RCR Wireless News articles from October 2004

RCR Wireless News archives from October 2004

Fast Fact.(Wireless Metrics)
October 4, 2004... The number of mobile subscribers in Russia increased by 93.3 percent in the year to June 2004, with the total surpassing the 50 million mark at the end of the month. Source: EMC, Sept. 15

Verizon's World Phone.(Wireless Metrics)
October 4, 2004... People were split on whether Verizon Wireless would gain customers from GSM-based wireless operators as it rolls out a mobile handset that can offer roaming between CDMA and GSM networks. The handset could finally take advantage of the minority...

Stock Watch: Sept. 23-Sept. 30.(Wireless Metrics)
October 4, 2004... table: Stock Watch: Sept. 23-Sept. 30 * 3 graphics: Market diary * Indices * RCR Index: see print copy.

CDMA data roaming no-go in U.S.
October 4, 2004... Byline: DAN MEYER The wide ranging world of wireless roaming has fallen on deaf ears when it comes to CDMA2000 1x data services. Most U.S. operators have yet to sign agreements that would allow customers to continue to access their data...

EDGE, CDMA2000, UMTS deployments counted in separate research.(Global Wireless)
October 4, 2004... Byline: SAM OMATSEYE EDGE and UMTS technologies are both on a roll, says new research. But while EDGE accounts for more deployments, all eyes are on the benefits UMTS can bring. However, CDMA is singing its own song. At the CDMA...

Nortel, Motorola continue layoffs.(News)
October 4, 2004... Byline: SAM OMATSEYE A tremor of restructuring is rippling through the infrastructure players, signaling a new approach to the market. Such moves, some of them imposed and others induced, are spawning a new round of layoffs in some of the...

Abernathy: FCC should vote on major changes to 800 MHz rebanding plan.(News)
October 4, 2004... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER FCC Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy said the five-member commission should vote again if changes are made to the government's proposed ruling on solving interference at 800 MHz, thus casting doubt on Nextel...

Late News: Supreme Court to hear tower siting case.(Late News)
October 4, 2004... The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case from California involving whether a city has to pay attorney fees if it loses a tower siting case. "With the unprecedented number of cellular antennas sprouting up in our communities, the...

Judge casts doubt on tossing out headset litigation.
October 4, 2004... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The mobile-phone industry last week appeared to dodge another legal challenge to government radiation limits for handsets and towers, but found itself looking at the possibility of seeing headset litigation...

Jamdat IPO hailed as harbinger.
October 4, 2004... Byline: COLIN GIBBS It was a remarkable coming-out party for Jamdat Mobile Inc. The mobile-game developer raised $88.8 million in its initial public offering, then watched as its stock soared 41 percent Wednesday, the first day of...

Nextel asks for more time to comply with Calif. law.(News)
October 4, 2004... Nextel Communications Inc. has requested an extension of time to comply with certain provisions of the telecom consumer bill of rights approved by the California Public Utilities Commission in May. The compliance extension sought by Nextel...

Lucent, Novatel supply PC cards to O2.(Global Wireless)
October 4, 2004... Lucent Technologies Inc. and Novatel Wireless Inc. have agreed to supply U.K. carrier O2 with their wireless UMTS PC card modems known as Merlin U530. This will give the carrier's business customers access to services such as streaming...

Stepping back on 411.(Opinion)
October 4, 2004... Byline: Tracy Ford Congress-and California-need to take a couple of steps back on industry plans for a 411 directory of wireless telephone numbers. Regardless of where one stands on whether it is a good idea or not to have such a...

Groups oppose 900 MHz apps freeze.(News)
October 4, 2004... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER After complaining that a subsidiary of Nextel Communications Inc. was trying to gobble up the remaining available spectrum in the 900 MHz band, the Industrial Telecommunications Association is asking the...

Crosby returns to ITA, Access Spectrum 'fine'.(News)
October 4, 2004... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER Mark Crosby, who left the Industrial Telecommunications Association in February 2001 to become president of Access Spectrum L.L.C., has returned as ITA's president and chief executive officer. Laura Smith is...

