RCR Wireless News articles from November 2005

RCR Wireless News archives from November 2005

WiMAX World draws range of alliances, products.(News)
November 7, 2005... Byline: JONI MORSE Product announcements streamed out of Boston during WiMAX World 2005, a show where the attendance increased from the hundreds in 2004 to the thousands in 2005. As the industry moves closer to developing a standard,...

Nokia's Preminet small entourage starts to broaden.(News)
November 7, 2005... Byline: COLIN GIBBS Nokia Corp.'s Preminet offering gained another backer last week as Tira Wireless said it is offering its porting technology to content providers using the delivery platform. Tira has made its Jump software available...

Libby, Alito and the interruption of everything.(Opinion)
November 7, 2005... Byline: Jeffrey Silva If all Congress does before leaving town for the year is approve fiscal 2006 funding for the Federal Communications Commission and other government agencies it will be a victory. Partisan politics have overtaken...

Financial Briefs.(Briefs)
November 7, 2005... Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. outlined its mid- and long-term goals at its analyst day event this week, promising to become one of the world's top-three electronics companies by 2010. The company also said it would more than double its 2004...

xMAX demo shows distance, power benefits.(News)
November 7, 2005... XG Technology said it successfully demonstrated its radio-frequency modulation and encoding platform, xMAX, by broadcasting a data stream equal to full-motion MPEG-2 video with stereo sound at a distance of 18 miles using only 50 milliwatts of...

NEC, Ericsson flex HSDPA might.(News)
November 7, 2005... NEC Corp. said its High Speed Downlink Packet Access technology is ready for commercial use worldwide after the company tested the technology on Vodafone K.K.'s network in Japan over the summer. NEC said its HSDPA technology will be in...

Sennari to publish Star Trek game with prizes.(News)
November 7, 2005... Sennari Entertainment inked a deal with Nickelodeon & Viacom Consumer Products to create prize-based games based on the Star Trek franchise. The publisher of wireless loyalty applications said it plans to develop and market both wireless...

T-Mobile USA renews Syniverse contract.(News)
November 7, 2005... Syniverse Technologies said it signed a multiyear contract renewal with T-Mobile USA Inc. to provide clearing and settlement services for wireless voice roaming. Syniverse said it will provide the carrier with its Access S&E clearing and...

Strong chip sales boost Qualcomm's 4Q.(News)
November 7, 2005... As demand for and shipments of Qualcomm Inc.'s chips took off, so did the company's financial performance. Qualcomm, the world's second-largest chip maker for mobile devices, posted fourth-quarter net income of $538 million, or 32 cents per...

Infrastructure Awards.(Wireless Metrics)
November 7, 2005... Following are infrastructure contracts announced in October: Alcatel Cambodia With CamGSM Co. Ltd. to expand and upgrade the carrier's entire GSM network with GPRS and EDGE functionality. Value: $8.8 million Germany With...

VoIP bill moves through Senate as industry expands, partners.(News)
November 7, 2005... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER Recognizing that sometimes the local wireline carrier is the impediment to new communications technologies gaining access to enhanced 911 services, the Senate Commerce Committee passed legislation requiring...

T-Mobile pricing program looks similar to Leap's.(News)
November 7, 2005... T-Mobile USA Inc. got a jump on the holiday shopping season by rolling out a promotional rate plan that includes 1,500 anytime calling minutes for $40 per month. Customers can add unlimited night and weekend calling to the plan for an...

EV-DO BlackBerry peeks out of Bell Mobility.(Global Wireless)
November 7, 2005... BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. appears to be prepping an EV-DO device similar to its 7100-series of gadgets. According to documents on Bell Mobility's Web site, the carrier is planning to sell the BlackBerry 7130e, which features...

MSV pushes satellite-terrestrial wireless network.(News)
November 7, 2005... Mobile Satellite Ventures continues to push its terrestrial-satellite wireless offering, announcing a Capitol Hill demonstration of its technology as well as plans to focus on patent licensing and enforcement efforts. "MSV's vision is to...

