RCR Wireless News articles from November 2003

RCR Wireless News archives from November 2003

T-Mobile USA.(News)
November 3, 2003... Headquarters: Bellevue, Wash. Chief executive: Robert Dotson Network technology: GSM/GPRS Total customers (Q2 2003): 11.4 million 2002 numbers: Revenues: $5.7 billion EBITDA: $449 million

CPUC's Kennedy to propose bill of rights that excludes wireless.(News)
November 3, 2003... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA California Public Utilities Commissioner Susan Kennedy does not appear to have the votes for an alternative bill of rights for telecom consumers that would exempt mobile-phone carriers, but the rewrite is bound to...

Late News.
November 3, 2003... Record, wireless cos. team to promote musicians Record companies Def Jam Recordings and Elektra Records will team with two wireless companies to develop wireless marketing campaigns to promote various musicians. The first campaigns will...

WLNP retention efforts subtle.
November 3, 2003... Byline: DAN MEYER With less than a month to go before the scheduled Nov. 24 implementation of wireless local number portability, few carriers have engaged in the cut-throat rate plan battles many expected and instead have taken more subtle...

Wi-Fi doesn't worry Monet.
November 3, 2003... Byline: MIKE DANO Becky Welke had a problem. As general manager of the Plaza Hotel & Suites in Eau Claire, Wis., Welke wanted to offer her guests high-speed access to the Internet, but the installation and service costs made her think...

11th hour effort to delay WLNP.
November 3, 2003... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER Some wireless carriers are hoping the fat lady has yet to sing. Lobbyists staged a last-ditch effort to delay the Nov. 24 wireless local number portability mandate until after the holiday shopping...

Upbeat 3Q infectious, too soon to tell if it will hold.
November 3, 2003... Byline: SAM OMATSEYE With upbeat third-quarter results snapping several quarters of melancholy, wireless players may be about to turn their purse strings loose. The good news is infectious, touching not only carriers, but also...

Fleet operators use mainly cell phones.(Wireless Metrics)
November 3, 2003... Cell phones are the most widely used mobile communications devices among U.S. fleet operators, according to a new survey from C.J. Driscoll & Associates. According to the survey of 400 fleet operators, 66 percent use cell phones, while 52...

Fast Fact.(Wireless Metrics)
November 3, 2003... Rutberg & Co. said its outlook is positive on rich media and believes 2003 will be "Year 0'' for 2.5G wireless data. During the second quarter, eight rich-media companies received $83 million in funding, well up from the $15 million divided...

Rural broadband loans could be eliminated.(News)
November 3, 2003... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER A program created in last year's Farm Bill to allow loans for technology-neutral broadband deployment is at risk of not being funded during this year's appropriations cycle, proponents of the program warned...

Cell-phone courtesy differs by region.(News)
November 3, 2003... As part of its Be Sensible program, Cingular Wireless L.L.C. released a consumer survey showing regional differences in what is considered proper and courteous use of cellular phones in public areas. The telephone survey, which was...

Nokia shows off 7700.(Business)
November 3, 2003... Nokia made numerous announcements at its annual customer Mobile Internet Conference in Nice, France, and at its "Destination Nokia 100% Pure Mobility'' event in Brisbane, Australia, The company shared its vision of a mobile services mass...

Award winners named at tower show.(News)
November 3, 2003... From a crowded show floor at this week's Tower Summit & Trade Show, Shorecliff Communications L.L.C. presented its annual Excellence in Business Awards. Sprint Sites USA was awarded the most creative site concealment design for a site...

Microsoft, Vodafone further detail Web services initiative.(News)
November 3, 2003... Following on promises to release additional information on their plan, Microsoft Corp. and Vodafone Group plc offered further insight into their Web services plan. Specifically, the companies released their Web services white paper at the...

Nortel to trial WLAN system with MIT, BT.(News)
November 3, 2003... In tune with its "Business Without Borders'' vision, Nortel Networks Ltd. said it plans to trial its public wireless local area networks architecture with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and British Telecom plc. Nortel said it...

Orange France launches directory service with Dejima.(News)
November 3, 2003... Orange France launched a new intuitive directory service that will allow subscribers to search for information in a non-structured format. Orange teamed with technology company Dejima Inc. to offer the text messaging service, which allows users...

Verizon: Consensus Plan would give Nextel $6.5B, Nextel begs to differ.(News)
November 3, 2003... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER Verizon Wireless last month said that if the Federal Communications Commission agrees to the Consensus Plan to solve the public-safety interference problem in the 800 MHz band, Nextel Communications Inc....

