RCR Wireless News articles from June 2002

RCR Wireless News archives from June 2002

NTCA urges Hollings to address rural areas in spectrum bill. (Late news).
June 3, 2002... The National Telecommunications Cooperative Association urged Sen. Ernest Hollings (D-S.C.), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, to include the Rural Electromagnetic Spectrum Act in spectrum management legislation he is drafting. ...

Cancer case hinges on Hardell testimony.
June 3, 2002... WASHINGTON--In the three months since the unprecedented hearing in an $800 million cell-phone cancer lawsuit and with a decision nearing on whether the Baltimore case goes to trial, plaintiff and defense lawyers have been battling behind the...

Feuding again: NextWave, FCC dispute buildout obligations.
June 3, 2002... WASHINGTON--Bankrupt PCS licensee NextWave Telecom Inc. is fighting (again) with the FCC's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau. This time regarding whether it has sufficiently met the Federal Communications Commission's buildout requirements....

BREW embraces Java, enhances distribution system.
June 3, 2002... A year-and-a-half after launching its platform for wireless data applications, Qualcomm Inc. has a fair amount to show for it. Sixteen carriers worldwide, including Verizon Wireless Inc., Leap Wireless, U.S. Cellular and Alltel Corp. have...

Western Wireless bids $9.4 million for rural license.
June 3, 2002... WASHINGTON--Affiliates of two major wireless players, Cingular Wireless L.L.C. and Western Wireless Corp., were leading the bidding Friday to win three rural cellular licenses the Federal Communications Commission began auctioning last week....

4G research begins, but services a decade away. (News).
June 3, 2002... SAN FRANCISCO--Under the eternal fog and chill of the Bay Area, wireless players began talking up 3.5 and fourth generation technologies, even as 3G still tries to find its way in the market. At the third, modestly attended World Wireless...

In-building wireless systems gain ground. (News).
June 3, 2002... While it is not surprising to most mobile-phone users when their call is dropped while driving along a rural stretch of road or relaxing in the ski lodge in some mountain town, it is shocking when the same thing happens while trying to place,...

WorldCom may hang up on resale business. (News).
June 3, 2002... Desperate to make a dent in its $30 billion debt load, WorldCom Inc. will reportedly stop reselling wireless phones and service in the coming weeks. WorldCom is the country's largest wireless reseller, with approximately 1.7 million...

T-Mobile sale likely within a year to ease DT debt burden. (News).
June 3, 2002... DUBLIN, Ireland--The latest shareholder criticism of the performance of its parent company Deutsche Telekom has made it more likely that T-Mobile will be sold within the next 12 months to help reduce debts running to tens of billions of Euro,...

Bridge collapse disrupts networks. (News).
June 3, 2002... Wireless carriers' reliance on wireline connections was highlighted over the Memorial Day weekend when a section of Interstate-40 running across the Arkansas River in eastern Oklahoma collapsed, severing fiber-optic cables running under the...

Palm stock drops as do 4Q revenue expectations. (News).
June 3, 2002... SANTA CLARA, Calif.--Just after the close of trading on Wall Street, Palm Inc. dropped its revenue expectations for the quarter by about $70 million and said it would not turn a profit as it had expected. The company's stock fell more than 20...

Sweden awards fourth GSM license to Swefour. (News).
June 3, 2002... STOCKHOLM, Sweden--Swefour AB was awarded the fourth GSM license in Sweden by the Swedish National Post and Telecom Agency. Swefour plans to set up a network and offer capacity to companies and operators that lack their own mobile networks....

Wireless advertising needs to improve ratings to gain share.
June 3, 2002... NEW YORK--Mobile advertising in the United States thus far has struggled to overcome varied obstacles, including lack of uniformity among devices and networks, consumer resistance to spam, ad agency reluctance to experiment and carrier concerns...

On-network calling plans satisfy carriers, customers: impact on rural partners less certain. (News).
June 3, 2002... When AT&T Wireless Services Inc. first introduced its Digital One Rate national calling plans, the carrier relied heavily on roaming agreements with rural providers to supply the national coverage the plans promised since its own network...

Rogers, InfoSpace partner on SMS service in two languages. (News).
June 3, 2002... TORONTO--Canadian operator Rogers AT&T Wireless reported an agreement with InfoSpace Inc. to launch an English and French-language SMS service dubbed EasyInfo on the carrier's TDMA and GSM/GPRS network. The service allows customers to push...

Down with EBITDA. (Opinion).
June 3, 2002... Journalists love change. It gives them something to write about. No matter whether the change is positive or negative, whether there is an unprecedented success to report or an unqualified disaster, the resulting instability creates unlimited...