Senate sets TV transition date three months after House bill.(News)
November 7, 2005... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER The Senate late Thursday agreed to set the date to complete the digital TV transition at April 7, 2009, after a failed attempt to move the date to April 2008. "We have picked this date based upon the...

Fast Fact.(Wireless Metrics)
November 7, 2005... The word Wi-Fi has been added to Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. Webster's defines "Wi-Fi'' as follows: "Wi-Fi (certification mark)-used to certify the interoperability of wireless computer networking devices.''

Worldwide hot spots to number 100,000.(Wireless Metrics)
November 7, 2005... The worldwide public Wi-Fi market is expected to reach 100,000 hot spots by the end of this year, according to Informa Telecoms & Media's Wireless Broadband Analyst report. There were 84,283 hot spots worldwide at the end of the second...

NTIA quietly pushing Bush spectrum agenda.
November 7, 2005... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The Bush administration's spectrum agenda is showing signs of losing momentum and direction, a development that has prompted frustrated National Telecommunications and Information Administration officials to quietly...

New Orleans rebuilding with wireless.(News)
November 7, 2005... Byline: JONI MORSE As the 2005 hurricane season draws to a close, it leaves behind a Gulf Coast region with a changed state of communications. First and foremost, gone are the days of landline dominance. Networks are not being re-built...

Sprint full-track downloads novel, but spendy at $2.50 a song.(News)
November 7, 2005... Byline: COLIN GIBBS Sprint Nextel Corp. became the first U.S. operator to offer full-track music downloads, launching a dual-delivery service last week using phones from Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and Sanyo Electric Co. The carrier...

Health litigation reverts to states.
November 7, 2005... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA Telecom analysts said the mobile-phone industry's legal exposure is heightened by the Supreme Court's refusal last week to block health-related lawsuits from going forward in state court. The high court Oct. 31...

GTP buys Mesa Towers.(Late News)
November 7, 2005... Global Tower Partners said it is bought Mesa Communications Group, a tower company that had about 250 towers in the Northeast, New England and Mid-Atlantic states. GTP now owns, manages and master leases some 7,200 sites, including 1,800 owned...

Sprint Nextel joins UMTS TDD Alliance.(News)
November 7, 2005... Sprint Nextel Corp. joined the Global UMTS TDD Alliance, which is spearheaded by IPWireless Inc. Other companies joining the UMTS TDD Alliance include T-Mobile Czech Republic, which launched a UMTS TDD network in parts of the Czech Republic...

Nortel leaves 3Q with new boss, net loss.(News)
November 7, 2005... Byline: JONI MORSE Nortel Networks Ltd. posted a third-quarter net loss of $105 million, or 2 cents per share, less than what was expected after the mayhem of firing senior executives, correcting numbers, hiring new management and settling...

DT announces massive cuts as telecom industry evolves.(Global Wireless)
November 7, 2005... Citing changing industry dynamics, German telecommunications giant Deutsche Telekom AG said it plans to cut 32,000 jobs during the next three years-with most of the reductions coming from its T-Com operations-though it also expects to add jobs...

Two Asian carriers commit to EV-DO Rev A.(Global Wireless)
November 7, 2005... Two Asian carriers announced plans to launch CDMA2000 1x EV-DO Rev A networks by the end of next year-LG Telecom, a small Korean carrier, and KDDI Corp., Japan's second-largest carrier and the country's sole CDMA operator. Sprint Nextel...

Sprint Nextel taps toward multimedia beat.
November 7, 2005... Byline: DAN MEYER Sprint Nextel Corp. took a significant step in fulfilling chief executive Gary Forsee's plans to expand the carrier's reach into other media distribution channels, and at the same time may have altered the balance of the...

