RCR Wireless News articles from May 2003

RCR Wireless News archives from May 2003

SDR technical advances may be outweighed by revenue drops.(Business)
May 5, 2003... Byline: SAM OMATSEYE Software-defined radios may be the answer to today's interoperability issues, but carriers and handset makers do not seem overly enthused about adopting the technology because the technological advances gained from SDR...

LG moves into top-5 spot in handset sales.(Global Wireless)
May 5, 2003... LG Electronics has replaced Sony Ericsson Communications Inc. in the No. 5 spot for worldwide handset sales in the first quarter of the year, according to data released by IDC. Worldwide handset shipments were up 16.6 percent year on year in...

From Senegal to Switzerland.(Opinion)
May 5, 2003... Byline: Jeffrey Silva Though staged at the White House, Commerce Secretary Don Evan's launch of the Digital Freedom Initiative on March 4 did not attract much press attention. Perhaps deservedly so. The White House tends to host such photo...

SK Telecom to launch W-CDMA service in 2003.(Global Wireless)
May 5, 2003... SK Telecom said it received approval from the Ministry of Information and Communication to merge SK Telecom and SK IMT, the W-CDMA arm of the Korean mobile operator. However, under the conditions for the merger approval, SK Telecom must provide...

RealNetworks turns on streaming video service.(Business)
May 5, 2003... Byline: MIKE DANO Wireless streaming video over mobile phones is now available at a store near you. Internet video company RealNetworks Inc. today planned to launch a wireless Web site featuring streaming content from several media...

American Tower losses improve.(News)
May 5, 2003... Byline: EMILY MOTSAY American Tower Corp.'s first-quarter 2003 results reflected a continued focus on its core rental and management operations and optimism in financial expectations for the latter half of 2003. The company reported...

AT&T Wireless quietly targets credit-challenged.(News)
May 5, 2003... Byline: DAN MEYER Following months of trials, AT&T Wireless Services Inc. quietly rolled out its GoPhone service offering designed to attract credit-challenged customers, which analysts say make up a majority of the untapped customer base...

Developers begin to count downloads, dollars.(News)
May 5, 2003... Byline: MIKE DANO "Developers are now making money,'' said Konny Zsigo, president of WirelessDeveloper.com. It's a relatively small although very important event-some of those creating applications for mobile-phone users are getting...

Wi-Fi Alliance locks up new security standard.(Business)
May 5, 2003... Byline: SAM OMATSEYE Like a gated community, the Wi-Fi Alliance's new security standard has assuaged worries about hackers and intruders and brought many wireless products closer together. The new standard, known as Wi-Fi Protected...

MMS must be more than a pretty picture to achieve success.(Global Wireless)
May 5, 2003... Byline: PAUL RASMUSSEN Repeating the success of short message service has been the long-sought goal of many a cell-phone operator. WAP was positioned as the next standard bearer for mobile data, only to become a disastrous and costly...

Study: Businesses use mobile data.(Business)
May 5, 2003... Two-thirds of U.S. companies have deployed mobile data applications, according to new research from Deloitte Research, however, "most deployments have focused on the basics, providing cellular connectivity to existing applications and...

Most top carrier CEOs saw salary increases in '02.
May 5, 2003... Byline: DAN MEYER Despite sagging stock prices and industrywide layoffs, many wireless executives were rewarded last year with healthy increases in their multimillion-dollar compensation packages. Among the nation's largest wireless...

Carriers adjust data pricing plans seeking sweet spot.(Business)
May 5, 2003... Byline: DAN MEYER A number of wireless carriers are starting to give insight into the impact wireless data services are having on their networks, and more importantly, insight into the financial return those services are having on their...

Ulterior motives.(Opinion)
May 5, 2003... Byline: Tracy Ford Honesty seems like a lost commodity these days. Merrill Lynch and many other Wall Street firms have been publicly flogged by the Securities and Exchange Commission for paying competitors to hype firms with which the...

3rd Tier Carriers.(News)
May 5, 2003... 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 RCR Wireless News' databases and was...

Bush against all illegal Internet gambling, including wireless.(News)
May 5, 2003... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The Bush administration last week said legislation to ban illegal Internet gambling should apply to all communications platforms, a position that runs head long into the growing global practice of making bets on...

Long-term RF study on animals starts amid exposure limits debate.(News)
May 5, 2003... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA Controversy has erupted in efforts to bring radio-frequency radiation exposure guidelines in line with a global standard, a change a leading scientist claims would make America's mobile-phone safety limit the weakest...

