RCR Wireless News articles from June 2006

RCR Wireless News archives from June 2006

Infrastructure Awards.(Wireless Metrics)
June 5, 2006... Following are infrastructure contracts announced in May: Alcatel Angola With Unitel to provide equipment for a GSM expansion project, including its Evolium multistandard radio access solution. Value: $53 million Russia With...

The Q Factor.(Wireless Metrics)
June 5, 2006... RCRNews.com readers think a few things, including the BlackBerry PDA, are even cooler than David Hasseloff, according to a recent electronic poll. Indeed, most of the people who answered the poll weren't convinced that Motorola's Q phone...

Motorola acquires UK software vendor TTPCom for $192M.(News)
June 5, 2006... Motorola Inc. said it will shell out $192 million to acquire TTP Communications plc, a U.K.-based mobile software developer and chipmaker. TTPCom is a 575-employee holding company with substantial stakes in a handset certification...

A tale of two cities...Chicago taking proposals for Wi-Fi network.(News)
June 5, 2006... Byline: JONI MORSE, LORENE YUE Chicago's Mayor Richard M. Daley announced that the city will begin taking requests for proposals in turning Chicago into a wireless community. The mayor is seeking submissions from private-sector firms...

5 GHz Wi-Fi up in the air; Testing procedures challenged, industry urges haste.(News)
June 5, 2006... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA A coalition of top wireless and high-tech manufacturers urged the Federal Communications Commission to reject a California testing lab's call to revise compliance measurement guidelines for new 5 GHz wireless Internet...

Film & TV alliance offers guidelines for wireless distribution.(News)
June 5, 2006... The Independent Film & Television Alliance released a revised wireless guide in advance of the 2006 Cannes Film Festival to keep its membership educated about evolving digital rights management issues. The group said the guide provides...

Yuvee intros new keypad for mobile phones.(News)
June 5, 2006... Yuvee Inc. introduced a new cell-phone keypad interface called NeoKeys that it says simplifies commands and text and number entry and eliminates use of the upper screen for navigation. The keypad eliminates hard labeling on the keys and...

ADC adds to wireless suite with Andrew acquisition.
June 5, 2006... Byline: JONI MORSE In a move designed to give the wireline equipment leader a boost in its wireless sales, ADC Telecommunications Inc. said it would pay $2 billion in stock to acquire Andrew Corp. Indeed, a combined Andrew and ADC...

Eve of liberalization.(Opinion)
June 5, 2006... Byline: Jeffrey Silva The United States last week struck a historic trade deal with Vietnam, the communist nation and one-time foe whose name pops up a lot these days as we find ourselves bogged down militarily in another overseas hot...

Pundits offer network neutrality compromises.(News)
June 5, 2006... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER With a small improvement in equipment, unlicensed wireless spectrum could solve the network-neutrality debate by providing proponents with enough bandwidth to compete with cable and digital subscriber lines,...

Global Tower goes West with Chinook, Crown Castle refinances.(News)
June 5, 2006... Byline: JONI MORSE Global Tower Partners expanded its footprint in the Western United States with an agreement to buy 78 towers from Chinook Wireless Communications, a carrier holding 1900 MHz licenses in eight basic trading areas covering...

Phone suppliers OK without 3G sales in India, China.(News)
June 5, 2006... Byline: PHIL CARSON The news that India's government plans to delay the launch of 3G services in that country is probably grabbing attention in the executive suites of the world's most ambitious handset vendors; India's market potential is...

A tale of two cities...EarthLink to respond to privacy concerns for San Fran network.(News)
June 5, 2006... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER EarthLink Inc. is set this week to respond to privacy concerns raised about its bid with Google Inc. to build a municipal Wi-Fi system in San Francisco. The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern...

