RCR Wireless News articles from July 2005

RCR Wireless News archives from July 2005

Wireless carriers ask FCC to waive E911 handset deadline.(Late News)
July 4, 2005... CTIA and the Rural Cellular Association said their members that have chosen handset solutions to meet the wireless enhanced 911 rules will not be able to meet the Dec. 31 deadline to have 95 percent of the handsets in use on their networks be...

Copps: FCC must do more for homeland security.
July 4, 2005... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA Federal Communications Commission member Michael Copps last week continued his campaign to get gaps in homeland security communications addressed, urging new FCC Chairman Kevin Martin to appoint a commissioner to take...

Microsoft makes DRM headway as industry fights over OMA offering.
July 4, 2005... Byline: COLIN GIBBS While the wireless industry haggles over the price of anti-piracy software supported by the Open Mobile Alliance, Microsoft Corp. is quietly gaining traction in the mobile world with its proprietary digital rights...

Next stop may be Congress as court rules FCC can determine telco vs. info services.(News)
July 4, 2005... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last week in two key high-tech cases that now may move across the street to the U.S. Capitol. In March, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the cases, which both...

Java turns 10.(Focus)
July 4, 2005... Byline: MIKE DANO Sun Microsystems Inc.'s Java technology is 10 years old this year, a milestone the company is using to highlight Java's widespread influence throughout the electronics and computer industries. When Sun introduced the...

Consumer groups: Use auction $$ for set-top boxes.(News)
July 4, 2005... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER Auction revenues from the sale of licenses for 700 MHz spectrum made available with the transition to digital TV first should be used to provide set-top boxes for all of the TVs in America that rely on...

BenQ smart phone approved for U.S. market.(News)
July 4, 2005... The Federal Communications Commission recently approved BenQ's high-end P50 smart phone for sale in the United States, an indication that the company is hoping to break into the U.S. market after its acquisition of Siemens AG's mobile phone...

Canada's wireless carriers introduce intercarrier MMS.(Global Wireless)
July 4, 2005... Canada's wireless carriers introduced intercarrier multimedia message services last week. The initiative enables customers with MMS-capable mobile phones, regardless of the customers' wireless service provider, to send and receive messages with...

T-Mobile, Google team on off-portal content.(Global Wireless)
July 4, 2005... T-Mobile International AG's subsidiaries in Europe are working with Google to boost wireless Internet use. The mobile arm of Deutsche Telekom said it is encouraging users to surf outside the walled garden, using the Internet giant's portal...

Motorola buys Sendo's R&D, patents.(News)
July 4, 2005... Byline: MIKE DANO Motorola Inc. purchased the research-and-development operations and patent portfolio of European mobile-phone startup Sendo. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The announcement ends weeks of speculation on the fate...

World Briefs.(Briefs)
July 4, 2005... JAPAN Japanese wireless carrier NTT DoCoMo Inc. said it will buy a stake in a U.S. mobile asset management provider. DoCoMo signed a joint venture and share subscription agreement with Ultra d.o.o., a Slovenian technology company. Under...

Tallying TVs.(Opinion)
July 4, 2005... Byline: Tracy Ford We have five TVs in our home-three of which are used and two that sit in a corner of the basement. The TVs relegated to the basement are in working order so we don't want to throw them out, but we don't use them. ...

U.S. to lead fixed-wireless convergence.(News)
July 4, 2005... Byline: COLIN GIBBS The United States is expected to lead the world in the adoption of fixed-mobile convergence through the end of the decade, with 7 percent of voice telephony consumers using an FMC product by 2010, according to a report...

RIM, PalmOne post strong numbers, PalmSource to cut jobs.(News)
July 4, 2005... Byline: MIKE DANO Financials from smart-phone makers Research In Motion Ltd. and PalmOne Inc. indicate users are warming up to the expensive, high-end gadgets. However, sluggish results from Palm OS vendor PalmSource Inc. suggest that the...

