CANADA
Cell-Loc Inc. completed and made available its Cellocate Beacon I, a wireless device that enables several location services via the company’s existing networks in Calgary, Alberta and Austin, Texas. According to test data, the new device is consistent with enhanced 911 Phase II guidelines from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.
GERMANY
Siemens said it won a contract from Dutch operator Telfort to supply about 500,000 WAP-enabled handsets. Telfort and the Dutch Postbank will provide the phones to their customers as part of a campaign to introduce mobile banking to the Dutch market. The Siemens devices from the M35i series will be customized to enable Postbank account holders to enjoy mobile banking. The handsets are offered as prepaid phones and will feature a calculator function in addition to WAP capabilities.
JAPAN
Japanese wireless operator KDDI Corp. said it will offer Bluetooth technology on its cell phones, beating rival NTT DoCoMo, which has yet to announce any Bluetooth plans. KDDI will offer handsets from Sony Corp. and Toshiba Corp. with sales targets of 1 million handsets the first year, a KDDI spokesman said.
PHILIPPINES
Ericsson signed a $110 million contract with Globe Telecommunications in the Philippines to upgrade the carrier’s wireless infrastructure. The new contract is key to Globe’s plans to more rapidly expand its network and provide more sophisticated voice, data and other value-added offerings, Ericsson said. The contract includes expansion to Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao islands. The agreement involves new cell sites all over the country and change out of sites equipped by a competing vendor, Ericsson said.
JORDAN
Motorola Inc.’s Global Telecom Solutions Sector won a $29 million GSM digital wireless network expansion contract from Jordan Mobile Telephone Services. The expansion is the first phase for increasing the subscriber base from 500,000 to 750,000 in Jordan.
