RCR Wireless News articles from November 2004

RCR Wireless News archives from November 2004

Pro-tech vote favors GOP, industry hedges bets with Dem donations.(News)
November 1, 2004... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA While new industry figures show top Republicans casting pro-technology votes more often than their counterparts in Congress, a review of fresh campaign finance data reveals top high-tech firms are hedging their bets...

Sagem explores merger with French aerospace company.(News)
November 1, 2004... Wireless handset maker Sagem and aerospace propulsion and equipment company Snecma are examining the potential of a merger between the two companies. A merger would greatly expand each company's area of focus. "The expanded group would be...

iPass to buy Mobile Automation for $20M.(Business)
November 1, 2004... iPass Inc. said it will buy Mobile Automation for $20 million in an all-cash deal. Mobile Automation helps to protect mobile devices for information technology departments. "Combining the Mobile Automation technology with the iPass secure...

Audiovox, NEC show new handsets.(News)
November 1, 2004... Byline: EMILY MOTSAY While primarily a stomping ground for carriers and content developers to meet and deal, this year's CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment show, held last week in San Francisco, also provided a platform for the launch of...

Billboard launches ringtone chart.(News)
November 1, 2004... Billboard magazine and Consect, a mobile market analysis firm, announced the Billboard Hot Ringtones chart, an aggregated chart of U.S. polyphonic ringtone sales, which will premiere in the Nov. 6 issue of Billboard in the debut of the...

Dobson announces $825M private placement, faces shareholder suits.(Business)
November 1, 2004... Dobson Cellular Systems Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Dobson Communications Corp., announced the pricing of a private placement of $825 million of senior secured notes. The notes consist of $250 million of 8.375-percent fixed-rate...

Letter: Nextel takes issue with article.(Letters)
November 1, 2004... Dear Editor: Nextel is disappointed and dismayed regarding the news article by Heather Forsgren Weaver posted on rcrnews.com and printed in the Oct. 25 edition of the newspaper highlighting a phrase used by Nextel Chief Executive Officer...

Intel invests with Clearwire to steer WiMAX development.(News)
November 1, 2004... Byline: COLIN GIBBS WiMAX got a boost last week as Intel Corp. and broadband wireless carrier Clearwire announced they will join forces to develop and deploy broadband networks based on the technology. Clearwire subsidiary NextNet...

T-Mobile, Verizon tie for top spot in customer service study.(Wireless Metrics)
November 1, 2004... T-Mobile USA's and Verizon Wireless' customer service departments scored closely in Vocal Laboratories' quarterly SectorPulse report measuring customer care quality. T-Mobile rated an A in caller satisfaction and B in call completion for...

Court upholds Motorola's legal win against Uzans.(News)
November 1, 2004... Motorola Inc. claimed another victory over the Uzan family in Turkey as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has upheld the ruling of a District Court ordering the Uzans to pay the vendor the sum of $2.13 billion, according to...

Qualcomm announces over-the-air capability for BREW devices.(News)
November 1, 2004... Qualcomm Inc. announced it is offering advanced firmware over-the-air update capabilities via its BREW solution. The new capabilities allow wireless operators and handset manufacturers to remotely reflash a BREW-enabled device's firmware...

Fast Fact.(Wireless Metrics)
November 1, 2004... Dow Jones Indexes announced a component change in the Dow Jones Sector Titans Telecommunications index. AT&T Wireless Services Inc. was deleted from the Dow Jones Sector Titans Telecommunications index due to its acquisition by Cingular...

Developers find carrier relationships-and apps-define success.(Focus)
November 1, 2004... Byline: COLIN GIBBS Mobile music, games and enterprise applications are beginning to flood the market, creating a buzz the industry hasn't seen in years. But while insiders salivate over "hockey-stick'' projections for wireless data...

Tower firms up on Q3 performances.(Business)
November 1, 2004... Byline: EMILY MOTSAY Wireless tower owners continue to gain steam, as reflected in third-quarter financial results released last week by Crown Castle International Corp., Global Signal Inc., American Tower Corp. and SBA Communications...

The New Cingular and the intermodal pass.(Opinion)
November 1, 2004... Byline: Jeffrey Silva The union of Cingular Wireless L.L.C. and AT&T Wireless Services Inc. gives new meaning to The Great Experiment. Indeed, nothing approaching it-in scale, complexity and consequence-has ever been attempted in the...

FCC grapples with fair charges for rural carriers.(News)
November 1, 2004... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER Financing telecom carriers to offer service in rural America has been standard practice for several decades. But today those methods, universal service subsidies and access charges, are under increasing...