Oh Big Brother, where art thou? (Opinion).
June 3, 2002... Oh Big Brother, where art thou? Where? Everywhere and nowhere. Everywhere because of expanding technological capability and nowhere because of bureaucratic ineptness. Armed with improved wiretap authority after Sept. 11 as well as...

Capitalism begins to work in China telecom market. (Opinion).
June 3, 2002... China is emerging as a legitimate economic challenger to other nations, such as Japan and the United States. Remarkably, China is moving head long into the high-technology sector without the normal process of moving into the traditional AsiaPac...

Wireless mandates may get tougher. (News).
June 3, 2002... WASHINGTON--As new security laws are written and old ones enforced and expanded in the post-Sept. 11 world, the wireless industry and other high-tech sectors face the prospect of mission creep and the expensive baggage that could come with it....

OSHA fines Okla. construction firm in tower deaths. (News).
June 3, 2002... WASHINGTON--The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has fined an Oklahoma construction firm $14,100 in connection with the deaths of three men who fell from an Alltel Corp. cell-phone tower in Arkansas earlier this year. David...

Study predicts phone replacement rate to increase slightly. (News).
June 3, 2002... WHEATON, Md.--The Shosteck Group believes the replacement rate for handsets will increase from its low point this year, but will remain below peak levels experienced in 1999 and 2000. According to the firm's hew study, "The Adoption of...

Motorola, looking for partner, to unveil switching platform. (Focus: Switches).
June 3, 2002... For a market that industry sources estimate at $40 billion, it is sometimes strange that one of the first-rate wireless equipment makers should thrive without switches. It seems that Schaumburg, Ill.-based Motorola Inc. has begun to bleed...

Cingular enjoys star status amid merger rumors. (Carrier Profile: Cingular Wireless).
June 3, 2002... Editor's Note: In a new series, RCR Wireless News takes an in-depth look at nationwide wireless players, including their challenges and strengths in an ever-changing wireless environment. In this second installment, RCR Wireless News reporter...

Good goes on offensive with RIM patent challenge. (News).
June 3, 2002... Wireless startup Good Technology Inc. fired a pre-emptive legal strike, against rival Research In Motion Ltd., asking a federal court to rule on whether Good's wireless e-mail product infringes on RIM's single mailbox patent. "Research In...

U.S. WRC advisors yet to tackle WLAN spectrum allocation. (News).
June 3, 2002... WASHINGTON--Industry input into preparing for the World Radio Conference 2003 in Caracas, Venezuela, is wrapping up with the allocation of wireless local area networks in the 5 GHz band, one of the few remaining issues. An industry group...

CTIA asks OMB to reduce reg burdens. (News).
June 3, 2002... WASHINGTON--As part of its push to get rid of regulations, the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association late last month told the Office of Management and Budget of its efforts at the Federal Communications Commission to have the...

Abernathy calls for less focus on regulation. (News).
June 3, 2002... WASHINGTON--FCC Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy said on Thursday that the Federal Communications Commission should focus less on regulating a competitive telecom industry and more on dispute resolution and enforcing existing rules. "The...

DT plans job cuts to reduce debt. (News).
June 3, 2002... FRANKFURT, Germany--Deutsche Telekom's chief executive, Ron Sommer, told investors at the company's annual meeting that the telecommunications giant plans to cut 22,000 jobs, or about 9 percent of its work force, by the end of 2004 in an...

It's buyer's market in wireless data space: Openwave, extended make purchases. (Business).
June 3, 2002... Openwave Systems Inc. and Extended Systems pruned the wireless data industry by three consolidation moves that some feel have been conspicuous only in their absence. "It's something that I've been expecting for a long time," said Jeff...

Precursor report rates solvent, insolvent, and bankrupt. (Business).
June 3, 2002... Telecom is not even close to bottoming. At least that is the conclusion of Scott Cleland, analyst with the Precursor Group in Washington, D.C. In his report, "The 'Insolvency Zone:' The Bankrupting of the U.S. Telecom Sector," Cleland...

Geoworks revenue drops, bankruptcy future possibility. (Business).
June 3, 2002... EMERYVILLE, Calif.--Geoworks Corp. announced dismal fourth-quarter results, showing a 39-percent drop in revenue compared with the previous quarter due to the company's new business focus, and Geoworks also hinted at a possible bankruptcy...

Toshiba ups stake in Audiovox. (Business).
June 3, 2002... Toshiba Corp. increased its stake in Audiovox Corp.'s wireless subsidiary, Audiovox Communications Corp., by 20 percent, giving Audiovox the option to sell Toshiba products on an exclusive basis in North and South America, as well as brand...

