RCR Wireless News articles from January 2004

RCR Wireless News archives from January 2004

Phone subsidies alive and well.
January 5, 2004... Byline: MIKE DANO A savvy Amazon.com shopper can find Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications L.P.'s color-screen T616 camera phone with service from AT&T Wireless Services Inc. for -$150. That's right: Buyers will actually receive $150 for...

Vodafone Portugal begins limited 3G services.(News)
January 5, 2004... Vodafone Portugal said it began a limited launch of its third-generation services, with access available only to a limited number of users in Lisbon and Oporto. Mostly Vodafone staff and selected business partners and customers initially...

America Movil swaps CompUSA stake.(News)
January 5, 2004... Mexican mobile operator America Movil said it exchanged its 49-percent interest in CompUSA Inc. for a 29.69-percent stake in US Commercial Corp. for about $16 million. US Commercial is a public company listed on the Bolsa Mexicana de Valores...

Telefonica Moviles sells Austrian UMTS spectrum.(News)
January 5, 2004... Telefonica Moviles said last month it sold its third-generation license in Austria to market leader Mobilkom Austria for an undisclosed amount. The Austrian regulator RTR has already approved the sale, according to Telefonica Moviles....

M2M market set to outpace human wireless uptake.(News)
January 5, 2004... Byline: MIKE DANO It seems the wireless machine-to-machine market is finally coming into its own. The industry now boasts a range of players including major names like Nokia Corp. and IBM Corp., it enjoys a healthy value chain, there...

Late News.
January 5, 2004... Midwest Wireless begins 1x service in Iowa Midwest Wireless has launched its CDMA2000 1x digital network in 17 counties in Iowa. Midwest Wireless has 28,000 customers in the counties, which the carrier acquired when it purchased Cellcom's...

Schwarzenegger seeks delay on telecom bill of rights.
January 5, 2004... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger-despite lacking jurisdiction over the California Public Utilities Commission-is quietly pressing regulators to follow an executive order freezing pending regulations until their economic...

Rooftop tower biz has believers.(Business)
January 5, 2004... Byline: EMILY MOTSAY When tight carrier capital spending forced tower companies to focus on their primary businesses, non-core assets like managed rooftop portfolios justifiably became a second priority. But as the sector rebounds, tower...

Korean operators ready W-CDMA networks.(Business)
January 5, 2004... Korean mobile operators SK Telecom and KTF launched their W-CDMA networks last week to meet a year-end deadline, although full commercial services are not expected until March. A lack of handsets is one reason the services will be delayed until...

Motorola wins TETRA contract for '04 Olympics.(Business)
January 5, 2004... Motorola Inc. said it will work with Science Applications International Corp. and Siemens AG to provide a secure two-way radio communications system for public-safety agencies during the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. The contract value to...

LNP complaints to FCC triple in last half of month.(News)
January 5, 2004... The Federal Communications Commission said it received 2,394 informal consumer complaints targeted at wireless carriers from Nov. 24 through Dec. 24, which marked the first month of wireless local number portability. Complaints almost tripled...

Sprint PCS to sell Sony Ericsson CDMA handset.(Business)
January 5, 2004... Byline: MIKE DANO It appears Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications L. P. will be able to unload some of its final CDMA phones in North America as Sprint PCS announced it will sell a limited number of Sony Ericsson's Bluetooth-enabled T608...

Cork pops on RIM stock following 1Q forecast.(Business)
January 5, 2004... Byline: MIKE DANO Santa came a few days early for Research In Motion Ltd. The company became the star of the Nasdaq Dec. 23, the day after RIM reported substantial third-quarter results and a stellar outlook for the future. Indeed, the...

AlertsUSA offers wireless homeland security updates.(Global Wireless)
January 5, 2004... AlertsUSA L.L.C. gathers information related to terrorism threats to the United States and its interests abroad and delivers them to subscribers via mobile phone. The service notifies cellular-phone users of domestic terror alerts,...

