RCR Wireless News articles from October 2008

RCR Wireless News archives from October 2008

CONTRACTS.
October 6, 2008... Byline: Kristen Beckman The following infrastructure contracts were announced in September: Airspan Networks Botswana: With Netspread to provide its MicroMAX base stations and ProST customer premises equipment for a WiMAX...

Congress opens up D.C.'s subways to GSM carriers.
October 6, 2008... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA Wireless competition may soon be coming to the throngs of subway riders who comprise official Washington. A bill passed by Congress and en route to President Bush will allow any licensed mobile-phone carrier to...

Sue Spradley.(Interview)
October 6, 2008... Byline: GARY E. SALAZAR Sue Spradley has been on the job as head of North America for Nokia Siemens Networks since July 2007. Spradley has 20 years of experience in the telecommunications industry, including in services, operations, sales,...

MAILING IT IN; Mobile e-mail space remains challenge for all.
October 6, 2008... Byline: COLIN GIBBS There may not be much room at the top of the mobile e-mail service food chain, but there seems to be plenty of opportunity below. Nokia Corp. last week finally threw up its hands and pulled the plug on Intellisync,...

Rural wireless meltdown.
October 6, 2008... Byline: Jeffrey Silva It's materializing into a perfect storm for rural wireless carriers. But the federal government won't be coming to the rescue, since it is the one perpetuating the assault on Wireless Joe Six-Pack. In May, the...

Intel throws weight behind M2Z in AWS-3 dustup; Chip maker claims regulations could hurt WiMAX deployments.
October 6, 2008... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA In an unexpected twist, chipmaker giant Intel Corp. urged the Federal Communications Commission to keep intact proposed interference safeguards that T-Mobile USA Inc. insists are inadequate to prevent interference...

High court ultimately may weigh in on billing lawsuits; Courts rule differently on AT&T, VZW litigation.
October 6, 2008... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA Federal courts on opposite sides of the country came to different conclusions in billing litigation against Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility, while the number of antitrust class-action texting lawsuits against the...

House panel wraps FCC management investigation; Results not expected for some time.
October 6, 2008... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA A House panel last week said it wrapped up its investigation of the Federal Communications Commission, but findings of the probe into agency management practices will not immediately be made public. "The...

Lost in translation; Japanese content firms continue to struggle in the U.S. market.
October 6, 2008... Byline: Colin Gibbs Vindigo appears to have turned out the lights, but the closure of the Japanese-owned firm may have more to do with cultural differences than the fact that mobile content is a tumultuous space. A pioneer in the early...

BY THE NUMBERS.
October 6, 2008... Rev. A to top 54M customers by 2013, Rev. B to hit 25M CDMA may not be making much news these days, but the technology is far from dead. A recent report from ABI Research says while overshadowed by hype surrounding UMTS/HSPA and the...

Samsung snares Dallas WiMAX deployment; Scheduling change forces SN to replace NSN.
October 6, 2008... Byline: GARY E. SALAZAR Sprint Nextel Corp. switched mobile WiMAX vendors for its Dallas/Fort Worth Xohm network, bringing in existing inventory manufactured by Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. Because the Texas city became ready for...

Mobile Broadband push promises $1B for "ready to run' HSPA laptops; Analyst critique: Effort needs broader support.
October 6, 2008... Byline: MIKE DANO A group of PC makers and wireless industry players announced a new effort aimed at embedding HSPA modems into laptops. The initiative, organized by the Euro-focused GSM Association, aims to spend up to $1 billion...

More technologies, more battlegrounds: HSPA lays over WiMAX, LTE arena; M2Z could use WiMAX protocol.
October 6, 2008... Byline: ALLIE WINTER The gloves are off as vendors and wireless providers side on different advanced generation technologies. The first and obvious battle during the 4G Executive Summit at last week's WiMAX World 2008 event was between...

Two wireless broadband players, two different plans; TowerStream targets enterprises in big cities, DigitalBridge seeks consumers in rural markets.
October 6, 2008... Byline: GARY E. SALAZAR Two companies have succeeded in utilizing pre-WiMAX technology to build successful businesses that target different customers in the United States. TowerStream and DigitalBridge Communications have carved out...

