2002

DUBLIN, Ireland—The imminent launch of the XDA, an O2-branded mobile device manufactured specifically for that operator, is clear evidence that European operators are demanding more input into handset development. However, …

WASHINGTON—The Bush administration and Japan made little progress last week in talks on interconnection fees charged by NTT DoCoMo, putting on hold a relatively minor dispute with potentially enormous trade …

NEW YORK—A new alliance with Korea Digital Satellite Broadcasting is part of an overall plan for LG Telecom to compete successfully with South Korea’s two larger wireless operators, said Yong …

NEW YORK—Moody’s Investor Services cut its long-term credit rating for Qwest Communications International Inc. citing concerns about the telecommunications company’s liquidity position, cash drain at its long-distance operating subsidiary, slowing …

MANKATO, Minn.—Rural telecommunications provider HickoryTech Corp. appointed John Duffy to succeed Robert Alton, Jr., as president and chief executive officer of the company effective July 1. Alton announced his retirement …

DUBLIN, Ireland—Ireland’s telecom regulator ODTR said it is introducing new licensing regimes for fixed wireless access (FWA). The regulators plans to provide a system for local and regional licensing in …

TOKYO—NTT DoCoMo Inc. said it will begin selling its PDC-based mova SO504i handset next week that is compatible with the carrier’s enhanced i-mode service offering packet data transmission speeds of …

WASHINGTON—The National Telecommunications Cooperative Association last month urged Sen. Ernest Hollings (D-S.C.), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, to include the Rural Electromagnetic Spectrum Act in spectrum management legislation he …

STOCKHOLM, Sweden—Swefour AB was awarded the fourth GSM license in Sweden by the Swedish National Post and Telecom Agency. Swefour plans to set up a network and offer capacity to …

BEDMINSTER, N.J.—Verizon Wireless installed a number of new cell sites to enhance network quality in parts of Illinois, Indiana and Iowa. The Illinois upgrades involved the installation of two cell …

SEOUL, Korea—Pacific CSI, a Korean wireless Internet service provider, and Solectek announced a partnership to create a wireless Internet service in downtown Seoul. The partnership includes a US$1 million order …

JAKARTA, Indonesia—After offering free General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) services since last November, Indonesia’s IM3 finally decided to release its GPRS price plan commencing in June. At first, IM3 decided …

MANILA, The Philippines—Smart Communications, considered the Philippines’ leading mobile-phone service provider, plans to go public next year and list one-third of its outstanding shares in the local stock exchange. A …

OXFORD, United Kingdom—Having conducted a public “discussion” about its relative financial obligations, France Telecom has now admitted to conducting secret negotiations with Mobilcom’s four main lenders about solving some of …

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa—Vodacom Congo announced that it has built an 88-base station GSM mobile cellular network in Africa’s fourth-largest country in less than three months. The network is composed of …

TOKYO—KDDI, the second-largest operator in Japan, announced that in cooperation with SK Telecom in Korea it launched an image data transmission service between users of the two operators. It is …

STOCKHOLM, Sweden—Columbitech announced that Kongsberg Finans, the financial division of Norwegian technology and defense contractor Kongsberg Group, has bought the Columbitech Wireless Suite to ensure security on its corporate IT …

ROCHESTER, N.Y.—Harris Corp. RF Communications Division, Rochester, N.Y., has demonstrated a software-defined radio that complies with the Joint Tactical Radio System architecture, which the U.S. Department of Defense has named …

WATERLOO, Ontario, Canada—BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM) announced a partnership with Australian carrier Telstra Mobile to sell wireless e-mail and voice-capable BlackBerrys to the carrier’s corporate customers. Telstra is …

TORONTO—Wireless carriers Telus Mobility and Rogers Wireless Communications plan to charge new cell-phone users by the minute instead of by the second. This change in billing is expected to help …

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OXFORD, United Kingdom—Peter Erskine, chief executive officer (CEO) of MmO2, stated that mobile data is essential to the growth of the cell-phone industry and claims that from 2005, it will …

DUBLIN, Ireland—Some trends are beginning to emerge in the European multimedia messaging service (MMS) market following the launch of services by several operators. However, there is still a distinct split …

DUBLIN, Ireland—The latest shareholder criticism of the performance of its parent company Deutsche Telekom has made it more likely that T-Mobile will finally be sold within the next 12 months …

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina—The agreement to restructure NII Holdings’ US$2.7 billion debt distances Nextel Communications from its Latin American subsidiaries and mainly impacts M