May 2004

NEW YORK-Moody’s Investor Services placed its ratings for Nextel Communications Inc. and its subsidiary Nextel Finance Co. on review for possible upgrade citing continued operational and financial outperformance. “Since Moody’s …

TOKYO-NTT DoCoMo sold its 20-percent stake in Hutchison 3G UK Holdings Ltd. to Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. for $220 million in a transaction that has been expected by market watchers. DoCoMo …

SCHAUMBURG, Ill.-Motorola Inc. said it has received $1 billion loan from its banks led by JP Morgan Chase Bank and Citibank N.A. The line of credit will replace two previous …

WASHINGTON-The California Public Utilities Commission has just passed a landmark bill of rights for telecom consumers, resoundingly rejecting an alternate plan that was highly deregulatory and largely favorable to the …

RESTON, Va.-Transaction Network Services Inc., a provider of data communications services for transaction applications, said it has acquired certain assets from bankrupt U.S. Wireless Data, including its Synapse wireless point-of-sale …

AT&T Wireless Services Inc. announced it recorded a total of 13.5 million text message votes cast during the past season of reality TV show “American Idol.” The carrier said the …

Wireless carriers made improvements in inventory management during the first quarter, according to a new study by InfoTech Marketing. While total cost of equipment sales rose, inventory levels fell by …

ESPOO, Finland-Nokia Corp. said it has signed a three-year GSM/EDGE contract worth approximately $275 million to build core and radio-access networks for Indian carrier Bharti. The contract also covers professional …

CARROLLTON, Texas-CellStar Corp., provider of wireless logistics and distribution services, has accepted the resignation of Paul Samek, chief financial officer, and named Raymond Durham, vice president and corporate controller, to …

Indian carrier Tata Teleservices is the first operator to launch a push-to-talk service based on Qualcomm Inc.’s BREWChat solution. The technology enables person-to-person and person-to-group communication between subscribers at the …

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.-After 96 hours of talking, Kathy Jackson and Trudy Abeyta were both announced as official winners of Cricket Communications Inc.’s Motor Mouth Marathon contest that began at 4 p.m. …

LUND, Sweden-Scalado AB announced it acquired the imaging technology MPES from TAT AB. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Scalado said the technology will allow it to offer a …

RAMAT GAN, Israel-TransChip Inc., which develops integrated camera solutions for mobile phones and multimedia devices, said it has received approval to begin a research and development project. The Office of …

STOCKHOLM, Sweden-Ericsson Inc. named Mikael Backstrom to head the company’s North American Global Services group where he will lead the company’s expansion of its services business in North America. Backstrom …

AUSTIN-The Wi-Fi Alliance announced it has adopted a color-coded Wi-Fi Certified logo and a product Interoperability Certificate for its Wi-Fi Certified branding program, designed to help consumers in wireless local …

DETROIT-Telematics company Aeris.net announced it will offer a digital machine-to-machine communications service using wireless modules from Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications. The service will run on Aeris.net’s CDMA Digital MicroBurst service …

Rural telecommunications provider Shenandoah Telecommunications Co. reported that its wireless subsidiary and Sprint PCS affiliate Shenandoah Personal Communications Co. signed an addendum to its management and services agreement with Sprint. …

SK USA Inc., a division of South Korea’s technology conglomerate SK Group, announced the introduction of a new company that will focus specifically on the wireless content and entertainment marketplace. …

WASHINGTON-The Department of Defense denied adopting a policy against camera phones, saying imaging devices are already covered by guidelines for wireless communications by the military and the Geneva Convention’s treatment …

Cingular Wireless L.L.C. reported a deal with Lucent Technologies Inc. to deploy a UMTS-based trial network in Atlanta this summer supporting internal users who the carrier said it will use …

STOCKHOLM, Sweden-Repeater manufacturer Avitec S.E. has acquired the technology assets of Littlefeet Inc., the provider of distributed coverage solutions for wireless carriers that went defunct in March. Littlefeet “synergizes very …

Older generations of consumers despise text messaging as a marketing channel almost as much as voice mail or direct phone contact, according to a study from FIND/SVP Inc.’s Guideline Research …

LONDON-Vodafone Group plc reported a 10-percent increase in revenue for the fiscal year ended March 31, but a net loss of $16.3 billion. The global carrier added 13.7 million new …

WASHINGTON-A bill banning 16- and 17-year-olds from using mobile phones while driving passed the California Senate Tuesday. The measure, sponsored by Sen. Debra Bowen (D), was approved by a 24-to-11 …

BEIJING-Motorola Inc. said12 customers in 18 countries have selected its Push-to-Talk over Cellular solutions for both CDMA2000 1x and GSM/GPRS networks. The company named Malaysia’s Maxis Communications and Guam’s Guamcell …