Picks, pans for '03.(Opinion)
January 5, 2004... Byline: Tracy Ford What were the best five things to happen to the wireless industry in 2003? What were the worst? Here are my picks (for better or worse). The Top 5 best things that happened: The camera phone. RCR Wireless News...

Wireless welcomed into the home; Accompanying devices slow to market.(Focus)
January 5, 2004... Byline: EMILY MOTSAY The popularity of Wi-Fi, decreasing wireless chipset prices and consumer affinity for high-tech gadgets combined with a desire for simplicity all add up to the likelihood that wireless home networks will become more...

Symbol restates earnings, CEO steps down.(Business)
January 5, 2004... Investors appeared to cheer what seems to be the end of Symbol Technologies Inc.'s long financial restatement road. The company announced it filed the restatement of its 1998 through 2001 finances with the Securities and Exchange Commission,...

UbiquiTel lifts 4Q financial guidance.(Global Wireless)
January 5, 2004... Sprint PCS affiliate UbiquiTel Inc. released updated financial and operating guidance for the fourth quarter of 2003. The company said it expects earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for the quarter to be between...

Subscriber growth uptick.
January 5, 2004... Byline: DAN MEYER Following years of steady decline, the wireless industry looks to have turned the corner during the past several quarters in posting year-over-year gains in customer growth. That turnaround was highlighted by a 76-percent...

Beyond Boost, Adderton hopes to become content MVNO for youth.(News)
January 5, 2004... Byline: DAN MEYER Few wireless companies have been able to target the often sought-after youth market like Boost Mobile L.L.C. Despite being owned by business-focused Nextel Communications Inc. and being available only in a pair of states,...

Vodafone selects search technology from FAST.(Global Wireless)
January 5, 2004... Vodafone Group plc announced it will use search technology from Fast Search & Transfer (FAST), which the companies said will allow users to search across an extensive portfolio of content and an index of worldwide WAP content using a hosted...

Verizon Wireless to pick up American Wireless licenses in Ark.(News)
January 5, 2004... Verizon Wireless signed a definitive agreement to acquire 10-megahertz PCS licenses from American Wireless License Group L.L.C. covering 1.1 million potential customers in the Arkansas Basic Trading Areas of Little Rock and Pine Bluff for $7.75...

Dobson to acquire Michigan properties.(News)
January 5, 2004... Dobson Communications Corp. said it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the assets of NPI-Omnipoint Wireless L.L.C., which provides GSM service in northern Michigan, for approximately $28 million. NPI, which reported $20.7...

Swedish 3G license holder takes on second license.(Global Wireless)
January 5, 2004... Swedish company Svenska UMTS-nat AB, jointly owned by TeliaSonera and Tele2, has agreed to purchase the fourth third-generation license in Sweden from Orange Sverige. Svenska already owns a UMTS license in Sweden, and TeliaSonera and Tele2 said...

World Briefs.(Briefs)
January 5, 2004... Mexico Qualcomm Inc. announced Pegaso Comunicaciones y Sistemas S.A. de C.V., a wholly owned subsidiary of Pegaso Telecomunicaciones, S.A. de C.V., a Mexican wireless operator now owned by Telefonica Moviles, has prepaid in full its...

Business Briefs.(Briefs)
January 5, 2004... Billing and customer retention management provider Amdocs Ltd. said it has reached an agreement to acquire privately held mediation software provider XACCT Technologies for approximately $29.5 million. Amdocs expects the acquisition, which...

Rogers to distribute LG handset.(Global Wireless)
January 5, 2004... Canadian wireless operator Rogers AT&T Wireless reported an agreement with handset supplier LG Electronics Canada Inc. to provide LG GSM/GPRS handsets to Rogers AT&T Wireless customers. The companies said the first of several LG handsets...