Cingular cuts $100 off Rokr price.(News)
November 7, 2005... Byline: MIKE DANO Two months after it began selling the phone, Cingular Wireless L.L.C. has cut the price of Motorola Inc.'s iTunes-capable Rokr by $100. The carrier is now selling the device for $150 with a service agreement, down from an...

World Briefs.(Briefs)
November 7, 2005... The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association tapped VeriSign Inc. to power its text messaging service. The industry association, which represents 10 carriers, will use Metcalf Inter-Carrier Messaging, a joint offering from VeriSign and...

GTC to forgo local wireline services; opts to become MVNO.(News)
November 7, 2005... Diversified telecommunications provider GTC Telecom Corp. said it planned to stop offering local services in select states and focus instead on offering wireless services using a mobile virtual network operator model. GTC's management...

Customers abandon regional carriers.(News)
November 7, 2005... Byline: DAN MEYER Regional carriers continued to bleed customers during the third quarter as more competition and evolving networks drove up churn for a number of operators Dobson Communications Corp., SunCom Wireless Holdings Inc. and...

Look for aggressive holiday sales as Cingular, Verizon fight for No. 1.(Focus)
November 7, 2005... Byline: MIKE DANO While most will busy themselves with decorations and gifts this holiday season, U.S. carriers and handset makers likely will be caught up in fierce battles over pricing, services and-ultimately-customers. As Halloween...

Cracks in the wireless foundation.(Opinion)
November 7, 2005... Byline: Tracy Ford What constitutes a wireless carrier? Years ago, I used to have an annual fight with an MCI spokesman because RCR Wireless News listed MCI as the nation's largest reseller in our Top 20 lists. Who wouldn't want to be...

Merger mania sweeps European carriers.(Global Wireless)
November 7, 2005... Byline: DAN MEYER Consolidation hit the European wireless market as Spanish telecommunications provider Telefonica said it plans to acquire U.K.-based 02 plc, and Swedish operator Telenor announced plans to acquire rival Vodafone Sweden....

Court: Excise tax illegal; How ruling affects wireless industry remains murky.(News)
November 7, 2005... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER The IRS lost another round in its quest to keep collecting a 3-percent tax on talking. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit agreed with the 11th Circuit that the tax cannot be collected on calls...

Defense Dept.'s use of spectrum debated.(News)
November 7, 2005... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER Does the military use its spectrum resources efficiently and effectively? The question was debated in a week-long conference. At one end of the argument stands the Department of Defense, which says it...

Boost to use Oz for wireless IM services.(News)
November 7, 2005... Boost Mobile L.L.C. launched a downloadable client that allows AOL, MSN and Yahoo instant-messaging users to access the services from their handset. Montreal-based mobile IM developer Oz is powering the service, which is designed to...

Mobile ESPN launches bundled voice, data service plans.(News)
November 7, 2005... Mobile ESPN L.L.C.'s unveiled rate plans for the trial launch of its mobile virtual network operator service that rolled out this week in a handful of markets. The postpaid plans include a bundle of voice and wireless data services using Sprint...

FCC extends emergency alert rules to modern technologies.(News)
November 7, 2005... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The Federal Communications Commission extended emergency alert rules to digital media technologies, while soliciting additional comment on how the government can integrate wireless technologies into a next-generation...

Cost, quality remain concerns for mobile Internet users.(News)
November 7, 2005... More than half of the world's mobile phone users with multimedia handsets use their phones to access the Internet or check e-mail at least once a month, according to a report from Mobinet. The survey, initiated by consulting firm A.T....

Stock Watch: October 27-November 3.(Wireless Metrics)
November 7, 2005... table: Stock Watch: October 27-November 3 * 3 graphs: Market Diary * Indices * RCR Index: see print copy

5 years ago this month...(Wireless Metrics)
November 7, 2005... Cingular announced plans to gain its first entry into the prized New York market by swapping spectrum with VoiceStream Wireless Corp.