Sproqit software remotely enables desktop access.(News)
October 4, 2004... Byline: COLIN GIBBS Four years after leaving Microsoft to start their own business, Pete Mansour and Chad Schwitters are coming to market. The co-founders of Sproqit, a mobile software developer, plan to unveil software that allows...

Semiconductor segment slows, 5-percent growth predicted for '05.(Business)
October 4, 2004... Byline: SAM OMATSEYE A year ago, the semiconductor sector seemed on cruise control, while other sectors of telecom had just begun to rev up their economic recovery engines. Quarter after quarter companies reported sequential growth,...

Study nearly split on cell-phone TV interest.(Wireless Metrics)
October 4, 2004... A slim majority of mobile-phone users aren't interested in watching television broadcasts on their handsets, according to a report released Monday. The survey indicates 46 percent of U.S. cell-phone users are at least "somewhat''...

Global Signal to buy GoldenState Towers in $63M deal.(Business)
October 4, 2004... Global Signal Inc. said it will purchase all of the equity of GoldenState Towers L.L.C. for up to $63.1 million, in a transaction excepted to close in the fourth quarter. GoldenState is a portfolio company of VS&A Communications Partners...

Global Briefs.(Briefs)
October 4, 2004... Thailand Orange S.A., in conjunction with co-shareholders True Corporation Public Co. Ltd. and CP Group, said it has reduced its stake in Thai company BITCO from 49 percent to 10 percent. BITCO owns 99.86 percent of Thai wireless carrier...

Tropos scores WLAN wins in Philly, Oklahoma City.(Business)
October 4, 2004... Byline: SAM OMATSEYE With a new product and two deployments, Tropos Networks Inc. has staked itself firmly in the wireless LAN space. The firm announced its Tropos 4210, an in-vehicle mesh Wi-Fi router. It combines the company's fixed...

People.
October 4, 2004... Nortel Nortel Networks said it has appointed Clent Richardson to the post of chief marketing officer. Richardson will lead the company's newly formed global marketing organization responsible for brand development and management, online...

Nationwide carriers on pace to record best growth since 2000; Q3 adds expected to be around 4M.(Business)
October 4, 2004... Byline: DAN MEYER The wireless industry is expected to take its customary third-quarter breather this year. The nation's six largest operators are forecast to post relatively strong customer growth results that might not hit the nearly 3.9...

Verizon offers Audiovox video/camera phone.(Business)
October 4, 2004... Verizon Wireless and Audiovox Communications Corp. have launched the Audiovox CDM-9900 digital video and camera phone. The device features a 2.2-inch high-resolution color screen, a built-in camcorder, embedded flash, a built-in speaker phone...

Products.
October 4, 2004... Comarco Comarco Wireless Test Solutions introduced Seven.Five for EvDO, a comprehensive test system for North American EV-DO cellular systems. Seven.Five for EvDO provides drive-test and in-building-test systems that combine an integrated...

CDG honors companies for CDMA achievements.(Business)
October 4, 2004... The CDMA Development Group announced winners of the 3G CDMA Industry Achievement Awards this week at the CDMA Americas Congress taking place in Miami. Among the winners were: * Wang Jianzhou of China Unicom, who received the industry...

Marketing group forms anti-spam committee.(News)
October 4, 2004... The Mobile Marketing Association formed an anti-spam committee, marking the organization's work to keep wireless content and applications spam-free. The committee is charged with researching the merits of a national preference and privacy...

Lucent, ZTE score CDMA2000 wins.(Global Wireless)
October 4, 2004... Lucent Technologies Inc. and ZTE Corp. announced contract awards for CDMA2000 equipment. Financial details were not disclosed. Lucent said it was awarded a contract to expand and enhance the CDMA2000 network of Brazil's largest wireless...