Verizon Wireless, Vodafone to launch transatlantic text messaging.(News)
January 5, 2004... Verizon Wireless and minority interest parent company Vodafone Group plc said they plan to launch transatlantic text messaging capabilities between Verizon Wireless' CDMA network and 10 Vodafone GSM networks beginning early next year. The...

Obigo bets on WAP.(Business)
January 5, 2004... Byline: MIKE DANO Even as some are predicting the impending demise of WAP, others are betting their futures on it. One such player is Obigo, a longtime participant in wireless data that is hoping a new name and face will energize its...

Business in China a matter of respect, relationships.(News)
January 5, 2004... Byline: SAM OMATSEYE Succeeding with a business partner in China is not always about great business acumen. Sometimes, it boils down to opening a taste bud for a snake delicacy. Two companies, Analog Devices Inc. and Starent Networks...

Globalstar ready to launch with new MSS owner.(News)
January 5, 2004... Byline: EMILY MOTSAY New ownership has provided mobile satellite services company Globalstar L.P. with hope in the new year. The company last month announced plans to be acquired by equity investor Thermo Capital Partners L.L.C. for...

Vindigo rallies around Java, BREW content.(News)
January 5, 2004... Byline: MIKE DANO After almost four years of waiting, Jason Devitt believes the time is now. Packet-switched networks are online. Mobile phones feature color graphics. And-perhaps most importantly-carriers can bill for third-party...

Broadcaster dedicates division to tower biz.(News)
January 5, 2004... Byline: EMILY MOTSAY If the predictions pan out, wireless carriers will loosen their purse strings in 2004 to further build out and enhance their networks. To appease unsatisfied consumers and to prove their mettle against the competition,...

Sonus says switch bridges IP gaps.(Business)
January 5, 2004... Byline: SAM OMATSEYE Industry has hailed the coming of packet technology, which has turned circuit networks into anachronisms. But the technology still has its challenges, one of which is "islands of IP.'' It means carriers with packet...

Software gains prominence.(Business)
January 5, 2004... Byline: SAM OMATSEYE In the search for killer applications and other services that rake in revenue, independent software vendors are the new brides of wireless. With software expanding, the value of the hardware space will continue to...

Mobility Electronics announces distribution agreement with RadioShack.(Business)
January 5, 2004... Mobility Electronics Inc. and RadioShack Corp. announced a global distribution agreement under which Mobility can sell RadioShack-manufactured power products to non-RadioShack outlets. Under the agreement, Mobility will exclusively sell...

Bahrain operator in Vodafone roaming, branding network.(Global Wireless)
January 5, 2004... Vodafone Group plc said it expanded its partner network agreement with Kuwait mobile operator Mobile Telecommunications Co. to include the Bahraini market. MTC-Vodafone launched services in Bahrain Dec. 28 after winning a GSM license in...

Nortel wins $56M contract in Pakistan.(Global Wireless)
January 5, 2004... Nortel Networks Ltd. said it will expand Pakistani mobile operator Pak Telecom Mobile Ltd.'s GSM 900 MHz national network under a $56 million contract. Nortel said it is the second major expansion by Nortel of the Ufone-branded network since...

Nortel files amended financial reports.(Business)
January 5, 2004... Nortel Networks Corp. announced last week amended financial reports for full-year 2002 and the first two quarters of 2003, following up on a previously announced plan to restate financial results dating to 2000. Last month, when it filed its...

Turkish regulator fines carrier $64.1 million.(Global Wireless)
January 5, 2004... Turkcell said Turkey's Telecommunication Authority has fined the mobile operator $64.1 million, claiming Turkcell made inadequate annual frequency usage fee payments. TA has demanded $11.3 million for insufficient payment and an interest...

Huawei to build, help finance Hong Kong 3G network.(Global Wireless)
January 5, 2004... -Chinese equipment vendor Huawei Technologies co. Ltd. said it agreed with Hong Kong wireless carrier Sunday to supply equipment and financing to assist with the rollout of Sunday's third-generation business. Huawei said a heads of...

