RCR Wireless News articles from May 2004

RCR Wireless News archives from May 2004

Stock Watch: April 22-April 29.(Wireless Metrics)
May 3, 2004... table: Stock Watch: April 22-April 29 * 3 graphics: Market Diary * Indices * RCR Index: see print copy.

Fast Fact.(Wireless Metrics)
May 3, 2004... Worldwide wireless Internet user numbers will reach nearly 600 million by 2008. Source: Probe Research

Acrimonious acronyms.(Opinion)
May 3, 2004... Byline: Tracy Ford I awoke in a panic the other night. Was I dreaming, or is it really true that the wireless industry has been slipping? Where to find the truth? Ah, I could find the answer in acronyms. With every new technology...

70-year-old RFID technology 'matures'.(Business)
May 3, 2004... Byline: EMILY MOTSAY Radio frequency identification technology is reaching maturity. Such an assertion seems almost absurd for a technology that has recently received hype rivaling that of other newfangled short-range wireless technologies...

mFormation aims to take data-tracking service beyond enterprise.(Business)
May 3, 2004... Byline: MIKE DANO Having found success in the device management space for businesses, start-up mFormation Technologies Inc. is now looking to use its experience and resources to break into the potentially lucrative wireless carrier market....

Customers mostly satisfied with wireless coverage on modest expectations.(Wireless Metrics)
May 3, 2004... Byline: EMILY MOTSAY Most wireless customers are pleased with the services, coverage and customer services from their wireless carriers, according to a new report from JupiterResearch, a division of Jupitermedia Corp. According to the...

PDA market continues slide.(Wireless Metrics)
May 3, 2004... Byline: MIKE DANO New research shows the market for personal digital assistants continues to decline, with shipments dropping 33.1 percent sequentially to 2.2 million units in the first quarter, according to research firm IDC. ...

Verizon vs. Verizon.(Opinion)
May 3, 2004... Byline: Jeffrey Silva When a small state retains a multimillion-dollar tax break for the nation's largest telephone company out of sympathy and concern about attacks on the landline carrier's subscriber base by mobile-phone carriers, you...

'Idol' phones set to sing with show's fans.(News)
May 3, 2004... Fans of the TV show "American Idol'' can purchase branded "American Idol'' mobile phones, replete with messages, pictures and ring tones featuring the show's contestants and acid-tongued judge Simon Cowell. "The whole concept behind...

Visto to extend patent battle with Seven.(News)
May 3, 2004... Wireless e-mail company Visto Corp. said it plans to extend its legal battle with rival Seven Networks Inc. to include four additional patents. "We believe that Seven has infringed on several of our patents, including our most recently...

Superconductor narrows loss, files stock offering.(News)
May 3, 2004... Superconductor Technologies Inc. this week released its first-quarter 2004 financial results. Total net revenues for the quarter were $5.4 million compared with $7.6 million for the year-ago first quarter. Net loss was $5.9 million, or 9...

Nortel fires Dunn amid financial probe.(News)
May 3, 2004... Byline: SAM OMATSEYE While its products still entice carriers, Nortel Networks Ltd. is down in the dumps on Wall Street. The question looms whether the company's technology will prevail over its financial woes. The company's...

Wireless entertainment shortchanges women, youth.(News)
May 3, 2004... Byline: MIKE DANO New research shows the wireless data and entertainment industry is neglecting its most willing market segments: women and young adults. "Females and young consumers have a significantly higher propensity to adopt most...

Nextel rejects CTIA alternate rebanding plan.
May 3, 2004... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER Nextel Communications Inc. would deposit at least $3 billion in a trust fund and receive spectrum in the 2.1 GHz band instead of the 1.9 GHz band in a plan to solve public-safety interference at 800 MHz...

Industry likely to get reprieve on bill of rights.
May 3, 2004... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA A controversial plan to give California telecom consumers a bill of rights, one which appeared headed for passage this month over objections from mobile-phone carriers, has turned into a free for all. Last week,...

AT&T Wireless considers selling Rogers stake.(Global Wireless)
May 3, 2004... Canadian telecommunications provider Rogers Communications Inc. said it received a notice from AT&T Wireless Services Inc. on its intent to "explore options to monitize its stake'' in Rogers Wireless Communications Inc., which currently...

China Mobile pays $3.65B for 10 networks.(Global Wireless)
May 3, 2004... China Mobile said it will buy wireless networks in 10 of China's provinces from its parent company for $3.65 billion. The acquisition gives China Mobile a nationwide footprint, although the new networks are in some of China's poorest provinces....

