2002

OXFORD, United Kingdom—Latvia and the Czech Republic have both indicated their readiness to deploy third-generation (3G) networks, albeit within different timescales. Operators in Latvia will be able to bid for …

OXFORD, United Kingdom—Five Italian cell-phone operators have agreed, somewhat reluctantly, to a ruling from the country’s telecom regulator to a revised number portability fee. From 30 November, the maximum fee …

OXFORD, United Kingdom—With Bluetooth chipset manufacturers forecasting shipments of more than 90 million devices this year, the technology looks, eventually, like it is coming of age. The announcement last week …

MOSCOW—Russian company Accord-Tel announced plans to create the fifth pan-Russian wireless network with the use of cdma2000 technology based on the International Mobile Telecommunications-Multi Carrier (IMT-MC) standard. Four pan-Russian GSM …

LONDON—Vodafone Group plc acquired an additional 2.2-percent stake in Spanish wireless partner Airtel Movil S.A. following the exercise of a put option held by Torreal S.A. The purchase increases Vodafone’s …

CAMBRIDGE, England—Mitsubishi Electric says it has agreed to license the ARM926EJ-S core processor to run wireless applications on mobile phones and personal digital assistants. “The ARM926EJ-S core contains ARM Jazelle …

OWINGS MILLS, Md.—Wireless data services provider Aether Systems Inc. announced it will buy back $15 million in convertible debt, a move that comes about a year after the company bought …

DENVER—Qwest Communications International Inc. reported it would potentially reduce the carrying value of goodwill by an estimated $20 billion to $30 billion as a result of an accounting rule change. …

SOMERSET, N.J.—LogistiCare, which specializes in non-emergency medical transportation management, is deploying Dynamic Mobile Data’s MobileDispatch wireless dispatch and Automatic Vehicle Location software in the school transportation market in Hartford, Conn. …

WOBURN, Mass.—Graham F. Paxton will serve as International Wireless Inc.’s new president and chief executive officer, the company announced. Paxton, who will start work May 1, formerly worked as president …

SAN FRANCISCO—Soma Networks said it signed a contract with NTT Communications Corp. to conduct market trials of its wireless broadband voice and data solution in Japan. The trials should begin …

NEW YORK—At its annual meeting, scheduled for May 6, the board of directors of Motorola Inc. has asked shareholders to vote against a proposal that would bar the company from …

CAMPBELL, Calif.—P-Com Inc. announced its restructuring program is nearing completion. The company said it has reach an agreement to restructure most of its $29.3 million in bonds, with the remainder …

WOODBURY, N.Y.—Comverse Technology Inc. announced market research results of its Voice Controlled Voice Mail (VCVM) service deployed by Italy’s Blu S.p.A. mobile operator. Satisfaction level for Comverse’s VCVM, which allows …

TORONTO—Canada’s four national wireless carriers launched commercial availability of inter-carrier mobile text messaging. The four operators, Bell Mobility, Microcell PCS, Rogers AT&T Wireless and Telus Mobility, are all using technology …

SAN DIEGO—Wireless streaming media company PacketVideo Corp. said it will cut an unspecified number of jobs in order to realign itself with the sluggish economy. Fernando Corona, the company’s senior …

BOYNTON BEACH, Fla.—Korean wireless device maker HuneTec Co. Ltd., which licensed Motorola Inc.’s ReFLEX two-way paging technology, is the latest in a string of companies seeking to fill the gap …

LAUSANNE, Switzerland—Orange’s Swiss operator has agreed to purchase Liechtenstein’s Viag EuroPlatform, which owns licenses to operate GSM 1800 MHz and Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) networks. The value of the …

MOSCOW—Cdma2000 technology based on the International Mobile Telecommunications-Multi Carrier (IMT-MC) standard has made the first step toward acquiring federal status in Russia. In March, the Communications Ministry approved “general technical …

TOKYO—NTT Communications, a long-distance and international business unit of NTT Group, is going to launch wireless local area network (WLAN) service in mid-2003 using next-generation technology developed by Soma Networks, …

RESTON, Virginia, United States—Nextel Communications reported in a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing that it took a US$1.6 billion charge during the fourth quarter of last year to restructure …

BEDMINSTER, New Jersey, United States—Through a deal with message interoperability company InphoMatch, Verizon Wireless is now the last of the nationwide, consumer-focused carriers to allow its users to send short …

CHICAGO—Verizon Wireless plans to roll out its next-generation Express Network in a trio of new U.S. markets this week, including Chicago, St. Louis and Pittsburgh. The market launch expands the …

TOKYO—KDDI, the second-largest mobile operator in Japan, launched third-generation (3G) service based on cdma2000 1x on 1 April. NTT DoCoMo, the leading mobile carrier in Japan, which launched its 3G …

TORONTO—Canadians are not getting too excited about the possibilities for short message service (SMS), according to a report released by the Yankee Group in Canada. Its research claims only 5 …