AT&T Mobility has a lot of "runway' left with HSPA; Exec: LTE will fit in.
October 6, 2008... Byline: ALLIE WINTER Even as AT&T Mobility touted its decision to deploy Long Term Evolution technology for its next-generation network, the carrier is confident it can tweak its current HSPA network to increase speeds gradually, without...

A line in the sand: WiMAX and LTE face off; Demand to drive deployments of next-gen tech.
October 6, 2008... Byline: GARY E. SALAZAR As the wireless industry gears up for the new wave of technologically advanced networks, the market will determine where WiMAX and Long Term Evolution services will be deployed. As WiMAX World 2008 kicked off...

Sony Ericsson moves ahead with re-org; Plans include cutting 400 jobs in N.C.
October 6, 2008... Byline: MIKE DANO Handset maker Sony Ericsson said it has embarked on its previously announced reorganization, which according to a report in EE Times includes eliminating around 400 workers, roughly half the work force, at the company's...

Moto lawsuit claims trade secrets smuggled to China; Tech giant fingers five ex-employees, IP firm.
October 6, 2008... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA Motorola Inc. filed a lawsuit accusing five ex-employees and a small IP-based wireless software firm of conspiring to steal trade secrets and smuggle them to China. The allegations come amid growing fears about the...

Web radio bill offers hope for mobile music; Royalty rates may thwart streaming uptake.
October 6, 2008... Byline: COLIN GIBBS Streaming-music service providers bought some time last week when Congress approved legislation that will allow them to renegotiate royalty rates some claim may otherwise drive them out of business. But nobody's...

CTDI expands into cellphone accessories with Phoenix purchase.
October 6, 2008... Communications Test Design Inc., a repair and logistics provider, announced it purchased cellphone accessory vendor Phoenix Wireless for an undisclosed sum. "The acquisition by CTDI provides operational and financial scalability to Phoenix...

Sprint Nextel set to ditch PC song downloads; Music service to be handset-only beginning Oct. 15.
October 6, 2008... Byline: DAN MEYER Sprint Nextel Corp. is set to ax the download of songs from its Sprint Music Store to desktop computers beginning Oct. 15. The service's home page includes a link titled "PC Downloads Update,'' that includes the...

Leap, MetroPCS sign multi-pronged deal covering roaming, litigation, spectrum.
October 6, 2008... Byline: DAN MEYER Flat-rate, unlimited wireless carriers Leap Wireless International Inc. and MetroPCS Communications Inc. have thrown aside years of animosity and legal entanglements with a new roaming agreement, plans for a spectrum swap...

Sprint Nextel launches mobile WiMAX in Baltimore; Xohm service backed by pair of devices, several pricing options.
October 6, 2008... Byline: ALLIE WINTER Following years of hype, mobile WiMAX from a major provider is now available commercially in the United States. Sprint Nextel Corp. announced that its Xohm service is live in the Baltimore area, and the carrier plans...

Rural operators, license holders unite to launch UMTS, LTE.
October 6, 2008... More than two dozen mobile operators and spectrum license holders have banded together to form NextGen Mobile L.L.C. The organization hopes to pool efforts to launch GSM-based, next-generation networks covering small and rural markets. The...

...ETC...
October 6, 2008... Disaster, disease data delivered fast Nokia announced a new software solution designed to help public sector and non-governmental organizations collect data on situations such as disease outbreaks or disaster relief via mobile devices. ...

100 WiMAX deployments and counting, despite downturn in economy.
October 6, 2008... Byline: GARY E. SALAZAR WiMAX vendors, chipmakers and operators are all ready to take on the wireless market at a time when economic hardship has shocked Wall Street, pushing the United States to the brink of a recession. The financial...

Clearwire CEO pushes WiMAX's promise; In exclusive interview, Wolff promises lower prices for WiMAX kit.
October 6, 2008... Byline: ALLIE WINTER Clearwire Corp. CEO Ben Wolff stepped onto the WiMAX World stage in front of a packed house during a keynote address at last week's WiMAX World 2008 event. As audience members squeezed to find chairs or stood along the...