Cisco, Ericsson to sell equipment.(News)
May 3, 2004... In a deal that may have wireless implications, Cisco Systems Inc. said it has entered an agreement with L.M. Ericsson to sell equipment and services to wireline phone companies. The products will focus on services such as Internet voice...

Wireless-phone sales surge in first quarter.(News)
May 3, 2004... Strong mobile-phones sales in North America, Western Europe, Korea, Asia Pacific, Central and Latin America, and Eastern Europe helped push industry first-quarter sales to a 40-percent annual growth rate, according to new numbers from research...

Optasite pockets $10M for tower acquisitions.(Business)
May 3, 2004... Optasite Inc., a wireless services firm that provides acquisition, cell site construction, testing and maintenance services, said it has received $10 million in financing. The company plans to use the new capital to develop and acquire...

Alcatel/TCL venture underscores changes in handset market.(News)
May 3, 2004... Byline: MIKE DANO Alcatel's new handset deal with Chinese electronics manufacturer TCL Corp. is part of a notable and growing trend toward joint ventures and acquisitions, and analysts expect the pace to accelerate. "There's going to...

U.S. Carriers - 3rd Tier.(News)
May 3, 2004... 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...

Burns bill would reform universal-service program.(News)
May 3, 2004... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.), chairman of the Senate communications subcommittee, soon might introduce legislation to reform the universal-service program. "We keep fashioning that thing and running into...

Infrastructure players post gains.(Business)
May 3, 2004... Byline: SAM OMATSEYE Two significant infrastructure players posted profits last week, while a major chip player recorded a smaller loss in an industry that is beginning to say a definitive goodbye to what was an epidemic of losses in the...

Burns: White House against E911 grant program.(News)
May 3, 2004... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER The White House is trying to kill a bill that would create a grant program to aide deployment of wireless enhanced 911 service, but the bill's sponsor is not giving up. "I have it before the leader right...

A Big Gulp and a phone; 7-Eleven becomes newest MVNO.
May 3, 2004... Byline: DAN MEYER Mobile virtual network operators became more convenient last week as convenience store retailer 7-Eleven Inc. launched its Speak Out prepaid service in select markets, with plans to expand the service to most of its 5,300...

Number of LNP complaints to FCC drops in April.(Late News)
May 3, 2004... The Federal Communications Commission said it received 400 complaints in April from consumers regarding wireless local number portability, which was the lowest number of complaints in a month since WLNP was implemented Nov. 24, bringing the...

Alcatel hits profit on stabilizing revenue.(News)
May 3, 2004... Telecom vendor Alcatel reported a net income of $280.4 million, signaling its business has scaled the hump of recent downturns. This net income represents 22 cents per share. Excluding items, the company's net income stood at $160 million,...

Carriers taking closer look at backhaul options.(News)
May 3, 2004... Byline: EMILY MOTSAY Technological advances in infrastructure are affording wireless carriers even more dominion over their networks. Carriers now have the option of controlling the parts of their networks that they traditionally have had...

NYC Council to hold hearing on base-station health issues.(News)
May 3, 2004... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The New York City Council Friday plans to hold a hearing on public health implications of cell-phone base stations located throughout the city and consider conducting a long-term study. Government health experts...

Andrew posts 2Q profit.(News)
May 3, 2004... Telecom equipment vendor Andrew Corp. said it posted a second-quarter net profit of $10.2 million, or 6 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $3.4 million, or 3 cents a share, in the same period last year. The company said sales hit a...

Active RFID solutions enable hands-free tagging.(Business)
May 3, 2004... Byline: EMILY MOTSAY Radio frequency identification technology will likely become popular for applications beyond the supply chain as "active'' RFID solutions mature. "Passive'' RFID solutions, commonly used for supply-chain...

Alcatel plans handset exit strategy to focus on infrastructure, PTT.(News)
May 3, 2004... Byline: SAM OMATSEYE Analysts see Alcatel's joint venture with China's second-biggest handset vendor, TCL Communications, as an exit strategy out of the handset world to focus on its larger strengths in broadband and infrastructure. ...

Qualcomm, Motorola increase investments in Chinese market.(Global Wireless)
May 3, 2004... Both Qualcomm Inc. and Motorola made announcements related to the lucrative Chinese wireless market. Qualcomm announced it will invest in Chinese wireless handset design company Techfaith Wireless Communication Technology Ltd. as part of...

Navini, Net2Phone team to offer VoIP services.(News)
May 3, 2004... Net2Phone and Navini Networks announced they will partner to deliver Net2Phone's VoiceLine voice-over-IP broadband services over Navini's wireless metropolitan area network wireless broadband infrastructure. "Wireless metropolitan area...