Smaller carriers post strong 1Q numbers, dispelling doom-and-gloom predictions.(News)
May 5, 2003... Byline: DAN MEYER Despite doom-and-gloom predictions for the future of non-nationwide operators, a trio of rural wireless carriers reported relatively strong first-quarter results that showed small-market operators still provide a viable...

PSAPs need $8B to convert to E911.(News)
May 5, 2003... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER Implementing wireless enhanced 911 will cost public-safety answering points more than $8 billion during the next five years, said John Melcher, president of the National Emergency Numbering Association. ...

Relocation fund bill sails through House committee.(News)
May 5, 2003... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The House Commerce Committee last week approved legislation creating a fund to reimburse the Pentagon and other federal agencies relocated to other frequency bands in order to free up spectrum for third-generation...

InfoSpace reports wireless revenue decline.(News)
May 5, 2003... Wireless and Internet software provider InfoSpace Inc. said revenues in its wireless business have declined by $500,000 during the past year and that continuing price erosion in its wireless segment would contribute to an expected continuing...

OSHA's Henshaw urges tower firms to make sure subcontractors follow rules.(News)
May 5, 2003... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA John Henshaw, director of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, has written top U.S. mobile-phone operators and tower owners to urge them to hire only those construction firms that have proven safety...

Sunny data forecast at BREW show.
May 5, 2003... Byline: MIKE DANO Aside from the warm coastal weather and plentiful sun, attendees of Qualcomm Inc.'s BREW developer's conference also enjoyed an almost dizzying array of statistics and metrics related to the application download...

ETSI CDMA document raises some eyebrows.
May 5, 2003... Byline: SAM OMATSEYE The executive summary of a report published on the Web site of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute is raising questions about the body's technology neutrality. The document, which bears ETSI's...

ICO rolls up bankrupt Globalstar into new company.(News)
May 5, 2003... Byline: EMILY MOTSAY With help from wireless industry mogul Craig McCaw and his mobile satellite service business ICO Global Communications Ltd., financially ailing MSS provider Globalstar L.P. has been granted a second chance. All...

Text-messaging spam filter may be illegal.(News)
May 5, 2003... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER Wireless carriers could be running afoul of the law if they filter text messages in an attempt to reduce spam to their customer's devices because common carriers cannot filter content. At issue is...

Environmental tower action plan addresses migratory bird issue.(News)
May 5, 2003... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday unveiled an environmental action plan that may eventually lead to a resolution of why migratory birds seem to die around communications towers. "I don't...

Bush backs off wireless plans in Iraq.
May 5, 2003... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The simmering Iraq wireless reconstruction issue finally imploded last week, with the Bush administration deciding to shelve the idea of awarding pricey telecom infrastructure contracts to U.S. firms. Instead, the job...

Other news from the BREW developer's conference.(News)
May 5, 2003... * Kyocera Wireless Corp. said it will offer versions of its Phantom, Blade and Rave phones that support BREW version 2.0. * Sorrent announced applications for China Unicom centered on basketball star Yao Ming. * DotPhoto Inc. released...

Cisco to make WLAN mobile handset.(Business)
May 5, 2003... Cisco Systems Inc. announced plans to introduce a wireless local area network mobile handset later this year. While details of the exact launch date and pricing are still to be confirmed, the device is expected to be available in the United...

Ericsson to cut more jobs on declining sales.(Business)
May 5, 2003... L.M. Ericsson said it plans to cut thousands of jobs that will reduce it work force to about 47,000 from its previously projected 54,000 people. The work force stood at 61,000 at the end of March after 3,700 job cuts in the quarter. ...

Symbian releases OS v.7.0 at Exposium03 developer conference.(News)
May 5, 2003... Symbian released several news announcements in conjunction with its Exposium03 developer conference held in London. Symbian released the Symbian OS v7.0s, the latest version of the Symbian operating system that includes new third-generation...

MmO2 partners with General Wireless on Outlook access.(News)
May 12, 2003... MmO2's Ireland business will offer text messaging access to Microsoft Outlook through a new deal with General Wireless. The offering, dubbed Desktop Text, will be available to both prepaid and postpaid customers through a software download. ...

3 launches UMTS service in Sweden.(Global Wireless)
May 12, 2003... Byline: SAM OMATSEYE Hutchison's 3 is one of the European carriers to blaze the trail for third-generation UMTS technology with a launch of its services in Sweden, emphasizing mobile video communication. "We offer today mobile video...

DHS will provide guidance on critical infrastructure information.(News)
May 12, 2003... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The Department of Homeland Security is considering a controversial plan that could dramatically reshape the relationship between the wireless industry and the federal government on critical infrastructure protection,...

