May 2001

Wireless operators continued to post stronger-than-expected first-quarter results, showing wireless carriers are weathering fairly well the general economic downturn. The largest carrier reporting results last week was VoiceStream Wireless Corp., …

As wireless carriers spend billions of dollars to purchase spectrum and build out vast wireless networks, several smaller companies are offering similar services but on a much, much smaller scale-out …

For the introduction of its initial wireless data offering, Leap Wireless International Inc. went back to its roots. The flat-rate, all-you-can-talk carrier will launch the first channel of its Telephone …

One of the big stumbling blocks remaining for widespread Bluetooth adoption continues to be interference issues in the 2.4 GHz unlicensed spectrum band, which the technology uses. In addition to …

STOCKHOLM-L.M. Ericcson has signed an agreement to market and sell Aspiro’s portfolio of WAP, SMS and GPRS applications and concepts for entertainment and messaging as part of Ericsson’s WISE Portal. …

KANSAS CITY, Mo.-Sprint PCS introduced its Wireless Web for Business starter kits for its customers, including Internet-ready phones, service plans, corporate data access software, connectivity devices and customer support for …

SAN DIEGO-Leap Wireless International Inc. completed its underwritten public offering of 3 million shares of its common stock at $33.50 per share, netting approximately $97.9 million in proceeds. The sold …

SEOUL, South Korea-Nortel Networks and Game Park Inc. signed a co-marketing agreement to deliver dedicated wireless handheld gaming solutions designed to create profitability for wireless operators. The alliance will focus …

SAN FRANCISCO-OmniSky Corp.’s wireless service is commercially available for the Compaq iPAQ Pocket PC via the Sierra Wireless AirCard 300 wireless modem. OmniSky’s solution includes features like the Pocket Internet …

NEW YORK-The Legislature of Nassau County, N.Y., which borders New York City to the east, gave unanimous approval to a bill prohibiting handheld wireless phone use for outgoing and incoming …

While some analysts and technology experts sing the dirge of EDGE before it is even born and wonder if Bluetooth will ever chew, a new initiative that hopes to leverage …

By nature, political debate in the nation’s capital is one-dimensional. The predominantly two-party system forces consideration of issues into the narrow confines of Republican vs. Democrat or conservative vs. liberal. …

HELSINKI, Finland-European wireless operator Sonera Corp. sold 17.4 percent of its interest in VoiceStream Wireless Corp. to Germany’s Deutsche Telekom for approximately $319 million. Sonera said it would use the …

TOKYO-Japanese wireless operator NTT DoCoMo reported strong earnings for its fiscal year ended March 31. Net profit jumped 45 percent to $3 billion, compared with the previous year’s results, on …

WASHINGTON-Legislation that would create a commission to study whether broad privacy protection legislation is necessary in light of various federal, state and local laws advanced to the full committee level …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission last week said it was overhauling its universal-service program by proposing new rules to determine how much telecommunications carriers pay into the universal-service fund and largely …

WASHINGTON-Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) is set to ask the General Accounting Office to investigate mobile-phone service problems and consumer complaints across the country, a probe that would be the most …

Aether Systems Inc. announced solid first-quarter earnings last week along with a slightly revised business plan, but the results were not enough to please investors who once cherished the company …

NEW YORK-Good news for carrier access to capital arrived from the debt markets May 9 as WorldCom Inc. broke a record for debt deal size by a U.S. corporation and …

The wireless industry has already admitted-repeatedly-that it jumped the gun a bit on the whole wireless Internet thing, acknowledged that its fruition still is more than a bit in the …

The growth potential of the wireless high-speed data market is inspiring companies to modify technology and previously unused spectrum to enable delivery of these data services. But the journey into …

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia-The St. Petersburg-based Telecominvest holding said it decided to work with Finnish supplier Nokia Corp. instead of Germany’s Siemens AG to create a GSM-900 MHz network in North …

If the economy is going south for both vendors and operators in the United States, part of the solution may lie in going south, literally. According to a Strategis Group …

WHEATON, Md.-Not even the faster speeds and packet-based design of GPRS networks can save the WAP standard, which is of such poor quality that operators will continue to be forced …

CORAL GABLES, Fla.-SetNet Corp., which provides messaging software and systems for telecommunications companies, announced its VoxMail text-to-speech application will be used by a Belgian operator with more than 3.6 million …