Worst of the Week: El Cheapo Bandito.(Opinion)
June 5, 2006... Byline: Mike Dano As RCR's online editor, I am starting a weekly column at RCRNews.com. It's called Worst of the Week. There's a lot of nutty stuff that goes on in this industry, so this column is a chance for us to rant about whatever...

Qwest offers 411 text messaging option.(News)
June 5, 2006... Qwest Communications International Inc. wireless customers seeking directory assistance no longer have to rely on memory or a quick scribble to recall the number that they're looking for. The regional telecommunications provider has begun...

800 MHz TA chastises equipment makers for failing to ease transition.(News)
June 5, 2006... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER The 800 MHz Transition Administrator warned that vendors supplying equipment for companies moving off the 800 MHz band need to proactively prepare for their clients' needs as the reconfiguration process goes...

I-mate touts Smartflip, Windows Mobile-based Razr competitor.(News)
June 5, 2006... Phone junkies have been speculating for months about i-mate's forthcoming slim Smartflip handset ever since photos of the device were posted on the Internet earlier this year. Now the company has offered a more concrete glimpse of the...

Boost sells at Fred Meyer stores.(News)
June 5, 2006... Boost Mobile L.L.C., a subsidiary of Sprint Nextel Corp., said its prepaid wireless phones and service will be available at Fred Meyer stores. The company's products are already available at Target, Wal-Mart and Best Buy locations. ...

California evaluates driver-distraction law.(News)
June 5, 2006... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The nation's most populous state is a step closer to banning drivers from operating handheld cell phones while behind the wheel. The bill, approved 21-14 by the California Senate and sponsored by Sen. Joe Simitian...

U.S. Cellular, TDS announce further filing delays.(News)
June 5, 2006... U.S. Cellular Corp. and its parent company, Telephone and Data Systems Inc., have further delayed their year-end regulatory filings, as well as filings for the first quarter of 2006. TDS and U.S. Cellular said that the delay was due to a...

Mobile ESPN joins Sprint Nextel retail locations ahead of schedule.(News)
June 5, 2006... Sprint Nextel Corp. will sell Mobile ESPN L.L.C. service in hundreds of its retail stores, a move that adds weight to the sports-focused MVNO's distribution network. Sprint Nextel originally committed to provide Mobile ESPN space in at...

Bundling advantages unclear.(News)
June 5, 2006... Byline: KELLY HILL Across the telecommunications industry, companies are taking baby steps toward the quadruple-play bundle of voice, video, high-speed Internet and wireless services. Typically, luring customers to adopt those bundles can...

Lost? Forget the map, say Motorola, Rand McNally.(News)
June 5, 2006... Rand McNally and Motorola Inc. are teaming up in an effort to get drivers to rely on their cell phones for navigation instead of in-car GPS systems or those old-fashioned, hard-to-fold road maps. The two companies said that they will work...

Enterprise, M2M focus hold MVNO opportunities.
June 5, 2006... Byline: KELLY HILL Consumer-side mobile virtual network operators that still want to get in on the game could be out of luck, but there are opportunities ahead on the business side and in serving the machine-to-machine space. John...

Amp'd skips contract on prepaid service.(News)
June 5, 2006... Byline: KELLY HILL Amp'd Mobile Inc. has rounded out its service offering with a prepaid play that began selling last week, touting its new pay-as-you-go service as "the first and only pay-as-you-go 3G wireless phone service.'' Amp'd...

FCC keeps AWS auction rules intact; Rules won't apply to previous DEs.
June 5, 2006... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The Federal Communications Commission ruled late Friday to limit controversial small-business bidding changes to the advanced wireless services auction and future license sales, mollifying critics of retroactive...

Short codes add one to boost numbers.(News)
June 5, 2006... Byline: COLIN GIBBS Wireless industry trade association CTIA is hoping to spur direct-to-consumer revenues by expanding the industry's short-code program. The industry group, along with short-code administrator NeuStar Inc., announced...