VanderMeulen to join Aether board, Wheeler to step down. (Business).
June 3, 2002... OWINGS Mills, Md.--Aether Systems Inc. said Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association President Thomas Wheeler and two other board members are stepping down from the financially struggling wireless data firm and being replaced. In...

Arch emerges from bankruptcy. (Business).
June 3, 2002... WESTBOROUGH, Mass.--Paging and messaging carrier Arch Wireless Inc. announced it formally emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and that its stock will begin trading under the new AWIN symbol. "Numerous operating efficiencies implemented...

Latin American markets continue operating as NII declares bankruptcy. (Business).
June 3, 2002... Nextel Communications Inc.'s international operator, NII Holdings Inc., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection late May 24 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. The company, formerly known as Nextel International Inc., reported...

Wireless carriers begin to look at selling bad customer debt. (Business).
June 3, 2002... NEW YORK--With hundreds of millions, if not billions, in money owed by deadbeat customers, wireless carriers have this year begun to express interest in selling these receivables, a practice that is a mainstay of the way credit card and car...

Carriers lose $7B on revenue leaks, Kabira estimates. (Business).
June 3, 2002... NEW YORK--After being "besieged by systems integrators and switch vendors for information in this area," Kabira Technologies Inc. recently conducted a study based on several years of "interaction mediation" information and concluded American...

Handango creates online store to sell mobile games. (Business).
June 3, 2002... Mobile and wireless software seller Handango today announced it will create a new online store to sell mobile games, including multiplayer games, a move company executives said is in response to massive customer demand for gaming products. ...

Motient boasts Fox deployment. (Business).
June 3, 2002... RESTON, Va.--Wireless data carrier Motient Corp., proving that it's still a viable company after recently emerging from a Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring, said Fox Filmed Entertainment deployed Research In Motion Ltd. BlackBerry devices...

Wireless StockWatch.
June 3, 2002... Wireless StockWatch May 22-May 29 CLOSING CLOSING PERCENT EXCH COMPANY 5/29/02 5/22/02 CHANGE GAINS NAS Agere Systems A ...

Western Union finds niche in replenishing prepay accounts. (Business).
June 3, 2002... Wireless technology continues to spill over into every facet of modern life, as evidenced by Western Union's SwiftPay service, a solution the company says makes prepaid wireless services more convenient. With SwiftPay, prepaid wireless...

SBC to begin offering Cingular service options. (Business).
June 3, 2002... SAN ANTONIO--SBC Communications Inc. said it will begin offering stand-alone Cingular Wireless options and discounted service packages as part of its communications and entertainment service portfolio. The Cingular service options will...

Argentina's financial woes impact investments in the region. (Global Wireless).
June 3, 2002... BUENOS AIRES, Argentina--As the economic crisis in Argentina continues, the impact is being felt throughout South America's mobile industry. "The situation in Argentina has dramatically affected the mobile penetration in the country," said...

Brazil sees major SMS traffic increase. (Global Wireless).
June 3, 2002... SAO PAULO, Brazil--TIM Maxitel, which operates cellular telephony in the Brazilian areas of Bahia, Minas Gerais and Sergipe, announced a 40-percent increase in monthly short message service traffic among its subscribers. Alberto Ceccarelli,...

Buyers line up for Italy's Blu. (Global Wireless).
June 3, 2002... STOCKHOLM, Sweden--Several groups are lining up to bid for Italian company Blu, the country's smallest mobile operator. Sweden's Tele2 AB partnered with Star Capital Partners and has made an offer to purchase Blu. The company said it will...

DoCoMo launches photo service. (Global Wireless).
June 3, 2002... TOKYO--NTT DoCoMo Inc. said it is launching on June 1 its i-shot service, which allows users to transmit still images taken with mova SH251i mobile phones with built-in digital cameras. The photos can be edited prior to sending, and users...

Five bidders for licenses in Malaysia. (Global Wireless).
June 3, 2002... KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia--Incumbent operator DiGi.com decided against bidding for a third-generation license in Malaysia, but five groups did submit bids for one of the country's three licenses on offer. The country's other four mobile...

Nokia Corp. (Products).
June 3, 2002... Nokia Corp. has announced a new access point known as the Nokia A036, compliant with the IEEE 802.111 technology for public hot spots like airports, hotels, convention centers and corporate premises. "We interviewed the staff of airports,...