Bluetooth shipments hit milestone.(Business)
November 3, 2003... Byline: DAN MEYER Countering claims that the technology has yet to gain a foothold, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group reported shipments of the short-range wireless technology exceeded 1 million units per week worldwide during the third...

T-Mobile USA exploits niche as value leader; Carrier could win in WLNP rollout.(News)
November 3, 2003... Byline: DAN MEYER With hundreds of wireless operators spread throughout the country, T-Mobile USA Inc.'s position as the sixth-largest carrier would seem to be one of the more enviable. The carrier has posted stronger customer growth in...

Bush ad campaign targets teen drivers.(News)
November 3, 2003... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA A Bush administration-sponsored ad campaign aimed at teens will kick off early next year stressing the dangers of distracted driving, an approach more targeted than the one embraced by the cell-phone industry. ...

New player enters mobile marketing game.(News)
November 3, 2003... Interest in mobile marketing continues to grow, with new entrant Mynamics announcing its official launch. The new company is based in London and counts offices in Connecticut and Sydney, Australia. The company said it will work to manage...

Service provider confidence continues rise.(Wireless Metrics)
November 3, 2003... Confidence in the service provider sector continues to rise, according to Sage Research Inc.'s September 2003 Service Provider Confidence Index (SPCI). "Looking at the past 12 months, we can now see a significant recovery in service provider...

Crown Castle revenue, net loss rise in quarter.(Business)
November 3, 2003... Crown Castle International Corp. reported a slight year-over-year increase in total revenues during the third quarter from $227.4 million last year to $235.6 million in total revenues during the third quarter of 2003. The increase included a...

Interference.(Opinion)
November 3, 2003... Byline: Tracy Ford The Federal Communications Commission is trying diligently to come up with its own plan for solving the interference problem at 800 MHz in a way to satisfy public-safety users, private-wireless companies, Nextel...

Verizon kicks in 3Q.(News)
November 3, 2003... Byline: DAN MEYER Following mixed third-quarter results from most of its nationwide competitors, Verizon Wireless put a stronger lock on its title as the country's largest wireless carrier with customer growth nearly double its nearest...

Billywood.(Opinion)
November 3, 2003... Byline: Jeffrey Silva How about a movie about a powerful House committee chairman with a $155,000 salary who buys a million-dollar piece of prime hunting property in Texas with guidance from a seasoned wireless lobbyist, all amid riveting...

AWS hikes NFL text-message promo.(Business)
November 3, 2003... Following its successful text-messaging campaign with the "American Idol'' TV show, AT&T Wireless Services Inc. announced a text-messaging promotion for football fans. AT&T Wireless and Motorola Inc. announced they teamed with the NFL to...

World Briefs.(Briefs)
November 3, 2003... Hong Kong Hutchison 3G HK Ltd. and Nokia have been working together to deploy the core network equipment for Hutchison's 3G W-CDMA network in Hong Kong. Nokia said it is supplying equipment for both the circuit and packet core networks as...

American Tower strong in 3Q.(Business)
November 3, 2003... American Tower Corp. reported strong third-quarter results, including increased revenues and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization and decreased net losses. Total operating revenues stood at $186.9 million, up from...

Sun teams with TI for next-gen handset technology.(News)
November 3, 2003... In what both companies see as a signal of future collaboration, Sun Microsystems Inc. and Texas Instruments Inc. are working together to deliver optimized end-to-end wireless solutions for 2.5- and third-generation networks. In the deal,...

FCC partners with NIMA on tower database.(News)
November 3, 2003... The Federal Communications Commission and the National Imagery and Mapping Agency plan to create a tower location database though a memorandum of understanding that requires them to exchange unclassified database information on tower locations...

Tower industry optimistic about '04 buildout plans.(News)
November 3, 2003... Byline: EMILY MOTSAY Tower industry players, big and small alike, are counting on widespread predictions that more wireless communications towers will be built in 2004, a sentiment that was tangible at last week's Shorecliff Communications...

Raco tries to jumpstart location-based services market.(News)
November 3, 2003... Byline: MIKE DANO The latest entrant into the crowded market for location-based services plans to tackle the industry from a new angle. Raco Wireless Nov. 1 launched 1-866-OPENWAY, its Mobile Assist telephone service that offers everything...

OSHA investigates cell-phone tower death.(News)
November 3, 2003... The Occupational Safety and Health Administration and local authorities are investigating the death of a man who died after falling from a cell-phone tower being built by a Massachusetts contractor for Sprint PCS. Eastern Communications...