DRM solutions will yield new wireless business models.
May 12, 2003... Byline: MIKE DANO Those in the industry agree digital rights management is a key issue for wireless, and as a result there are several companies and a range of peripheral players looking to cash in on solutions to the problem. ...

Budget cuts harm wireless priority access service.(News)
May 12, 2003... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER Since the National Communications System no longer pays for wireless priority access service, some phones are being returned because agencies in New York and Washington can no longer afford them, said the...

Legislation would ban Internet gambling.(News)
May 12, 2003... A House Judiciary subcommittee last week approved legislation that would effectively ban most Internet gambling on all communications platforms, including wireless networks. The bill would prohibit the use of credit cards and other...

T-Mobile USA to allow bundling of Hot Spot service.(Business)
May 12, 2003... T-Mobile USA Inc. said it will allow subscribers to bundle unlimited access to its HotSpot service to their current wireless voice and data bill for an additional $20 per month. Unlimited access to T-Mobile USA's HotSpot service typically runs...

Don't be fooled.(Opinion)
May 12, 2003... Byline: Tina Eichner The Internet may be the most revolutionary communications medium ever, but that revolution comes with the burden of a boatload of questionable "stuff''-rampant pornography, anonymous access to prescription drugs,...

Nextel Partners launches in Georgia, South Carolina markets.(News)
May 12, 2003... Nextel Partners Inc. said it launched wireless service in Augusta, Ga., and Aiken, S.C., allowing customers to use the service along Interstate 20 east from Atlanta through Appling, Evans, Grovetown, Martinez and Augusta, Ga., to North Augusta...

Sprint PCS to offer Yahoo content to Vision users.(Business)
May 12, 2003... Sprint PCS and Yahoo Inc. reported an agreement to distribute Yahoo products and services to Sprint PCS' Vision customers. The Yahoo products and services include mail, messenger, sports, news, finance, address book, calendar and weather. ...

Arch Wireless loses 477K subscribers.(News)
May 12, 2003... Paging and messaging carrier Arch Wireless Inc. reported a net income of $6.1 million for its first quarter on revenues of $165 million, while showing a decline in subscribers of almost half a million. The carrier, which recently emerged...

Carrier Briefs.(Briefs)
May 12, 2003... Sprint PCS added movie reviews from Hollywood trade publication Daily Variety and up-to-the minute professional baseball scores and updates to its PCS Vision 1KTV service. The downloadable Java-based service allows wireless customers to watch...

Two Austrian carriers launch UMTS.(News)
May 12, 2003... Two mobile operators have launched UMTS services in Austria, highlighting a new 3G momentum on the European continent. The two carriers, Mmobilkom Austria and Hutchison 3G Austria, are emphasizing video telephony in their marketing...

Verizon Wireless buys Devon Mobile license.(News)
May 12, 2003... Verizon Wireless acquired a wireless license and related network assets from Devon Mobile Communications for $635,000. Verizon Wireless said the acquisition, which includes the Lebanon BTA covering 181,000 potential customers, will expand...

AT&T Wireless launches 411 text messaging service.(Business)
May 12, 2003... AT&T Wireless Services Inc. introduced its TXT-411 text messaging-based directory assistant service that the carrier said provides text-access to the White and Yellow Pages. The carrier said the service will allow customers to send a text...

Lone Star Phones sues Dobson.(News)
May 12, 2003... LSPCS Inc., which does business as independent retailer Lone Star Phones, filed suit in federal court against Dobson Cellular Systems Inc. claiming the wireless carrier illegally terminated its contracts, and committed fraud and negligent...

Motient snares resale deals with Verizon, T-Mobile.(News)
May 12, 2003... Wireless data carrier Motient Corp. scored reselling agreements with two of the nation's largest wireless carriers, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile USA Inc., moves that follow up on the company's promises to expand its wireless offerings. ...

3G brings profits to DoCoMo, KDDI.(Global Wireless)
May 12, 2003... Fiscal year 2002 financial earnings released by the No. 1 and No. 2 Japanese mobile-phone carriers, NTT DoCoMo Inc. and KDDI Corp., reflected a focus on profitability and high expectations for third-generation wireless services this year. ...

Nokia refocuses developer efforts with hiring of Palm alum.(News)
May 12, 2003... Byline: MIKE DANO Nokia Corp. hired a former Palm Inc. executive to head up its worldwide developer efforts, a move that highlights Nokia's continuing focus on its developer and licensing business and the potentially troublesome issues in...

