2003

TOKYO-Japan Telecom and East Japan Railway are going to launch a demonstration experiment for high-speed wireless local area network (WLAN) service via mobile phones in mid-May, the firms jointly announced. …

MOSCOW-The biggest CDMA IS-95 carrier in Russia operating in the 800 MHz band launched an offensive against the Communications Ministry, which has restricted its development since the standard first appeared …

BEIJING-According to China Unicom’s listed subsidiary’s annual report, the company had a handset inventory worth 2.36 billion Chinese yuan (US$285 million) in 2002. The inventory would contain around 1 million …

DUBLIN, Ireland—Vodafone has announced plans to restrict access to adult services over its network just 24 hours after wireless research and consulting company Strategy Analytics suggested in a new report …

SUNNYVALE, Calif.-Proxim Corp. closed out its first quarter, which ended March 28, with increasing revenues and declining losses compared with the same period a year ago. Revenues were $40 million, …

WASHINGTON-Sens. Don Nickles (R-Okla.) and Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) offered legislation to make wireless telecommunications equipment eligible for depreciation treatment on par with other qualified technological gear. The bill, introduced April …

METUCHEN, N.J.-Berkeley Varitronics Systems announced two new international distributors will provide sales and support for its wireless products. Genetel Online will offer sales and support for BVS WLA and Bluetooth …

WASHINGTON-A former Internet advertising executive has been tapped as the Department of Homeland Security’s first privacy czar. Nuala O’Connor Kelly, who previously oversaw data protection and privacy at Double Click …

TAMPA, Fla.-TSI Telecommunication Services Inc. said two regional wireless carriers will use the company’s technology to offer ring tones, graphics and other messaging services. Montana Wireless Inc. d.b.a. Blackfoot Communications …

NEW YORK-Airespace Inc., San Jose, Calif., hatched in the Storm Ventures incubator 18 months ago, reached a fledgling milestone last weekwhen it made the first commercial shipment of its Wireless …

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-Zambian President Mwanawasa recently inaugurated the Zamtel GSM link in Chipata with a call to the operator to begin offering affordable prepaid tariffs. The system has been commissioned …

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-Kenyan mobile network company Kencell Communications recently announced the extension of its local network to the towns of Iten and Kabarnet. Philippe Vandebrouck, managing director of KenCell, said …

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina-The new Ecuadorian cellular operator, which will begin to offer its services before the end of the year, will gain 20 percent of the market by 2007, according …

TOKYO-Hewlett-Packard Japan released a new personal digital assistant (PDA) with both wireless local area network (WLAN) and Bluetooth functions. The new PDA, called “iPAQ Pocket PC h5400,” has a built-in …

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DUBLIN, Ireland—Reports from Finland suggest that mobile operator TeliaSonera, which this week has signed a number of interconnect agreements for multimedia messaging services (MMS) and announced plans to launch third-generation …

NEW YORK-Sprint Corp. reported in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that former president Ronald LeMay will receive approximately $5.7 million in compensation and consulting fees over the next 18 …

ATLANTA-Cingular Wireless L.L.C. launched its 7-7-7 rate plan in its Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi markets allowing subscribers to extend their night and weekend calling minutes from the typical 9 p.m. …

SANTA CLARA, Calif.-Intel Corp. said it has introduced three new processors for mobile PCs, which include the mobile Intel Pentium 4 processor M at 2.50 GHz and the mobile Intel …

SAN DIEGO-Leap Wireless International Inc., which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this week, reported $567.7 million in full-year 2002 revenue, more than double the $255.1 million the company …

DALLAS, Texas-Texas Instruments Inc. said it earned $117 million in the first quarter in contrast with a $38-million loss in the year-ago period, signaling an uptake in its semiconductor business. …

RICHARDSON, Texas-Bluetooth semiconductor supplier Cambridge Silicon Radio said it’s providing its customers with an extended version of its BlueCore Host Software that includes the source code for all layers down …

SCHAUMBURG, Ill.-Motorola Inc. slightly lowered its mobile phone sales forecast for the coming year, but reported revenues on track for a recovery in its business. Motorola Inc. reported sales of …

NEW DELHI, India-The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)’s latest directive that tariffs of service providers should be “non-discriminatory” could force leading CDMA operator Reliance, as well as state-owned BSNL, …

SEOUL, South Korea-SK Telecom, South Korea’s biggest mobile carrier, may face a serious restriction in its bid to expand its business after its sister unit and largest shareholder SK Corporation …