Cingular to offer RAZR Black.(News)
July 4, 2005... Cingular Wireless L.L.C. will be the first wireless carrier to offer the updated version of Motorola Inc.'s most popular phone, the RAZR. Dubbed RAZR Black, the camera phone leverages Cingular multimedia services like Picture Messaging and...

Goodbye, Mr. Chips.(Opinion)
July 4, 2005... Byline: Jeffrey Silva Just as a new Bush administration official was hailing a World Trade Organization decision in an anti-dumping case against Korean chipmaker Hynix Semiconductor Inc., a former White House aide was railing against U.S....

Boingo subscribers gain access to SBC hot spots.(News)
July 4, 2005... Boingo Wireless and SBC Communications Inc. signed a Wi-Fi roaming agreement that gives Boingo customers access to 3,400 Wi-Fi hot spots in SBC's FreedomLink network. Boingo said its subscribers now have access to 18,000 Wi-Fi hot spots...

Sprint PCS adds Looney Tunes video channel.(News)
July 4, 2005... Byline: COLIN GIBBS Sprint PCS continued to court pint-sized wireless users this week, unveiling a new mobile video channel featuring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tweety and other animated Warner Bros. characters. "Looney Tunes and...

NeuStar raises $600M in IPO.(News)
July 4, 2005... Byline: MIKE DANO Telecommunications clearinghouse company NeuStar Inc. earned a solid debut on Wall Street June 29 as its share price rose from its initial pricing of $22 per share to as high as $26.50 per share. The company scored about...

Nortel announces dividend, chairman.(News)
July 4, 2005... Nortel Networks Corp. announced a share dividend and a new chairman of the board, but it offered little in the way of strategic guidance during its annual shareholders meeting. Nortel investors-those who suffered through the company's...

Report says importance of wireless backhaul on the rise.(Wireless Metrics)
July 4, 2005... Wireless backhaul will become increasingly important as carriers seek to reduce operating expenses and subscribers use more voice and data minutes, according to a study from Visant Strategies. Wireless backhaul accounts for one-fifth of all...

Nextel Partners' appraisal might take 4 months.(News)
July 4, 2005... Byline: DAN MEYER Nextel Communications Inc., which is in the process of being acquired by Sprint Corp., reported in a government filing that the appraisal process associated with affiliate Nextel Partners Inc.'s put option that will be...

Verizon expands EV-DO, Cingular says it's under no pressure to match speed.(News)
July 4, 2005... Byline: DAN MEYER Verizon Wireless continued to turn the screws on its competitors with further expansion of its CDMA2000 1x EV-DO network, which the carrier claims now covers 119 million potential customers in more than 50 major...

Sprint, Nextel begin broadband tests at 2.5 GHz.
July 4, 2005... Byline: DAN MEYER Sprint Corp.'s pending acquisition of Nextel Communications Inc. will endow the new operation with a substantial war chest of network and spectrum assets, including a significant swatch of spectrum in the 2.5 GHz spectrum...

CTIA asks for nat'l billing framework, states aim to keep regulation turf.(News)
July 4, 2005... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The mobile-phone industry proposed a national framework for wireless billing based on its voluntary code of conduct for service, while consumer groups and states are urging the Federal Communications Commission to...

Carrier Briefs.(Briefs)
July 4, 2005... Leap Wireless International Inc. has expanded the availability of its Travel Time roaming service to all of its Cricket markets. The roaming service allows Cricket customers to use their phones outside of their home calling areas on a prepaid...

Universal service, taxes in D.C. spotlight again.(News)
July 4, 2005... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER CTIA asked the Federal Communications Commission to reconsider some of its guidelines for designating wireless carriers eligible for universal-service subsidies last week as rural lawmakers voiced support...

M-commerce effort Simpay collapses.(News)
July 4, 2005... Byline: COLIN GIBBS An effort to provide a pan-European mobile payment service was aborted just weeks before it was slated to launch. Simpay, a joint venture established two years ago by Orange plc, Telefonica Moviles, T-Mobile and...