Leap ditches Jump for daily PayGo offering.
October 6, 2008... Byline: DAN MEYER Leap Wireless International Inc. juggled its offerings with the launch of its new PayGo prepaid service, which will replace its previously offered Jump prepaid plans. The PayGo service is a daily, pay-as-you-go option...

Xohm exec details WiMAX pricing discusses usage rules.
October 6, 2008... Byline: ALLIE WINTER Day two of WiMAX World 2008 brought Atish Gude, senior VP of mobile broadband operations for Sprint Nextel Corp.'s Xohm effort, to the stage to discuss the business of WiMAX. And for Xohm, freshly launched in Baltimore...

So many pricing options, so little time.
October 6, 2008... Byline: Mike Dano The amount of innovation currently under way in the wireless industry is almost breathtaking to behold. Just in the past month we got to witness the birth of a completely new user interface, introduced by what some...

Nokia's first touchscreen to face stiff Q4 competition; 5800 XpressMusic to feature company's Comes With Music effort.
October 6, 2008... Byline: MIKE DANO After months of hinting at the device, the world's largest handset maker unveiled its answer to Apple Inc.'s iPhone with the inspiringly named 5800 XpressMusic. The Nokia Corp. gadget features a touchscreen and, starting...

NBC claims mobile success for Olympics.
October 6, 2008... NBC Universal deemed its coverage of the Beijing Olympics a "ringing success,'' with its games-dedicated mobile Web site drawing more than 6.5 million unique visitors and 36 million page views, according to Omniture data. The broadcaster,...

Best handset, service selection ever; But will economic realities spook consumers?
October 6, 2008... Byline: PHIL CARSON The second half of 2008 already ranks highly for offering the most advanced handsets and most reasonable prices in the history of wireless. And myriad device launches are yet to come in October and November. In a...

Hedgehogging; hedge*hog*ging v. Interrupting conversations in an office environment by poking your head over the top of the cube.
October 6, 2008... That loveable, unlimited duo of MetroPCS and Leap announced plans this week to settle their long-running legal disputes and signed a roaming agreement that could save both money and help in their fight against those big, bad nationwide...

Carrier Q3 forecasts mixed, but stable; SN expected to remain buzzkill.
October 13, 2008... Byline: ALLIE WINTER The third quarter has been busy: AT&T Mobility Inc. released the 3G iPhone; Sprint Nextel Corp. said that its iDEN network may be on the market and the economy fell apart. This last issue has pushed speculation that...

Evolution by numbers; Generational changes highlight 25 years of wireless technology.
October 13, 2008... Byline: GARY E. SALAZAR The wireless industry's evolution from that first call placed 25 years ago at Chicago's Soldier Field to the high-speed, mobile data networks that allow customers access to the world with the touch of a button, can...

Third-quarter earnings moot, due to meltdown; Analysts focused on Nokia's outlook on Thursday.
October 13, 2008... Byline: PHIL CARSON Financial analysts typically gauge companies on their future prospects, not past performance. That is acutely so for the current moment in history, a couple weeks into the critical fourth quarter. The collapse...

INQ to use hardware to tap mobile social network space.
October 13, 2008... Byline: COLIN GIBBS Social networking is exploding in mobile, according to figures released by ABI Research. And Frank Meehan thinks he knows how to capitalize. ABI polled 500 users of online social networks and found that 46% of...

Moto made "quantum leap' for iconic handsets.
October 13, 2008... Byline: PHIL CARSON Motorola Inc.'s original concept for its first commercial cellphone the $4,000 DynaTAC, launched in 1984 was to take a wireline handset, cut off the cord and "make it go,'' said Rudy Krolopp, who headed the DynaTAC...

Smaller, faster, better, cheaper; Handset revolution marked by tech, style and reach.
October 13, 2008... Byline: PHIL CARSON People of a certain age will remember the Wayback Machine engineered by Mr. Peabody and his sidekick, Sherman, featured in "The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show'' of the 1960s. Those of you who cannot recall the Wayback...