NextWave now aims to exit Chapter 11 in late January.(News)
November 1, 2004... NextWave Telecom Inc. has requested another extension before filing its reorganization plan, but told the court last week that it would like to emerge from bankruptcy by late January. The latest extension request would have NextWave filing...

FCC fines company for not making USF payments.(News)
November 1, 2004... The Federal Communications Commission said Thursday that Ton Services Inc. has agreed to pay $400,000 for not making regular contributions to the universal-service fund and the Telecommunications Relay Service Fund. Ton provides payphone...

3G data speeds to benefit enterprise workers.(Wireless Metrics)
November 1, 2004... The emergence of third-generation networks will serve as a turning point for enterprise mobility, according to a new report from the Yankee Group. The mobile worker's user experience improves as wireless wide-area data speeds exceed 144...

AWS lets users try games for free.(News)
November 1, 2004... Mobile marketing company July Systems has launched a "Game Sampler'' service on AT&T Wireless Services Inc.'s mMode offering, allowing would-be gamers to try them before they buy. With the service, users can download and preview a catalog...

Music to their ears.(Opinion)
November 1, 2004... Byline: Tracy Ford What a week! CTIA's I.T. show in San Francisco was weird, good and educational. A show that started out as a way to reach CTOs and CIOs of top businesses to explain the benefits of using wireless technology outside the...

Triton loses subscribers, plans to buy Urban assets.(Business)
November 1, 2004... Byline: DAN MEYER Former AT&T Wireless Services Inc. affiliate Triton PCS Holdings Inc. said it lost 19,211 subscribers during the third quarter as the carrier was hit by an increase in customer churn that it associated with AWS' recently...

Transition team named for retuning 800 MHz band.(News)
November 1, 2004... The Federal Communications Commission said late Friday that it concurred with the Transition Administrator Search Committee and was selecting BearingPoint, Squire-Sanders-Dempsey L.L.P., and Baseline Telecom, Inc.-to be known as the...

T-Mobile selects PTT technology from Nokia.(News)
November 1, 2004... T-Mobile International said it plans to offer Nokia's Push to Talk over Cellular network solution in Germany in the fourth quarter. The carrier said it plans to introduce it in other markets later. "Our long and successful cooperation with...

Proxim unveils new WiMAX model, reports flat earnings.(Business)
November 1, 2004... Byline: EMILY MOTSAY Proxim Corp. has announced a new broadband wireless access system to allow organizations, including wireless Internet service providers, municipalities, government agencies, public safety, transportation groups and...

Nortel tables financials, Alcatel posts solid Q3.(Business)
November 1, 2004... Byline: SAM OMATSEYE Nortel Networks Ltd. shares dropped on news the company will not release its quarterly and yearly results as it promised. Meanwhile, Alcatel Alsthom unveiled what it regarded as a strong outing for the third quarter....

Aggressive Verizon counts 42M customers.
November 1, 2004... Byline: DAN MEYER The top spot in the contest for the nation's largest carrier soon could be a tug-of-war. In the shadow of Cingular Wireless L.L.C. completing its $41 billion buy of AT&T Wireless Services Inc. to become the nation's...

A NEW NO. 1.
November 1, 2004... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The fanfare surrounding last week's government approval of Cingular Wireless L.L.C.'s $41 billion acquisition of AT&T Wireless Services Inc. proved to be short-lived, with Moody's Investors Service reacting...

Vendors prepare to differentiate on HSDPA.(News)
November 1, 2004... Byline: SAM OMATSEYE Just as the hype over W-CDMA is subsiding, the industry is shifting gears to another protocol. Known as High Speed Downlink Packet Access, the technology is the focus of major operators in the search to...

Kyocera recalls 1M phone batteries.(News)
November 1, 2004... Kyocera Wireless Corp., along with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, is recalling 1 million cell-phone batteries, pointing to concerns that some of the batteries supplied by the manufacturer may be counterfeit. The batteries,...

BTI brings experience to the site-management table.(Business)
November 1, 2004... Byline: EMILY MOTSAY The history of Broadcast Towers Inc., a modestly sized tower services company, offers an account of the tower industry's past and suggests a different path the the future. Ben Gaboury, Ron Lipham and Michael...

Cellular One to open kiosks in Kmart stores.(News)
November 1, 2004... Western Wireless Corp.'s Cellular One subsidiary said it will open more than 40 authorized dealer locations in Kmart retail stores by the end of the year. The kiosk locations are scheduled for 10 states across Cellular One's western coverage...

Qualcomm alters methods to determine royalty payments.(News)
November 1, 2004... Qualcomm Inc. said it has decided to change the way it measures royalty revenue to reflect what accrues to it from its licensees around the world. The new measure, which takes effect in the fourth quarter, will significantly reduce royalty...

