RCR Wireless News articles from March 2005

RCR Wireless News archives from March 2005

Restrictions: state, local roundup.(News)
March 7, 2005... Arizona Restriction: School bus drivers may not use cell phones while operating a school bus, except for emergencies. Arkansas Restriction: School bus drivers may not use cell phones while operating a school bus, except for emergencies. ...

Stock Watch: February 25-March 3.(Wireless Metrics)
March 7, 2005... Table: Stock Watch: February 25-March 3 * 3 graphics: Market Diary * Indices * RCR Index: see print copy

Motorola joins WWiSE group for 802.11n proposal.(Global Wireless)
March 7, 2005... Byline: SAM OMATSEYE Motorola Inc. has thrown its weight behind one of two main standard proposals being developed for 802.11n technology. The World Wide Spectrum Efficiency consortium said it has harmonized its technical proposals...

Ericsson ups CDMA profile with pacts.(Global Wireless)
March 7, 2005... L.M. Ericsson improved its CDMA profile with two contracts, one for CDMA2000 1x in India and the other for CDMA2000 450 MHz technology. Ericsson signed with Shyam Telecom in India for a 1x wireless infrastructure solution in India's Rajasthan...

RF Micro exits WLAN chips, Infineon mulls wireless future.(News)
March 7, 2005... Byline: SAM OMATSEYE Two chipmakers are either selling or mulling selling part of their wireless businesses, while another company is selling its shares in a semiconductor firm. RF Micro Devices Inc. said it is doing away with its...

Finance Briefs.(Briefs)
March 7, 2005... Nortel Networks Ltd. said it will file its unaudited financial statements for the third quarter of 2004 and the unaudited financial statements for 2004 by the end of April. The company also indicated it had about $3.7 billion in cash at the end...

CDG boasts of high growth of CDMA users in India.(Global Wireless)
March 7, 2005... The CDMA subscriber base in India has increased more than 500 percent to 14 million users since December 2002, according to the CDMA Development Group. CDMA market share in the country grew from 2 percent to 25 percent during the same time...

Omron technology brings face recognition to devices.(Global Wireless)
March 7, 2005... Omron Corp. introduced a face-recognition technology it said can be implemented in personal digital assistants, mobile phones and other mobile devices with camera functions. The OKAO Vision Face Recognition Sensor is able to recognize and...

GSM subscribers double in Americas.(Global Wireless)
March 7, 2005... GSM subscribers more than doubled in the Western Hemisphere during 2004, according to 3G Americas. In the Americas from December 2003 to December 2004, GSM added more than 59 million subscribers. Worldwide, 284 million new customers signed...

Tower Briefs.(Briefs)
March 7, 2005... American Tower Corp. said it will restate its previously issued financial statements for periods ending on or prior to Sept. 30 last year. It will affect the three-year period ended Dec. 31, 2003, and the first three fiscal quarters of 2004....

Movement afoot to block people from being forced to wear RFID badges.(News)
March 7, 2005... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA A new California bill would prohibit driver's licenses and other identity documents issued by the state from containing radio frequency identification chips, an initiative that follows a huge uproar by parents of...

Carriers must reduce acquisition costs to make thrifty customers profitable.(News)
March 7, 2005... Byline: DAN MEYER Continued growth in the wireless industry is likely to come from untapped market segments that may not prove as financially rewarding as the saturated early-adopter segments, according to a new report from Compete Inc....

Cell-phone use while driving on increase.(News)
March 7, 2005... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says cell-phone use by drivers is on the rise. In 2004, according to a new NHTSA survey, approximately 8 percent of all motorists in the United States-or about...

Skilled RFID workers needed.(News)
March 7, 2005... Companies involved in the radio-frequency identification market largely believe there are not enough available employees skilled in RFID technology, according to a new survey by the Computing Technology Industry Association. Eighty percent...

