December 2002

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission is considering making additional radio channels available for unlicensed wireless devices in TV spectrum and higher frequency bands. The FCC, which is seeking public comment on …

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina-The only company that participated in the auction for the three regional personal communications services (PCS) licenses-one of which is a national license-in Colombia was Colombia M

MANILA, The Philippines-The Gokongwei-owned Digital Telecommunications Philippines (Digitel) plans to invest 6 billion Philippine pesos (US$113 million) next year for its nationwide wireless telephone network in its bid to become …

SAN JOSE, California, United States-Swedish mobile operators TeliaSonera and Vodafone Sweden have entered into a price battle over their recently launched multimedia message services (MMS) services. The newly merged TeliaSonera …

OSLO, Norway-Swedish-Japanese mobile-phone maker Sony Ericsson’s flashy P800 phone will start arriving next week, but confusion reigns about its availability. Sony Ericsson spokesman Peter Bodor said the P800 would be …

TOKYO-KDDI, the second-largest mobile operator in Japan, announced the number of subscribers for its third-generation (3G) service exceeded 4 million. KDDI launched its 3G service based on cdma2000 1x in …

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina-The Ecuadorian National Telecommunications Council (Conatel) appealed to the Constitutional Tribunal to revert the decision taken by Judge Julio V

BEIJING-Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu has rated Chinese mobile-phone manufacturer TCL Mobile Communications Asia’s fastest-growing technology company during the past three years. TCL is now China’s third most popular handset brand, following …

TOKYO-Coding Technologies, Matsushita Electric Industrial (Panasonic) and NEC jointly released a new low-power decoder version for the upcoming MPEG-4 AAC-plus-SBR standard. The low-power implementation allows the standard to run on …

SAN DIEGO, Calif.-LG Electronics has chosen Qualcomm Inc.’s MSM 6200 mobile station modem chipset and system software for its dual-mode third-generation handsets, according to a press release. “Our partnership with …

DALLAS-Texas Instruments Inc. and STMicroelectronics have come together to establish an open standard with the Open Mobile Application Processor Interfaces for application processors targeting 2.5G and third-generation mobile phones, personal …

HELSINKI, Finland-Orange Sweden, the Stockholm-based mobile subsidiary of debt-troubled France T

WASHINGTON-The auction policy which saw the mobile-phone industry pay millions of dollars for radio-frequency spectrum was wrong, said Sen. George Allen (R. Va.). Speaking later to reporters Allen backed away …

BEIJING-China marked its one-year anniversary World Trade Organization (WTO) membership 11 December. As part of its members, foreign operators gained the right to set up joint ventures with Chinese counterparts …

SAN JOSE, California, United States-While much has been promised for the short-range wireless technology Bluetooth, the delivery has been less than sparkling with delays to the specification, higher-than-anticipated chipset costs …

NEW DELHI, India-The number of wireless local loop (WLL) lines installed using CorDECT technology, developed by an Indian group, has reached 1 million. In addition, orders worth Rs 1 billion …

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PARIS-French vendor Alcatel said it expects market deterioration next year, although the company still expects to meet its targets. Alcatel said it also anticipates a fourth-quarter growth of 20 percent …

DALLAS-Wireless broadband service provider airBand Communications said its Phoenix market has reached profitability four months ahead of schedule. airBand said its customer acquisitions in Phoenix grew 114 percent for the …

WASHINGTON-A new Pentagon report said spectrum loss to the wireless industry is hurting military capability and has forced it “to pursue proactive approaches that would prevent future erosion of critical …

MUNICH, Germany-Siemens said it was named the sole provider for P&T Luxembourg’s third-generation (3G) network. The value of the framework agreement, which runs into 2007, was not disclosed. Siemens was …

DALLAS-In a move to push for Linux-based wireless devices, chip maker Texas Instruments said it will work to embed a Linux platform from MontaVista Software Inc. into its OMAP application …

BOULDER, Colo.-Internet tracking firm iNet-Blue Corp. has acquired Apex Wireless, a developer of wireless transmitters, receivers and transceivers. “Apex’s wireless products let us send important data through the air,” said …

CLEVELAND-United Wireless now counts 22 locations throughout northeast and central Ohio, following the opening of two new retail locations in Streetsboro and Montrose. United Wireless offers wireless solutions from Alltel …

OVERLAND PARK, Kan.-Sprint PCS’ chief financial officer will leave the company in January, and no replacement has yet been named. A Sprint spokeswoman declined to give a reason for William …