Genesis Electronics Inc. (Products).
June 3, 2002... Genesis Electronics Inc. released SunBlazer, a solar charging holster for cellular phones and PDAs. SunBlazer provides constant power through solar charging and its own storage battery and acts as a holster users can wear on a belt to keep the...

Murata Electronics North America. (Products).
June 3, 2002... Murata Electronics North America introduced an integrated dual-channel active filter device for 5 GHz 802.11a WLAN baseband filtering. According to Murata, the solution increases available board space and expands WLAN functionality by ensuring...

Meca. (Products).
June 3, 2002... Meca recently released compact, 100-watt, Wilkinson power combiner/dividers designed for systems applications that use multiple high-power transmitter or antenna feeds. The company said applications will benefit from high isolation, low VSWR...

Wavehop Inc. (Products).
June 3, 2002... Canada's Wavehop Inc. recently introduced the Wavehop Wireless Network to the U.S. market. The Wavehop network uses PDA technology to allow an organization's mobile users to instantly access corporate databases, applications and e-mail systems...

Voyant tries to redefine conference calling. (Products).
June 3, 2002... Voyant Technologies is redefining the conference call with its new Mobile Meeting wireless conferencing product, a solution it hopes will serve not only the enterprise market but eventually the consumer market as well. Based on its current...

Solid Information Technology Corp. (Products).
June 3, 2002... Solid Information Technology Corp. released the third generation of its Solid FlowEngine, which the company said includes a fault-tolerant data management model that can be used on wired and wireless networks. The company said the new version...

Fujitsu PC Corp. (Products).
June 3, 2002... Fujitsu PC Corp. said it has unveiled the latest of its LifeBook S Series notebook with new features for mobile professionals, describing it as thin and light. "Fujitsu's LifeBook S Series was the first ultraportable notebook to include a...

PMC-Sierra. (Products).
June 3, 2002... PMC-Sierra launched its PM7819 Paladin Waveshaper, a high-density waveform processor. According to PMC-Sierra, the new processor performs digital multi-carrier combining, including complex signal aggregation, digital up-conversion, baseband...

AvantGo Inc. (Products).
June 3, 2002... Wireless enterprise software provider AvantGo Inc. released the newest version of its popular M-Business Server, which the company said includes support for Microsoft Corp.'s .NET Web services program. AvantGo's new version 5.0 Application...

Qualcomm Inc. (Products).
June 3, 2002... Qualcomm Inc. announced the availability of its three new security enhancements for the OmniTRACS mobile communications system: Driver Authentication, Wireless Panic button and Tamper Detection. Qualcomm said tank truck company Superior...

Sharp Electronics Corp. (Products).
June 3, 2002... Sharp Electronics Corp. announced it is launching a trial version of a consumer-focused wireless data service for its new Zaurus personal digital assistant. Sharp's Mobile Services, which the company developed with Aether Systems Inc., will...

K&L Microwave Inc. (Products).
June 3, 2002... K&L Microwave Inc. introduced several new products. The WSD-00216 is a high Q, low insertion loss cavity duplexer designed for China Unicom's CDMA IS-95 and cdma2000 1x market; the WSN-00099 is an SMR notch filter that provides low loss for...

Spatial Wireless. (People).
June 3, 2002... Spatial Wireless named Kjell Andersson president and chief executive officer. Andersson joins Spatial Wireless from Omnipoint Corp. He also has 16 years of experience with Ericsson, where he served as executive vice president and general...

CSI Wireless. (People).
June 3, 2002... Colin Maclellan has joined CSI Wireless as senior vice president and general manager of the wireless business unit. Maclellan will be responsible for the unit and will serve as a member of the CSI Wireless Executive Management Committee....

ADC. (People).
June 3, 2002... ADC announced Philip Styrlund has been named vice president of global channel sales. Styrlund has been with ADC since 1996 as a regional vice president of sales and before that spent 17 years with US West Inc. ADC also named Jeff Liter vice...

Bluetooth SIG. (People).
June 3, 2002... The Bluetooth Special Interest Group Inc. named Mike McCamon to its newly created executive director position, where he will focus on building stronger relationships between the group's members and the trade association. Prior to joining SIG,...

CH2M Hill Communications Group. (People).
June 3, 2002... Jeff Akers has been named president of CH2M Hill Communications Group. Akers, who has more than 20 years of telecom industry experience, most recently served as president of technical support services for Lucent Technologies Inc.

GoAmerica Inc. (People).
June 3, 2002... Wireless enterprise company GoAmerica Inc. announced Dan Luis will serve as its president and chief operating officer. Joe Korb, the company's co-founder, will assume the role of executive vice chairman of strategy and strategic relationships....