Infineon, VW team for in-car wireless LBS.(Global Wireless)
October 4, 2004... Infineon Technologies AG and the Volkswagen Group announced they have developed a platform concept for wireless location-based information services for vehicles. The platform, dubbed the "Basic Telematics Unit,'' uses Bluetooth technology...

Win the lottery? Find out on your mobile.(News)
October 4, 2004... Lottery.com has teamed with Games Inc. to launch a text-messaging application that distributes nationwide state lottery results to mobile devices, the companies announced. The service, which is free to mobile users who agree to accept a...

STMicroelectronics to bring multimedia processor to Series 60.(Global Wireless)
October 4, 2004... STMicroelectronics said its Nomadik line of multimedia application processors for third-generation mobile devices will support the Nokia Series 60 Platform. Nomadik allows devices to play music, take pictures, record video and host two-way...

Western Wireless granted ETC status for more of South Dakota.(News)
October 4, 2004... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER Western Wireless Corp., which does business as Cellular One, said it has received eligible telecommunications carrier status for eight additional areas in South Dakota. ETC designation is necessary to...

Industry groups to set battery standards to address problems with exploding handsets.(News)
October 4, 2004... The mobile-phone industry and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers are expected shortly to announce plans to address exploding mobile phones, possibly with an eye to crafting industry standards for batteries, which are...

Alvarion decides against interWave buy.(News)
October 4, 2004... Alvarion Ltd. said it will not pursue the acquisition of interWave Inc. because interWave has not been able to meet the conditions for closing the deal, adding it will not follow the terms set forth in the agreement. InterWave said it disagrees...

Cingular sells Interactive unit to venture-capital group.(News)
October 4, 2004... Cingular Wireless L.L.C. said it has agreed to sell its Cingular Interactive L.P. subsidiary, including the Mobitex network, customer service operations, information technology systems and a majority of its current Interactive customer base to...

RCR Wireless News launches new Web site.(News)
October 4, 2004... RCR Wireless News today launched a new Web site at RCRNews.com with added features for its paid subscribers and daily visitors. The new site offers RSS news feeds, allowing users to see RCRNews.com headlines as they are posted to the site....

Sarin: Both parents want to increase stake in Verizon Wireless.(Global Wireless)
October 4, 2004... Vodafone Group plc Chief Executive Arun Sarin told analysts and investors at the company's U.K. headquarters that Vodafone is interested in increasing its 45-percent stake in its U.S. wireless joint venture Verizon Wireless, but that JV partner...

Cingular disputes lawsuit coverage.(Letters)
October 4, 2004... Dear Editor: It's an unfortunate reality in today's legal system that meritless lawsuits are filed every day. It is doubly unfortunate that a publication such as yours would use a lawsuit that was ruled as without merit to cast aspersions...

Yankee: Western Europe offers strong data-card market.(Global Wireless)
October 4, 2004... The market for data cards in Western Europe is potentially large, according to a new report from The Yankee Group. Operators, faced with restricted third-generation coverage, capacity and handsets, have focused on business users and...

PalmOne shows Tungsten T5.(Business)
October 4, 2004... A year after the initial launch of its Tungsten line of PDAs, PalmOne Inc. is expected today to expand the product line with the new Tungsten T5. The new PDA features an unprecedented 256 megabits of flash memory, allowing users to carry...

In-building metrics differ from tower metrics, but recurring revenue common to both.(Business)
October 4, 2004... Byline: EMILY MOTSAY The models for wireless tower ownership and in-building system ownership are similar, but the metrics differ as in-building's potential for revenue growth exceeds the steady influx of revenue tower owners enjoy. ...

New tower company begins operations.(Business)
October 4, 2004... TowerCo Inc. announced it has begun operations at its Cary, N.C., headquarters and a southeast region office in Richmond, Va., on a commitment of up to $50 million in equity financing from Tailwind Capital Partners L.L.C. "Our plan is to...