American Tower hits expectations with 1Q figures.(News)
May 3, 2004... American Tower Corp. reported first-quarter financial results in line with analyst expectations. The company said total revenues were $186.2 million, up 15 percent from the first quarter of 2003. Income from operations increased to $21.8...

Verizon leads, regionals hold their own.(Business)
May 3, 2004... Byline: DAN MEYER Verizon Wireless continued its customer growth domination of the industry as evidenced in the second round of quarterly carrier results, while a pair of regional operators showed there is still a market for more-focused...

World Briefs; @@text: RUSSIA.(Briefs)
May 3, 2004... RUSSIA Alcatel Corp. said it signed a $50 million frame agreement with Russia's Mobile Telesystems to deploy equipment in 11 Russian regions and extend MTS' network in Ukraine. Delivery of the equipment will be in phases and is scheduled...

Financial Briefs.(Briefs)
May 3, 2004... Pulse-LINK, an ultra-wideband technology company, closed its Series D stock offering for more than $30 million. The company said it will use the proceeds to complete development and attain commercial release of its software-defined radio...

Calif. bill to require camera phones to emit noise or light.(News)
May 3, 2004... Byline: MIKE DANO A California legislator is pushing a bill that would require camera phones to emit a "distinctive noise or light'' when snapping pictures, thus alerting those nearby that they may have been photographed. The bill...

Virgin Mobile U.K. hits 4M.(News)
May 3, 2004... Virgin Mobile said it has 4 million U.K. customers, adding 1 million clients since August 2003. The mobile virtual network operator cited its "attractive services, excellent customer care and motivated workforce'' for the strong growth. A...

Nextel prepares rate plans with predictable overage structure.(News)
May 3, 2004... Pre-empting a similar move expected to be launched by Sprint PCS in mid-May, Nextel Communications Inc. is reportedly set to launch new rate plans that provide consumers with a more predictable overage structure beginning May 1, according to a...

Wireless suppliers ring up infrastructure deals.(News)
May 3, 2004... Byline: SAM OMATSEYE Wireless vendors are reaping contract dividends as carriers loosen their purse strings. L.M. Ericsson announced three contracts, while Siemens AG and Alcatel Corp. announced one each. Ericsson said it won a UMTS...

Mobile Gambling.(News)
May 10, 2004... Mobile Gambling Services 2006 Casino: 0.9 B Lotteries/competitions 2.6 B Betting 2.0 B Total Gambling Services 5.7 B

Siemens teams with China's Ningbo Bird for phones.(Global Wireless)
May 10, 2004... Byline: MIKE DANO German handset maker Siemens AG and Chinese vendor Ningbo Bird Co. Ltd. announced a new strategic partnership to build and sell mobile phones in Chinese and international markets, moves that could expand both companies'...

Wireless improves to No. 2 on consumer complaint list.(News)
May 10, 2004... The cellular-phone industry remains high on the list of the most complained about industries in the United States, according to 2003 data from the Council of Better Business Bureaus. The CBBB said it processed 18,323 wireless-related...

Sprint introduces Wi-Fi unlimited access plan.(Business)
May 10, 2004... Sprint Corp. introduced a $50 monthly unlimited access plan for its Sprint PCS Wi-Fi Access service to complement its $7 promotional daily connection offer. The company said the wireless local area network service is available in more than...

Stanton parlayed early McCaw success to wins with Western Wireless, DT.(News)
May 10, 2004... Byline: DAN MEYER While there may be a lack of visual similarities, John Stanton's career in the wireless industry has nearly mirrored John Travolta's stardom in Hollywood. Both came out of nowhere at an early age to make an enormous...

Operators scoring in court on rejected towers apps.
May 10, 2004... Byline: EMILY MOTSAY Supported by the Telecom Act of 1996, wireless carriers are taking towns across the country that have denied them permits for tower builds to court-and winning. Reports from local newspapers nationwide show that the...

Video phone could become third screen.(Business)
May 10, 2004... Byline: MIKE DANO On first sight, comedy quiz show "Psyche 101'' and reality drama series "Hotel Franklin'' appear to be part of a new fall TV lineup. Each episode of "Psyche 101'' follows a couple on their first date, but the twist is...

In-Fusio aims to cash in on U.S. gaming.(Business)
May 10, 2004... Byline: MIKE DANO The U.S. wireless gaming market recently expanded yet again with the emergence of European gaming powerhouse In-Fusio. The Bordeaux, France-based gaming company has been offering wireless games and technology in Europe...