Schema. (People).
June 3, 2002... Schema announced Roni Abiri has been made chief technology officer and Andrew Burroughs has been named chief marketing officer. Abiri, who has more than 20 years of telecom industry experience, joins from Pelephone, Israel's first cellular...

Telephia Inc. (People).
June 3, 2002... Telephia Inc. announced Michael Schmidt has been made chief financial officer. Schmidt, who most recently served as CFO of Autoweb, has 17 years of global financial and operational experience.

ART, Kirusa. (People).
June 3, 2002... Advanced Recognition Technologies Inc. announced Lawrence Rabiner has been appointed to its advisory board. Rabiner was the first director of AT&T's Speech and Image Processing Services Research Lab and later served as its vice president of...

EMS Technologies Inc. (People).
June 3, 2002... EMS Technologies Inc. announced John Frazee, formerly with Sprint Corp. and Paging Networks Inc., has been made a member of EMS' board of directors.

Proxim Inc. (People).
June 3, 2002... Proxim Corp., created from the merger of Proxim Inc. and Western Multiplex Corp., announced Kevin Duffy has been made general manager of the company's newly formed broadband services division. Duffy most recently served as vice president of...

Verizon Wireless Inc. (People).
June 3, 2002... Verizon Wireless announced Andrew Halford has been made vice president and chief financial officer. Halford joins from Vodafone Group plc, where he was financial director for the company's Northern Europe, Middle East and Africa regions. At...

Palm Inc. (People).
June 3, 2002... Palm Inc. announced Todd Bradley was named president of the company's hardware division. He will retain his role as the group's chief operating officer. "We're building the management bench strength we need to support the eventual external...

LGC Wireless. (People).
June 3, 2002... LGC Wireless announced Ian Sugarbroad has been named president and chief executive officer. "I'm confident about my ability to steer this company through one of the biggest economic slowdowns in recent history," said Sugarbroad of his new...

Skywire Technology. (People).
June 3, 2002... Skywire Technology L.L.C. appointed Robert Stangl vice president of sales. Stangl joins the company from EDS, where he served as director of information solutions. He has more than 20 years of financial institution, consulting and software...

US Unwired. (People).
June 3, 2002... US Unwired announced several promotions: Penny Partin to customer care manager; Rachelle crochet Jones to customer relations outbound manager; Carmen Pack-wood to senior manager of call center operations; Courtney Blanchard to manager of...

Visto Corp. (People).
June 3, 2002... Visto Corp. announced the appointment of Dana Cambra as vice president of engineering and Lee Llevano as senior vice president of sales and business development. Cambra, with more than 19 years of engineering and operations experience, joins...

Cerylion Inc. (People).
June 3, 2002... Cerylion Inc. said its cofounder Ilan Rozenbiat has been made chief executive officer. Rozenblat previously served as the company's president and chief technology officer.

Amdocs Management Ltd. (People).
June 3, 2002... Don Baharav has been chosen to serve as president and chief executive officer of Amdocs Management Ltd., effective Oct. 1. Baharav, 51, succeeds Avi Naor, who will become vice chairman.

Verizon enhances network quality in Midwest markets. (News).
June 3, 2002... BEDMINSTER, N.J.-Verizon Wireless Inc. said it installed a number of new cell sites to enhance network quality in parts of Illinois, Indiana and Iowa. The Illinois upgrades involved the installation of two cell sites in Mattoon and...

Ericsson in talks with Infineon for chip unit. (Late News).
June 10, 2002... Telecom gear maker L.M. Ericsson has confirmed that it is in talks with German chipmaker Infineon over a possible sale of or partnership with Ericsson's microelectronics unit. Ericsson's microelectronics unit, which the Swedish company has...

Wireless data industry sees consolidation. (Late News).
June 10, 2002... Consolidation moves across the wireless data industry continue to hit in waves, this time with three companies announcing sales or mergers. O2wireless Solutions Inc., which offers outsourced telecommunications services, announced it will...

UWB may interfere with airline gear.
June 10, 2002... WASHINGTON-While House telecom lawmakers pounded away at policy-makers last week for making ultra-wideband technology rules too strict and harming U.S. firms, federal regulators were briefed on new government testing showing UWB interference to...

Wingcast demise could aid telematics: fewer developers may streamline standard.
June 10, 2002... When Wingcast L.L.C. abruptly ceased operations last week, the effects could be felt far beyond the telematics industry. The Ford Motor Co. and Qualcomm Inc. joint venture forged partnerships with no less than eight other companies in its...