Intellisync, Sony Ericsson team on e-mail solution; Telus and Blackberry.(News)
March 7, 2005... Intellisync Corp. announced it teamed with Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications L.P. and Ingram Micro to offer out-of-the-box wireless push e-mail services working on the Sony Ericsson P910a smart phone. "For this joint wireless e-mail...

Symbol hits record revenues, but outlook dips.(News)
March 7, 2005... Symbol Technologies Inc. reported record revenues for the fourth quarter, but its outlook dipped slightly below analyst expectations. Symbol's stock was down almost 11 percent following the news to about $15.87 per share. Symbol reported...

Smart, producer team on wireless marketing.(News)
March 7, 2005... Internet marketing company Smart Entertainment said it will team with noted producer Larry Klein on mobile marketing campaigns. The joint venture will spawn a new company that will use text messages based on musical artists and Hollywood...

Sprint to hold funds for buybacks, downplays Virgin IPO.(News)
March 7, 2005... Byline: DAN MEYER Sprint Corp. Chief Operating Officer Len Lauer said the company plans to hold some cash in reserve following its pending acquisition of Nextel Communications Inc. to help fund additional requirements related to the deal...

Alltel launches flat-rate messaging for data services.(News)
March 7, 2005... Alltel Corp. launched an all-inclusive, flat-rate messaging offering, allowing users to send and receive text, picture and video messaging at one monthly price. The carrier said the plans are unique in allowing users to send and receive...

M:Metrics aims to be Nielsens of wireless data.(News)
March 7, 2005... Byline: COLIN GIBBS In the world of digital marketing, Will Hodgman sees himself as a kind of safe-cracker. Hodgman was the marketing savvy behind AdRelevance, a Seattle-based firm he co-founded with University of Washington computer...

Transcoding firm Adamind to attack U.S. space.(News)
March 7, 2005... Byline: MIKE DANO Media adaptation company Adamind today released the fifth version of its MediaSpire product for sale to carriers, a move that coincides with the company's new focus on the U.S. carrier market. "We are knocking on the...

Virgin Radio offers tunes to U.K. 3G handsets.(Global Wireless)
March 7, 2005... Virgin Radio launched what it claims is the first third-generation radio player, enabling listeners around the world to tune in to the U.K. station's broadcasts on their handsets. The service, powered by mobile music company Sydus, is...

Vivendi charges Deutsche Telekom, Elektrim with fraud in Poland.(Global Wireless)
March 7, 2005... French company Vivendi Universal has filed a complaint in Poland against its co-owners of wireless carrier Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa. Vivendi Universal filed a complaint against Elektrim and Deutsche Telekom related to the bilateral...

Ring-back service finds success in Turkey.(Global Wireless)
March 7, 2005... Two suppliers said a new ring-back tone service is proving successful for Avea, a mobile service provider in Turkey. One month after launching the CRBT service, the carrier has 250,000 subscribers of the service. The services uses a...

Globalstar applies to add land-based service.(News)
March 7, 2005... Satellite service provider Globalstar L.L.C. said it filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission for authority to offer ancillary terrestrial service in conjunction with its mobile satellite services. Globalstar is the...

Wireless benefits from telecom consolidation.(News)
March 7, 2005... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA A key House lawmaker said the proposed $36 billion merger between Sprint Corp. and Nextel Communications Inc. would bring added competition to a broadband market dominated by Bell telephone companies and cable TV...

Infrastructure Awards.(Wireless Metrics)
March 7, 2005... Following are infrastructure contracts announced in February: Alcatel Nigeria With Globacom to expand the carrier's national fixed and mobile network capacity, including radio access and core network solutions. Value: $685 million...

Incentives won't speed DTV transition due to granny rule, says expert.(News)
March 7, 2005... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER Even if broadcasters were given incentives to speed the transition to digital TV service, it probably wouldn't hurry up the process as lawmakers wouldn't risk hurting "granny,'' according to a think tank...