China market could face price pressures.(Global Wireless)
November 3, 2003... Byline: SAM OMATSEYE The word "bubble'' has popped into dialogue about the Chinese market, barely two years after the same market was hailed as the big mine for profits in a weak global economy. Wireless players said that although it...

Senate could tinker with USF as revenues plummet.(News)
November 3, 2003... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER A powerful lawmaker called for wireless carriers to get universal-service subsidies for deploying towers in rural America. "We should let cell-phone companies get additional price support to expand...

Verizon Wireless class-action could be costly settlement.(Late News)
November 17, 2003... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA A California judge cleared the way for what is believed to be a record settlement in a class-action lawsuit against Verizon Wireless in which the nation's No. 1 mobile-phone operator has agreed to make broader...

Nextel plans upgrade to WiDEN.(News)
November 17, 2003... Nextel Communications Inc. announced late Friday it will upgrade its iDEN network using Motorola Inc.'s WiDEN network technology, which the carrier said will quadruple its data speeds. Nextel said its investment in the new WiDEN technology...

Business Briefs.(Briefs)
November 17, 2003... Eastman Kodak Co. reported agreements with Cingular Wireless L.L.C. and Nokia Corp. to provide mobile imaging services and initiatives designed to help customers get more out of their camera-enabled handsets. The agreements center around...

`American Exceptionalism'.(Opinion)
November 17, 2003... Byline: Jeffrey Silva Did de Tocqueville consider globalization? The keen French observer of America in the 1830s undoubtedly was correct in realizing we are different, unique as things go and egalitarian in emphasis. De Tocqueville...

M-commerce players Network365, iPIN merge.(Business)
November 17, 2003... Byline: MIKE DANO Two of the world's most notable mobile commerce startups, Network365 Ltd. and iPIN, announced today they will blend into a new player, Valista, a move company officials said will create a dominate payment provider...

Verizon handset boosts Microsoft's wireless ambitions.(Business)
November 17, 2003... Byline: MIKE DANO Microsoft Corp. scored another major distribution deal for its mobile-phone software with Verizon Wireless, the nation's largest wireless carrier, announcing the availability of the Samsung SCH-i600 with Microsoft's...

SBA shrinks losses, revenues.(Business)
November 17, 2003... Byline: EMILY MOTSAY SBA Communications Corp. reported revenues for the third quarter totaled $52.4 million, down from $60.8 million in third-quarter 2002. The company also released the results of a re-audit of its fiscal year 2001 and...

Infrastructure Contracts.(Wireless Metrics)
November 17, 2003... Following are mobile infrastructure contracts announced in October 2003. Alcatel China. With China Mobile to expand its GSM networks. Value: $50 million Comorian Union. With SNPT to roll out the country's first GSM network....

GoAmerica needs funding to get past January.(News)
November 17, 2003... Wireless enterprise company GoAmerica Inc. reported another dim quarter, with declining revenues of $3.1 million and a net loss of $1 million. The company said it has $842,000 in cash and cash equivalents, which will fund the company only until...

AT&T Wireless signs porting agreements, reports job cuts.(News)
November 17, 2003... AT&T Wireless Services Inc. said it has signed agreements with Cingular Wireless L.L.C. and Sprint PCS detailing how they will port customers' phone numbers once the first phase of local number portability is implemented on Nov. 24. AT&T...

Sprint says PTT service has near-Nextel intra-call latency.(News)
November 17, 2003... Byline: DAN MEYER After months of speculation, analysts prognostications and Internet rumors, Sprint PCS finally launched its Ready Link push-to-talk solution, bolstering the carriers' service line up and providing the wireless industry...

LightSurf to manage Bell Mobility photo service.(News)
November 17, 2003... Bell Mobility said it will sell the new Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. SPH-a600 camera phone, and that it will offer a picture-sharing service through a new deal with camera-phone technology company LightSurf. Using Bell Mobility's Picture...

Motorola sets up center for third-party vendors.(News)
November 17, 2003... Motorola Inc. said it has set up a center to purchase parts for third-party makers of its wireless equipment and handheld devices. The company said the center will take orders of about $1.73 billion every year by 2006, representing 80...

FCC warms up to interference-temperature concept.(News)
November 17, 2003... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER The Federal Communications Commission Thursday took the first step to altering the way spectrum interference is measured by seeking comment on the controversial interference-temperature concept proposed last...

Premium messages create new revenue source.
November 17, 2003... Byline: MIKE DANO Premium text messaging is now a reality in the United States-essentially creating a new market in the U.S. wireless industry. Most of the nation's wireless carriers have installed the necessary billing and management...

