Editor’s Note: RCR Wireless News goes all in for “Throwback Thursdays,” tapping into our archives to resuscitate the top headlines from the past. Fire up the time machine, put on the sepia-tinted shades, set the date for #TBT and enjoy the memories!
Nokia, Siemens team up for infrastructure battle
As the idea of a combined Alcatel Inc. and Lucent Technologies Inc. settles in, Nokia Corp. and Siemens AG skated into the wireless infrastructure marketplace with plans to combine Nokia’s Networks Business Group with Siemens’ fixed and mobile networks operations. The 50-50 joint venture is to be called Nokia Siemens Networks. By the end of last week the dust had already settled on the idea of Nokia Siemens Networks, and the only buzz to be heard centered on the fate of the un-consolidated, namely Nortel Networks Ltd. and Motorola Inc. “We would expect added pressure on both Motorola and Nortel to step up their networking operations or risk being marginalized,” stated CIBC World Markets. … Read More
New Nokia CEO nixes Sanyo JV
In a move that said much about Nokia Corp.’s new leadership as well as the fragmented global market for CDMA handsets, the global leader in mobile phones said it would dissolve its joint venture with Sanyo Electronics Co. Ltd. and instead pursue CDMA in the United States through deals with original design manufacturers. Nokia said last week the JV with Sanyo was doomed by three elements: … Read More
Cingular scores victory in advertising battle with Sprint Nextel
In an ongoing advertising battle between Cingular Wireless L.L.C. and Sprint Nextel Corp., Cingular seems to have won the latest round-but did not emerge completely unscathed. Sprint Nextel had challenged a slew of Cingular’s advertising claims about the largest carrier’s network and push-to-talk service, and the National Advertising Division of the Better Business Bureau has been reviewing the claims. The NAD investigates advertising challenges as part of a self-regulation program for the advertising industry. … Read More
Qualcomm, Intel trade barbs over 802.20 suspension
While it’s widely understood that developing technology standards is never an easy road to travel, the recent schism between Intel Corp. and Qualcomm Inc. over the IEEE’s 802.20 Working Group’s activities sets a new standard for companies looking to out-maneuver their competitors and shape the evolution of certain technologies. In a letter dated June 15, Steve Mills, IEEE Standards Board Chair, stated that as of June 8, the standards board, “directed that all activities of the 802.20 Working Group be temporarily suspended.” Mills cited two reasons for the suspension. Several appeals filed with the working group have made work in the group “highly contentious,” and an investigation has shown a lack of transparency, possible “dominance” and other irregularities. … Read More
Advanced networks call for advanced backhaul capabilities
As consumers and businesses start to take wireless carriers up on their offers of data services, and the carriers themselves put up ever-faster networks to support the demand they’re trying to create, backhaul capacity requirements are poised to increase dramatically-and backhaul providers are anticipating a boom in the marketplace. “The market is about to explode,” said Michael Gallagher, president and chief executive officer of First Avenue Networks. “[Carriers] are all spending billions of dollars on their networks to really support the high-capacity data services.” Cingular Wireless L.L.C., for example, has been touting its major expenditures on its network. The carrier said it spent about $6.5 billion on its network last year and plans to spend that much again this year. In the first quarter of 2006 alone, Cingular put $1.4 billion into capital expenditures, including improvements to its current network and the continued rollout of its high-speed UMTS/HSDPA network. … Read More
Katrina panel urges changes to prevent future communications disasters
The independent panel reviewing the communications disaster sparked by Hurricane Katrina told the Federal Communications Commission it should encourage various changes to help prevent similar communications problems in the future. However, the panel stopped short of giving specific, detailed requirements that could be turned into rules and therefore enforceable if not followed. In a report filed with the FCC last week, the Independent Panel Reviewing the Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Communications Networks made 18 recommendations in four categories, but none of the recommendations outlines specific rules that the FCC should make. Instead, the agency is told to encourage various changes. … Read More
Virgin Mobile USA overhauls pricing
Virgin Mobile USA L.L.C. revamped its pricing and messaging plans and added options that look much more like postpaid offerings than its traditional prepaid route. The mobile virtual network operator has replaced its old Month2Month plans with five monthly, no-contract plans that range from $15 per month for 100 anytime minutes to $60 monthly for 600 anytime minutes. The two-tier Minute2Minute plan was replaced by a single pay-as-you-go plan with a rate of 18 cents per minute and no daily access charge. Virgin Mobile USA’s Day2Day plan was essentially folded into a third option, in which customers pay $7 up front and then get a talk rate of 10 cents per minute. Virgin Mobile USA also has given customers the option to choose from several messaging bundles-a first for the prepaid market. … Read More
DEs press case for modified AWS auction rules to appeals court
A trio of designated entities claim the Federal Communications Commission grossly mischaracterized to a federal appeals court the regulatory process leading to controversial changes to spectrum auction rules designed to prevent large mobile phone carriers from gaining benefits meant for small business bidders, but that critics claim will chill financing for startups and entrepreneurs in advance of the largest government sale of wireless licenses in history. “[T]his rosy storyline does not survive scrutiny,” Council Tree Communications Inc., Bethel Native Corp. and the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council last week told the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia, referring to the FCC’s description of the rulemaking in its brief. … Read More
Revenues remain in steady orbit for mobile satellite industry
The satellite industry as a whole is rebounding, driven by new technologies and applications in the mobile satellite services space, plus consumer applications such as high definition television and satellite radio, according to the Satellite Industry Association, which recently reported revenue figures for 2005. The global, commercial satellite industry generated $88.8 billion in revenues in 2005, a 7.4-percent increase over 2004. The satellite services slice of the pie, which includes mobile satellite services, has shown steady growth over the past five years-$52 billion in 2005, up 13 percent over 2004-while ground equipment, including satellite phones, has remained steady. The dead weight includes the satellite manufacturing and launch industry, which have shrunk. … Read More
’Free’ key to driving wireless Web traffic
Companies looking to monetize surfers on the wireless Web should consider giving stuff away. That was the consensus of the three speakers featured last week in RCR Wireless News’ first webinar, “Wireless portals: Who owns the mobile Web user?” While content providers and carriers are rushing to cash in on mobile data, the industry should look to the computer-focused Internet to find blueprints for business models in wireless. “The reality is we’ve only attracted a small percentage of the users that we really can attract; I think the market can be much bigger,” said Veronika Sonsev, senior director in AOL’s wireless group. “I think the model is going to go to a free, advertising-supported model. And as we saw with the Internet, that free, ad-supported model is what’s really going to drive adoption and usage of mobile content and services.” … Read More
Check out RCR Wireless News’ Archives for more stories from the past.