InPhonic courts Spanish-speaking users with MVNO service.(News)
March 7, 2005... Byline: DAN MEYER Mobile virtual network operators received another dose of Spanish flair last week as InPhonic Inc. announced an expansion to its Liberty Wireless MVNO service to the Hispanic community through Viva Liberty. The company...

EV-DV on hold as industry embraces DO.(News)
March 7, 2005... Byline: SAM OMATSEYE The wireless industry shouldn't hold its breath over the arrival of CDMA2000 EV-DV technology. Both Qualcomm Inc. and Texas Instruments Inc. said they are focusing their immediate attention elsewhere. "Due to the...

Verizon completes Qwest buy.(News)
March 7, 2005... Verizon Wireless said it closed on the $418 million acquisition of Qwest Communications International Inc.'s wireless assets, originally announced last July. The deal included Qwest's 1.9 GHz spectrum licenses, cell sites, CDMA network...

North Carolina tries to set tower-safety standards.
March 7, 2005... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The Bush administration, the tower construction industry and the states are closely watching the implementation of North Carolina's communications tower safety standard-the first of its kind in the nation-to determine...

Proteus, Fox Sports team to deliver soccer club content.(Global Wireless)
March 7, 2005... Mobile publisher Proteus is teaming with Fox Sports en Espanol and Fox Sports Latin America to deliver content from noted soccer club tournament Copa Libertadores. Fox Sports Copa Movil will include personalized score alerts, ringtones,...

Nokia to expand Polish network.(Global Wireless)
March 7, 2005... Nokia Corp. said it signed a frame agreement to expand and update Polish operator Polkomtel's nationwide GSM/EDGE and W-CDMA network. In addition, the agreement includes Nokia's Push to Talk over Cellular solution. The value of the...

Nearly half of U.S. text messages are spam, says vendor.(News)
March 7, 2005... Nearly half of all mobile-phone text messages in the United States are spam, according to mobile data company Wireless Services Corp. WSC, which provides mobile e-mail and anti-spam services as well as other mobile-messaging applications,...

New CPUC commissioner supports reinstating part of bill of rights.(News)
March 7, 2005... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA New California Public Utilities Commission member Dian Grueneich signaled she is not prepared to throw out the bill of rights for telecom consumers, saying the agency should reinstate some guidelines that are now on...

Motorola invests $5M in Brazilian R&D.(News)
March 7, 2005... Motorola Inc. said it will invest $5 million for research and development during the next three years to pursue two new initiatives. The initiatives include developing new applications for mobile and fixed telephony carriers and the...

T-Mobile USA enjoys revenue increase.(News)
March 7, 2005... Byline: DAN MEYER T-Mobile USA Inc. reported $3.2 billion in revenues for the fourth quarter of last year, which was a 37-percent improvement compared with the $2.4 billion the carrier posted during the fourth quarter of 2003. Full-year...

NTU asks FCC to reject proposal to stop itemizing regulatory fees.(News)
March 7, 2005... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The National Taxpayers Union urged the Federal Communications Commission to reject a proposal to prohibit mobile-phone operators from adding regulatory recovery fees or other surcharges to consumer bills. The...

Porting problems could bring firms profits.
March 7, 2005... Byline: COLIN GIBBS Home console gaming is limited to three major platforms, and desktop gaming-like nearly everything else in the computer world-boils down to Microsoft and Apple. But in the world of wireless, game publishers must deal...

Sprint PCS' bundled voice plans top global list of ARPU drivers.(Wireless Metrics)
March 7, 2005... Byline: DAN MEYER Sprint PCS' bundled voice plans topped Analysys Research's list of the world's top 10 wireless services based on its ability to produce unmatched levels of voice usage and twice the voice average revenue per user achieved...

Wireless domains off limits to commercial e-mail messages.(News)
March 7, 2005... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER Wireless customers who receive e-mail on their mobile devices should see a decrease in the amount of spam they receive starting this week. Wednesday is the deadline for all marketers to scrub their list...

