1998

Count one less player in the U.S. trunked radio game. As of 18 October, Geotek Communications Inc. will be but a memory of yet another start-up with a good idea …

ORLANDO, United States-Both the TDMA and CDMA camps released their most recent subscriber numbers at the PCS ’98 show in September in the United States. The CDMA Development Group (CDG) …

ORLANDO, Fla.-L.M. Ericsson launched an open wireless intelligent network platform, called Jambala, initially available to Time Division Multiple Access Interim Standard 136 providers. Jambala is the first telecom platform to …

WASHINGTON-The old adage maintains it’s all about location, that the success of an investment depends on locale. And Latin America has been the locale of choice for investors looking for …

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam-While other countries in the region continue to liberalize their mobile phone markets, Vietnam will return to a status of near-monopoly by year-end. The merger of …

LONDON-The GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) market in Egypt took a positive turn at the beginning of the year with an invitation for bids to build and operate a …

Nippon Ido Tsushin Corp. (IDO) announced it will stop its analog cellular service based on the NTT standard as of the end of March 1999 and instead will use the …

TOKYO-Some public-use halls in Japan next year will be allowed to use jamming devices-an illegal practice under present laws-to shut out noisy beeps, electronic melodies and loud chats on cellular …

The Argentine government, in an attempt to proceed with the PCS auctions currently in judicial limbo, is considering selling two PCS licenses each for the northern and southern regions of …

The International Telecommunication Union has yet to decide on the air interface for third-generation mobile phone technology, but many vendors are pushing ahead anyway with GSM-based wideband CDMA technology. The …

SINGAPORE-Malaysia has launched a common antenna system in its newly opened Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), paving the way for future cooperation among cellular operators in projects around the country. …

Japan’s Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications recently released the basic guidelines for fixed wireless access systems. The MPT expects new common carriers (NCCs) that have not entered the access lines …

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados-Caribbean governments appear more serious recently about breaking the monopoly stranglehold Cable & Wireless plc has on more than a dozen countries in the region. Ministers responsible for tele-communications …

OXFORD, United Kingdom-The game of musical chairs between telecom operators vying for a stake in the lucrative German market seems to have slowed down. There is now some semblance of …

NABLUS, West Bank-Many who conduct business in this often-troubled region say peace would come much more quickly if they took over the responsibility from politicians. Cooperation in the wireless telecommunications …

Telesystem International Wireless Inc., Montreal, announced its French subsidiary, Regiocom S.A., has acquired S3RP, the trunked-radio operations of Bouygues Telecom marketed under the brand name Orbicom, making it the only …

OXFORD, United Kingdom-“Mobile Phones-Is There A Health Risk?” was the title of a conference held mid-October in London. “Mobile phones-Is there a health risk?” is also a complex question that …

TOKYO-As part of its effort to break through the stagnant pager market, Japanese pager maker Oi Electronic Co. Ltd. is developing a voice pager that can deliver voice, data and …

EDI Telecom Ltd. and Tadiran Telecommunications Ltd. announced they signed an agreement under which the two will merge in a stock-for-stock transaction. Mobile Systems International, United Kingdom, and U.S.-based Metapath …

MELBOURNE, Australia-I am window shopping when my mobile phone alerts me I have a message. Reading it, I learn the store I am standing in front of has a sale …

The incorrect ownership structure of Hungary’s Pannon GSM was printed in the July-August issue. The correct ownership structure is KPN Telecom B.V. (26.79%), Telenor Invest A/S (23.43%), Sonera Holding N.V. …

After US$5 billion worth of effort, the Iridium L.L.C. global satellite phone and cellular roaming service became a reality 1 November when the company activated the system for commercial operation. …

NEW YORK-If telecommunications companies worked in a vacuum, they would probably be well fortified against the Year 2000 electronics bug that threatens to hobble microprocessor-reliant equipment. Wireless networks that are …

SINGAPORE-One of Singapore’s four paging operators has been put up for sale, but there so far have been no takers due to poor growth prospects. Hutchison IntraPage, which began operations …