody, said it filed a class-action lawsuit against wireless vendor Motorola Inc. for misleading its common stock purchasers between February 2000 and May 14, 2001. The lawsuit, which was filed at...

Industry debates telematics role in E911 service. (News).
January 6, 2003... Heather Forsgren Weaver WASHINGTON -- Even as the Federal Communications Commission grapples with the continuing implementation of wireless enhanced 911 services, a new 911 challenge is gearing up: what to do about telematics? On one...

Samsung uses Liquidmetal alloy, so do premium golf clubs. (News).
January 6, 2003... NEW YORK -- Liquidmetal Technologies, Tampa, Fla., hopes its patented alloys, which provides the benefits of metals and plastics, will foment nothing less than a revolution in the materials used for a variety of civilian and military devices,...

Philips launches new handsets via Cellon pact. (News).
January 6, 2003... SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Royal Philips Electronics launched its new fisio 825 and 625 mobile phones, which use technology from Cellon International. "Our partnership with Phillips represents a case study for the value that companies can...

Microsoft aims to expand CDMA presence. (News).
January 6, 2003... Microsoft Corp. today focused its sights on the CDMA market--one the company said has been ignored by its competitors--with the release of new software designed specifically for the technology, as well as two new high-end CDMA camera phones....

EMS files patent lawsuit against Allgon. (News).
January 6, 2003... ATLANTA -- EMS Technologies Inc. said it filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Sweden-based Allgon AB on technology used in base-station antenna products. The lawsuit, pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of...

Wrong number on strongest signal. (Opinion).
January 6, 2003... Carl Hilliard has been a thorn in the wireless industry's side on a variety of what he calls "consumer" issues. As president of the Wireless Consumers Alliance, Hilliard has been pushing the wireless industry on wireless 911 issues for years....

After the gold rush. (Opinion).
January 6, 2003... For at least a day last week, there was optimism for an economic recovery that lifted wireless and other tech sectors. Even with the overhang of war and oily problems in Venezuela, Wall Street had a smashing day last Thursday. Even wireless...

HP quietly partners with Symbian. (News).
January 6, 2003... In a move that could have significant repercussions for the future of the wireless device industry, Microsoft Corp. champion Hewlett-Packard Co. last month quietly announced an alliance with one of Microsoft's chief rivals in the wireless...

Judge may rule on 911 injunction petition this week. (News).
January 6, 2003... WASHINGTON -- A federal judge on Friday could decide whether Nokia Corp. and AT&T Wireless Services Inc. can continue to sell phones that the Wireless Consumers Alliance claims do not comply with government 911 rules. Julia J. McMurray, a...

Black Jack rings up revenues: notably, carries must target the youth and young adult markets in order to see positive revenue results from mobile gaming. (Focus Consumer Applications).
January 6, 2003... In the United States, it appears mobile gaming is finally on its way to the forefront of the wireless consumer application market. But as always, the pressure is on the most common denominator--the mobile consumer--to bring popularity and...

Reseller claims Cingular pushing it out of business. (Business).
January 6, 2003... The tenuous relationship between wireless carriers and independent dealer agents again was highlighted as Illinois-based Airborne Beepers & Video filed a lawsuit against Cingular Wireless L.L.C., claiming it was being pushed out of business by...

Ohio Supreme Court says reseller can sue Verizon, Cingular for damages. (Business).
January 6, 2003... WASHINGTON -- The Ohio Supreme Court on Dec. 30 said that a wireless reseller may sue Verizon Wireless Inc. and Cingular Wireless L.L.C. for more than $2 million in damages for charging the reseller discriminatory prices. "This is just a...

Russia's Vimpelcom expands to the Urals. (Business).
January 6, 2003... MOSCOW--Russia's second-largest wireless carrier, Vimpelcom (BeeLine), purchased 100 percent of the East-West Telecom Co., which holds GSM licenses for 12 regions of the greater Urals. Until the buy, Vimpelcom only ran a GSM 900/1800 MHz...

Wireless Stock Watch.
January 6, 2003... Wireless Stock Watch Dec. 23-Dec. 31 CARRIERS CLOSING PERCENT EXCH COMPANY 12/31 & 12/23 CHANGE NAS AirGate PCS ...