First Cellular CEO to chair CTIA in 2005.(News)
November 1, 2004... The chief executive officer of First Cellular of Southern Illinois, Terry Addington, will be the 2005 chairman of the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association, CTIA announced. Addington has been serving as vice chairman. He...

Divestitures annoying, not deal breaker.
November 1, 2004... Byline: DAN MEYER The highly anticipated closing of Cingular Wireless L.L.C.'s $41 billion acquisition of rival AT&T Wireless Services Inc. did not come without some sacrifice. Beyond the pile of cash AWS' management and shareholders will...

CTIA to fight tower rules for historic sites.(News)
November 1, 2004... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER The Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association's board of directors last week in San Francisco voted to appeal rules recently adopted by the Federal Communications Commission meant to streamline...

Even with MMS interoperability, uptake likely to be gradual.
November 1, 2004... Byline: COLIN GIBBS The nation's wireless carriers have agreed to provide consumers with multimedia messaging service interoperability, a move that industry watchers say will give a much-needed boost to MMS use in the United States. ...

Stock Watch: October 21 - October 28.(Wireless Metrics)
November 1, 2004... table: Stock Watch: October 21 - October 28 * 3 graphics: Market Diary * Indices * RCR Index: see print copy.

U.S. wireless users top 170M.(News)
November 1, 2004... The number of wireless subscribers grew by an estimated 14.5 percent during the past 12 months, while the average price of local monthly service continued to hold steady, according to the Semi-Annual Wireless Industry Survey by the Cellular...

Online Poll.(Wireless Metrics)
November 1, 2004... Mobile-game developer Jamdat Mobile raised $88.8 million in an initial public offering in early October, followed by a 41-percent jump in its share price the first day of trading. More than half of respondents to an RCR Wireless News poll said...

Fast Fact.(Wireless Metrics)
November 8, 2004... Pricey domain: On Jan. 31, 2005, PicturePhone Direct intends to auction off its domain name "picturephone.com" to the highest bidder. The opening bid will start at $1 million.

Technology Options.(Wireless Metrics)
November 8, 2004... People who answered a recent rcrnews.com opinion poll were divided on whether any nationwide carriers beyond Nextel Communications Inc. would roll out services using Flash OFDM or UMTS technologies. Nearly half of participants said no carrier...

Stock Watch: October 28 - November 4.(Wireless Metrics)
November 8, 2004... table: Stock Watch: October 28 - November 4 * 3 graphics: Market Diary * Indices * RCR Index: see print copy.

Nation's Briefs.(Briefs)
November 8, 2004... Mobile-phone industry lawyers said they intend to ask a D.C. court to dismiss six brain-cancer suits on federal pre-emption grounds. In July, U.S. District Judge Catherine Blake of Baltimore sent back the six lawsuits to the Superior Court of...

Business Briefs.(Briefs)
November 8, 2004... Nortel Networks Ltd. said it has completed the scheduled transfer of certain optical design operations and related assets in Ottawa and Monkstown, Northern Ireland, to Flextronics. The transfer was part of a larger transaction announced earlier...

Cingular report at odds with public statements.(News)
November 8, 2004... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA Key documents appear to contradict public statements by Cingular Wireless L.L.C. on workforce diversity allegations in three discrimination lawsuits and on a confidential report prepared by an outside consultant for...

U.S. operators keep some adult content at arm's length.(Focus)
November 8, 2004... Byline: COLIN GIBBS Terrified by the stigma of pornography and despite its revenue-enhancing potential, U.S. carriers continue to keep mobile adult content at arm's length, refusing to offer it through their portals. But that's not...

Wireless gaming firms announce deals.(Business)
November 8, 2004... The scramble to find allies continued in the mobile gaming arena with two new partnerships and an acquisition. Tiger Telematics, the U.S.-based producer of the Gizmondo mobile gaming console that launched in Europe recently, announced it...

Hush, hush sweet contract.(Opinion)
November 8, 2004... Byline: Jeffrey Silva Efforts to build a national security wireless network in Iraq have always been murky and dangerous. It is still risky business, with blood-thirsty insurgents hell bent on disrupting political and economic...

Sprint affiliates finish strong in Q3, Qwest to add more data features.(News)
November 8, 2004... Byline: DAN MEYER Following stronger-than-expected third-quarter growth results posted by seven of the nation's eight largest wireless operators late last month, a trio of smaller players posted mixed results last week. Meanwhile, a rural...