Zingy going direct to consumer in tightening content market.(News)
June 5, 2006... Byline: COLIN GIBBS Zingy is hoping to find some stability in the direct-to-consumer market. The New York-based mobile content provider launched an Internet storefront targeting 13- to 21-year-olds with both a la carte and...

Content companies hedge bets on hometown news.(News)
June 5, 2006... Byline: COLIN GIBBS While big-name media conglomerates scramble to find ways to leverage the "third screen,'' a handful of wireless companies are slowly gaining traction by offering content from hometown TV newscasts. Local Network...

Qualcomm reaffirms royalty obligations for Samsung, LG.(News)
June 5, 2006... Qualcomm Inc. refuted claims made in a Korean newspaper that certain Korean manufacturers' royalty obligations will expire in 2006 for sales within Korea and in 2008 for sales outside Korea. Qualcomm said The Korea Times apparently is...

DHS report questions RFID privacy risks.(News)
June 5, 2006... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA A leading industry group blasted a Department of Homeland Security draft report that highlighted potential privacy problems with radio frequency identification technology and downplayed the value of the wireless...

Developer lovefest reflects commitments to a life of BREW.(News)
June 5, 2006... Byline: PHIL CARSON It's all about the money. And why not? That's a healthy reason for hundreds of people to fly into San Diego and cloister themselves inside a luxury hotel, as the nearby sea beckoned. When Paul Jacobs, Qualcomm...

Correction.
June 5, 2006... An incorrect picture appeared on page 9 of the May 29 issue of RCR Wireless News. Telephone and Data Systems Inc. President and Chief Executive Officer Leroy Carlson Jr. should have been pictured.

Revol service expands with content offerings.(Late News)
June 5, 2006... Regional operator Revol Wireless has introduced a new suite of data applications to its users that includes ringtones, games, 411 directory assistance and Web browsing. Privately held Revol offers service in five Ohio cities and...

PAPERWORK DREAD AHEAD.
June 5, 2006... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER Even as wireless carriers won the right to stop collecting a 3-percent federal excise tax, they may be caught in the middle of a paperwork nightmare as customers try to collect government refunds. ...

ATG auction ends, AirCell affiliate, JetBlue's LiveTV pay $38.3M for licenses.(News)
June 5, 2006... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER It took nearly a month but the Federal Communications Commission's auction of 800 MHz spectrum is over after 144 rounds. Winning bids totaled $38.3 million for the two licenses to offer air-to-ground...

Nextlink gets new CEO.(News)
June 5, 2006... Broadband wireless provider Nextlink Wireless said Robert Beran is the company's new chief executive officer. As part of the post, Beran also becomes a senior vice president at Nextlink's parent company, XO Holdings Inc. Beran is a 20-year...

Vendors hoping for India play need to dig in for long haul; Gov't. delays 3G license awards.(News)
June 5, 2006... Byline: JONI MORSE India's government is reportedly working overtime to get much-needed spectrum into the hands of GSM-based operators by the end of the year so they can deploy third-generation services. But until it does, it's not...

14 years ago this month...(Wireless Metrics)
June 5, 2006... American Telezone announced a plan to offer a $200 PCS phone called Crime Call that would call only 911.

FCC mulls option to increase amount wireless pays to USF.(News)
June 5, 2006... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER The Federal Communications Commission got a new member last week and immediately began considering whether it should increase the amount wireless carriers pay into the universal-service fund. FCC...

Cingular opens door to Pantech handsets.(News)
June 5, 2006... Byline: PHIL CARSON Cingular Wireless L.L.C. will offer the Pantech Group's "Slim Series'' of phones, beginning with the tiny C300 for its prepaid GoPhone customers, giving the South Korean handset maker another prominent place in the...

Nokia wins $1.4M against Florida counterfeiter.(News)
June 5, 2006... A U.S. district judge has found Suplimet Corp., a Florida-based supplier of mobile-phone accessories, in contempt of a prior injunction that prevented the firm from trafficking in counterfeit Nokia Corp. products. In the civil proceeding, U.S....