Motorola, Telsim duel refuels in ad, vendor under fire.
May 12, 2003... Byline: SAM OMATSEYE The legal duel as well as the claims and counterclaims between Motorola Inc. and Turkish carrier Telsim intensified with a recent full-page advertisement in the Wall Street Journal and some other large-circulation...

Late News.
May 12, 2003... AT&T Wireless hits stores with first EDGE phone Nokia Corp.'s 6200 EDGE-capable phone hit store shelves this week, making AT&T Wireless Services Inc. the first carrier in the world to sell an EDGE phone. However, the phone today is only...

Tech rallies around tax cut.
May 12, 2003... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA Telecom and high-tech sectors, beaten down and eager for an economic revival, last week found themselves forced to pick and choose among competing tax-cut packages in Congress after the GOP-led House and Senate...

Chipmakers battle it out in applications processor space; Texas Instruments to build CDMA chip.(Business)
May 12, 2003... Byline: SAM OMATSEYE Chipmakers continue to stake claims in anticipation of an assured industry upswing. Bellwethers Intel Corp. and Texas Instruments Inc. offered optimistic second-quarter projections, reinforcing a view that the...

Gurian helped to shape cellular's formative years as head of Oki Telecom.(News)
May 12, 2003... Byline: EMILY MOTSAY The legacy Mal Gurian leaves the wireless industry will be found as much in the generations of people he has influenced as in the technological innovations he has shaped. Gurian is perhaps best known for his role...

Gurian, Hatfield, Wheeler join wireless elite in Hall of Fame.(News)
May 12, 2003... Byline: EMILY MOTSAY RCR Wireless News inducted three prominent wireless industry patriarchs into its fourth annual Wireless Hall of Fame, created to honor those who have made significant contributions to the past, present and future of...

U.S./Singapore trade pact could increase telecom exports to Asia.(Global Wireless)
May 12, 2003... President Bush and Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong today signed a landmark free trade pact, opening the way for increased telecom and high-tech exports to Asia. "We applaud both administrations for this forward-looking,...

Regional numbers show strength in local markets.(News)
May 12, 2003... Byline: DAN MEYER While the six nationwide operators continue to supply the vast majority of growth in the wireless industry, a trio of regional carriers reported first-quarter results last week showing that the market for a more localized...

GAO: Most wireless users satisfied with service quality; But agency not sure of quality of survey.(News)
May 12, 2003... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER Congressional auditors said that a recent survey of wireless consumers showed general satisfaction with call quality even though the General Accounting Office estimated that one-fifth of users were unable to...

Nextel sued over regulatory fees, Sprint next, lawyer says.(News)
May 12, 2003... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER A Pennsylvania customer of Nextel Communications Inc. has filed a lawsuit in the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas against the mobile-phone carrier because Seth Lamb is mad about extra charges that appear...

Group aims to bridge authentication pains with 'circle of trust'.(News)
May 12, 2003... Byline: KRISTEN BECKMAN Identity. We all have one, and in the data-driven world we live in today, pieces of that identity are scattered among any number of files, databases and records systems. Banks, credit-card companies, employers,...

FTC prohibits company from selling radiation-protection products.(News)
May 12, 2003... The Federal Trade Commission said it reached a settlement with a California firm prohibiting it from selling products purporting to reduce consumers' exposure to mobile-phone radiation. Last year, the FTC filed suit against Comstar...

GoPhone could cannibalize contract users.(Business)
May 12, 2003... Byline: DAN MEYER The wireless industry has successfully penetrated roughly half of the U.S. population with mostly contract service plans geared to people with healthy credit records and a need for wireless service-the so-called...

Crown, Verizon hammer out joint tower property deals; Crown won't have to buy out Verizon's stakes anytime soon.(Business)
May 12, 2003... Byline: EMILY MOTSAY Crown Castle International Inc. released its first-quarter results and announced changes to two joint ventures with Verizon Communications Inc. that keep Verizon in the tower business until 2007. Meanwhile,...

Starhome partners with Rogers.(Business)
May 12, 2003... Mobile applications service provider and Comverse Technology Inc. affiliate Starhome reported a partnership to provide roaming services for international travelers with Canadian wireless operator Rogers Wireless Inc. Starhome said the Home...

Motorola pagers become Kool.(Business)
May 12, 2003... Paging is now Kool. In fact, it's so Kool it's smokin'. Brown & Williamson Tobacco, the company behind the Kool cigarette brand, said it teamed with PageMaster Corp. to offer free Motorola Inc. pagers in selected cigarette packs through...

'Losing-not-an-option' Tom still fights for one last win.(News)
May 12, 2003... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA In official Washington, one's standing is measured not by what friends say about you-indeed, backslapping is a natural reflex here-but rather how your enemies size you up. So it was that James Bradford Ramsay,...

