Time Trippin’: Leap ‘Slices’ data; GAIT to link GSM, TDMA … 13 years ago this week

Editor’s Note: The RCR Wireless News Time Machine is a way to take advantage of our extensive history in covering the wireless space to fire up the DeLorean and take a trip back in time to re-visit some of the more interesting headlines from this week in history. Enjoy the ride!
GAIT to open GSM-TDMA door
Top players in both the vendor and carrier space are pitching in to advance GAIT-GSM ANSI Interoperability Team-a new network standard that fuses TDMA and GSM technologies to enhance roaming, preserve TDMA and serve as an interim solution in the sojourn to the third-generation of technologies. The technology, which is a software upgrade providing seamless interworking of both networks, anticipates a single dual-band mobile phone to bring the dream of the players to fruition. While demonstrating active zeal, no company is ready to reveal details of its inroads into GAIT. … Read More
Wireless eyes MSS band: McCaw may fight industry for 2 GHz spectrum
In an unexpected twist pitting billionaire Craig McCaw against a mobile-phone industry he once towered over, sources say the Federal Communications Commission may propose making some mobile satellite service spectrum-including that held by McCaw’s New ICO and other struggling satellite firms-available for third-generation wireless systems. At the same time, the mobile-phone industry-frustrated in efforts to secure 3G-designated spectrum in 1700 MHz, 2500 MHz and 700 MHz bands now occupied by military, school, church, broadcast and fixed wireless Internet licensees-is laying the groundwork for something even more dramatic. The Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association and perhaps individual mobile-phone carriers are preparing to ask the FCC to reallocate 2 GHz MSS spectrum to the cellular industry, according to sources. … Read More
Applications matter
While carriers’ network upgrade plans have garnered the majority of attention from the wireless industry, there is another equally important area that many wireless companies are now focusing on: the applications. Most U.S. carriers have announced plans for some kind of 2.5-generation network upgrade, either a GPRS overlay for a GSM network or a cdma2000 1x upgrade for a CDMA network, and many plan to roll out those upgrades by the end of the year. Applications running on 2.5G networks will, first and foremost, have significantly faster download speeds-realistic rates have been pegged between 20 and 40 kilobytes per second. In addition, the transmissions will be packet-based, allowing more efficient data transfers and better pricing schemes for wireless data uses. … Read More
Nokia smiles on Symbian
Symbian received an important lift after Nokia Corp. said that half its third-generation mobile phones will use the company’s platform by 2004. The move ends speculation on whether Symbian’s stakeholders, including Nokia, L.M. Ericsson and Motorola Inc., will actually use the company’s operating platform. A variety of companies, including several Symbian licensees, recently released their 2.5-generation mobile phones and none included a Symbian platform. Many companies have said it’s cheaper to use a proprietary platform than purchase one. … Read More
BT to spin off wireless in response to debt
In a dramatic move to bolster its value and trim debt, British Telecom said last week it would spin off its wireless unit, BT Wireless, as a separately traded company, and temporarily suspend dividend payments. The telecom giant said it expects the moves to save about $8 billion and allow it to meet its debt reduction target of $14 billion by the end of the year. The wireless unit would include all of the company’s wireless assets, including BT Cellnet in the United Kingdom, Manx Telecom in the Isle of Man, Viag Telekom in Germany, Esat Digifone in Ireland and Telfort in The Netherlands. BT Wireless would also include Genie, the carrier’s wireless portal service. … Read More
It `Slices,’ it dices, it’s data: Leap debuts video clips to Chattanooga customers
For the introduction of its initial wireless data offering, Leap Wireless International Inc. went back to its roots. The flat-rate, all-you-can-talk carrier will launch the first channel of its Telephone Entertainment Network, in Chattanooga, Tenn., where the carrier debuted its Cricket wireless voice service in March 1999.
The service, dubbed Slice of Chattanooga, is designed to deliver short voice clips directly to a customer’s phone after a number is dialed, but before the call is connected. Customers will have some control over what they hear through a few interest questions in the set-up process and any habits they form during the use of the service. In addition to the requested information, Leap will also intersperse advertisements and promotions. … Read More
Beyond COWs to NOWs
As wireless carriers spend billions of dollars to purchase spectrum and build out vast wireless networks, several smaller companies are offering similar services but on a much, much smaller scale-out the back of a truck, to be exact. InterWave Communications International Ltd., ADC Telecommunications Inc. and others have begun selling complete, operating wireless networks that can be packed up and moved within minutes. The offerings go beyond the standard COWs-Cellsites On Wheels-which are used to fill in network holes or provide extra coverage to heavily used areas, such as sporting events or wireless trade shows. … Read More
U.S.-Latin America roaming could be big business
If the economy is going south for both vendors and operators in the United States, part of the solution may lie in going south, literally. According to a Strategis Group study conducted on international roaming focusing on TDMA technology, there is huge market potential in that segment untapped by the players in selected countries in Latin America. Yet, fraud and technical obstacles in tracking billing are the booby traps lurking in this potential gold mine. The Universal Wireless Communications Consortium contracted the study to the Strategis Group. … Read More
Starbucks to feature high-speed wireless Internet access in stores
In addition to the variety of toppings available for your morning latte, Starbucks Coffee Co. soon will be offering its customers high-speed wireless Internet access. The Seattle-based coffee giant last week announced a five-year strategic relationship with Compaq Computer Corp. to provide its retail stores with wireless broadband access, as well as computers, storage devices and services. Compaq, which said it beat out archrival Dell Computers for the deal, will join software heavyweight Microsoft Corp. in creating the high-speed wireless environment in Starbucks locations across the country. … Read More
Mobile Internet comes to China
China Mobile Communications Corp., the largest wireless operator in China, recently announced plans to create a wireless Internet setup much like NTT DoCoMo’s i-mode service in Japan, but the company faces some significant challenges due to a cash-strapped population, cloudy government regulations and network constraints. China Mobile is calling its setup the Monternet-a syllabic combination of mobile and Internet-which will be a revenue-sharing business model aimed at creating more value-added mobile data services. The service will work on the WAP protocol and will use a variety of technologies, including Short Message Service. The company said it plans to establish a wide variety of partnerships with Internet content and service providers to develop wireless applications. The plan is much like DoCoMo’s model, which allows content and service providers to directly benefit from the traffic they generate while the carrier enjoys the additional airtime usage. … Read More
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