Wireless History; 20 years ago this month...(Wireless Metrics)
November 14, 2005... A U.S. district court judge cleared the way for the sale of MCI Airsignal Inc. to McCaw Personal Communications Inc., denying BellSouth Corp.'s attempts to block the deal.

Verizon again sues over information theft.(News)
November 14, 2005... Byline: DAN MEYER Verizon Wireless said it obtained an immediate injunction against Florida-based private investigative agency Global Information Group, which the carrier said had attempted to obtain confidential information about its...

Visto adds $70M to war chest.(News)
November 14, 2005... Visto Corp. hopes a whopping $70 million financing round can propel it to the forefront of the white-hot wireless e-mail space. The developer added to its already-fat wallet with the latest round, which was led by DFJ ePlanet Ventures....

Congress upholds existing USF rules.(News)
November 14, 2005... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER Since the digital TV transition issue put universal-service reform on the back burner, lawmakers recently agreed to extend for another year efforts by the Federal Communications Commission to limit telephone...

Qualcomm inks UI deal with O2.(Global Wireless)
November 14, 2005... Byline: MIKE DANO European operator O2 UK plc said it will use Qualcomm Inc.'s uiOne user interface technology in its high-end, "X range'' devices. Although somewhat limited in scope, the deal signals a notable turning point in the...

Lucent to build BellSouth's IMS future.(News)
November 14, 2005... Lucent Technologies Inc. said it reached a multi-year agreement to lay the foundation for BellSouth Corp.'s Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem architecture. Lucent said its next generation solution will enable BellSouth to offer a...

SMS rocks the vote.(News)
November 14, 2005... Byline: COLIN GIBBS When it comes to using their phones to vote, U.S. wireless subscribers are generally limited to American Idol contestants like Ruben Studdard or Clay Aiken. But that may be changing. SMS has become a vital campaign...

DeVita re-joins RCR sales team.(News)
November 14, 2005... Amy DeVita has rejoined RCR Wireless News as Northeastern/International Sales Manager. DeVita spent six years representing RCR Wireless News from 1998 to 2004, before deciding to take some time off to spend with her family. Prior to that, she...

CTIA details controlled-content initiative.(News)
November 14, 2005... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER Since customers must be at least 18 years old to have their own mobile-phone account, the wireless industry last week said it would begin classifying carrier-controlled content and restrict access to...

CPUC telecom bill of rights still 'in play'.
November 14, 2005... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA California Public Utilities Service Commissioner Susan Kennedy could be forced to strengthen her proposal to overhaul the telecom consumer bill of rights before a scheduled vote next month, according to one of her...

Qualcomm, Nokia come to patent blows.
November 14, 2005... Byline: MIKE DANO The legal tussle over Qualcomm Inc.'s licensing practices turned into a full-scale war last week as Qualcomm took aim at longtime rival Nokia Corp. with a patent-infringement lawsuit. The charges come just a few short...

Late News.
November 14, 2005... Cingular launches MobiRadio service Cingular Wireless L.L.C. this week plans to launch a mobile radio service with more than three dozen channels of commercial-free streaming music. MobiTV Inc. is powering the service, dubbed...

World Briefs.(Briefs)
November 14, 2005... SWEDEN Nordic carrier TeliaSonera said it will test its fixed and mobile telephony initiatives using L.M. Ericsson's Unlicensed Mobile Access technology in Sweden. The carrier is conducting similar tests in Denmark with Motorola Inc....

Treo maker pledges to continue using Palm OS.(News)
November 14, 2005... In a letter addressed to Palm OS developers, Palm Inc.'s Ed Colligan reiterated the company's support for the Palm platform. "I'm writing to you today because I'm concerned by the number of posts I've read that suggest that Palm's support...

Global Signal's income dives on tower integration, American Tower financials on upswing.(News)
November 14, 2005... Byline: JONI MORSE Global Signal Inc., the nation's third-largest tower company with around 11,000 towers, reported a third-quarter net loss of $15.4 million, or 23 cents per share. The numbers are a steep decline from the company's...

