2000

MIAMI-WealthHound.com Inc. introduced its Wireless Stock Quote Application to the Palm VII wireless organizer from 3Com Corp. A version of the solution for Wireless Application Protocol-enabled devices is expected soon, …

Kyocera Corp. hopes to do what no Japanese handset manufacturer has been able to do to date. It wants to become a dominate global vendor. To do that, Kyocera needs …

WASHINGTON-The status of NextWave Telecom Inc.’s 63 personal communications services licenses is in doubt after an appeals court ruled that communications law supersedes bankruptcy law. In making that judgment, the …

TOKYO-Following months of speculation, three Japanese telecom companies announced plans to merge into one group to compete in the country’s increasingly competitive telecom market. DDI, IDO and KDD will merge …

Siemens and NEC announced a joint venture to develop infrastructure equipment for third-generation systems. The joint venture, in which Siemens will hold 51 percent and NEC will hold 49 percent, …

Omnipoint and VoiceStream Wireless have agreed to purchase Sprint PCS’ GSM network in Washington, D.C., for an undisclosed amount, saving their GSM customers from a potential black hole in that …

Australia Telecom New Zealand acquired an 80-percent stake in AAPT, Australia’s third-largest phone company. AAPT is building LMDS and CDMA networks and resells GSM service. News Corp. said it agreed …

TOKYO-Chubu Telemessage Inc., a paging carrier based in central Japan, will shut down its business by March 2000. The carrier’s subscribers-109,000 at the end of September 1999-are expected to be …

U.S.-based BellSouth has grandiose plans for its future in Latin America. Despite its recent moves in Europe with wireless operator E-Plus, BellSouth remains committed to Latin America as its primary …

OXFORD, United Kingdom-The principal supporters of the Bluetooth short-range wireless technology used the U.S.-based Comdex exhibition late last year to take the message of its capabilities to a much wider …

BANGALORE, India-While the Indian cellular industry generally has been battling rough weather recently, one cellular operator in the country has adopted a strategy that seems to have paid off: focusing …

SAO PAULO, Brazil-One year after the privatization of A-band cellular operators in Brazil and just shortly following the auctions that defined the B-band operators, the Brazilian wireless market is going …

BEIJING-China’s two telecom operators-big brother China Telecom and little brother China Unicom-soon will face the competitive onslaught of foreign heavyweights such as AT&T, Deutsche Telekom and WorldCom. After China joins …

1999 is behind us, although it won’t soon be forgotten. The last year of the 20th century brought tragedy to many locations around the world. It’s comforting to know that …

The European paging industry is in the midst of another makeover as it struggles to compete with mobile telephony as a mass-market communications medium. Devices that can send and receive …

DUBLIN, Ireland-Service providers and mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) are viewed by many network operators as parasites feeding off their infrastructure investment. At the same time, many consumers view them …

The two major developers of high-speed cellular data technology, Nokia and Ericsson, have opened a public argument over which has achieved the most success in terms of contract awards. The …

DUBLIN, Ireland-At the beginning of the 1990s, analog was the dominant European cellular technology, but during the decade it has been superseded by GSM and soon will be phased out …

TOKYO-NTT DoCoMo’s iMode Internet service is winning attention around the world as the first success case for mobile Internet. Since the carrier launched the service in February 1999, it has …

Alcatel Cameroon. With Societe Camerounaise de Mobiles (SCM) for a GSM network for the area between the cities of Yaounde, Douala and Bafoussam. Value: US$21.15 million China. With Post and …

TOKYO-NTT Corp. and new common carriers (NCCs), carriers competing with NTT in the liberalized market, are in a debate about implementing the Long Run Incremental Cost (LRIC) interconnection model, which …

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados-Jamaica is banking on two additional cellular licenses playing a lead role in spurring competition for current monopoly provider Cable & Wireless and financing its emerging information technology sector. …

SEOUL, South Korea-South Korea’s major telecommunications operators are scrambling to reshape their businesses to secure a position ahead of the competition this year for the much-coveted third-generation (3G) licenses. However, …

During the first half of 1999, Latin America handset sales exceeded 9.8 million, according to Dataquest, a U.S.-based market research firm. Handset sales were forecasted to reach 24.5 million units …

Hong Kong mobile telephone operator SmarTone Communications said it is looking to secure a wireless fixed network license in Hong Kong. SmarTone is among 14 companies that have applied to …