Platinum backs off Rohn purchase, Rohn plans action. (Business).
January 6, 2003... PEORIA, Ill. -- Infrastructure equipment provider Rohn Industries Inc. said Platinum Equity L.L.C. has terminated the Nov. 29 agreement to purchase Rohn's assets for $8.75 million. Rohn received a letter Dec. 27 from Platinum notifying the...

Qpass gets $10.7M in funds. (Business).
January 6, 2003... SEATTLE -- Billing and content management company Qpass Inc. scored $10.7 million in funding to kick off the new year, with Westbury Partners, Hook Partners, Oak Investment and others participating. "Over the last 18 months we have...

SpectraSite completes sale of services unit. (Business).
January 6, 2003... CARY, N.C. -- SpectraSite Communications Inc., the operating arm of bankrupt SpectraSite Holdings Inc., said its WesTower Corp. subsidiary has completed the previously announced sale of SpectraSite's wireless network services division. The...

LogicaCMG merger executed. (Business).
January 6, 2003... LONDON -- LogicaCMG plc announced the merger between Logica plc and CMG plc is now complete. "We are very pleased that the merger has completed on our original schedule so that we can begin the new trading year of 2003 as a singie group,"...

Ericsson scores infrastructure, MMS contracts. (Business).
January 6, 2003... STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- L.M. Ericsson said it was awarded an additional $25 million for CDMA 1xRTT equipment and services to China Unicom. Ericsson also scored a deal to supply PT Telkomunikasi Indonesia in Bali with CDMA LxRTT gear. Terms of...

Samsung approves $1.2B investment in chip business. (Business).
January 6, 2003... SEOUL, South Korea--Samsung Electronics said it has approved a plan to spend $1.23 billion in a plant to produce dynamic random-access memory and flash memory chips. The plant--the company's 12th--is located in Hwasung, Kyungiddo, south of...

Shareholders file against Leap. (Business).
January 6, 2003... LOS ANGELES -- A lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California against Leap Wireless International Inc. on behalf of purchasers of Leap securities between Feb. 11, 2002, and July 24, 2002. The...

Critical Path stock too low to meet Nasdaq criteria. (Business).
January 6, 2003... SAN FRANCISCO -- Messaging company Critical Path Inc. said it is out of compliance with the Nasdaq Stock Market's minimum bid price requirement of $1. The company said it requested a Jan. 30 hearing to present a plan to regain compliance, and...

TD-SCDMA expected in 2004. (Business).
January 6, 2003... BEIJING -- China's home-bred technology, TD-SCDMA, will not be available until 2004 and continued testing will hold off licenses to fixed-line operators, said Li Shihe, chief technology officer at Datang Mobile Communications Equipment Co. Ltd....

Portal Software gains billing foothold with foreign carriers. (Business).
January 6, 2003... NEW YORK -- Portal Software, Cupertino, Calif., has garnered more than 50 telecom carriers as customers for its billing software during the last three years, but the U.S. mobile carrier market thus far has. eluded its grasp, except for a lone...

Carriers can differentiate with retail experience. (Business).
January 6, 2003... SAN JOSE, Calif. -- U.S. retail services offer wireless carriers a growing opportunity to differentiate themselves through product offerings and marketing, according to new research from Frost & Sullivan. The wireless industry spent $7.91...

Indian cellular companies slash long-distance tariffs. (Global Wireless).
January 6, 2003... NEW DELHI, India -- Indian cellular companies slashed mobile--to-mobile national long-distance tariffs by nearly one-third, in an obvious response to low tariff rates announced by Reliance, a leading limited mobility operator. The "one...

China Telecom launches mobile call-forwarding service. (Global Wireless).
January 6, 2003... BEIJING -- Guangdong Telecom, a provincial subsidiary of fixed-line operator China Telecom, has launched a controversial call-forwarding service in three cities in Guangdong province whereby mobile users can forward incoming calls to fixed-line...

Korea may loosen subsidy ban on outdated mobile phones. (Global Wireless).
January 6, 2003... SEOUL, South Korea -- The Ministry of Information and Communication in South Korea is considering loosening its strict regulation on handset subsidies to help dispose of outdated mobile-phone models. The ministry maintains a strict ban on...