French carrier selects PoC solution from Motorola.(News)
November 8, 2004... Motorola Inc. and Bouygues Telecom, a French mobile operator, announced a contract to deliver Push to talk over Cellular (PoC) services using Motorola V400p handsets. Bouygues Telecom will make its voice messaging services commercially...

DoCoMo buys ISP group for $70M.(News)
November 8, 2004... Japanese mobile carrier NTT DoCoMo Inc. announced it has agreed to acquire 100 percent of inter-touch (BVI) Ltd. for $70 million. Inter-touch is a Singapore-based holding company of Internet providers that supply high-speed broadband...

Nokia lays out ambitious handset, network plans.(News)
November 8, 2004... Byline: SAM OMATSEYE Nokia Corp. plans to roll out 40 handsets next year as part of the company's series of projections. The Finnish vendor also said it is on track to meet its goal of delivering 35 handsets in 2004. However, the company...

Late News.
November 8, 2004... Crown Castle buys Verizon stake in joint venture Crown Castle International Corp. said it purchased Verizon Wireless' 37.3-percent interest in their Crown Atlantic Joint Venture for $295 million, including $15 million of net working...

Dobson boosts revenue, narrows loss.(News)
November 8, 2004... Dobson Communications Corp., which previously reported preliminary third-quarter results, posted $272.4 million in total revenues during the third quarter of this year, which was a 27.8-percent improvement compared with the $213.1 million the...

Companies partner to offer wireless video.(News)
November 8, 2004... Mobile content company Crisp Wireless will team with Video Design Software to offer an integrated package of mobile video marketing products. The offerings are designed to enable broadcasters and advertisers to reach mobile users through...

Industry warns updating EAS system for wireless may be daunting.(News)
November 8, 2004... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The wireless industry told the Federal Communications Commission that integrating wireless technology into the nation's outdated Emergency Alert System could be more difficult than expected and warned policy-makers...

Games + Handsets = Community.(News)
November 8, 2004... Byline: COLIN GIBBS With wireless gaming finally beginning to catch fire, game developers are learning to exploit the most basic element of the mobile phone: its ability to communicate. Developers have learned that a successful console...

CTIA warns of possible USF increases.(News)
November 8, 2004... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER CTIA-The Wireless Association warned that universal-service contributions could increase by 40 percent if the Federal Communications Commission accepts the projections of the Universal Service Administrative...

Voters say yes to some E911 fees, no to others.(News)
November 8, 2004... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER Voters across the country had a decidedly mixed view about whether their telecom bills should increase to upgrade their local 911 systems. The most-watched vote was the rejection in California of a...

Qualcomm reports increasing revenues, but misses expectations.(Business)
November 8, 2004... Qualcomm Inc. said its earnings rose 35 percent in the fourth quarter, but the mobile chipmaker's forecasts for 2005 fell below Wall Street's expectations. The San Diego-based firm reported net income of $393 million, or 23 cents a share,...

Motorola introduces Project 25 system, buys Crisnet.(Business)
November 8, 2004... Motorola Inc. introduced the ASTRO 25 LE solution, which it said brings the benefits of Project 25 to smaller towns, cities and counties, and federal government agencies, utilities and other groups with wireless radio needs. Motorola said...

Triton PCS announces $250M loan.(Business)
November 8, 2004... Former AT&T Wireless Services Inc. affiliate Triton PCS Inc. reported that it intends to enter into a $250 million senior secured term loan facility that will replace its existing $100 million senior secured revolving credit facility. The...

Asian wireless carriers create regional alliance.(Global Wireless)
November 8, 2004... Following their European counterparts, seven Asia-Pacific mobile operators inked a deal to form a regional alliance, called Bridge Mobile Alliance, which will operate through a Singapore-incorporated company, Bridge Mobile Pte Ltd. The...

Vodacom to offer 3G services in South Africa.(Global Wireless)
November 8, 2004... South African wireless carrier Vodacom intends to be the first African carrier to offer third-generation services through a deal announced with Vodafone Group plc, which is an owner of Vodacom. The South African company said it plans to...

Verizon, Nextel call truce, 800 MHz may progress.
November 8, 2004... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER Verizon Wireless and Nextel Communications Inc. say they have buried the hatchet on several issues. The truce included the companies dropping their lawsuits against each other and a pledge by Verizon...

HSDPA suppliers to compete with WiMAX vendors.(Wireless Metrics)
November 8, 2004... Mobile communications vendors may soon find themselves in competition with WiMAX vendors for the same customers, according to a report from ABI Research. According to the report, "HSDPA-Mobile Broadband,'' the two camps started out on...