Calif. court rules arbitration can't stop class-actions.(News)
July 4, 2005... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The California Supreme Court last week ruled arbitration agreements between companies and customers do not necessarily preclude people from filing class-action suits, a decision with unclear implications for the...

Corrections.(Correction)
July 4, 2005... * In the "TensorComm aims to give handsets mute button to add network capacity'' story on page 18 of the June 13 issue of RCR Wireless News, elements of the company's technology were misrepresented. The current version of TensorComm's...

Infrastructure Awards.(Wireless Metrics)
July 4, 2005... Following are infrastructure contracts announced in June: Ericsson Brazil With Vivo to expand and enhance the carrier's access transmission network with its MINI-LINK microwave transmission solution. Value: Undisclosed India...

Russian carrier buys Turkmen operator from U.S. company.(Global Wireless)
July 4, 2005... Mobile TeleSystems, the largest mobile-phone operator in Russia, acquired a 51-percent stake in Barash Communications Technologies Inc., a U.S. company that is the leading wireless carrier in the central Asian country of Turkmenistan. MTS...

KPN to buy rival Dutch carrier for $1.2B.(Global Wireless)
July 4, 2005... Byline: SANDRA WENDELKEN Dutch telecom carrier KPN has reached an agreement to acquire rival Dutch mobile operator Telfort for $1.2 billion on a debt and cash-free basis, eliminating a player in the highly competitive Dutch wireless...

Motorola to offer Bitfone's OTA technology to carriers, RedBend wins LG contract.(News)
July 4, 2005... Byline: MIKE DANO News on the over-the-air front continues to gain steam, as Motorola Inc., LG Electronics Co. Ltd., Huawei Technologies and others announce plans to use or sell the technology. First up, Motorola said it will resell...

I-mode carriers ally for handset procurement.(Global Wireless)
July 4, 2005... Eight wireless carriers that offer i-mode wireless Internet services based on NTT DoCoMo Inc. technology announced joint procurement for i-mode handsets. The carriers initially have procured Korean vendor LG Electronics Co. Ltd.'s L342i...

New Subscribers.(Wireless Metrics)
July 4, 2005... People who answered a recent RCRNews.com poll were bullish on wireless carrier prospects for 2005. More than 75 percent of respondents believe that U.S. carriers will add more subscribers this year, even as the nation's wireless penetration...

Arbitration court sets royalty rates for InterDigital, Nokia.(News)
July 11, 2005... InterDigital Communications Corp. said an arbitral tribunal in its case with Nokia Corp. has established royalty rates applicable to covered Nokia products dating back to Jan. 1, 2002, and continuing through the end of 2006. The Arbitral...

TracFone launches NET10 flat-rate service.(News)
July 11, 2005... Prepaid wireless provider TracFone Wireless Inc. launched its NET10 service offering providing a flat-rate 10-cent-per-minute calling rate for all calls. The service is available with select Nokia Corp. and Motorola Inc. GSM handsets with...

Senate passes CAFTA-DR, close House vote expected.(News)
July 11, 2005... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA Telecom and high-tech lobbyists will have little time to savor Senate passage of the Central America Free Trade Agreement, with the upcoming House vote too close to call. The Senate's 54-45 approval of...

Nextel Partners takes Nextel to court over brand.(News)
July 11, 2005... Byline: DAN MEYER Sprint Corp.'s pending acquisition of Nextel Communications Inc. was thrown another curve last week as Nextel affiliate Nextel Partners Inc. sent a notice to Nextel claiming the deal and recently announced branding...

Text-messaging company expands to Spain, Australia.(Global Wireless)
July 11, 2005... Esendex, which provides business text-messaging solutions, said it launched subsidiaries in Spain and Australia. The company said the launches mark the beginning of its overseas' expansion strategy. The company's Spanish subsidiary,...