Samsung unveils CDMA core network for U.S.(News)
November 14, 2005... Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. unveiled a CDMA core network solution for the United States that includes a wireless softswitch and a media gateway. The company said it expects the product to be commercially available to U.S. carriers early...

Paging firm posts 3Q income of 1 cent per share.(News)
November 14, 2005... USA Mobility Inc., the one-year-old messaging company formed by the merger of Arch Wireless Inc. and Metrocall Holdings Inc., reported third-quarter financials and declared a special dividend of $1.50 per share that will be payable next month....

Tate, Copps nominated to FCC, one seat still open.(News)
November 14, 2005... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER The timing of two nominations to the Federal Communications Commission could leave FCC Chairman Kevin Martin with an evenly split agency-or he could even be in the minority at the end of the year. The...

Japan opens spectrum to new players.(Global Wireless)
November 14, 2005... Japan hopes to stoke competition in its hard-to-penetrate mobile-phone market by allowing three new entrants to offer wireless services. The country's telecommunications ministry opened the door for Softbank Corp., eAccess Ltd. and...

BCGI posts $40M loss due to patent suit.(News)
November 14, 2005... Shares of Boston Communications Group Inc. continued to languish as the company reported a third-quarter net loss of more than $40 million. BCGI cited its ongoing legal fight with Freedom Wireless for the loss, taking a non-cash charge of...

U.S. messaging proceeds to top $16 billion by 2008.(Wireless Metrics)
November 14, 2005... Wireless messaging revenue in the United States more than doubled last year from 2003 and is expected to grow strongly during the next five years, according to figures from research from Analysys Research. Wireless data accounted for less...

Amp'd campaign: 'Try not to die- Amp'd Mobile is coming'.(News)
November 14, 2005... Amp'd Mobile Inc. unveiled its pre-launch marketing campaign, which will let consumers know that the youth-focused mobile virtual network operator is inching closer to its commercial launch-and shoppers shouldn't sign a new contract until Amp'd...

Leap, Revol clump markets.(News)
November 14, 2005... Byline: DAN MEYER For Leap Wireless International Inc., it's all about clusters. The carrier, which offers its flat-rate Cricket service in 37 markets, furthered its market cluster plans last week, announcing a deal to expand its footprint...

Fire on the mountain.(Opinion)
November 14, 2005... Byline: Jeffrey Silva Former ambassador Joe Wilson may not be the White House's worst nightmare. But Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.), a public-safety wireless champion, quite possibly is. So it was last week at a House Homeland Security...

Verizon Wireless to sell new UTStarcom device.(News)
November 14, 2005... Verizon Wireless said it plans to sell UTStarcom Inc.'s CDM-180 phone for $70 with a service agreement. The phone features a wide, short design and a landscape-oriented screen. "From TVs to computer screens, consumers are accustomed to a...

WFI posts $5.8M for 3Q, warns of flat 4Q.(News)
November 14, 2005... Wireless Facilities Inc. is coming back strong, posting a fiscal third-quarter net income of $5.8 million, or 8 cents per share, after posting a $14.9 million net loss, or 22 cents per share, during the same period a year ago. But the company...

Ericsson snags deals in Haiti, Serbia.(News)
November 14, 2005... Caribbean wireless operator Digicel said it selected L.M. Ericsson to provide a GSM-based mobile network in Haiti. Digicel noted the network would include GPRS-based mobile Internet services, per-second billing for prepaid services and...

At a year old, Jamdat's public life full of ups, downs.(News)
November 14, 2005... Byline: COLIN GIBBS It appears the roller-coaster ride isn't over for Jamdat Mobile Inc. The wireless entertainment publisher celebrated its first full year on the Nasdaq last week, announcing third-quarter revenue that more than...