Fastmobile launches push-to-talk service; Questions loom whether customers will use it.(News)
May 12, 2003... Byline: DAN MEYER With push-to-talk hysteria hitting near Beatles-like proportions in the wireless industry, the race is on among carriers not using Motorola Inc.'s iDEN-based service to launch a commercial PTT service. Many industry...

Hatfield: Fascinated with meshing tech and policy.(News)
May 12, 2003... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER Is it possible to find one person that can understand the policy implications of communications, the technical implications of communications and be able to explain why sometimes one does not necessarily...

Palm OS licensees can offer BlackBerry-style access via RIM.(Business)
May 12, 2003... BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. and its partners made a string of announcements in conjunction with the Wireless Enterprise Symposium in New Orleans, including news that Palm OS licensees will be able to offer BlackBerry-style...

Sony Ericsson expected to hang in there despite earnings, market share slips.(News)
May 12, 2003... Byline: MIKE DANO Industry watchers for months have predicted the imminent demise of Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, with concerns heightened by declining market share numbers and poor earnings from its parents Sony Corp. and L.M....

SARS scars wireless, technology conference biz.(News)
May 12, 2003... Byline: SAM OMATSEYE SARS is not only snuffing out lives and shutting down businesses, wireless industry conferences now bear its scars. Several major Asian shows have been postponed or cancelled because the disease has scared off...

Lawsuit by blind woman questions carriers' roles in designing phone specs.(News)
May 12, 2003... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA Federal Communications Commission officials this week are expected to meet with attorneys warring over a blind woman's disability complaint against Audiovox Communications Corp. and Verizon Wireless Inc., a...

Love's labor's lost.(Opinion)
May 12, 2003... Byline: Jeffrey Silva It would not be a stretch to say mobile-phone carriers-weighted down by lackluster earnings, back-breaking capital and marketing costs, heavy debt and expensive federal mandates-are not particularly enamored by the...

House authorizes funding for nanotechnology R&D.(News)
May 12, 2003... The House last week passed a bill authorizing $2.36 billion over three years for nanotechnology research and development, funding lawmakers predict will lead to high-tech business gains here and abroad. The Senate is working on a similar...

China Unicom reaches 10M subs.(News)
May 19, 2003... China Unicom said it has reached a milestone of 10 million subscribers on its CDMA network, underscoring the quick uptake of subscribers since October last year when its subscribers hit the 4-million mark. The numbers pale in comparison...

Nokia, Ericsson announce MMS initiatives.(News)
May 19, 2003... As wireless operators in Europe and elsewhere work to launch multimedia messaging services, technology and infrastructure companies are looking to expand their market and their own offerings. For instance, Nokia Corp. announced worldwide...

Carriers stumble into teen market; Enterprise adoption on horizon.(News)
May 19, 2003... Byline: MIKE DANO Although wireless industry leaders and commentators have long prophesized the importance of the business user segment in stimulating the wireless data market, some see that outlook changing as more consumer- and...

T-Mobile USA posts 3rd straight quarter of record subscriber adds.(News)
May 19, 2003... Byline: DAN MEYER With the deadline for reporting first-quarter results last week, a number of carriers posted financial and operating results including another strong showing from nationwide provider T-Mobile USA Inc. and mixed results...

An American Parody.(Opinion)
May 19, 2003... Byline: Jeffrey Silva There are several ways one can read the Pentagon mini-mobile-phone Iraq contract with MCI, formerly MCI before reputation-ravaged WorldCom Inc. figured a retro name change was in order since just about everything...

It's not always easy at the top; Nokia's CDMA efforts seem to fall short with Verizon, Sprint PCS.(Business)
May 19, 2003... Byline: MIKE DANO Although GSM proponent Nokia Corp. continues to profess plans to improve its CDMA phone sales, the company's efforts to date in the United States seem relatively unimpressive. Of the two major CDMA carriers in the...

WorldCom MMDS assets go to BellSouth.(Business)
May 19, 2003... Byline: KRISTEN BECKMAN BellSouth Corp. has agreed to buy WorldCom Inc.'s multichannel multipoint distribution system licenses for $65 million in an agreement the two companies reached last month. BellSouth's bid for the company's...

VeriSign enters Latin American roaming alliance.(News)
May 19, 2003... VeriSign Inc. reported a strategic alliance with International Mobile Communications Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary, RSB Limited L.L.C., to offer wireless carriers the ability to extend CDMA and TDMA international roaming coverage to GSM...