Nokia payment to skew results at InterDigital.(News)
June 5, 2006... InterDigital Communications Corp. gave second-quarter financial guidance anticipating revenue of $291million to $293 million, without forecasting net profit. The company's revenue forecast includes a massive payment of $228 million from...

Cingular Wireless last Tier 1 to sell ringbacks.(News)
June 5, 2006... Cingular Wireless L.L.C. finally joined the ringback-tone bandwagon, launching ringback music and voice clips from Warner Music Group artists. The carrier unveiled a catalog of 20-second ringback tones that can be used in place of the...

PacificNet to distribute Motorola in 40 Chinese cities.(News)
June 5, 2006... Motorola Inc. said it tapped PacificNet iMobile to power its online storefront for wireless users in China. PacificNet will operate the site, dubbed MotoShop, and will provide distribution and logistics support, delivering goods...

Third Tier Carriers.(News)
June 5, 2006... Editor's Note: The companies listed below represent the largest third-tier wireless operators based on the number of potential customers covered by launched networks. License information was provided by the RCR Wireless News' Wireless Carrier...

Correction.(Correction notice)
June 12, 2006... A quote attributed to Federal communications Commission member Michael Copps in the June 5 story "FCC keeps AWS auction rules intact" should have been attributed to Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein.

Mobile marketing coming of age?(News)
June 12, 2006... Byline: TRACY FORD Advertisers will have to devote a line item in their budget toward mobile marketing by 2007, an expense that could reach into the millions of dollars for some companies. How the mobile advertising market will develop is...

Cricket grows in Texas.(News)
June 12, 2006... Leap Wireless International Inc. kicked off a service launch in three Texas cities. Leap is launching service in Houston, while Leap and Alaska Native Broadband 1 License L.L.C. will begin offering Leap's Cricket service in the Texas...

Content Briefs.(Briefs)
June 12, 2006... Alltel Corp. selected Oz Communications Inc.'s mobile instant messaging solution to power its new Axcess Instant Messaging service. The BREW-based solution gives Alltel customers access to AOL's instant messaging service and Yahoo Inc.'s...

Cell phones drive semiconductor market.(News)
June 12, 2006... A new report from the Semiconductor Industry Association predicts semiconductor sales worldwide will grow 9.8 percent to nearly $250 billion this year, driven largely by the cell-phone market. The new forecast is an increase from November...

Agere suite targets voice, data and TV.(News)
June 12, 2006... Agere Systems launched a suite of chips and software called TrueONE during the Globalcomm trade show last week, saying the new solutions are designed to deliver voice, data, and both Internet Protocol TV and high-definition TV services to...

Telcoms can skip testifying on NSA phone allegations.(News)
June 12, 2006... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER The telephone companies accused of allowing the National Security Agency access to customer calling patterns will not have to testify on the matter. Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), chairman of the Senate...

New Nokia chief takes driver's seat for mobile rollercoaster ride.(News)
June 12, 2006... Byline: PHIL CARSON If the world would only stand still for a moment, Nokia Corp.'s new chief executive officer, Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, would still have his work cut out for him. He'd have to ensure that his company delivered the more...

Qualcomm shows off VoIP over EV-DO Rev. A.(News)
June 12, 2006... Qualcomm Inc. said it successfully demonstrated fully mobile Voice over Internet Protocol calls over its EV-DO Revision A technology. The announcement is notable as Sprint Nextel Corp. has announced plans to launch EV-DO Rev. A technology...

Challenges stand against Apple, RIM teaming for 'AppleBerry'.
June 12, 2006... Byline: COLIN GIBBS The latest scuttlebutt surrounding Steve Jobs' much-anticipated jump into wireless sounds more like a breakfast treat than a music-friendly phone-but it could produce a tasty mobile device. Tech bloggers and...

