January 2004

WASHINGTON-The experience of the wireless industry as it grew from an elite service to mass-market acceptance shows both the benefits and challenges of a light regulatory touch, acknowledged FCC Commissioner …

ISSY-LES-MOULINEAUX, France-Wavecom SA said it plans to lay off about 300 workers as part of a restructuring effort. The company that makes modules said it will lay off the workers …

SAN DIEGO-BREW pioneer Qualcomm Inc. said it will recommend that its carrier customers use IBM Corp.’s Linux servers to run its application download system. Qualcomm said its BREW service runs …

NEWTON, Mass.-Nextel Communications Inc. and T-Mobile USA Inc. have entered multi-million dollar contracts to use BatteryCorp’s patent-pending OMS solution for battery preventative maintenance. The OMS solution provides Web-based management for …

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.-Short-range wireless technology ZigBee will be a key player in the home automation market, according to market research firm West Technology Research Solutions L.L.C. (WTRS). Annual shipments of …

LONDON-EMI Music, Downplay, In-Fusio, Omni Entertainment, MmO2, Qualcomm Inc. and Sun Microsystems Inc. are among the newest members of the Mobile Entertainment Forum, the group announced. The organization said the …

WASHINGTON-The $328 billion omnibus spending bill passed by the Senate Thursday includes a provision forbidding offshore outsourcing by government contractors in certain cases, a move that could hurt wireless and …

BOYNTON BEACH, Fla.-In a move that will cost 240 jobs, Motorola Inc. said it plans to shut down a Florida plant for cell-phone design. The company said the closing will …

WASHINGTON-The U.S. Senate Thursday finally passed an $820 billion omnibus spending bill that included funding for the Federal Communications Commission for fiscal-year 2004, which started Oct. 1. The bill must …

ALAMEDA, Calif.-UTStarcom Inc. said its fourth-quarter earnings soared 100 percent over a year ago with a net income of $66.4 million, or 52 cents per share. A year ago, the …

ATHENS, Greece-Greek mobile operator Stet Hellas Telecommunications reported it will launch commercial third-generation services next Tuesday. Two Nokia UMTS handsets-the 6650 and 7600-along with the Motorola A835 and the Siemens …

REDMOND, Wash.-Software giant Microsoft Corp. reported revenues of $10.15 billion for its second quarter, up 19 percent over the same quarter in the previous year. The company’s net income clocked …

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla.-ECom eCom.com Inc. announced its subsidiary MyZipSoft Inc. has acquired Freedom 4 Wireless from American Capital Holdings Inc. In accordance with the acquisition, shareholders of eCom will …

Alltel Corp. posted $1.2 billion in wireless revenues for the fourth quarter of 2003, which was a 6-percent improvement compared with the $1.1 billion the company reported for the fourth …

Reports of exploding mobile-phone batteries finally hit a high note with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announcing a voluntary recall of 140,000 of Kyocera Wireless Corp.’s 7135 smart-phone batteries. …

RICHARDSON, Texas-InnerWireless Inc. announced it will market its InnerMobile in-building wireless distribution system to wireless service providers to enable wireless communications throughout the Sears Tower in Chicago. The wireless system …

OYSTER BAY, N.Y.-The market for in-building wireless networks will exceed $1 billion by the end of this decade, according to a new study from research firm ABI. The analyst firm …

BEDMINSTER, N.J.-Verizon Wireless said it will add a new picture messaging phone, the CDM-8900 from Audiovox Communications Corp., to its line-up. Verizon said the phone will sell for $100 with …

EINDHOVEN, The Netherlands-Camera phones took a further step forward in the world stage with British news firm BBC announcing plans to arm a “significant” number of its journalists with video-capable …

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.-Wireless Internet technology vendor Openwave Systems Inc. reported increasing revenues and a decreasing net loss and said it will continue its positive trend in the coming months. The …

HELSINKI, Finland-Nokia Corp.’s stock jumped slightly following its solid fourth-quarter earnings report and positive outlook for the coming months. Indeed, the company managed to score sales at the top end …

WASHINGTON-The California Public Utilities Commission dropped from today’s meeting agenda a proposed bill of rights for telecom consumers, the sixth time since September a vote on the controversial measure has …

WASHINGTON, D.C.-The House Judiciary Committee has approved database protection legislation, a bill designed to improve the market climate for collection of information and harmonize U.S. policy with the international community. …

LUBBOCK, Texas-Sprint PCS affiliate Alamosa Holdings Inc. said it would make its first dividend payment on its 7.5-percent series B convertible preferred stock Feb. 2 to stockholders of record Jan. …

NEW YORK-Verizon Communications Inc., the majority owner of Verizon Wireless, reported its board of directors has authorized the company to repurchase up to 80 million shares of its common stock, …