Pctel pays $27M for Sigma, access to UMTS market.(News)
July 11, 2005... Pctel Inc. said it has acquired all the shares of Dublin-based Sigma Wireless Technologies Ltd. from Sigma Communications Group Ltd. SWT develops antennas for public-safety applications as well as for the UMTS market. The company will...

Broadcom follows patent complaint with antitrust lawsuit against Qualcomm.(News)
July 11, 2005... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA Broadcom Corp. filed an antitrust lawsuit against Qualcomm Inc., a move closely following Broadcom's patent-infringement complaint against the San Diego-based firm in what appears to signify a strategic move by...

House of Mouse to offer cell service.
July 11, 2005... Byline: DAN MEYER The big mouse is finally loose in the wireless house as the Walt Disney Co. announced plans to launch a family-oriented mobile virtual network operator wireless service using Sprint Corp.'s nationwide network. The...

Alltel must sell some assets to get OK on Western buy.(News)
July 11, 2005... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The Justice Department said Alltel Corp. must divest wireless assets in Arkansas, Kansas and Nebraska in order to win government approval of its proposed $6 billion purchase of Western Wireless Corp. Justice last...

FCC closer to OK'ing Sprint Nextel hookup.(News)
July 11, 2005... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The Federal Communications Commission appears close to approving the proposed $35 billion merger between Sprint Corp. and Nextel Communications Inc., though it remains unclear whether the agency will impose any...

Sprint brings DO to 25 markets.
July 11, 2005... Byline: DAN MEYER Sprint Corp.'s months-long high-speed wireless data tease came to an end last week as the company finally announced the launch of its CDMA2000 1x EV-DO network. The company said the service would be available in business...

U.S. Cellular joins PTT ranks.(News)
July 11, 2005... Byline: DAN MEYER U.S. Cellular Corp. joined the push-to-talk fray with the launch of SpeedTalk, which operates on the carrier's CDMA2000 1x data network available across its 25-state coverage area. The service will compete with similar...

News Briefs.(Briefs)
July 11, 2005... The CDMA Development Group signed a cooperation agreement with the TD-SCDMA Forum to develop joint market opportunities for CDMA2000 and TD-SCDMA technologies and work together on technical, regulatory and marketing activities. The CDG noted...

Fresh with financing, Zensys hones in on 'intelligent home'.(News)
July 11, 2005... Byline: COLIN GIBBS Mesh network technology company Zensys this week plans to announce it raised $16 million in its second round of funding. The financing was led by new investor Bessemer Venture Partners, which was joined by existing...

Distributors driven beyond handsets.(Special Report)
July 11, 2005... Byline: MIKE DANO As the mobile-phone market continues to surpass all forecasts, there are multiple ways those phones end up in the hands of consumers. At the beginning of last year, industry observers expected handset makers to sell...

Valuing potential.(Opinion)
July 11, 2005... Byline: Tracy Ford What value should the government place on the spectrum at 2.5 GHz owned by Sprint Corp. and the company its plans to acquire soon, Nextel Communications Inc.? How should the Federal Communications Commission regulate...

MRA bets on niche content.(News)
July 11, 2005... Byline: COLIN GIBBS With 1.5 billion mobile-phone users worldwide, even a niche wireless market can be massive. At least, that's what C. Neil Farnsworth is hoping. The managing partner of content rights broker Media Rights America...

France Telecom details converged service based on Microsoft partnership.(News)
July 11, 2005... France Telecom plans to offer its customers an integrated interface for voice, data and video communications over multiple networks and applications through its recently announced partnership with Microsoft Corp. The companies said the...

Sprint to offer local weather information.(News)
July 11, 2005... WeatherBug said Sprint PCS will offer its neighborhood-level weather information service to Java-enabled handsets. WeatherBug's service offers custom weather reports including weather conditions, local radar, live camera views and forecast...