"Sense of panic'; Content vendors respond to VZW's proposed 3-cent text fee; carrier softens stance after outcry.
October 13, 2008... Byline: COLIN GIBBS Verizon Wireless last week sent shock waves through much of the off-deck world with a drastic new fee for vendor-generated text messages. Whether the carrier will follow through with the plan, though, isn't quite clear....

Economics, politics could force VZW away from Alltel acquisition; Analyst: Verizon may pay $500M break-up fee, then come back for better purchase price.
October 13, 2008... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA Verizon Wireless offered to divest another 15 markets as part its $28.1 billion play for Alltel Communications L.L.C., but the proposed transaction is becoming trickier by the day because of fluid economic, regulatory...

A Look Back.
October 13, 2008... 1981 The FCC releases its Report and Order adopting rules for commercial cellular service. 1982 The FCC receives 190 applications for cellular licenses in the top 30 markets. 1983 Commercial service is launched in...

Adam Smith's invisible guiding hammer.
October 13, 2008... Byline: Jeffrey Silva Much has been written and speculated about what telecom-tech policy might look like under an Obama or a McCain administration. But more likely it will be the volatile economy in the near term that dictates terms for...

By the Numbers.
October 13, 2008... Femto-based access points to top 103M by 2013 The fixed-mobile convergence market is being driven forward by new services like T-Mobile USA Inc.'s @Home service and Orange SA's unik service in Europe, and the market will face its first...

Mobile content history scores lots of hits and misses.
October 13, 2008... Byline: COLIN GIBBS The history of mobile data teems with unrestrained hyperbole and hockey-stick projections that all too often flatten as they become low-grade inclines of uptake. But and stop us if you've heard this one before the...

3G buildouts tied to spectrum availability; T-Mobile USA, Leap moves ahead with AWS-1 launches.
October 13, 2008... Byline: ALLIE WINTER Wireless industry professionals always seem to be wearing hard hats. Whether building new phones, constructing monthly plans or remodeling ever-faulty customer service options, carriers put their construction tools to...

The (sometimes) invisible hand of regulation; Rules, regulations have been instrumental in wireless industry's story.
October 13, 2008... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA Policymakers must have done something right over the past 25 years. With nearly 266 million subscribers using powerful, feature-rich mobile devices that now constitute the outermost edges of the Internet, the $144...

Bell Canada, Telus to deploy HSPA by 2010.
October 13, 2008... Byline: MIKE DANO Canada's two largest CDMA carriers, Bell Canada and Telus Mobility, announced plans to deploy HSPA technology by 2010 as part of an effort to eventually upgrade to Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology. Nokia Siemens...

25 years of the name game; Robust growth, consolidation has kept marketers busy.
October 13, 2008... Byline: ALLIE WINTER During the past 25 years, two overriding factors have shaped the wireless carrier landscape: customer growth and carrier consolidation. The number of wireless customers has grown from fewer than 100,000 subscribers...

Time to toast.
October 13, 2008... Byline: Tracy Ford A quote, "Under the tree in `83,'' that I wrote in 1993 as RCR Wireless News celebrated the first decade of the cellular industry triggered a flood of memories as we put together stories for the 25th anniversary. c...

Consumers, carriers spar on short-code rules.
October 13, 2008... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA Public-interest groups accused wireless carriers of conjuring up misleading excuses to avoid federal regulation of short-code text messaging, pointing to content restrictions in industry documents that they say...

Staying power; Razr still No. 1 handset, iPhone at No. 2.
October 13, 2008... Byline: PHIL CARSON The cheap, voice-centric, clamshell handset still rules the American marketplace, as Motorola Inc.'s Razr V3 remains the top-selling handset in the country, according to recent data from NPD Group. Yet smartphones...

Pro-rated ETFs becoming rule, not exception; SN remains last of nationwide carriers.
October 20, 2008... Byline: ALLIE WINTER After many promises, it seems the industry's nationwide carriers have kept good on their word to pro-rate early termination fees. Well, all of them except for Sprint Nextel Corp, which has yet to implement its...

Firms launch technology to block calls to motorists; Goal is to reduce distracted driving.
October 20, 2008... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. and Aegis Mobility last week unveiled new technology they said manages incoming and outgoing calls and text messages on drivers' mobile phones, a product aimed at reducing and...

