TOKYO-The mobile music distribution business is going to take off in Japan, according to industry representatives. Some carriers have already revealed their services, while others are promoting field tests in cooperation with vendors.NTT DoCoMo at the beginning of 2000 established a joint venture with...
TOKYO-KDDI, the newly formed telecom group in Japan, said it is talking to several foreign carriers regarding alliances, international press reports said. A possible alliance could include an equity investment, although such an investment likely would be no more than 13 percent.KDDI was formed...
ST. LOUIS-Both leading presidential candidates in last Tuesday's debate here reiterated plans to beef up the military with next-generation technology, positions that could conflict with President Clinton's directive to force the Pentagon and others to surrender radio spectrum to third-generation mobile-phone carriers.In a post-Cold...
After months of relative silence, Ignition Corp. has begun making noise again, providing its mentoring and funding proficiencies to two more companies.The most recent is Avogadro, launched this week with the vision of combining business-to-business, mobility and Internet technologies into a new communications service....
NEW YORK-Solid Information Technology, known for network synchronization software, has received $50 million in second-round private equity investment.Robertson Stephens Inc. served as placement agent for the transaction, which is a precursor to taking the company public, said Pekka Roine, Solid's chairman and chief executive...
CHICAGO-At previous wireless industry trade shows, NeoPoint Inc. could be counted on to make significant announcements, guaranteeing throngs of foot traffic around their booth and an overall buzz of excitement.First it was the introduction of its groundbreaking NeoPoint 1000 smart phone. Then it was...
TOKYO-NTT DoCoMo Inc. and America Online Inc. last week announced their long-expected business alliance. The combination of the largest mobile carrier in Japan and the largest Internet service provider in the world will give NTT DoCoMo a foothold to launch its popular i-mode services,...
WASHINGTON-A Motorola Inc. technician who was a mobile-phone trouble shooter for 10 years plans shortly to sue Motorola Inc. and possibly others for allegedly causing his brain cancer. The man went on disability last fall after being diagnosed with a potentially deadly brain tumor...
TOKYO-Advertising on mobile terminals, including the popular i-mode-enabled terminals, has established itself as a lucrative business in Japan.The number of Japanese users who access the Internet via cellular terminals exceeded 15 million in early August. Included in that number are 10 million i-mode users.Finding...
SAN JOSE, Calif.-Intel Corp., the world's biggest chip company, last week announced a new chip architecture designed to benefit a wide variety of wireless Internet and networking infrastructure applications.Intel said the XScale microarchitecture has the flexibility to handle requirements for both ultra-low power and...
In the next three to eight months, U.S. wireless carriers will upgrade their HDML-based wireless Internet servers to full WAP compliance, meaning they will support WML technology native in both the network and in new WAP-compliant phones.The result is a greater array of handsets...
In a surprise ending, six groups walked away with Universal Mobile Telecommunications System licenses in Germany at a total cost of $45.85 billion, the largest amount raised yet in a third-generation spectrum auction, hitting the ceiling of most analyst predictions.Each of the winners-Deutsche Telekom...
CAMBRIDGE, United Kingdom-L.M. Ericsson licensed ARM's ARM7TDMI processor core for use in its communications products, enabling Ericsson to re-use the ARM intellectual property among all its divisions.Ericsson said it expects ARM's processor technology will provide a scalable platform for its low-power system-on-chip solutions targeting...
SAN DIEGO-Intellectual property provider ARM and PacketVideo Corp. announced a collaboration to integrate PacketVideo's wireless video decode software with ARM's microprocessor core in an attempt to help accelerate the deployment of wireless multi-media services and applications."The two companies are collaborating closely to provide systems...
TantauTantau Software Inc. released its Wireless Internet Platform version 2, which features enhancements for back-end connectivity, content personalization and information delivery. In addition, the company announced a strategic agreement with Hewlett-Packard Co. to co-market mobile e-services solutions designed for financial institutions that combine the...
NEW YORK-Andrew Seybold offered attendees of a recent New York New Media Association meeting this twice-told tale to illustrate how mobile data badly needs an application of common sense, that least common of all the senses.The respected wireless Web guru and curmudgeon offered this...
Globalstar Telecommunications Ltd. said its money will run out in five months unless it gets help. In the meantime, ongoing efforts to establish a worldwide network and begin widespread commercial service contributed to the mobile satellite service operator's increased first-quarter losses.United Kingdom-based Inmarsat added...
NEW YORK-Managing solely for the bottom line can come back to bite companies at tax time, with the perverse result of hurting the financial statements so important to existing and potential stakeholders.The adage that there is never time to do it right but always...
SCHAUMBURG, Ill.-Motorola Inc. and BMW of North America Inc. have teamed to offer BMW customers the BMW CPT 7000 digital phone, now standard on all early model year 2001 BMW 7 Series vehicles and as an option on all other BMW model year 2000...
Part of China Unicom Ltd.'s initial public offering in June of between $4 billion and $5 billion is scheduled to be used to fund the company's $12.1 billion in capital expenditures planned through 2002, a merchant banking source told Reuters.The offering and spending plan...
CARY, N.C.-SpectraSite Holdings Inc. reported two acquisitions and one development agreement as the company expands its outsourced antenna site and network services.The joint development agreement with Transco, the arm of the BG Group plc that runs Britain's gas network, involves developing a tower business...
ESPOO, Finland-Nokia Networks, the infrastructure arm of Nokia Corp., and Cisco Systems Inc. announced a nonexclusive agreement to enhance connectivity between mobile and Internet Protocol backbone networks.The agreement calls for Nokia to market and sell fully interoperable system solutions consisting of the company's IP...
WASHINGTON-Last week's retirement announcement by House Commerce Committee Chairman Thomas Bliley (R-Va.) has thrust into the spotlight a battle royale between Reps. Billy Tauzin (R-La.) and Mike Oxley (R-Ohio) for the right to head the prestigious panel in coming years.For competition between the gregarious...
PHOENIX, United States-Some observers have compared the broadband wireless industry to a hockey game: lots of skating around, many dramatic clashes, but not much scoring.Still, like a hockey game, broadband wireless attracts plenty of fans. Interest is downright rabid among telecom carriers, equipment vendors and...