Broadcasters claim spectrum earmarked for Pentagon could hurt video links.(News)
November 17, 2003... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA Another unexpected snag has further complicated industry's chances for securing military spectrum for third-generation wireless services, with the powerful broadcast lobby claiming new studies-conducted in the absence...

Software glitch takes down AT&T Wireless GSM activations.
November 17, 2003... Byline: DAN MEYER AT&T Wireless Services Inc. said last week it was making progress on fixing a software glitch that has prevented the carrier from activating new GSM customers, converting current TDMA customers to its GSM network or...

UWB standards body at standoff.
November 17, 2003... Byline: SAM OMATSEYE Failure to arrive at an industry standard has caught ultra-wideband technology players between bowing to standards pressures and customer demand. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics working group's...

Loan funds for E911 included in farm bill.(News)
November 17, 2003... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER The chairs of the E911 Congressional Caucus, Sens. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), have amended the agricultural spending bill to include money for a loan program aimed at...

Optimus to launch WAP 2.0 with LogicaCMG technology.(Global Wireless)
November 17, 2003... LogicaCMG said Portuguese mobile operator Optimus has deployed its Wireless Service Broker product, which will enable Optimus to deliver mobile Internet services based on WAP 2.0 and multimedia messaging services. The LogicaCMG technology...

Canadian text messaging triples in 18 months.(Global Wireless)
November 17, 2003... The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association said Canadians sent more than 32 million person-to-person text messages during the month of September, representing three times as much monthly usage in the 18 months since the launch of...

Leap loses couch, keeps focus simple in re-launch.(News)
November 17, 2003... Byline: DAN MEYER Following more than six months of restructuring under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Leap Wireless International Inc. is set to re-launch its Cricket branded service this week using some of its original ideas,...

Ricochet evaluates options to continue service.(Business)
November 17, 2003... Ricochet Networks Inc. is "actively evaluating a number of options relative to its business prospects'' to continue to service existing customers and to grow its network, according to Chief Executive Officer Greg Sadler. Ricochet has been...

Nokia releases PTT handset.(Business)
November 17, 2003... Byline: MIKE DANO The world's No. 1 handset manufacturer Nokia Corp. released its first push-to-talk mobile phone, the candy bar 5140, and said beginning in 2005 all of its GPRS/W-CDMA handsets would feature the technology. Nokia's...

O'Brien to leave Nextel operations.(News)
November 17, 2003... Nextel Communications Inc. founder Morgan O'Brien said he was leaving the company as an employee, which recently included overseeing Nextel's spectrum acquisition program, regulatory affairs and new market development initiatives, but would...

Hutchison to buy KPN stake in 3 U.K.(Global Wireless)
November 17, 2003... KPN Mobile and Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. reached an agreement on their disputed U.K. third-generation operator business. KPN Mobile will sell its 15-percent stake in Hutchison 3G U.K. Ltd. to Hutchison Whampoa for $150.4 million. An initial...

Agere releases EDGE chipset.(Business)
November 17, 2003... Agere Systems Inc. said it has unveiled what it describes as the smallest and fastest EDGE chipset solution for enhanced mobile handsets and smart phones. The company said it will enable phone manufacturers to develop compact handsets with...

Nokia to add security features to games after N-Gage is hacked.(News)
November 17, 2003... Byline: MIKE DANO Less than a month after Nokia Corp. introduced its first foray into the video gaming realm, hackers have managed to break the security settings on the company's N-Gage mobile phone/video game device and are making pirated...

AT&T Wireless, Triton PCS renew brand agreement.(Business)
November 17, 2003... AT&T Wireless Services Inc. affiliate Triton PCS Holdings Inc. said it has renewed its current agreement with AT&T Wireless and AT&T Corp. to continue to use the AT&T brand name until Feb. 4, 2005. The agreement was also amended to include...

AWS, Rogers launch cross-border program.(Global Wireless)
November 17, 2003... AT&T Wireless Services Inc. and Canadian operator Rogers Wireless Communications Inc., which operates as Rogers AT&T Wireless, launched a cross-border North American Corporate Digital Advantage program designed to provide businesses that are...

Wireless must keep pace with changing consumer opinions.(News)
November 17, 2003... Byline: EMILY MOTSAY As the penetration of advanced mobile phones continues to rise, mobile operators must be aware of a changing mindset among consumers, as well as the differences in mindsets among diversified demographics, according to...