Navigating 1985 and Grand Theft Auto.(Opinion)
November 14, 2005... Byline: Tracy Ford The wireless industry should be applauded for implementing a content classification system well before data applications take off. (Clap. Clap. Atta boy! Way to go big guy!!) Remember all the brouhaha two decades ago...

T-Mobile boosts subs to new high.
November 14, 2005... Byline: DAN MEYER Nationwide wireless carriers received a big push from their smallest player as T-Mobile USA Inc. posted robust third-quarter financials that helped propel the group well beyond last year's growth. The industry's...

Group forms to ensure set of standards for Linux handsets.(News)
November 14, 2005... Byline: MIKE DANO A group of Linux proponents announced today they have formed a new standards group aimed at promoting Linux software for mobile phones. "One of the key goals of the Linux Phone Standards Forum is to reduce Linux...

Lawmakers bemoan lack of plan to prioritize critical infrastructure.(News)
November 14, 2005... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA Lawmakers and homeland-security experts last week said the Bush administration lacks a plan to prioritize what critical infrastructure to protect-including wireless and other telecom networks-and that developing such...

Cingular wins round in dealer lawsuit.(News)
November 14, 2005... The long-running legal battle between former Illinois wireless dealer Kempner Mobile Electronics Inc. and Cingular Wireless L.L.C. has taken a new turn as a federal appeals court reversed a lower court ruling, essentially finding that the...

CDMA450 makes inroads across globe.(Special Report)
November 14, 2005... Byline: JONI MORSE Opinions are not hard to come by in the ongoing debate between proponents of GSM and CDMA technologies. It's easy to get caught up in questions about which technology is better, which one is growing faster, which one...

InfoSonics extends pact with Samsung for Latin America.(News)
November 14, 2005... InfoSonics Corp., a wireless handset distributor, said it extended its distribution agreement with Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. through December 2006. The deal calls for InfoSonics to continue selling Samsung handsets and accessories to...

PCSI tries again to stop 800 MHz reband.(News)
November 14, 2005... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER Preferred Communications Systems Inc. is not giving up. The "non-Nextel'' economic area 800 MHz licensee asked the Federal Communications Commission to stop the retuning process in the 800 MHz band. ...

AOL finds continued interest in wireless IM.(Wireless Metrics)
November 14, 2005... Wireless instant messaging continues to surge, with one-third of all desktop IM users sending instant or text messages from cell phones at least once a week, according to a study from America Online Inc. The Internet giant's third annual...

Michigan tests wireless traffic monitoring system.(News)
November 14, 2005... Motorola Inc. and The Michigan Department of Transportation announced plans to establish a roadside network aimed at reducing accidents and congestion by wirelessly connecting vehicles to each other and to roadside transmitters. The plans...

Motorola invests in micro fuel cell vendor.(News)
November 14, 2005... Motorola Inc. said its equity investment arm made a strategic investment in Tekion Inc. Tekion develops micro fuel cells for mobile products. The company's Formira Power Pack is designed to fit inside mobile products and, according to the...

WiMAX vendors demo interoperability in Beijing.(News)
November 14, 2005... WiMAX technology was alive at the WiMAX Forum's Face-to-Face event in Beijing as broadband equipment companies including Aperto Networks Inc., Axxcelera Broadband Wireless, Redline Communications Inc., Sequans Communications and Wavesat Inc....

XO drops wireline business to focus on wireless broadband.(News)
November 14, 2005... XO Communications Inc. is going completely wireless. The company announced plans to sell its nationwide wireline telecommunications business for $700 million in cash to Elk Associates L.L.C., but will retain its fixed broadband wireless...

Letters.(Letter to the Editor)
November 14, 2005... NATE clarifies fall-protection clause of N.C. tower legislation To the Editor: The Oct. 24 RCR Wireless News story regarding the North Carolina Communication Tower Standards erroneously reported that the National Association of Tower...