Siemens AG said it will expand Russian mobile operator MegaFon’s mobile-phone network under a $94.2 million contract. The agreement covers the extension of the carrier’s GSM network with switching and transmission technology in the Volga and Ural regions. Siemens will also supply an intelligent network platform and a GPRS expansion.The GPRS network is scheduled to go live in February.
NextWave Telecom Inc. is not in violation of foreign-ownership rules, according to the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau and International Bureau reviewed NextWave’s ownership structure because the company had asked for such a review prior to it filing bankruptcy in 1998. NextWave said its updated ownership structure has no more than 19.1 percent of its stock owned by foreign people or corporations. This includes the 14.5- percent held by foreign individuals and corporations and 4.6 percent held by brokerage banks for individuals with unknown citizenship. This level of 19.1 percent is below the 25-percent cap, said NextWave.
A federal appeals court in Richmond, Va., is set to hear oral argument in an $800 million brain-cancer lawsuit against wireless firms the week of Sept. 23-26. Last fall, U.S. District Judge Catherine Blake dismissed Christopher Newman’s lawsuit after finding inadequate scientific evidence to support his claim that his cell phone caused his brain cancer. Nine other brain-cancer suits against the mobile-phone industry are pending before Blake in Baltimore, where there are motions to send the cases back to state courts.
Agere Systems announced a new high-performance GPRS chipset and software platform designed for high-speed multimedia and entertainment applications, including real-time audio and video streaming, digital photo imaging, MP3 music capabilities, MPEG4 video playback and interactive games, for GSM-based mobile phones. Samples of the chipset and software are available this month, and Agere expects production quantities to be available by early 2004.