T-Mobile USA, Cingular reach MMS interoperability pact; T-Mobile USA restructures pricing for messaging.(News)
July 11, 2005... Byline: COLIN GIBBS Universal multimedia messaging service interoperability among U.S. Tier 1 carriers moved closer to becoming reality with two agreements unveiled last week. T-Mobile USA Inc. users can exchange pictures and video...

Skyhook releases Wi-Fi access tracking system.(News)
July 11, 2005... Byline: KRISTEN BECKMAN Skyhook Wireless, a 2-year-old company based in Boston, announced commercial availability of a wide-area positioning system that makes use of the growing number of Wi-Fi access points being deployed around the...

Croatia, Malaysia to deploy Flarion's Flash-OFDM service, Japan Telecom to test protocol.(Global Wireless)
July 11, 2005... Retel d.o.o. and Arbital Communications Sdn. Bhd. said they will deploy a mobile broadband service in Zagreb, Croatia, using Flarion Technologies Inc.'s Flash-OFDM technology. Flarion's Flash-OFDM technology will provide Croatian...

Connecticut signs law banning handheld phone use when driving.(News)
July 11, 2005... Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell (R) signed into law legislation banning driver use of handheld cell phones, while a similar prohibition went into effect last week in Chicago. Connecticut joins New York, New Jersey and the District of Columbia...

Verizon offers mobile blogging.(News)
July 11, 2005... Verizon Wireless is offering a mobile blogging application to its subscribers. The carrier launched Rabble, a mobile blogging application from Intercasting Corp. designed to allow users to create and distribute homemade content. For a $3...

Entertainment revenue to increase to $73B.(Wireless Metrics)
July 11, 2005... Wireless and broadband Internet will account for a large portion of total spending growth in the global entertainment and media industry, according to PricewaterhouseCooper's "Global Entertainment and Media Outlook: 2005-2009'' report. ...

MVNO market could reach $10B by 2011.(Wireless Metrics)
July 11, 2005... A strong push by mobile virtual network operators during the next several years backed by an emphasis on wireless data services and customized service offerings could boost the segment's total revenues from $2.48 billion in 2004 to $9.35...

Media heavyweights lobby GSMA.(News)
July 11, 2005... Byline: COLIN GIBBS Some of the most powerful media companies around the globe are uniting to lobby the world's largest wireless industry association. Disney, Warner Bros., MTV Networks Europe and Fox parent News Corp. are among the...

Emergency alert tests with cell phones expanded.
July 11, 2005... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The Bush administration has created a new task force on disaster warnings, a move that comes as work begins to expand government-industry emergency alert testing to other cities, and as federal regulators get closer...

GSMA launches next phase of low-cost handset initiative with $30 phone.(Global Wireless)
July 11, 2005... The GSM Association has invited mobile-phone vendors to join in a strategic partnership to supply ultra-low-cost handsets to unconnected citizens in developing markets. "Effective communication is one of the key catalysts for economic...

ICANN, you can't.(Opinion)
July 11, 2005... Byline: Jeffrey Silva The role telecom and information technology can play in fostering democratic and economic reforms in developing nations is becoming more appreciated by developing and industrial nations alike. Wireless...

NextHop gains $10.5M in funding.(News)
July 11, 2005... NextHop Technologies has closed a Series B funding round of $10.5 million, which it plans to use to continue development and marketing of its converged enterprise wired/wireless local area network switching platform. This financing includes all...

RCR Wireless News named an official Show Daily for CTIA trade shows.(News)
July 11, 2005... CTIA has named RCR Wireless News an official Show Daily publication for both the CTIA Wireless I.T. and Entertainment 2005 conference and exhibition Sept. 27-29 in San Francisco and for CTIA Wireless 2006 April 5-7 in Las Vegas. "We are...

XO, other alternate carriers plough new backhaul market.(News)
July 11, 2005... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA XO Communications Inc. and other wireless startups that failed to realize big plans to compete against Bell telephone giants after the 1996 telecom act have retooled business plans to try to exploit a potentially...