UMTS stalled in U.S. (for now).(Focus)
October 4, 2004... Byline: DAN MEYER Despite the increasing number of W-CDMA-based networks being deployed worldwide, the technology seems to have hit a plateau in the United States. Beyond AT&T Wireless Services Inc.'s six-market launch of W-CDMA service...

Foreign phone manufacturers make headway in China.(News)
October 4, 2004... Byline: EMILY MOTSAY The wireless handset business in the People's Republic of China is crowded with domestic players that increasingly are being challenged by foreign market leaders like Motorola Inc. and Nokia Corp. Ningbo Bird. Co....

Clash of civilizations.(Opinion)
October 4, 2004... Byline: Jeffrey Silva Opinions differ on whether Samuel Huntington's theory of the next pattern of geopolitical conflict-propounded eight years before Sept. 11, 2001-adequately explains the dangerous new world of global terrorism that has...

Infrastructure Awards.(Wireless Metrics)
October 4, 2004... Following are mobile infrastructure contracts announced in September: Alcatel Libya. With General Post and Telecommunication Co. for a complete solution including GSM/EDGE and 3G/UMTS infrastructure and services. Value: $100...

Calif. sets privacy policy in 411 directory as federal bill debated in House.(News)
October 4, 2004... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) signed legislation requiring mobile-phone carriers to obtain consent from consumers to list their phone numbers in an upcoming 411 wireless directory, despite voicing...

Business Briefs.(Briefs)
October 4, 2004... Sprint PCS affiliate AirGate PCS Inc. said it intends to offer $175 million in aggregate principal amount of first priority senior secured floating rate notes due 2011, which will be secured by liens on substantially all of the carrier's...

Nokia designer leaves his mark on world's handsets.(News)
October 4, 2004... Byline: COLIN GIBBS When you look at your handset, you probably see little more than a screen and keypad. But it's likely you're looking at the work of Frank Nuovo. The founder of Nokia's 10-year-old design team, Nuovo may be more...

Remec readies sale of non-core businesses.(News)
October 4, 2004... Remec Inc. announced it has engaged Needham & Co. Inc. as a financial adviser to assist it in exploring strategic and financing alternatives for its business. Remec said earlier this month it planned to hire a financial adviser. Already,...

Landline group says Cingular/AWS merger to cost consumers $2.7B more annually.(News)
October 4, 2004... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER The leading association of competitive landline carriers told the Federal Communications Commission that wireless consumers will see an annual increase of $2.7 billion if the merger between Cingular Wireless...

Senate sacrifices commercial wireless plans at 700 MHz to try to give more to public safety.(News)
October 4, 2004... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER The Senate sacrificed commercial wireless interests as it passed an amendment to an intelligence-reform bill that would force TV broadcasters to give back spectrum in the 700 MHz band if public-safety users...

First cell-phone recycling law passes.(News)
October 4, 2004... Byline: EMILY MOTSAY Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger passed the nation's first cell-phone recycling bill into law in the state of California. Bill AB 2901, dubbed the Cell Phone Recycling Act of 2004, makes it unlawful for retailers to sell...

Qualcomm buys Spike Technologies.(News)
October 4, 2004... Qualcomm Inc. said it has acquired chip design company Spike Technologies Inc. for $19 million in cash to enable it to provide third-generation CDMA customers and partners with design, sales and technical support around the world. ...

GSMA urges India to veto 1900 MHz spectrum plan.(Global Wireless)
October 4, 2004... Underscoring the fact that the CDMA vs. GSM technology war is still under way, the GSM Association Tuesday encouraged the Indian government to veto a proposal to release 1900 MHz spectrum for current-generation services and maintain its...

Carrier alliance updates work on mobile-phone interface.(Global Wireless)
October 11, 2004... A global alliance of wireless carriers that is working to define mobile-phone interface standards said it has added new members and outlined its work to date. The Open Mobile Terminal Platform Ltd. group, which includes heavyweights such...