Nortel, Huawei break off JV.(News)
June 12, 2006... Byline: JONI MORSE Nortel Networks Ltd. put the brakes on its joint venture with Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. to develop high-speed broadband access gear. The Canadian vendor quietly filed a 10-Q statement with the Securities and Exchange...

Ericsson leverages wireless for IPTV.(News)
June 12, 2006... Byline: JONI MORSE L.M. Ericsson launched a new end-to-end Internet Protocol TV offering, saying the solution is the first step in the company's long-term plans for TV services. During a press conference at the Globalcomm trade show, the...

Distracted policy-making.(Opinion)
June 12, 2006... Byline: Jeffrey Silva Though a mix of key wireless, telecom and Internet bills are supposedly in play on Capitol Hill, keeping lawmakers focused on them could get increasingly difficult in coming weeks and months. House and Senate...

Cingular, RIM aim new BlackBerry at Verizon's Q.(News)
June 12, 2006... Cingular Wireless L.L.C. and Research In Motion Ltd. announced they would make the BlackBerry 7130c device and service offering available at prices aimed at consumers-prices that exactly match the new price point established by Motorola Inc....

Lucent, Alcatel get U.S. antitrust OK.(News)
June 12, 2006... The merger of Lucent Technologies Inc. and Alcatel has received regulatory approval from federal antitrust authorities, according to a filing by Lucent with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. According to the filing, the companies...

CBS Radio to touch listeners with Vibes' mobile marketing.(News)
June 12, 2006... CBS Radio is partnering with Vibes Media to reach listeners on their wireless handsets in 18 U.S. markets. The broadcaster said 25 of its radio stations will use Vibes' iRadio service, which allows users to participate in promotions, polls...

Billions lost in soggy networks; More content means more chances for $$ leaks.(News)
June 12, 2006... Byline: KELLY HILL Wireless carriers are spending big bucks in promoting the use of their flashy, fast new data services: full-length music downloads, three-dimensional mobile games, Web surfing and the like. But with carriers relying...

MBlox to emerge from infrastructure shadows with $175M buy into content.(News)
June 12, 2006... Byline: COLIN GIBBS MBlox is rumored to be looking to expand both its global footprint and its business plan with a $175 million acquisition of content provider LaNetro Zed. The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based mobile data and billing services...

Tower companies stress service even as they fatten portfolios.(Special Report)
June 12, 2006... Byline: JONI MORSE If it seems like the tower industry has been taken over by giants, consider that first and foremost, towers are real estate. Thus, the game is not necessarily played according to volume. Rather, the value of any given...

IMS attention drifts to digital home, IPTV, cable carriers, vendors agree.(News)
June 12, 2006... Byline: JONI MORSE At last week's Globalcomm show in Chicago, telecom vendors paraded their technological wares, giving us a peek at their network roadmaps. The future, as the vendors see it, will be dominated by mobile TV, and this...

Emergency alert bill hung up in partisan politics.(News)
June 12, 2006... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA Passage of a Senate bill to integrate wireless communications and other advanced technologies into the Cold War-era emergency alert system is hung up over a partisan dispute whether a new National Alert Office would...

Making good on threats; Three DEs sue to stop AWS auction.
June 12, 2006... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA Three groups sued the Federal Communications Commission over changes to small-business bidding rules, asking a federal appeals court in Philadelphia to immediately stay enforcement of new guidelines and delay the...

Net neutrality loses ground in House, with White House.(News)
June 12, 2006... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER Proponents of network neutrality face an uphill battle to convince the U.S. Senate to include net neutrality in its version of telecommunications reform after a major defeat Thursday in the House of...

Late News.
June 12, 2006... Appeals court says VoIP, broadband access subject to digital wiretap rules A federal appeals court said that it was bound to accept the Federal Communications Commission's reasonable ruling that broadband Internet access and Voice over...