InterDigital to get $500,000 from Samsung. (News).
January 6, 2003... KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. -- The International Court of Arbitration ruled that Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. must pay InterDigital Communications Corp. an extra $500,000 due to a dispute over the companies' patent licensing agreement. The...

Wireless boosts semiconductor sales. (News).
January 6, 2003... SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Global semiconductor sales hit $12.68 billion for the month of November, slightly up from the $12.51 billion reported in October, and well above the year-ago's $10.6 billion, according to the Semiconductor Industry...

Zi scores text input deal with China's Legend. (News).
January 6, 2003... CALGARY, Alberta -- Zi Corp., which makes software for text input on mobile phones, announced it scored a deal with Chinese device maker Legend Group Ltd. "We chose Zi Corp. as our technology partner for our new line of mobile handsets...

FCC urges users to read contracts carefully. (News).
January 6, 2003... WASHINGTON -- Customers should thoroughly read wireless service contracts and insist on a trial period before signing up for service, said the Federal Communications Commission. The suggestion, made by the FCC's Consumer & Governmental...

Power equipment market to surge to $6B by '06. (News).
January 6, 2003... A slowing economy and a downturn in the communications industries contributed in 2002 to a 15.1 percent revenue decline, to $4.95 billion, in the North American power quality equipment and services market. However, Frost & Sullivan, in a recent...

Korea's No. 2 broadband carrier takes over Thrunet. (News).
January 6, 2003... SEOUL, South Korea--Hanaro Telecom Inc., South Korea's second-largest broadband and fixed-line carrier, announced it would take over its rival Korea Thrunet Co., signaling a major change in the fast-evolving high-speed Internet access market....

Moody's cuts DT rating on debt fears. (Late News).
January 13, 2003... Credit rating agency Moody's Investors Service Inc. has cut Deutsche Telekom's credit rating to Baa3, one notch above "junk" status. The Moody's rating is less cheerful than two other ratings agencies, Standard and Poor's and Fitch, both of...

GSM subscribers, shipments doubled in 2002. (Late News).
January 13, 2003... GSM technology in the United States doubled in both subscribers and handset shipments during 2002, according to research from Telecom Trends International. The TTI report also found the U.S. wireless market grew 11 percent in subscriber...

MSS can offer land-based mobile.
January 13, 2003... WASHINGTON -- The Federal Communications Commission later this week is expected to breathe new life into Craig McCaw's struggling wireless portfolio by allowing ICO Global Communications and other mobile satellite service firms to use...

Broadband solutions bought.
January 13, 2003... NEW YORK -- A new wave of broadband wireless network providers heralded the New Year with announcements of deployments or rollout plans in Long Beach, Calif.; Jacksonville, Fla.; and Texas' Lower Rio Grande Valley. On the West Coast, Mayor...

Wireless gets legs at CES show.
January 13, 2003... LAS VEGAS -- Conference-goers who managed to brave the miles of show floor at this year's annual Consumer Electronics Show were witnesses to a significant movement in the electronics landscape--the rise of wireless. Hundreds of wireless...

Bills earmark more spectrum for unlicensed technologies. (News).
January 13, 2003... WASHINGTON-Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.) today plans to announce he will offer companion legislation mirroring a bipartisan Senate bill that could be introduced as early as this week to earmark additional spectrum for i-Fi and other emerging...

Industry aims to bring voice to Wi-Fi service. (News).
January 13, 2003... While wireless LAN technology celebrates data, the WLAN industry has begun work to elevate it with voice over Internet Protocol technology. Called Voice Over Wi-Fi, experts think it has the advantage of not only raising the stakes for WLAN...

Firms demo unconventional technologies. (News).
January 13, 2003... LAS VEGAS-Unconventional wireless technologies continued to make room for themselves at this year's Consumer Electronics Show as the ever popular 802.11-based devices were joined by other innovative and sometimes controversial products that...

Wireless industry rings up, complaints with consumers' mag. (News).
January 13, 2003... Citing customer complaints ranging from poor customer service, billing issues and spotty coverage areas, Consumer Reports, which is published by non-profit Consumers Union, provided an unflattering survey of the wireless industry in its...