Martin steps closer to AWS-3 bids; T-Mobile USA calls analysis flawed.
October 20, 2008... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA Free, family-friendly wireless broadband for the masses may be on the way. So may messy litigation to keep it grounded. The Federal Communications Commission tentatively concluded operations in the advanced...

Carriers refute messaging collusion claim; Operators point to bundles as giving greater value to consumers.
October 20, 2008... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA National mobile-phone carriers denied any wrongdoing in reaction to a key Senate lawmaker's probe into industrywide text-message price increases, pointing out competitive bulk texting plans have actually reduced costs...

Tower industry expected to weather storm; New deployments, deep-pocketed customers to buffer segment.
October 20, 2008... Byline: DAN MEYER Despite thunderstorms on Wall Street, as well as outside the convention itself, participants at the PCIA's 2008 Wireless Infrastructure Show last week in Hollywood, Fla., were forecasting sunny skies for the market...

Oh Yeah!
October 20, 2008... I hate to admit it, but during these troubling economic times I have succumbed to the cool, refreshing Kool-Aid the wireless industry is serving. And I gotta tell you, it tastes good. Sure, nearly every company involved in the telecom space...

Prepaid space hot with competition; Carriers pulling out all the tricks.
October 20, 2008... Byline: ALLIE WINTER Once considered the red-headed stepchild of wireless, prepaid services are finally gaining mainstream appeal helped by the need for carriers to target broader demographics and consumer desires for more ways to control...

Mutiny precedes the finale.
October 20, 2008... Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin has set a highly ambitious agenda for the Nov. 4 open meeting. And the December potentially could pack as much punch, seeing that time is running short for the FCC chief to push through...

Open access; No one's sure of definitions in this new territory.
October 20, 2008... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA From early indications, the uncertain shift to open platforms in the wireless space will not take a linear path and instead is apt to evolve in zigzag fashion due to variances in unpredictable political, technological...

Big day; FCC schedules full docket for Nov. 4 meeting.
October 20, 2008... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA Election Day 2008 is shaping up as monumental for the wireless industry. Maybe. The Federal Communications Commission is poised to vote Nov. 4 on the Sprint Nextel Corp.-Clearwire Corp. and the Verizon...

ETC.
October 20, 2008... T-Mo `in the paint' with NBA T-Mobile USA announced a multiyear extension of its marketing partnership with the National Basketball Association and the Women's National Basketball Association. As part of the extension, T-Mobile will expand...

By the Numbers.
October 20, 2008... Samsung, Moto lead touchscreen growth Shipments of touchscreen-based mobile devices have nearly doubled since 2006, driven in large part by the popularity of the iPhone, said a recent report from ABI Research. The firm predicts revenue...

Three firms set to capitalize on new financial requirements; Text, instant messages must be archived like e-mail.
October 20, 2008... Byline: GARY E. SALAZAR Financial institutions must now monitor and archive text and instant messages sent by employees through company-issued handsets much like they do with corporate e-mail. However, only a handful of companies offer...

Sprint Nextel scores in customer service.
October 20, 2008... Byline: ALLIE WINTER Sprint Nextel Corp.'s luck may be changing, at least in terms of customer service. According to recent survey results conducted by Pali Research, Sprint Nextel ranked first in response time a significant statement for...

Local issues priority for PCIA.
October 20, 2008... Byline: DAN MEYER The wireless industry is crowded with associations so it's imperative for those looking to succeed to find their niche. It appears PCIA has. PCIA, which was once a powerhouse for industry lobbying, has reinvented...

CHICAGO.
October 20, 2008... Byline: TRACY FORD The Wireless History Foundation celebrated the 25th anniversary of the first cellphone call with an evening of festivity featuring a celebrity attendee list similar to what you'd find in People magazine if People...

Boost shakes up model.
October 20, 2008... Byline: ALLIE WINTER In addition to recent pricing changes, Sprint Nextel Corp. subsidiary Boost Mobile is altering its marketing approach as well as its target market. Matt Carter, Boost's new president and GM, said the company needs...

