December 2002

WASHINGTON-It would be nice to say this policy or that technology will shape the direction of the wireless industry in 2003. But neither industry nor official Washington has that luxury. …

SAN FRANCISCO-Messaging company Critical Path Inc. said it is out of compliance with the Nasdaq Stock Market’s minimum bid price requirement of $1. The company said it requested a Jan. …

Nextel ups 800 MHz band relocation offer; consensus parties threaten FCC WASHINGTON-In a Christmas Eve filing, Nextel Communications Inc., private-wireless licensees and the public-safety community threatened the Federal Communications Commission …

Rural Cellular Corp. is being sued by the law firm of Schiffrin & Barroway in a shareholder class-action lawsuit. “The complaint charges Rural Cellular Corp. and certain of its officers …

The nearly one-year-old Association of Wireless Professionals is offering the industry a new way to better reach its ever-valuable consumer base-through educated wireless retail professionals working on the front lines …

AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands-Electronics giant Royal Philips Electronics announced it will acquire Systemonic, which makes silicon products for wireless local area networks, a move Philips said will help the company add …

Editor’s Note: Each year RCR Wireless News chooses the person who has most impacted the wireless industry. Our choice for 2002 is Dennis Strigl, Verizon Wireless Inc.’s chief executive. Verizon, …

OSLO, Norway-Mobile operator Orange confirmed Thursday it would back out of the Swedish mobile market, a move that had been widely predicted due to the financial problems of owner France …

Fresh off the government’s decision to release all participants from the financial responsibility related to the ill-fated auction of NextWave Telecom Inc.’s wireless spectrum, Verizon Wireless Inc. purchased 50 wireless …

RESTON, Va.-Grayson Wireless said its Geometrix 911 wireless caller location system now supports wireless networks that use 1xRTT technology. According to Grayson, Geometrix is the only commercially available network overlay …

SEOUL, South Korea-Hanaro Telecom Inc., South Korea’s second-largest broadband and fixed-line carrier, announced it would take over its rival Korea Thrunet Co., signaling a major change in the fast-evolving high-speed …

KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa.-The International Court of Arbitration ruled that Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. must pay InterDigital Communications Corp. an extra $500,000 due to a dispute over the companies’ patent …

Getting into the holiday spirit, Nextel Communications Inc. and Cingular Wireless L.L.C. provided gift-wrapped updates on the technology upgrades for their respective networks, as well as time frames and what …

NEW YORK-Following an unsuccessful court challenge by some bondholders, Qwest Communications International Inc. reduced its outstanding debt by $1.9 billion to $22.6 billion through an exchange offer. Qwest offered the …

MOSCOW-Russia’s second-largest wireless carrier, Vimpelcom (BeeLine), purchased 100 percent of the East-West Telecom Co., which holds GSM licenses for 12 regions of the greater Urals. Until the buy, Vimpelcom only …

ASTANA, Kazakhstan-Leading Kazakh carrier GSM Kazakhstan said the Finnish Sonera has granted it a US$55 million loan for further development in 2003 and the introduction of new technologies, such as …

As one of the most challenging years in telecom history winds down, the wireless sector faces a variety of threats from within and outside the industry. Which threats will prove …

AT&T Wireless Services Inc. said it will push back the launch of its advanced W-CDMA network by six months and scale down the coverage area to four cities. The carrier …

SEOUL, South Korea-The Ministry of Information and Communication in South Korea is considering loosening up its strict regulation on handset subsidies to help dispose of outdated mobile-phone models. The ministry …

BELLEVUE, Wash.-InfoSpace Inc., which provides wireless applications and software in addition to its Internet software business, announced it fired Naveen Jain, the company’s former chairman and chief executive officer, and …

BIRMINGHAM, United Kingdom-British mobile-phone maker Sendo filed a lawsuit against its former business partner Microsoft Corp., a move that further illuminates the reasons behind Sendo’s decision to dump Microsoft’s smart …

HELSINKI, Finland-Network upgrades continue the world over, as carriers in the United States, Taiwan and Denmark announced plans to upgrade to faster wireless technologies. In Taiwan, Taiwan Cellular Corp. said …

NEW YORK-Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services lowered its corporate credit ratings on Dobson Communications Corp. from B+ to B, citing the impact of lower roaming yield on revenue growth, lower …

The exit of Sir Christopher Gent from the chief executive post at Vodafone marks a milestone for the company and the industry. Unlike many of his counterparts, Gent is stepping …

The latest shakeup in the wireless enterprise market claimed struggling AvantGo Inc., as software infrastructure and integration company Sybase Inc. purchased the company in a $38 million cash merger. Sybase …