4th Circuit scheduled to hear headset case.(News)
January 5, 2004... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals plans to hear oral argument next month on whether the mobile-phone industry should provide headsets to consumers to reduce any risk of injury from radiation emitted by wireless...

OSHA clears firm in death of worker who fell from tower.(News)
January 5, 2004... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has decided not to fine a communications construction firm that employed a man who died after falling from a cell-phone tower in Massachusetts last fall. An...

Child protection firms implement wireless; Foreign biz.(News)
January 5, 2004... Byline: MIKE DANO There are all manner of money- and time-saving wireless applications and services, from voicemail to wireless e-mail to mobile commerce. But one service in particular may transcend such commonplace considerations by...

Mission accomplished.(Opinion)
January 5, 2004... Byline: Jeffrey Silva You probably noticed-but perhaps not, given the holidays and all-that we have not reported on the supposed issuance of mobile-phone licenses in war-ravaged Iraq. That's because the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional...

Pumatech finishes Synchrologic buy.(News)
January 5, 2004... -Synchronization company Pumatech Inc. announced it completed the acquisition of Synchrologic Inc., which develops wireless enterprise products and services. Pumatech expects to announce revised financial guidance for its second and third...

Horizon PCS receives extension for Chapter 11 filing.(News)
January 5, 2004... Sprint PCS affiliate Horizon PCS has received court approval for an extension in filing its Chapter 11 reorganization plan and gaining creditor support. The company now has until April 29 to file its plan and until June 28 to seek votes from...

AMT to sell up to $850M in debt, stock.(News)
January 5, 2004... American Tower Corp. said in a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission it plans to sell up to $850 million in debt securities, preferred stock, common stock, warrants, stock purchase contracts and equity units. The...

NII Holdings files resale statement.(News)
January 5, 2004... NII Holdings, which provides mobile communications services in Latin America and is partly owned by Nextel Communications Inc., said it filed Dec. 5 with the Securities and Exchange Commission a registration statement for the resale by selling...

AccuCode supplies The Sports Authority with WLAN gear.(News)
January 5, 2004... Sporting goods retailer The Sports Authority added wireless local area network IP infrastructure, point-of-sale terminals and mobile computing solutions to stores from Alaska to the East Coast through a new deal with wireless infrastructure...

Report analyzes adult entertainment's wireless role.(Wireless Metrics)
January 5, 2004... A new research report from Global Information Inc. analyzes the role adult entertainment could play in the uptake of mobile multimedia. According to GII, "adult entertainment has a long and reliable track-record of driving the adoption of...

Industry studies.(Wireless Metrics)
January 5, 2004... Business Communications Company Inc. estimated the total U.S. market for RF technology products and processes at $24.1 billion in 2003. New and emerging technologies and applications include digital radio, highdefinition television, advanced...

Chip sales set to grow with wireless home, office.(Business)
January 12, 2004... Byline: SAM OMATSEYE, EMILY MOTSAY In the eyes of market research firm IDC, wireless chips are on a roll. And semiconductor companies want to match this zeal with solutions and initiatives. In its report released last week, which was...

Carriers take FCC to court over 'terrestrial' MSS use.(News)
January 12, 2004... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA Top mobile-phone operators told a federal appeals court the Federal Communications Commission went astray of the law by awarding additional mobile satellite service licenses despite the sector's desperate financial...

Advanced devices debut at CES show.
January 12, 2004... Byline: MIKE DANO As usual, mobile phones formed a major part of the activity at this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Audiovox Communications Corp., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., LG Electronics and others showed off their...

Christensen forgoes startup to lead Macromedia wireless biz.(Business)
January 12, 2004... Byline: MIKE DANO Former Microsoft Corp. executive Juha Christensen dumped his plans for a wireless startup and instead will helm the wireless and mobile devices business of Internet software company Macromedia. Christensen has long...

