June 2002

HELSINKI, Finland-The shortage of UMTS terminals in Finland’s retail market is seriously hindering the construction of third-generation (3G) mobile networks. 3G license holders are warning that delays can be expected …

DUBLIN, Ireland-The European Commission has once again underlined its determination to tackle areas of mobile communications it feels are noncompetitive or overpriced. It has published draft guidelines designed to identify …

PISCATAWAY, N.J.—The SyncML Initiative announced it will officially consolidate into the newly formed Open Mobile Alliance, a group created to act as an umbrella standards organization for the various aspects …

SINGAPORE—PCS Wireless L.L.C. announced it will refocus its business on the wireless testing and measurement market and will change its name to Metatron Technologies Inc. to reflect the change. The …

SAN JOSE, Calif.—Technology giants IBM Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co. both continued to reinforce their wireless data offerings through new resale and licensing agreements, a strategy the two companies have been …

WATERLOO, Ontario—As expected, Research In Motion Ltd. filed a patent complaint against competitor Good Technology Inc. in the U.S. District Court in Delaware. RIM’s complaint alleges Good willfully infringed on …

MILAN, Italy-Italian greenfield operator H3G said it will use billing and customer care software from Mind CTI for its third-generation (3G) services.

MANILA, Philippines—Wireless carrier Smart Communications Inc. said it will support its GSM network by deploying Nortel Networks’ OPTera Metro 5200 multiservice platform, an optical metro backbone network based on dense …

DALLAS—Samsung Telecommunications America and America Online Inc. are integrating AOL Instant Messenger service in to Samsung’s SGH-r225M GSM handset, the companies announced. AOL Instant Messaging will allow users to send …

BALTIMORE—Am-Beo, provider of rating and revenue chain management solutions for next-generation services, has released its Roam Manager, which is designed to handle TAP 3.9 transactions for inter-carrier roaming. “As mobile …

RICHARDSON, Texas—Wireless data infrastructure company Cyneta Networks Inc. announced it will team with optimization technology provider Idetic Inc. to create a wireless data optimization product for sale to wireless carriers. …

TOKYO—Fujitsu Ltd. will license wireless streaming media company PacketVideo Corp.’s media player technology for use in the company’s third-generation mobile phones, the companies announced. The deal marks another major licensee …

JAKARTA, Indonesia-The slow development of third-generation (3G) services around the world has influenced mobile operators in Singapore to re-think the urgency of launching 3G services in the city state. In …

ALBANY, N.Y.—CommSoft announced it will provide Armstrong, an owner and operator of several independent telephone companies, with the CommVergence billing and customer care system for use in a service bureau …

WOODBURY, N.Y.—Comverse announced Thailand-based mobile operator, Advanced Info Service (AIS), has chosen Comverse’s VoiCD advanced mobile music solution for listening to and distributing music and other multimedia content. AIS will …

NEW YORK—Moody’s Investors Service Inc. said Monday it has downgraded about $5.2 billion in L.M. Ericsson debt to Baa3, one tier above junk bond status, from Baa2. “The rating downgrade …

TOKYO—NTT DoCoMo Inc. said it plans to roll out a dual network service, allowing its FOMA third-generation service subscribers to use the same phone number for both their FOMA service …

STOCKHOLM, Sweden—Ericsson has signed a $135 million deal to expand the GSM networks of the Shandong Mobile Communication Co. According to Ericsson, the contract includes Ericsson’s mobile switching center, base …

STOCKHOLM, Sweden—Ericsson AB said it is joining Juniper Networks to deploy what it described as the first commercial multi-protocol Label Switching-based virtual private network for China Mobile Communications in nine …

BUDAPEST, Hungary—Euronet Worldwide Inc., provider of electronic financial transaction solutions, and Vodafone Hungary announced the implementation of Euronet ATM Recharge, which will enable Vodafone subscribers to purchase prepaid airtime at …

ATLANTA—Motorola Inc., Agere Systems Inc. and Infineon have formed a joint venture company called StarCore LLC to develop and market digital signal processor technologies for mobile devices and infrastructure equipment. …

VANCOUVER, British Columbia—Sierra Wireless said Singapore’s Networks Electronics S.E.A. Pte Ltd. has signed an agreement to distribute the Sierra Wireless AirCard 750 GSM/GPRS wireless network card modem. Network Electronics also …

DUBLIN, Ireland—Cellular operators need to market mobile entertainment applications more aggressively if many more games applications developers are not to go out of business. This is the view of international …

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan—Ericsson signed a contract to supply a GSM 1800 MHz network to the Uzdunrobita carrier, which operates TDMA technology and has recently received a GSM 900/1800 MHz license for …

DUBLIN, Ireland—There is some confusion in the European mobile sector about the likely impact of the European Commission’s decision to authorize governments to change the parameters of third-generation (3G) licenses. …