Verizon buys NextWave for $3B; Carrier picks up another 20 megahertz in NYC.
November 8, 2004... Byline: DAN MEYER Following weeks of speculation, Verizon Wireless inked an agreement late last week to acquire bankrupt NextWave Telecom Inc. and its remaining spectrum licenses for $3 billion. The deal, which is subject to government...

Changes likely ahead at FCC.(News)
November 8, 2004... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA Despite the Republican sweep in last week's elections, wholesale changes could be in store at the Federal Communications Commission at a time when the drumbeat is growing louder for an overhaul of the 1996 telecom...

Qualcomm plugs into mobile TV.
November 8, 2004... Byline: COLIN GIBBS Mobile TV took a big step forward last week as Qualcomm Inc. announced plans to deploy an $800 million nationwide network delivering multimedia messaging service broadcasts to mobile handsets. Use of the network,...

What's next for NextWave?
November 8, 2004... Byline: DAN MEYER NextWave Telecom Inc.'s announcement to sell its remaining 1.9 GHz licenses to Verizon Wireless for $3 billion may not mean the end of one of the industry's most controversial players. In association with the sale,...

Nokia showcases 3 new smart phones, PoC client.(Business)
November 8, 2004... Byline: TINA EICHNER Nokia Corp. used its Nokia Mobility Conference last week in Monaco as a platform to showcase several new products, including its new smart-phone offerings: the Nokia 7710 widescreen multimedia smart phone, the Nokia...

UTStarcom completes Audiovox handset division buy.(Business)
November 8, 2004... UTStarcom announced it finished its $165 million acquisition of some assets of Audiovox Corp.'s mobile handset division. UTStarcom, which supplies wireless and wireline switching units, said it expects the acquisition to generate more than...

Hertz to offer Wayport Wi-Fi service, directions.(Business)
November 8, 2004... Wireless and wired neutral host broadband service provider Wayport Inc. said it has reached a preliminary agreement with Hertz Corp. to provide high-speed Internet access to Hertz customers at more than 50 airport locations across the country...

BearingPoint wins contract to test RFID for passports.(Business)
November 8, 2004... BearingPoint Inc., a top business consulting and systems integration firm, said it is one of four companies awarded a contract by the Government Printing Office to help develop and test an electronic passport using radio frequency...

Mobile Media buys TV content provider.(News)
November 8, 2004... The Mobile Media Co. announced the acquisition of Cee.tv Format, a developer of interactive television shows and mass marketing applications. Mobile Media said it will use content from 4-year-old Cee.tv to increase its multimedia messaging...

E911 funding push.(Opinion)
November 8, 2004... Byline: Tracy Ford The elections are over, but Congress will be back in session before you know it. As such, the wireless industry should take a little time to gather its collective thoughts and then renew a proactive approach to lobby for...

SpectraSite rides strong tower-sector quarter with increased profit.(Business)
November 8, 2004... SpectraSite Inc. continues to ride a wave of positive momentum following its emergence from Chapter-11 bankruptcy protection earlier this year. The company followed an improved second quarter with further improvements in both revenues and...

Bluetooth roadmap includes performance, security.(Business)
November 8, 2004... Byline: DAN MEYER With more than 3 million Bluetooth-enabled products shipping every week and analyst predictions that 13 percent of mobile phones sold worldwide this year will include the short-range wireless technology, the Bluetooth...

Cable may make Wi-Fi service play.(Business)
November 8, 2004... Byline: SAM OMATSEYE In a world of bundling, a new player is sneaking into the Wi-Fi market: cable technology. The trend builds on momentum that has witnessed Wi-Fi in a small building, in a briefcase and on the backbone of another...

Infrastructure Awards: October 2004.(Wireless Metrics)
November 8, 2004... Following are mobile infrastructure contracts announced in October: Alcatel Austria With tele.ring to expand its 3G/UMTS network by the end of next year. Value: $76.7 million French Polynesia With Tikiphone to deploy...

CTIA trade group changes name.(News)
November 8, 2004... CTIA-The Wireless Association has formally adopted the aforementioned moniker as its new federally registered name. The association said its board of directors approved the change at last week's CTIA I.T. & Entertainment 2004 show in San...

global EV-DO subscribers.(Wireless Metrics)
November 15, 2004... EV-DO subscribers grew from 8.2 million at the end of June to almost 10 million at the end of September, an increase of 22 percent in three months, according to Airvana. In South Korea, more than 25 percent of wireless subscribers now...

Fast Fact.(Wireless Metrics)
November 15, 2004... The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India reported the country has more mobile-phone users than landlines. They report a total of 44.5 million mobile subscribers at the end of October. The total number of fixed-line subscribers for the same...