LG to centralize U.S. operations in New Jersey.(Business)
January 12, 2004... LG Electronics Inc. announced it will reorganize and centralize its U.S. business under a new chief executive based in Englewood Cliffs, N.J. Michael Ahn, who has worked with LG for 28 years, will serve as the company's new president and...

Cable & Wireless Jamaica selects Nortel for GSM overlay.(Global Wireless)
January 12, 2004... Cable & Wireless Jamaica Ltd. has purchased cellular communications equipment from Nortel Networks Inc. and eight other U.S. exporters as part of a $173 million project. Export-Import Bank of the United States is guaranteeing a $72.3 million...

AirNet elevates 4Q forecast.(News)
January 12, 2004... Investors last week cheered AirNet Communications Corp.'s elevated fourth-quarter earnings forecast, sending its stock price up 80 percent. The wireless base station maker previously expected fourth-quarter revenues of between $3 million...

BT expands Wi-Fi network to 500 McDonald's.(Global Wireless)
January 12, 2004... British Telecommunications plc said it will expand its Wi-Fi network to 500 U.K. McDonald's restaurants during the next few months. Plans call for BT Openzone access points to be installed in McDonald's flagship and drive-through restaurants by...

Sprint 4Q adds beat estimates.(News)
January 12, 2004... Byline: EMILY MOTSAY Sprint PCS kicked off fourth-quarter customer results on a positive note last week, saying it added approximately 1 million subscribers to its PCS network in the quarter, including 390,000 direct additions and more...

Vendors purchase partners, rivals.(Business)
January 12, 2004... Byline: EMILY MOTSAY The acquisition beat goes on in the wireless equipment sector with several companies recently announcing purchases of other players. The increasing number of mergers is not surprising given the specific,...

Video-game makers jump (and roll and shoot) with wireless.(Focus)
January 12, 2004... Byline: MIKE DANO "We don't think (wireless) is quite mass market enough, and the business model is not quite there yet,'' said Trudy Muller, spokeswoman for Electronic Arts, the nation's No. 1 video-game maker, in explaining why the...

Consumer Reports neglects tower fights.(Opinion)
January 12, 2004... Byline: Tracy Ford Consumer Reports bashed the wireless industry again in its second annual survey of rating wireless providers. It's safe to say carriers flunked in the magazine's eyes. The editor of Consumer Reports complained cellular...

Analyst predicts modest churn.(Wireless Metrics)
January 12, 2004... Compete Inc. reported its findings on the effects of WLNP. According to the analyst, after a brief spike in churn threat during the first week of WLNP, pre-churn activity has started declining. Compared with 2002, pre-churn levels were 20...

7 firms bid on Lebanese licenses.(Global Wireless)
January 12, 2004... Byline: FARAH JIFRI Seven international operators will compete for two new GSM licenses that will allow them to offer mobile services in Lebanon during the next 20 years. The bidding process drew to a close last week amid speculation that...

Sprint PCS boosts gaming, music with numbers, deals.(News)
January 12, 2004... Sprint PCS made several gaming announcements related to its popular PCS Vision service, through which it said more than 5 million games were purchased in 2003, at this week's Consumer Electronics Show. Sprint announced the launch of Game...

Tower firms up on buildout news.(Business)
January 12, 2004... Byline: EMILY MOTSAY Affirmation from wireless carriers and equipment vendors, as well as industry analysts and Wall Street, is driving optimism from tower companies regarding new tower builds. Analyst firm Raymond James and Associates...

T-Mobile claims gains from wireless LNP.(Business)
January 12, 2004... T-Mobile USA Inc. said it has gained two customers for every one customer it has lost since the implementation of wireless local number portability. "T-Mobile is a net winner in WLNP,'' according to a presentation from Brian Kirkpatrick,...