DoCoMo to stop taking new PHS subscribers.(Global Wireless)
March 7, 2005... Following weeks of speculation on the topic, NTT DoCoMo Inc. officially announced it will stop accepting new PHS customers. The carrier said it anticipates a steady decline in PHS customers due to falling service charges and improvements in...

GAS, Primus to target int'l wireless calling for Russian Americans.(News)
March 7, 2005... Multicultural marketing agency Global Advertising Strategies will team with Primus Wireless to market wireless international calling services to Russian Americans and other minority groups. Primus Wireless, a new division of Primus...

Vodafone boosts music content for 3G subscribers.(Global Wireless)
March 7, 2005... Vodafone Group plc launched a catalog of 500,000 full music tracks on its Vodafone live! third-generation service. The enhanced service will be rolled out to 3G customers in eight countries, beginning in Germany, with Greece, Italy, the...

Visto targets Smartner with 2nd patent lawsuit.(News)
March 7, 2005... Wireless e-mail company Visto Corp. continued it legal campaign against its competitors with a patent lawsuit against Smartner Information Systems Ltd., which sells wireless e-mail software. Visto previously filed a similar suit against...

Products.
March 7, 2005... Aspects Aspects introduced its TTS 3G test system, which allows manufacturers and operators to run a series of pre-conformance tests, validate any phone/USIM/network combination, and verify compliance with the latest standards....

People.
March 7, 2005... Mobile Satellite Ventures Mobile Satellite Ventures named Lon Levin to the newly created position of vice president of corporate and international planning. Levin's experience includes positions with American Mobile Satellite Corp. and XM...

Volantis offers application for running data on cell phones.(News)
March 7, 2005... Volantis launched its XDIME Player, a device-independent application for running data services on mobile phones. The company said XDIME can be used by a variety of companies, including mobile operators, content providers and mobile portals....

Air2Web touts top carrier connections.(News)
March 7, 2005... Mobile technology company Air2Web said it has established direct connections with the top 10 U.S. carriers, allowing it to reach 91 percent of the nation's wireless users. The company touted what it called "the largest network of direct...

Alaska Comm. posts strong Q4 growth.(News)
March 7, 2005... Alaska Communications Systems Group Inc. reported a record 5,128 net wireless subscriber additions during the fourth quarter of last year, ending 2004 with 100,600 total wireless subscribers. The strong customer growth was a 70-percent...

Rural carriers: Little demand to cut cord.(News)
March 7, 2005... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER Rural carriers have received few, if any, requests for customers to switch from wireline to wireless, according to a survey released by the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association, which...

Bitfone to deliver customer care to Swisscom Mobile.(Global Wireless)
March 7, 2005... Over-the-air software developer Bitfone Corp. said it has been tapped by Swisscom Mobile to deliver customer care services to the carrier's high-end business users. Bitfone will provide OTA device diagnostics and configuration technology...

Toshiba fuel cell recorded in Guinness World Records.(Global Wireless)
March 7, 2005... Guinness World Records officially certified Toshiba Corp.'s direct methanol fuel cell as the world's smallest DMFC. The fuel cell is designed for integration into devices as small as digital music players. The cell is about as long and wide...

NextWave, soon out of bankruptcy, to build in Vegas, N.Y.(News)
March 7, 2005... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER NextWave Telecommunications Inc. last week satisfied all of the terms to emerge from bankruptcy in April. Bankruptcy Judge Adlai Hardin Jr. approved its reorganization plan and the government OK'ed the...

Nortel announces management changes, hires Cisco exec.(News)
March 7, 2005... The board of directors of Nortel Networks Ltd. said it has announced executive changes as part of its move to strengthen its leadership. Bill Owens remains chief executive officer, but he will also take on the position of vice chairman. He...

Crown Castle says 2004 lease activity increased 40%.(News)
March 7, 2005... Crown Castle International said it experienced better-than-expected lease activity for 2004 with more than a 40-percent increase in site-leasing activity compared with 2003. The company has put off its earnings release and conference call...