Analog Devices bulks up for mobile TV with $127M Integrant buy.(News)
June 12, 2006... Analog Devices Inc. plans to purchase privately held, South Korean-based Integrant Technologies Inc. for $127 million. The move should bolster ADI's portfolio with Integrant's low-power radio-frequency chips for mobile television, according to...

Nokia adds LCC assets to U.S. infrastructure biz.(News)
June 12, 2006... Nokia Corp. announced it will acquire LCC International Inc.'s U.S.-based network deployment operations. The deal is expected to close in 45 days and impacts 80 LCCI employees, some of whom may become Nokia employees. The terms of the deal...

Mobile TV revenue share may require new model.
June 12, 2006... Byline: COLIN GIBBS It wasn't long ago that wireless operators had a simple business plan for content and applications: Ink a boilerplate revenue-share deal, put the stuff on the deck and hope users download it. But mobile video is...

Ultimate fighting.(Opinion)
June 12, 2006... Byline: Dan Meyer In a bit of good news for the bottom line of wireless carriers, it appears the recent wave of consolidation that swept the industry has brought about a detent in pricing battles. Cingular Wireless L.L.C. and Verizon...

Lucent unveils Acuity architecture.(News)
June 12, 2006... Lucent Technologies Inc. kicked off the Globalcomm trade show with an early morning press conference to introduce its new next-generation network architecture called "Acuity.'' Speaking to a group of analysts and media, Lucent Chief...

'Embarqing' on new frontier.(News)
June 12, 2006... Byline: KELLY HILL Embarq Corp. is setting off into the wide world of telecom, and expecting its ability to offer wireless service to help the company stay afloat. The local landline company, freshly spun off from Sprint Nextel Corp.,...

Speedus claims Alltel, Verizon violate patents in offering wireless TV.(News)
June 12, 2006... Byline: KELLY HILL In a move that smacks of the Research In Motion Ltd./NTP Inc. tussle, a holding company that owns wireless spectrum has sued Alltel Corp. and Verizon Wireless over alleged patent infringements involving the transmission...

RAN gear sales to slow in coming years.(Wireless Metrics)
June 12, 2006... Infonetics Research found that the global market for radio access network (RAN) gear dropped 22 percent to $7.4 billion in the first quarter due to huge declines in CDMA EV-DO and GSM/GPRS/EDGE equipment revenue. However, the report...

Intel speculation on mobile hits high note.(News)
June 12, 2006... Byline: PHIL CARSON In determining its path to a profitable future, Intel Corp. faces what other companies have faced before: the fundamental question of focus. Should Intel focus on core competencies, even if that's in cooling...

Cox attacks telecom carriers on video lag.(News)
June 12, 2006... Byline: JONI MORSE Patrick Esser, president of Cox Communications Inc., reminded Globalcomm attendees during a keynote speech of his cable/telephone company's plans to unveil wireless service later this year in partnership with Sprint...

Most Americans covered by advanced E-911 service.(News)
June 12, 2006... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER Public-safety answering points serving more than 75 percent of the population are able to receive location information from mobile-phone callers, according to statistics from the National Emergency Number...

Competitors decry AT&T, BellSouth union.(News)
June 12, 2006... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER, JEFFREY SILVA Sprint Nextel Corp. urged the Federal Communications Commission to reject the proposed $67 billion merger of AT&T Inc. and BellSouth Corp. because of the negative impact it would have on...

Former FCC commissioner: Early-termination fees assist consumers.(News)
June 12, 2006... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA Mobile-phone carriers last week stepped up their campaign to have the Federal Communications Commission make early-termination fees off limits to states, a huge issue that has taken on greater significance in light of...

Wireless History; 21 years ago this month...(Wireless Metrics)
June 12, 2006... Then Federal Communications Commission Chairman Mark Fowler submitted an official request to Congress seeking authority for the agency to use auctions for assigning initial licenses. The request came after an attempt at using lotteries to...