Late News.
July 11, 2005... Mobile 365 powers CNN stock alerts Mobile 365, which provides mobile messaging and data services, said it will host and manage a global mobile stock quote short message alert service for CNN. The service, called Global Market Wrap, will be...

Wireless phone 'Revol'-ution begins in Ohio.(News)
July 11, 2005... Byline: BRANDON GLENN You say you want a revolution? Revol, the brand name being used by an Independence, Ohio-based wireless phone company, is targeting customers too young to know who first put that question to music. Cleveland...

Yahoo! expands wireless search capabilities.(News)
July 11, 2005... Byline: COLIN GIBBS Yahoo! continued to expand its portfolio of mobile search offerings last week, launching a text message-based service and extending the reach of its mobile Web search tool. Yahoo! SMS, which is similar to an...

UTStarcom downgraded despite Chinese contract.(News)
July 11, 2005... UTStarcom Inc. said it has signed a $67 million deal with China Netcom Group to expand the carrier's existing IP-based network in Inner Mongolia, metropolitan Beijing and the provinces of Heilongjiang, Liaoning, and Shandong. Shares of the...

Stock Watch: June 30 - July 7.(Wireless Metrics)
July 11, 2005... table: Stock Watch: June 30 - July 7 * 3 graphics: Market Diary * Indices * RCR Index: see print copy.

Fast Fact.(Wireless Metrics)
July 11, 2005... Siemens was the tenth-largest recipient of patents in the United States last year with 1,477 patents granted, making it one of the highest ranking diversified companies on the list, according to The Intellectual Property Owners Association....

Mobile content to become $9B industry in next year.(Wireless Metrics)
July 18, 2005... Mobile content will explode into a $9 billion industry in the next 12 months, according to a recent study by LogicaCMG. The survey of 6,000 users in four global markets indicated the percentage of wireless phone owners who download content...

Wireless service remains down in 2 NYC tunnels amid order questions.(News)
July 18, 2005... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA Decisions by two traffic agencies to shut down mobile-phone service in four heavily traveled New York City tunnels shortly after the London bombings earlier this month have led to questions about who exactly gave the...

Parental control.(Opinion)
July 18, 2005... Byline: Tracy Ford As wireless consumers begin to wholeheartedly embrace data applications, be they ringtones, wallpapers, video apps or games, industry needs to step up its plans to implement parental controls to ensure that end users...

Cingular readies LG phone with MP3 player.(News)
July 18, 2005... Byline: MIKE DANO Cingular Wireless L.L.C. appears to be prepping a new phone from LG Electronics Co. Ltd. that features an MP3 player, according to documents filed with the Federal Communications Commission. The move is notable as music...

WiMAX certification moves forward.(News)
July 18, 2005... Byline: JONI MORSE WiMAX technology plugged along toward its goal of a standard protocol, announcing demonstrations in Canada and the start of the certification process in Spain. Application demos for Xbox wireless console gaming over...

PC cards hit stride as network speeds rise.(News)
July 18, 2005... Byline: MIKE DANO As third-generation technology and wireless broadband hit the U.S. marketplace, PC card vendors finally may hit their stride. Verizon Wireless is in the process of expanding its CDMA EV-DO network throughout its...

VoIP hits 911 roadblock-incumbent LECs.(Focus)
July 18, 2005... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER Even as Voice over Internet Protocol providers race to meet the Federal Communications Commission's deadline to offer enhanced 911 service, many of them are running into the same roadblock that stymied...

RCR hires reporter Morse.(News)
July 18, 2005... RCR Wireless News is pleased to announce it has hired Joni Morse as a reporter covering the wireless infrastructure beat, including the tower industry. Morse comes to the publication with more than 10 years experience in communications and...

Declining profits despite higher sales at Samsung, Sony Ericsson.
July 18, 2005... Byline: COLIN GIBBS Second-quarter earnings dropped despite increases in the number of handsets sold, two of the largest phone-makers reported Friday. Samsung Electronics Co., the No. 3 cell-phone manufacturer, said sales fell 9...