WASHINGTON-In potentially a major breakthrough in the gridlocked third generation mobile phone controversy, U.S. and European wireless executives here last week agreed to pursue a framework for an umbrella Code Division Multiple Access standard that combines common elements of competing CDMA technologies and gives...
WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission appears to be attempting to develop policy goals to solve the "dead zone" problem.The FCC then would leave it to the cellular industry to come up with technical solutions that meet its policy goals. "We are at our best...
NEW ORLEANS-Lucent Technologies Inc.'s Microelectronics Group introduced a Code Division Multiple Access chip that uses technology with origins in the airline industry to make it easier to understand cellular phone callers in noisy environments, such as airports and restaurants.Called the EVRC+, the chip is...
NEW ORLEANS-International Telecommunication Union members did not reach any consensus in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia, on harmonizing the various radio transmission technology proposals received by the ITU for third-generation technology.The ITU has decided harmonization efforts will rest with carriers and has asked them to put...
Its vision of future wireless telecommunications, which includes the naming of Qualcomm CDMA Technologies, previously the company's ASIC Products division, which develops and produces semiconductors and software. Next-generation radio-frequency and analog chips: The Code Division Multiple Access-based MSM3100, Qualcomm's sixth-generation single-chip Mobile Station Modem baseband...
NEW YORK-Beware would-be smart card hackers, Schlumberger Test and Transactions, San Jose, Calif., has developed 'SiShell', a process that renders the chip likely to self-destruct if someone tampers with it.Now commercially available, SiShell allows wafer makers to place over the active surface of each...
ZetronZetron Inc. launched the Model Z907 PCS Fault Finder, which provides fast notification of power amplifier and antenna problems at personal communications services sites. The PCS Fault Finder monitors forward radio-frequency power and antenna return loss in the 1.8 GHz to 2.0 GHz frequency...
WASHINGTON-The Clinton administration, invoking powerful references to the World Trade Organization, competition and convergence, last week said the European Commission's response to U.S. concerns about potential trade barriers to third-generation mobile phone standards fell short, and urged Europe not to implement 3G before the...
The union of AirTouch Communications Inc. and Vodafone plc could be a pinnacle event in the third-generation technology debate, industry experts say.The new company's economic decisions could weigh heavily on a sensitive and political debate over wideband Code Division Multiple Access technology. The two...
A group of cdmaOne operators are making another push to harmonize third-generation technology and avoid a potential deadlock within the International Telecommunication Union over intellectual property rights.The CDMA Development Group last week released a proposal based on technical work done within U.S. standards group...
The International Telecommunication Union said it may look for a way to work around the
intellectual-property-right stalemate caused by Qualcomm Inc. and L.M. Ericsson over third-generation
technology.
Fabio Leite, counselor in the Radiocommunications Bureau of Geneva-based ITU, said for now Code
Division Multiple Access proposals that have unresolved...
NEW YORK-Moody's Investors Service Inc. is reviewing $400 million in Hyundai Semiconductor America debt for possible downgrade because merger talks between HSA and LG Semicon Co. Ltd. hit an impasse and failed to conclude before the Dec. 25 deadline imposed by the South Korean...
The State Department late last month urged the European Commission to allow U.S. third-generation wireless equipment and service providers a fair opportunity to compete in Europe.In a letter sent to EC Commissioner Martin Bangemann Dec. 19, the United States expressed concern Europe may be...
OXFORD, United Kingdom-Iridium L.L.C. launched its global mobile satellite service last November, and demand for the service reportedly is high, but so far largely unfulfilled. Shortage of handsets is being cited as the main culprit.Such a situation is not uncommon in the early days...
The International Telecommunication Union's 31 December deadline passed without resolution in the intellectual-property-right stand-off over third-generation technology, but the ITU has indicated it may push ahead anyway.The ITU warned the wireless industry in December it may only consider proposals for 3G technologies based on...
COPENHAGEN, Denmark-Reaching agreement on a single work item within a standards organization can be a long and laborious process. Reaching an agreement between five standards organizations across the world is nothing less than a minor miracle.The miracle happened on 4 December 1998 in Copenhagen,...
The semiconductor industry is showing signs it could be emerging from a slump that has plagued it this year.The Asian economic crisis, coupled with a glut of semiconductor products in the market, has led the industry into one of its most sluggish years ever....
L.M. Ericsson's offer to compromise on third-generation technology may not change the International Telecommunication Union's action on Dec. 31. The ITU is likely to halt any work on Code Division Multiple Access-based proposals unless intellectual-property-right issues are resolved by the end of the year.Sweden-based...
Palm Computing Inc., an affiliate of 3Com Corp., introduced the Palm VII personal digital assistant at the Palm Computing Platform Worldwide Developer Conference in Santa Clara, Calif., featuring out-of-the-box wireless connectivity to the Internet, World Wide Web and instant two-way personal communications.Through various partnerships...
Horizon Personal Communications Inc. launched its personal communications services network in seven basic trading areas in Ohio and West Virginia, under an affiliate agreement with Sprint Spectrum L.P. Horizon, which is an affiliate of The Chilicothe Telephone Co., has a management agreement with Sprint...
CUPERTINO, Calif.-DSP Communications Inc. introduced a single-chip Personal Digital Cellular solution, called PDChip d5311E.The PDC chip's architecture is based on Texas Instruments Inc.'s TMS320C54x DSP core, which combines a DSP core and digital and analog functions on one chip. DSP said the chip offers...
Lucent Technologies Inc.'s Microelectronics Group introduced a new platform for Global System for Mobile communications handsets.The platform, which is slightly larger than a business card, can provide standby times of up to 500 hours, said the company. The product can operate in any of...
Information Storage Devices Inc., San Jose, Calif., introduced a single-chip, fully integrated voice storage solution designed for digital cellular handsets.The ISD5008 eliminates external analog circuitry, such as automatic gain control, power amplifier and volume-control functions and switches by integrating those functions onto one chip....
The mere idea it may one day be possible to connect computers, mobile phones and other electronic devices to share voice and data transmissions without the need for cables has brought together some of the industry's heaviest hitters under the umbrella of the Bluetooth...