Letters.
May 10, 2004... Nextel should pay to solve its problem Dear Editor, Our company is one of the few that did not sell our 800 MHz licenses to Nextel. We have systems in Phoenix and several rural Arizona cities, so obviously I have been following the 800...

Wireless subscribers to pay for N.Y. state public-safety network.(News)
May 10, 2004... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The estimated $1 billion contract awarded to M/A-COM to build a public-safety wireless network throughout New York state will be paid for through a 911 cell-phone surcharge on consumer bills, calling into question...

Revenues up for Crown, SBA, but losses continue.(News)
May 10, 2004... Byline: EMILY MOTSAY Despite increased revenues, tower companies Crown Castle International Corp. and SBA Communications Corp. reported first-quarter financials in the red, although Crown managed to shave its losses. Crown reported...

Bush cheered for wireless broadband loans; FCC to create task force.(News)
May 10, 2004... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA, HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER The Federal Communications Commission last week created a wireless broadband access task force to help craft policies for fostering deployment of high-speed wireless Internet services in the...

Carriers aim to keep customers loyal, happy with flexible rate plans.
May 10, 2004... Byline: DAN MEYER Wireless customers hit with higher-than-expected bills when they exceed their monthly allotment of calling minutes could begin to see some relief. Sprint PCS and Nextel Communications Inc. have introduced overage...

Iraqi contracts probed.(News)
May 10, 2004... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The Department of Defense last week refused to say whether its inspector general is investigating a high-level official who allegedly attempted to convert a project to build a nationwide first-responder network in...

Wireless gambling market gets crowded, but vendors unwilling to bet on U.S.(News)
May 10, 2004... Byline: MIKE DANO Movie studios, video-game companies and record labels are all in the process of extending their offerings to mobile-phone subscribers, so it's no surprise that Internet gambling vendors are also researching the market as...

Strigl learned to balance big picture with details, competitive edge with calm.(News)
May 10, 2004... Byline: SAM OMATSEYE Dennis Strigl did not have to be a diligent student to become a first-rate manager. "I disliked school,'' recalls the chief executive officer of Verizon Wireless Inc., the biggest carrier in the United States. "I...

T-Mobile's practices in Beverly Hills questioned as area gets close to running out of phone numbers.(News)
May 10, 2004... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER -At least one member of the California Public Utilities Commission is still resisting efforts to split the Beverly Hills area code even as the Federal Communications Commission is auditing T-Mobile USA...

Consumer groups, dealers oppose Cingular-AWS tie-up.(News)
May 10, 2004... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA Consumer groups and cellular dealers asked the Federal Communications Commission to block the proposed merger of AT&T Wireless Services Inc. and Cingular Wireless L.L.C., while organized labor reiterated its support...

Sprint PCS launches new ad campaign.(News)
May 10, 2004... Sprint Corp. will unveil a new advertising campaign Monday that the telecommunications provider said "demonstrates a fundamental shift in how customers will experience wireless.'' The campaign, which was created by Publicis & Hal Riney of San...

Late News.
May 10, 2004... Sprint PCS to pitch baseball audio Idetic Inc. and MLB Advanced Media L.P. have partnered to deliver live audio broadcasts of Major League Baseball games to mobile phones. The service, dubbed Mobi-MLB Gameday Audio, is available to Sprint...

Cingular to upgrade Louisiana network.(News)
May 10, 2004... ALEXANDRIA, La.-Cingular Wireless L.L.C. said it expects to invest $84.5 million this year in its Louisiana network, including the deployment of GSM technology into the Alexandria and Lake Charles markets the carrier recently acquired from...

FCC likely to decide 800 MHz in private.
May 10, 2004... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER Nextel Communications Inc., and the rest of the wireless world, will have to wait a bit longer. The Federal Communications Commission late Thursday put out the agenda for its May 13 meeting, and again...

Privacy concerns dog RFID deployments.(News)
May 10, 2004... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA California, already pursuing new laws for wireless carriers, cell-phone drivers and camera phones, has become the latest state to advance privacy legislation governing radio frequency identification applications...

Business Briefs.(Briefs)
May 10, 2004... Lucent Technologies Inc. said it has won a $150 million contract to provide U.S. Cellular with CDMA2000 equipment, software and professional services in the Chicago market. Lucent said it will upgrade its existing base stations on the network...

3-man firm says its solution 'solves' picture-messaging interop problem.(News)
May 10, 2004... Byline: MIKE DANO In their spare time after work and on the weekends, three tech-savvy guys in Petaluma, Calif., in about six months have managed to surmount a technical hurdle that the multibillion-dollar U.S. wireless industry has not...