Ublip goes to Numerex for M2M.
October 20, 2008... Numerex Corp., which specializes in machine-to-machine technology, said it has acquired Ublip Inc., a privately held M2M software and services company, for a combination of cash and stock. Numerex paid out about 400,000 shares of restricted...

Sony Ericsson challenged financially, but holding ground; Firm ships 25.7M units in quarter.
October 20, 2008... Byline: PHIL CARSON Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications posted solid unit shipments for the third quarter, but reported financial metrics that illustrated the company's struggles with its portfolio in the current market. Revenue for...

Hedgehogging.
October 20, 2008... So we're having internal arguments about which new wireless application in the world is the greatest. Some people (online editor Mike Dano) think it is an M2M app that sends a text message to college students alerting them when their laundry is...

S.E. sends W760a to AT&T Mobility; Feature-packed device faces smart competition.
October 20, 2008... Byline: PHIL CARSON Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications and AT&T Mobility last week launched the former's W760a 3G handset at $130 with a two-year contract and a mail-in rebate. The device features integration between the music-centric...

Siemens looks to simplify with mobile U.C. Enterprise offering promises increased productivity, reduced costs.
October 20, 2008... Byline: GARY E. SALAZAR Siemens Enterprise Communications launched an enterprise-focused one-stop shop for mobile unified communications. The German-based company unveiled its OpenScape Mobility Solution last week and an analyst...

VZW deepens enterprise efforts with Field Force Manager.
October 20, 2008... Byline: GARY E. SALAZAR Verizon Wireless is rolling out a new enterprise solution geared to increase worker productivity and decrease operational costs for its business customers. The country's second-largest carrier announced its...

Software firm courts workers with CRM app.
October 20, 2008... Byline: GARY E. SALAZAR Maximizer Software said it is giving enterprises the tools for its mobile workers to leave the laptop behind by offering solutions where business can be conducted solely on smartphones. With the rise of...

Appeals court reverses ITC in patent spat.
October 20, 2008... Byline: PHIL CARSON Qualcomm Inc. last week won an appeal of an International Trade Commission ruling issued last year that banned the importation of 3G handsets containing a Qualcomm chip that the ITC found infringed on a battery-saving...

Ripples remain; VZW's proposed text-fee increase still being digested.
October 20, 2008... Byline: COLIN GIBBS For now, at least, Verizon Wireless has stepped away from plans to tack on a drastic 3-cent fee to each vendor-generated message on its network. But there's little doubt that some significant changes are in store for...

Fox revamps mobile play; Media giant looking to replace push with pull.
October 20, 2008... Byline: COLIN GIBBS Two weeks after swallowing the rest of the Crazy Frog, News Corp. is reorganizing its mobile business. Rupert Murdoch's media giant this week will unveil Fox Mobile Group, a three-pronged operation created to...

Nokia as Rorschach card: Investors reward results, then resume gloom; UBS notes Nokia's one-time settlement to Qualcomm of $2.3B.
October 20, 2008... Byline: PHIL CARSON Nokia Corp.posted a 5% drop in revenue and a 21% drop in operating profit over the year-ago quarter, but its profit margin remained strong and the company stuck with its industry projection for 10% annual growth for the...

RIM Flips for T-Mobile USA; Will the new Pearl variant attract and repel?
October 20, 2008... Byline: PHIL CARSON On paper, handset vendors and their carrier patrons can be very persuasive. In the hand, new devices can be seductive. At the checkout counter, however, or on the street where reality bites, a multitude of factors...

SureWest unloads towers to Global Tower for $10M.
October 20, 2008... Byline: ALLIE WINTER Californian telecom provider SureWest Communications is slowly but surely moving further away from the wireless business as the firm announced it sold 50 of its wireless communications towers to Global Tower Partners....

AT&T Mobility looks beyond handsets; Carrier appoints president of new division focused on non-traditional devices, M2M.
October 20, 2008... Byline: ALLIE WINTER Thanks to a new executive position, AT&T Mobility is attempting to expand the range of gadgets its network interacts with and counter similar efforts by its rivals. The carrier announced the appointment of Glen...