Delta Telecom to bring BREW to Russia.(Global Wireless)
November 17, 2003... Qualcomm Inc.'s BREW application download service could pop up in Russia through a new agreement between the technology giant and Delta Telecom, a cellular operator in the northwest region of Russia. The companies signed a preliminary...

LECs battle primary line USF restriction.(News)
November 17, 2003... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER Five trade associations representing rural wireline carriers last week objected to a suggestion that universal-service support be restricted to primary lines. "Before rural incumbent local exchange...

IBM rolls out database software.(News)
November 17, 2003... Byline: SAM OMATSEYE IBM Corp. said its new database software gives enterprise greater service than rivals Microsoft Corp. and Oracle Corp. Oracle supports Oracle 9i and Microsoft supports Pocket PC and its server database, said Jay...

Less than half of states to be ready for E911 by '05.(News)
November 17, 2003... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER Only 24 states told congressional investigators that they plan to meet the 2005 deadline for wireless enhanced 911 Phase II deployment. "Implementation of wireless E911 is several years away in many...

Carriers walk tight rope balancing growth, op-ex.(News)
November 17, 2003... Byline: DAN MEYER The last round of third-quarter results posted last week continued to show the growing operational gaps between the country's six nationwide carriers and the numerous rural operators that are finding a more difficult...

Landline operators' turn to protest Nov. 24 LNP date.(News)
November 17, 2003... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER The Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association last week threw in the towel and gave up fighting wireless local number portability. "This thing is moving forward. It is inevitable. We are...

Carriers start to demand customized handsets; Will handset makers be able to keep their own brands?(Focus)
November 17, 2003... Byline: MIKE DANO The wireless balance of power is shifting, industry watchers agree. The world's handset makers-companies that once almost had total control over their products, services and software-soon may bow to the ultimate...

AAT closes on financing.(News)
November 17, 2003... AAT Communications Corp. announced it has closed on $180 million of equity capital it plans to use to help fund acquisitions and build-to-suit tower projects. AAT has nearly quintupled its tower portfolio since May 2002 when Cequel III was...

Where's Waldo?(Opinion)
November 17, 2003... Byline: Tracy Ford Remember the books that asked readers to find Waldo? Waldo, a friendly be-speckled man in a red-and-white striped sweater hitchhiked across the continents amid a swarm of people. The object for readers was to pick out...

Nokia comments on battery troubles.(News)
November 17, 2003... Following numerous reports of exploding batteries in Nokia Corp. phones-which the company continues to blame on unsafe, low-quality counterfeit products-Nokia said it has so far seized and destroyed more than 5 million counterfeit batteries...

Aether works toward profitability, looks at 'strategic alternatives'.(Business)
November 17, 2003... Wireless enterprise company Aether Systems Inc. reported declining revenues and losses, and said that although its earnings were lower than expected, the company's financial restructuring efforts continue to show positive signs. Interestingly,...

Alvarion, Airspan get Serbian contract.(Global Wireless)
November 17, 2003... Serbia's Telekom Srbija a.d. has chosen Alvarion Ltd. and Airspan Networks Inc. as suppliers for the rebuilding of its telecommunications infrastructure. The company plans to deploy more than 100,000 new telephony and data lines using wireless...

Convergys reports Satelindo license.(Business)
November 17, 2003... Convergys Corp. said it will license its Infinys solution to PT Satelit Palapa Indonesia (Satelindo). Satelindo will use the Infinys application for order management, and Geneva, the Infinys application for rating and billing, to support...

Esmertec raises $27M.(Business)
November 17, 2003... Wireless Java company Esmertec announced it raised a significant $27 million in venture funding, with Earlybird Venture Capital, Partners Group and Sofinnova Partners leading the investment round. Esmertec sells Java platforms to wireless...

Sprint PCS offers streaming TV.(News)
November 17, 2003... Sprint PCS yet again is offering a streaming TV service, this time through MobiTV and technology partner Idetic Inc. In February, Sprint announced its 1KTV Java application, which the carrier said delivers streaming TV content. In August,...

Top players will enjoy gaming success.(Wireless Metrics)
November 17, 2003... Although the mobile gaming market will grow from $500 million last year to $2 billion in 2006, the success will only be enjoyed by a top few players, according to a new study from research and consulting firm Alexander Resources. According...

Partner, Nortel sign UMTS network deal.(Global Wireless)
November 17, 2003... Partner Communications Co. Ltd. said it has signed a $93 million deal with Nortel Networks Ltd. to supply UMTS equipment for its networks. The carrier expects the network to increase voice and data capacity in such services as...