Text messaging enables new wireless banking service.(Business)
January 12, 2004... Although wireless banking services have suffered from low subscriber numbers and uninterested customers, Premier America Credit Union recently launched a new text-messaging service the firm said is enjoying some success. Premier America...

D.C. bans talking and driving.(News)
January 12, 2004... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The Council of the District of Columbia has voted to prohibit drivers from talking on handheld mobile phones, following the lead of New York and a handful of towns in steering the motoring public to hands-free devices...

Siemens' mobile-phone president dies.(Global Wireless)
January 12, 2004... Byline: Farah Jifri The head of Siemens' mobile-phone business died Dec. 28, the company said. Siemens could not immediately elaborate on the death of Ian Moyes, 48, president of Siemens' Mobile Phones Division. Siemens Mobile...

RCR reporter's secret gaming confessions.(Focus)
January 12, 2004... Byline: MIKE DANO I've owned multiple Nintendo game consoles. I beat the new "Enter the Matrix'' game for Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox in less than four days. I once played a Super Mario game for 15 straight hours. I consider myself a competent...

Consumer Reports berates wireless service.(News)
January 12, 2004... Byline: EMILY MOTSAY The latest issue of Consumer Reports, published by nonprofit Consumers Union, comes down hard on the wireless industry in its annual wireless consumer review, referred to facetiously as an "Annual Address on the State...

Business Briefs.(Briefs)
January 12, 2004... AAT Communications Corp. announced it plans to acquire all tower assets of Signal One L.L.C., a privately held Chattanooga, Tenn.-based tower owner and site management company. The assets include 226 owned towers and 199 managed sites mainly...

Visa, Philips offer wireless payment solution.(Late News)
January 12, 2004... It is payment without tears and without contact, thanks to a new technology Philips Semiconductor and Visa International are showcasing at the Consumer Electronics Show. Known as Near Field Communication, the protocol will allow consumers to...

C-block bankruptcy action spills into '04.(News)
January 12, 2004... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER Two bankruptcy courts handling the aftermath of the debacle created when the Federal Communications Commission auctioned off C-block spectrum to small businesses in 1996 saw action as 2003 was winding down,...

UTStarcom raises $475M in stock sale.(News)
January 12, 2004... UTStarcom Inc. said it has raised about $475 million in cash from selling 12.1 million shares of its common stock to Banc of America L.L.C. "The company intends to use the proceeds "for strategic and general corporate purposes such as, but...

Largent revamps CTIA.
January 12, 2004... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER CTIA's Steve Largent used the biggest news in the nation's capital last week-Joe Gibbs returning to coach the Redskins-to justify his actions as he fired five people and named three new staffers. ...

Alternate advanced protocols could change migration paths.(News)
January 12, 2004... Byline: SAM OMATSEYE As the broadband market begins to sizzle, carriers are shifting from the comfort of tried technologies to the speed of alternatives. But challenges abound. So while Verizon Wireless announced its nationwide launch...

U.S. argues Korea can't set wireless standards.(News)
January 12, 2004... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The United States and South Korea appear headed for a showdown over Bush administration allegations that Seoul is violating global trade law by trying to impose wireless standards that would benefit huge homegrown...

Swenson leaves Leap.(News)
January 12, 2004... Leap Wireless International Inc. announced its President and Chief Operating Officer Susan G. Swenson has resigned, effective immediately, to pursue other interests. Swenson joined Leap in 1999 following five years as president and chief...

Verizon to extend EV-DO's reach.
January 12, 2004... Byline: SAM OMATSEYE Building on the momentum of its initial two-city launch last year, Verizon Wireless said it expects to spend $1 billion to launch its CDMA2000 1x EV-DO service in major cities in the United States. The service, known...

MCI/WorldCom OK'ed to bid on gov't work.(News)
January 12, 2004... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER The General Services Administration said MCI/WorldCom can again start competing for government contracts. The company, which is emerging from bankruptcy after an accounting scandal, had been barred from...