Land Rovers to include Nokia system, Nissans offer location services via DoCoMo connection.(Global Wireless)
October 11, 2004... Following on a series of recent announcements regarding wireless in-car communications, Nokia Corp. and Land Rover said they jointly developed the Personal Telephone Integration system, an integrated automotive communications system especially...

Business Briefs.(Briefs)
October 11, 2004... Rural wireless provider Bluegrass Cellular said it will deploy a commercial push-to-talk service using Kodiak Network's circuit-switch based Real-time Exchange system across its 34-county coverage area late next month. Beyond basic PTT...

FCC clarifies G-band piece of rebanding plan.(News)
October 11, 2004... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER The Federal Communications Commission clarified some issues in its plan to solve public-safety interference in the 800 MHz band, but did not deal with any of the issues raised by Nextel Communications Inc....

Interoperability lag weighs down mobile IM growth.(News)
October 11, 2004... Byline: COLIN GIBBS Depending on your perspective, mobile instant messaging either has taken off like a rocket or is still idling on the launching pad. Like many other applications, IM has been a hot topic in wireless circles for...

Cingular-AWS merger before FCC.
October 11, 2004... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA Cingular Wireless L.L.C. moved a step closer to winning government backing for its proposed $41 billion purchase of AT&T Wireless Services Inc., with Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell signing...

House gets tougher on DTV transition; Stations would turn over spectrum in '06.(News)
October 11, 2004... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER The House of Representatives said Friday the transition to digital TV should end Dec. 31, 2006. "It is the sense of Congress that the Communications Act should be amended to eliminate the 85-percent...

ABI: Microsoft OS may outpace Symbian by '09.(Wireless Metrics)
October 11, 2004... Microsoft Corp. could overtake Symbian Ltd. in mobile-phone operating system market share by 2009, according to research from ABI Research. The group believes that by 2009, mobile phones with Symbian operating systems could make up less...

MMS P2P to top SMS revenue by 2008.(Wireless Metrics)
October 11, 2004... Peer-to-peer multimedia messaging service will generate more revenue for wireless operators than P2P short message service by 2008, according to a study from the Yankee Group. The survey concluded that P2P MMS soon will be a lucrative...

Sprint's Forsee talks towers, EV-DO deployment strategy.(News)
October 11, 2004... Byline: DAN MEYER Sprint Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Gary Forsee said last week that the company's highly anticipated sale of its more than 6,200 wireless towers could be completed by the end of this year, and that the...

Motorola's Warrior lays out the vision of 'liquid media'.(News)
October 11, 2004... Byline: SAM OMATSEYE Before the spinoff of its chip business, Motorola Inc. often came across as an octopus-a many-sided giant. With Freescale Semiconductor Inc. now a standalone company, the wireless vendor still weighs heavy in the...

Nomadix service solves Wi-Fi roaming issues.(News)
October 11, 2004... Byline: DAN MEYER Expanding on the continued need for roaming between divergent Wi-Fi networks, Nomadix Corp. launched its NIS Roaming service connectivity solution that the company said aggregates devices running the company's NSE service...

Wireless issues that go bump in the night.(Opinion)
October 11, 2004... Byline: Tracy Ford October is a scary month, full of goblins, ghosts and things that go bump in the night. Wireless is scary business too. Have you noticed all the issues that once were proclaimed dead keep beckoning from beyond the...

Airborne Entertainment buys Tira Wireless' publishing unit.(Business)
October 11, 2004... Byline: COLIN GIBBS Tira Wireless has sold the rights to its mobile publishing division to Airborne Entertainment in a move Tira said will allow it to focus solely on developing mobile technology. Financial terms of the agreement were...

Nokia to expand Indian network.(Global Wireless)
October 11, 2004... Nokia Corp. said it will expand the GSM/EDGE and GPRS networks for India's Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. under a $246 million contract. Under the agreement, Nokia will deploy 4 million lines across northern cities, towns, villages and major state...