911 calls can fail to connect. (News).
January 13, 2003... Using both input from wireless customers and its own testing methods, Consumer Reports raised serious questions about the ability for wireless customers to connect to 911 in cases of emergencies. Of nearly 1,900 subscribers to the...

CTIA tries another tack in effort to get FCC to delay wireless LNP. (News).
January 13, 2003... WASHINGTON--The Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association said it will ask the Federal Communications Commission this week again to delay the implementation of wireless local number portability until the rules for wireline LNP can be...

Culture clash can be biggest M&A obstacle. (News).
January 13, 2003... Like marriages, mergers and acquisitions are not perfect. When the Lucent Technologies Inc. and Alcatel merger talks collapsed in 2001, the clash of corporate cultures was cited as a major hiccup. With consolidation perceived as the...

Intel, Microsoft chiefs talk wireless. (News).
January 13, 2003... LAS VEGAS--Known as the two-headed monster of the personal computing industry by the nickname Wintel, the heads of Microsoft Corp. and Intel Corp. made special mention of the importance wireless technology will play in the future of consumer...

CSG buys Davinci. (News).
January 13, 2003... NEW YORK--CSG Systems, an Englewood, Cob., provider of billing and customer-care solutions for telecommunications carriers, has acquired Toronto-based Davinci Technologies Inc. in a cash transaction of undisclosed value. "The real driver...

Connexn acquires British firm. (News).
January 13, 2003... WESTMINSTER, Colo.--Connexn Technologies, Westminster, Cob., a provider of revenue assurance solutions for telecommunications carriers, has acquired Telecomms Consultancy & Solutions Ltd., a privately held British company, for an undisclosed...

Proactive CRM efforts critical in competitive market. (Focus: Customer Relations).
January 13, 2003... How do you retain valuable wireless customers while at least five other national carriers, not to mention a number of smaller regional providers, are pulling out all the stops to vie for those same people? And, how do you give those customers...

Users to demand color screens, advanced data, ABI research suggests. (News).
January 13, 2003... OYSTER BAY, N.Y. -- Wireless users will soon demand feature-rich handsets that include color screens and advanced data and messaging applications to replace their current mobile phones, according to new research from Allied Business...

Verizon reports higher adds, buys pa. licenses. (News).
January 13, 2003... BEDMINSTER, N.J. -- Verizon Communications Inc. said its wireless division added more customers during the recently completed fourth quarter than the 803,000 net customer additions reported for the third quarter of last year and that it did not...

Where's the consolidation? (Opinion).
January 13, 2003... Hey, it's 2003. You remember? The magic date when the Federal Communications Commission said the spectrum cap in urban areas would be lifted and large carriers could start to expand their wireless footprints in cities where they face congestion...

The toughest job in Washington. (Opinion).
January 13, 2003... Sure the leader of the free world, the commander-in-chief of the most powerful nation on earth, has a lot on his plate. Especially these days. So does Tom Sugrue. It's no walk in the park for the FCC's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau...

Regulatory reforms will benefit wireless more than tax breaks. (News/Letter).
January 13, 2003... WASHINGTON -- President Bush's economic stimulus plan offers little immediate help for the struggling wireless industry, but the administration's less vocal push for regulatory reform could benefit mobile phone firms even more than tax breaks...

ITA: no 'threats' in 800 MHz consensus plan. (Letter).
January 13, 2003... Dear Editor, On page 3 of the Dec. 30 issue of RCR Wireless News, the article detailing the Dec. 24 filing of the supplement to the Consensus Plan states that the consensus parties "threatened the [FCC]...if it did not accept the entire...

Tech, telecom 'a 2004' investment story. (Business).
January 13, 2003... NEW YORK--Hedge funds are the wild card and pent-up demand for capital spending is the ace in the bet on stock market and economic recovery this year, investment strategists said Jan. 7 at the New York Society of Security Analysts Market...

Hutchison's Hong Kong 3G launch delayed until after 1Q. (Business).
January 13, 2003... HONG KONG--Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. will delay its third-generation rollout in Hong Kong until at least the second quarter of 2003, following its 3G launches in the United Kingdom and Italy, which are scheduled to occur sometime in the first...