UWB groups merge.(News)
March 7, 2005... The WiMedia Alliance said it has merged with the MultiBand OFDM Alliance Special Interest Group. The combined group will be known as the WiMedia Alliance Inc. Both groups plan to interface their complementary protocols for ultra-wideband...

Nextel approves bonuses for Donahue, Kelly.(News)
March 7, 2005... Nextel Communications Inc.'s board of directors approved a $1.8 million bonus for Tim Donahue, company president and chief executive officer, and a $800,000 bonus for Tom Kelly, company executive vice president and chief operating officer,...

Nokia, Ericsson roll out handsets as market expected to grow to 730M.(News)
March 7, 2005... Byline: MIKE DANO Nokia Corp. and Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications L.P. each released several new handsets for the European market, news that comes as researchers predict the mobile-phone market will grow from 674 million phones last...

FCC adds criteria to get ETC status.(News)
March 7, 2005... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER The Federal Communications Commission said it is adopting additional criteria for carriers to be designated eligible telecommunications carriers, and this criteria will apply to carriers that have already...

Porn's perfect storm.(Opinion)
March 7, 2005... Byline: Jeffrey Silva The wireless industry's effort to curb smut on public airwaves reserved for mobile phones is laudable, but could end up being futile. There's simply too much money on the line. History shows-and the cable TV...

MobZilla licenses BMI music portfolio for streaming service.(News)
March 7, 2005... Music rights giant BMI has licensed its portfolio to mobZilla for use with the mobile media firm's streaming music service. The partnership brings roughly 4.5 million BMI works to mobZilla, which announced the U.S. launch of its monthly...

Loyal customers.(Opinion)
March 7, 2005... Byline: Tracy Ford The fight to own the customer is nothing new, but it has the potential to become one of industry's biggest battles. If played out properly, several companies can share ownership of the customer; if played out wrong, the...

Wireless in enterprise often open door to hackers.(Focus)
March 7, 2005... Byline: MIKE DANO Mobile devices represent "a brave new frontier'' for corporate security management, said Bob Egan, president of research and consulting firm Mobile Competency. And so far, that frontier remains largely untouched. To wit:...

MetroPCS sells slice of Bay area permit to Verizon.
March 7, 2005... Byline: DAN MEYER Regional wireless provider MetroPCS Inc. reported an agreement last week to sell 10 megahertz of spectrum from its 30-megahertz C-Block license covering San Francisco to Verizon Wireless for $230 million. MetroPCS said it...

Leap names Hutcheson CEO after Freeman's $1M exit.(News)
March 7, 2005... Byline: DAN MEYER Leap Wireless International Inc. signed new leadership following the resignation of former chief executive officer and director Bill Freeman. The company promoted long-time Leap executive and former president and chief...

Triton PCS using Agilent's Phase II E-911 system.(News)
March 7, 2005... Triton PCS has deployed Agilent Technologies' acceSS7 location solution to provide passive monitoring of its network. Triton PCS will use the solution to help it comply with the Phase II requirements of the Federal Communications...

AT&T increases hot-spot numbers.(News)
March 7, 2005... AT&T Corp. said it has increased its global remote access footprint to include 9,094 Wi-Fi hot spots and 1,551 wired Ethernet locations. The company said 5,770 of the Wi-Fi hot spots are in the United States, where the company has focused...

MusicGremlin gains funding for handset download technology.(News)
March 7, 2005... Mobile music software company MusicGremlin Inc. picked up an undisclosed amount of capital in a recently closed Series B funding round led by Allen & Company LLC. The 2-year-old technology company, which is working to allow users to...

Yahoo! buys gaming firm to boost wireless effort.(News)
March 7, 2005... Internet giant Yahoo! Inc. jumped headfirst into the mobile gaming waters Friday, acquiring New Jersey-based technology company Stadeon Inc. and launching a studio to develop games for wireless phones. Terms of the deal were not disclosed....