Shadow campaign.(Opinion)
May 10, 2004... Byline: Jeffrey Silva Ah, the wireless guys can smell a winner. At both ends of the country, mobile-phone lobbyists are tapping into two of the hottest political tickets around: GOP California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic...

Growth expected for dual-mode cellular/Wi-Fi devices.(Wireless Metrics)
May 10, 2004... -Dual-mode cellular/Wi-Fi mobile phones will enjoy support among business users and could grow to as much as 7 percent of the worldwide handset market by 2009, according to new research from Allied Business Intelligence. The firm said...

Mforma, THQ Wireless make acquisitions.(Business)
May 10, 2004... Byline: MIKE DANO The wireless content business continues its rapid consolidation as two major U.S. players announced international acquisitions. The moves are the latest indication that wireless entertainment and application companies...

Convergys makes two acquisitions.(Business)
May 10, 2004... Convergys Corp. announced it has acquired WhisperWire Inc. and Encore Receivable Management Inc. The acquisition of WhisperWire, a provider of industry-specific sales effectiveness software, will complement Convergys' Infinys business...

Settlement talks under way in N.C. distracted-driver suit.(News)
May 10, 2004... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA Lawyers for a North Carolina firm are in talks to settle a lawsuit brought by the estate of a young girl killed earlier this year when a commercial truck-allegedly operated by a driver reaching for his cell...

McCaw's fixed-wireless fascination.(Opinion)
May 10, 2004... When Craig McCaw buys, people in wireless listen. McCaw arguably has been the one person who has had the greatest impact on wireless telephony. He built the first nationwide cellular network, sold it to then-powerhouse AT&T Corp. and later...

Alamosa cuts loss in half.(Business)
May 10, 2004... Sprint PCS affiliate Alamosa Holdings Inc. reported a 25-percent increase in first-quarter revenue from $141.1 million last year to $176.7 million this year, which helped the carrier cut net losses nearly in half from $30.5 million last year, a...

30% of consumer telecom spending goes to wireless.(Wireless Metrics)
May 10, 2004... Wireless services garnered 30 percent of total consumer spending during the fourth quarter of last year, which was a 3-percent increase from the previous quarter and just below the 31 percent spent on wired telecommunications services,...

Wal-Mart RFID test starts.(Business)
May 17, 2004... Byline: EMILY MOTSAY While Wal-Mart Stores Inc. joins the high-tech industry in celebrating its recently launched supply-chain management Radio Frequency Identification pilot program, consumer privacy groups are shaking their collective...

Plans for Iraqi first-responder network expand amid probe.(News)
May 17, 2004... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA As allegations fly back and forth over the award of Iraqi mobile-phone licenses and public-safety contracts in a war-torn country where insurgency has become a destabilizing force, the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional...

Nextel still king of PTT hill.
May 17, 2004... Byline: DAN MEYER Nextel Communications Inc. continues to dominate the walkie-talkie space and is not expected to relinquish that lead for some time, despite recent attempts by Verizon Wireless, Sprint PCS and Alltel Corp. to garner some...

T-Mobile robust net adds take some by surprise.(News)
May 17, 2004... Byline: DAN MEYER T-Mobile USA Inc. posted first-quarter customer growth second only to Verizon Wireless and more than double its next closest competitor, reaffirming claims that once consumers could port their phone numbers, they would...

Regional players try to boost internal revenues as roaming dollars taper.(News)
May 17, 2004... Byline: DAN MEYER Regional carriers Triton PCS Holdings Inc., Dobson Communications Corp. and Rural Cellular Corp. showed their continued uneasy reliance on roaming traffic in first-quarter financials released last week. The regional...

QoS gains respect as carriers focus on data.(Business)
May 17, 2004... Byline: SAM OMATSEYE Quality of service requirements recently have become more urgent for wide area wireless networks because of the increasing need for data and other multimedia services. QoS also is being propelled by the variety of...

Correction.
May 17, 2004... Cellcom should have been No. 14 on the U.S. Carriers-3rd Tier By the Numbers list in the May 3 issue of RCR Wireless News. Cellcom covers 810,000 pops and has licenses covering 4.1 million total pops in Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Iowa,...

As games biz grows, it shrinks.(Focus)
May 17, 2004... Byline: MIKE DANO Two years ago, the wireless gaming market in the United States comprised a few tiny start-ups selling a handful of black-and-white, text-based games. The wireless gaming market today is a multimillion-dollar industry with...