SanDisk uses SyChip card for wireless. (Business).
January 13, 2003... LAS VEGAS--SanDisk will use SyChip Inc.'s WLAN6060SD NIC accessory card design, based on the Secure Digital Input Output (SDIO) standard, in its new SanDisk Conned SD wireless products, the companies said. SyChip's product enables devices...

Nextel to launch new commercials. (Business).
January 13, 2003... RESTON, Va.--Nextel Communications Inc. is set to release a new set of TV commercials featuring what it calls four celebrities in true-to-life scenarios from their personal and business lives using the carrier's Direct Conned service. The...

Clear Channel teams with InPhonic for messaging service. (Business).
January 13, 2003... WASHINGTON--Clear Channel Communications has teamed with InPhonic Inc. to provide its six Cleveland market radio stations with a wireless messaging service to communicate with listeners via targeted text messages and alerts about events,...

Intel mobile technology now dubbed Centrino. (Business).
January 13, 2003... SANTA CLARA, Calif.--Intel Corp. has renamed its upcoming mobile computing technology that will extend wireless capabilities to notebook computers using 802.11 technology. Centrino mobile technology, formerly called Banias, is slated to...

Mobility Networks to supply Go Mobile. (Business).
January 13, 2003... SAN JOSE, Calif.--Mobility Networks Systems Inc. said it has signed a contract to supply Malta's Mobisle Communications Ltd., also known as Go Mobile, with wireless local area network solutions. "Mobility Networks has developed an open and...

Leucadia National buys paging carrier. (Business).
January 13, 2003... The long and winding tale of paging and messaging provider WebLink Wireless has reached yet another chapter, with holding company Leucadia National Corp. purchasing the carrier. Leucadia National said it reached an agreement with WebLink...

Wi-Fi Alliance announces 40 new members. (Business).
January 13, 2003... MONTAIN VIEW, Calf. -- The Wi-Fi Alliance said that 40 additional companies have joined the body from around the world. It also announced the first phase of the Wi-Fi Zone Global Brand to promote the availability of public access services...

S&P: Tower biz recovery 2 years out. (Business).
January 13, 2003... NEW YORK -- The U.S. wireless tower industry is at least 18 to 24 months away from recovery, according to a recent report from Standard & Poor's Rating Services. In its report, S&P cites financial challenges faced in 2002 by the five...

Linux joins handset game, NEC likely OS purchaser. (Business).
January 13, 2003... SUNNYVALE, Calif. -- The Linux operating system has raised its stakes in the wireless world in a pact with MontaVista Software, which has agreed to embed the OS into a variety of handsets. The move squares off Linux against both the Palm...

Wireless stock watch.
January 13, 2003... Wireless Stock Watch Dec. 31-Jan. 8 CLOSING PERCENT EXCH COMPANY 1/8 & 12/31 CHANGE CARRIERS NAS AirGate PCS ...

American Tower verifies plans to sell Verestar. (Business).
January 13, 2003... BOSTON -- As expected, American Tower Corp. verified its intention to sell its Verestar Inc. subsidiary during 2003 and said it will begin with the sale of Maritime Telecommunications Network (MTN), a subsidiary of Verestar, to MTN's management...

Allen expects results to surpass financial forecast. (Business).
January 13, 2003... BEACHWOOD, Ohio -- Allen Telecom Inc., which makes wireless location devices, said its fourth-quarter results will surpass market forecasts. The company anticipates earnings to be between 16 cents and 19 cents a share in contrast to...

Kiwi PCS fights churn with SMS. (Business).
January 13, 2003... RALEIGH, N.C. -- Kiwi PCS launched a short message service center platform at its Raleigh, N.C., central office that the carrier said supports SMS over IP and SS7 and said it hopes will help the carrier retain customers. "[The platform]...

360networks creditors file suit against Nortel. (Business).
January 13, 2003... NEW YORK -- Unsecured creditors of 360networks Inc. have filed a class-action lawsuit against Nortel Networks Ltd. to recover $100 million. Nortel was a vendor to supply equipment to 360networks for a fiber-optic buildout the carrier was...