SBC adds 3,300 hot spots with roaming agreements.(Late News)
March 7, 2005... SBC Communications Inc. reported Wi-Fi roaming agreements with Airpath Wireless and Boingo Wireless that will add 3,300 nationwide and international hot-spot locations to SBC's FreedomLink service and open the company's network to Boingo's...

US Title picks Ticor as preferred provider.(News)
March 7, 2005... US Title Search Inc. and Ticor Title Insurance Co.'s National Commercial Division in New York have formed a strategic alliance. According to the agreement, Ticor will be the preferred provider of title insurance for US Title Search Inc....

Nokia discounts reports that it has dropped fuel-cell battery plans.(News)
March 7, 2005... Nokia Corp. discounted reports it had dropped plans to make fuel-cell batteries for its mobile phones. A spokesman for the company said Nokia has never discussed a firm release date for fuel cells, and that the company continues to research the...

Mforma, Melodeo check out wireless music scene; Mforma teams with Billboard.(News)
March 14, 2005... Byline: COLIN GIBBS Mforma Group Inc. is branching out from the wireless gaming arena and waltzing onto the crowded dance floor of mobile music. The Bellevue, Wash.-based entertainment publisher this week is expected to unveil a...

Vodafone selects U.S. firms for 3G business product distribution.(Global Wireless)
March 14, 2005... International wireless giant Vodafone Group plc reported plans to establish a global distribution channel for its business products and services through an extension of its current relationships with U.S. suppliers Ingram Micro Inc. and Tech...

Nokia wins deal to upgrade Hungarian system.(Global Wireless)
March 14, 2005... Nokia Corp. and Hungarian operator Pannon GSM have signed an agreement for the expansion of Pannon's GSM network and an upgrade to EDGE technology in greater Budapest. The contract also includes deployment of a Nokia W-CDMA nationwide...

NII Holdings to restate financials after audit committee finds potential errors.(Global Wireless)
March 14, 2005... Former Nextel Communications Inc. subsidiary NII Holdings Inc. said it plans to restate financial reports for full year 2003 and the first nine months of 2004 after its audit committee found possible accounting errors. The errors include...

Caribbean wireless operator completes $400M in funding, buys license in Curacao.(Global Wireless)
March 14, 2005... Fresh off a $408 million investment earlier in the week, Caribbean wireless carrier Digicel Group announced its acquisition of a wireless carrier in Curacao. Digicel now has operations in eight Caribbean countries. The value of the...

Leap jumps into prepaid.
March 14, 2005... Byline: DAN MEYER Infused with new leadership, Leap Wireless International Inc. announced plans to expand its offerings with the launch of its Jump by Cricket prepaid service, providing a true pay-as-you-go plan for customers. The new...

Global Wi-Fi revenue grows 15% in 2004.(Global Wireless)
March 14, 2005... The worldwide equipment business for Wi-Fi enjoyed traction last year in revenue and unit sales, according to a new report from Infonetics Research. Global revenue stood at $2.8 billion for 2004, a 15-percent jump from 2003. Unit sales...

Broadband over Power Lines a reality, but at super speeds not as likely.(News)
March 14, 2005... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER Broadband over Power Lines is a reality but it won't be much better than current high-speed offerings, according to speakers at a recent panel discussing the technology. "BPL is moving beyond the...

Sprint jump-starts EV-DO efforts with Sierra card.(News)
March 14, 2005... Sprint jump-started its EV-DO network efforts by releasing an EV-DO-capable PC card from Sierra Wireless Inc. The card is compatible with Sprint's CDMA 1x network. The move is notable because Sprint does not offer EV-DO services. The...

Telstra to trial DVB-H mobile TV technology in Australia for year.(Global Wireless)
March 14, 2005... Broadcast Australia subsidiary The Bridge Networks will team with Telstra on a year-long trial of Australia's first multi-channel mobile TV service using digital video broadcast for handheld (DVB-H) technology. Harris Broadcast Systems, a...