October 1999

Nordic Mobile Telephone 450 MHz operators can choose to deploy Global System for Mobile communications or Code Division Multiple Access technology as the NMT MOU voted to give NMT 450 …

NEW YORK-Despite its investments in the troubled Iridium L.L.C. satellite carrier, Motorola Inc., Schaumburg, Ill., reported strong third-quarter results Oct. 12 that reflected growth in its wireless handset business. Including …

GENEVA-Motorola Inc. and America Online Inc. announced plans to integrate the AOL Instant Messenger application into Motorola wireless devices, including both handsets and two-way pagers. The goal of the agreement, …

GENEVA-Hewlett-Packard Co. announced at Telecom ’99 a new company initiative focused on the mobile electronic services industry that combines products, a subscription- and transaction-based payment model, and centers for product …

GENEVA-Nortel Networks and Telia Mobile announced a cooperative development effort to enable subscriber-managed services that can span multiple, dissimilar networks, including traditional wireless and wireline networks, as well as cable, …

At precisely what moment did Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association President Tom Wheeler realize he’d created a monster? Was it after the first lawsuit? The second? The third? Or did it …

LOS GATOS, Calif.-Metricom Inc. announced it entered into a technology license agreement with Novatel Wireless under which Novatel will sell wireless modems based on Metricom’s Ricochet technology to portable computer …

WASHINGTON-The Network Reliability and Interoperability Council is recommending that wireless carriers voluntarily report when a mobile telephone switching office fails, preventing transmission of new calls for 30 minutes or more. …

LUXEMBOURG-Millicom International Cellular S.A. said its worldwide operations added 174,627 new cellular subscribers in the third quarter, bringing its world total to 1.92 million as of Sept. 30. This represents …

LUBBOCK, Texas-Sprint PCS launched services in Albuquerque, N.M., and offered new customers in the area a special promotion that includes 500 anytime minutes for $50 per month until next year. …

GENEVA-Sun Microsystems Inc. announced three manufacturers of Global System for Mobile communications handsets have agreed to incorporate Java technology in their products. First, Motorola Inc. plans to launch the Timeport …

CHICAGO-Cellular One of Chicago, north central Illinois and northwest Indiana introduced Digital Edge Midwest and Digital Edge USA-new regional and national wireless rate plans that include free long-distance and roaming …

GENEVA-Globalstar officially announced at Telecom ’99 a phased launch of its mobile satellite service. The phased launch begins with user trials, followed by a soft launch that will allow the …

GENEVA-The GSM Association announced it plans to establish a roaming forum to address roaming issues among wireless protocols. Approval of the World Roaming Forum will be discussed at a GSM …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission last week asked a federal appeals court in Denver for a rehearing of a recent decision that vacated agency rules on consumer privacy rights. “The majority …

News that the world’s largest chip maker, Intel Corp., plans to purchase mobile-phone chipset maker DSP Communications Inc. for $1.6 billion in cash left some analysts concerned last week that …

Scandinavia As expected, the European Commission approved the merger of Telia of Sweden and Telenor of Norway. To secure the approval, the two companies have consented to sell their cable …

Dear Editor, Studies of possible harms to the brain from cell phone use by the Wireless Technology Research Group, meant to be a definitive, industrywide effort, focus on cancer and …

Got a scandal? You a friend of Gore? Who ya gonna call? Stan Brand, of course. Stan the Man is the go-to guy for Dems in decline. Brand helped Tennessee …

NEW YORK-Ericsson Inc.’s CyberLab NY introduced a program designed to speed growth of the wireless Internet industry by providing market and technical information, development and testing tools and on-site expertise …

LONDON-Cable & Wireless plc said it agreed to sell its mobile telephony interests in Japan to Vodafone AirTouch plc for $411 million in cash. Cable & Wireless sold its shareholdings …

Japan’s Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications plans to adopt both W-CDMA and cdma2000 technologies for next-generation mobile-phone systems. The ministry said it will make its decisions regarding 3G technology based …

LONDON-British Telecommunications plc and Microsoft Corp. announced a wireless Internet trial with about 1,000 mobile phone users in the United Kingdom and Norway. Users will be able to access Microsoft …

MEXICO CITY-Nortel Networks announced it signed an agreement with Sistemas Profesionales de Comunicacion S.A. de C.V., a subsidiary of Unefon, to build a high performance wireless network in Mexico. Under …

Netro Corp., a California-based broadband wireless access systems provider, announced release 2.0 of its AirStar point-to-multipoint system. Release 2.0 adds two new frequency ranges-the 39-GHz range and the 10-GHz range-expanding …