Brightstar withdraws IPO.(News)
October 11, 2004... Handset distributor Brightstar Corp. canceled its planned initial public offering last Wednesday, citing "market conditions and certain other factors,'' according to regulatory filing. In August, Brightstar had filed for a $115 million public...

Centennial improves Midwest footprint, falls short in net adds.(Business)
October 11, 2004... Byline: DAN MEYER Centennial Communications Corp. reported its U.S. wireless operations lost 3,600 subscribers during its first financial quarter of 2005 ended Aug. 31, compared to a gain of 7,600 subscribers during the same quarter a year...

Qualcomm signs W-CDMA agreement with DoCoMo.(Global Wireless)
October 11, 2004... Qualcomm Inc. said it has signed a cooperation agreement with NTT DoCoMo Inc. to promote the global deployment of W-CDMA technology. The announcement follows interoperability tests by both companies, using Qualcomm's MSM6250 W-CDMA chipset on...

Letter: Plaintiff says Cingular suit has merit.(Letters)
October 11, 2004... Dear Editor: I would like to comment on the Jeffrey Silva article of Sept. 20 in regard to lawsuits and/or racial and employment allegations against Cingular Wireless. As I seem to be one of the focal points of that article and I was one...

Sprint offers camera-phone printing service via retailers.(Business)
October 11, 2004... Sprint PCS Vision users can send camera-phone photos and order prints from retailers including Ritz Camera, Sam's Club and Wolf Camera, through a new service, the carrier announced. The service allows users who have taken pictures with...

T-Mobile USA garners top retail sales rating in J.D. Powers survey.(News)
October 11, 2004... Byline: DAN MEYER J.D. Power and Associates reported that T-Mobile USA Inc. ranked highest in overall retail sales customer satisfaction among the nation's seven largest wireless operators, according to the firm's 2004 Wireless Retail...

11th-hour effort to pass E911 funding legislation hits snag.(News)
October 11, 2004... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER An 11th-hour effort to pass the wireless enhanced 911 funding bill was struggling against a senatorial objection that stopped the frenetic activity to get the bill passed. Still, supporters remained hopeful...

AWS expands music offering even as Cingular deal nears.(News)
October 11, 2004... Byline: DAN MEYER AT&T Wireless Services Inc. continues to roll out advanced devices and services despite an impending acquisition by Cingular Wireless L.L.C., which could be completed by the end of the year. AWS' trend of new offerings...

Homeland hyperbole?(Opinion)
October 11, 2004... Byline: Jeffrey Silva First, the confusing color-coded threat alerts. Then, the duck tape and plastic-sheeting quacker. Next, cybersecurity chaos that continues to this day. Now this. On Sept. 22, testifying before a House homeland...

Streamlined tower-siting agreement skips tribal lands.(News)
October 11, 2004... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER AND CRISTINA EICHNER Even as several entities signed a nationwide agreement meant to streamline tower sitings, tribal lands are exempt from the rules, thus leading some critics to say the pact isn't...

Industry courts enterprise with expected-and surprising-pairings.(Business)
October 11, 2004... Byline: COLIN GIBBS Industry players announced new alliances and applications targeting on-the-go workers last week, signs that the much-sought-after enterprise market is progressing steadily. Nextel Communications Inc. said that it...

Wavelink adds security with AirPrism buy.(Business)
October 11, 2004... Byline: SAM OMATSEYE Wavelink Corp said it has acquired AirPrism, a wireless firm after its software heart. Both companies work in the enterprise arena, and Wavelink thinks the move will entrench it as a strong player in that market. ...

Stock Watch: Sept. 30-Oct. 7.(Wireless Metrics)
October 11, 2004... table: Stock Watch: Sept. 30-Oct. 7 * 3 graphics: Market diary * Indices * RCR Index: see print copy.

Google information service uses short messaging.(Late News)
October 11, 2004... Google has launched a beta test of a service that allows mobile users to access the Google database from handsets using short message service. Google SMS delivers local business and residential listings via Google Local and price comparisons...