AUSTIN, Texas-It's official, Wi-Fi is here to stay. The word Wi-Fi has been added to Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th edition for 2005."You know you've truly made it when you're in Webster's dictionary," said Frank Hanzlik, managing director of the Wi-Fi Alliance. "Wi-Fi is not...
FREMONT, Calif.-The FLO Forum, a four-month-old association formed to advance mobile TV technology, said nine new companies have joined its ranks.The new members are South Korea's EBS, KT Freetel, MSYS and Samsung Electronics; U.S.-based Ktech Telecom and Newport Media; Rohde & Schwarz from Germany;...
MOUNTAIN VIEW-The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association tapped VeriSign Inc. to power its text messaging service. The industry association, which represents 10 carriers, will use Metcalf Inter-Carrier Messaging, a joint offering from VeriSign and WiderThan Americas, to deliver text messages among its members' 15.5 million...
HONG KONG-ZTE Corp. announced that its TD-SCDMA standard has been approved by the Third Generation Partnership Project as one of the 3G mobile communications standards. ZTE said its TR 34.943 standard was drafted with Datang Mobile and China's Research Institute of Telecommunications Transmission, a...
WASHINGTON-The District of Columbia Superior Court judge overseeing a cellular industry motion to dismiss six brain cancer lawsuits could be swayed by a Supreme Court ruling expected today. That ruling concerns whether to review a 4th Circuit decision remanding to state courts class-action suits...
WASHINGTON-A CTIA-led effort to create a mobile-content ratings system has been dropped-at least for now. The CTIA board recently voted unanimously to recommend that wireless operators implement the Carrier Content Classification and Internet Access Guidelines created by the trade group and its member companies,...
RED BANK, N.J.-The Radio Club of America plans to induct 10 new fellows at its annual awards banquet Nov. 18.The club chooses people to be designated with fellow status based on dedicated service to RCA and significant industry contributions, said the group.This year's fellows...
BELLEVUE, Wash.-The Mobile Marketing Association said it has established a Mobile Search Working Group that will establish guidelines for a search marketing ecosystem.MMA said the group's goal is to develop common business models, operating procedures and technology interfaces that allow operators to offer an...
SAN FRANCISCO-The Trusted Computing Group said it plans to enable trust and security in mobile phones and their applications. TCG is a nonprofit industry association that creates open industry specifications for vendors to use to create more secure computing products. The group has created...
SAN DIEGO-The Open Mobile Alliance made publicly available six new Enabler Releases that address both existing mobile services and future offerings. The releases include:OMA Multimedia Messaging Service Version 1.3, which enhances the existing MMS specifications to include support for new multimedia objects and content...
Unlike the freewheeling and sometimes thought-provoking keynotes of previous CTIA Wireless I.T. shows, Tuesday's opening keynote session was a trio of rudimentary company presentations on business basics from Microsoft Corp., Nokia Corp. and Intel Corp. executives. The keynotes-spruced up with slick video presentations and...
The GSM Association signed an agreement with NeuStar Inc. to offer Root Domain System services to more than 680 global GSM mobile operators. NeuStar's Root DNS will manage a global common directory, enabling GSM networks to interoperate, which will give wireless operators, across networks,...
BELLEVUE, Wash.-The Bluetooth Special Interest Group announced availability of new tools designed to help companies bring Bluetooth products to market faster.The Bluetooth SIG said the goal is to simplify the qualification process that devices undergo to become certified. The tools are part of an...
SINGAPORE-The GSM Association Tuesday said it will begin offering handsets for less than $30 as the second phase of its program to bring affordable handsets to emerging markets. Additionally, the GSM Association awarded the second-phase sole-source contract for the program to Motorola Inc. Motorola...
The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association has launched Focus on Driving, an interactive Web site to raise awareness of the risks associated with driver distraction. The Web site, http://www.focusondriving.ca, features an interactive quiz and offers visitors an opportunity to learn about responsible driving strategies to...
DENVER-The Denver Police Department and the Consolidated Communications Network of Colorado each used the 71st annual Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials International show here last week to showcase their successes in public-safety communications. DPD demonstrated its M/A-COM Inc.-built radio communications system, which serves Denver...
ASPEN, Colo.-With the ashes of recently deceased gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson still raining down from the sky, the Progress and Freedom Foundation brought its gonzo deregulation motto to the mountains of Colorado for its annual Aspen Summit. This year's event centered on the...
Much hyped and long awaited, WiMAX is now in the first phase of wave one. That means it's go-time for the world's WiMAX players. The testing and rollout schedule for fixed WiMAX technology is broken down into phases and waves, explained Gordon Antonello. Antonello...
WALNUT CREEK, Calif.-The Infrared Data Association announced a new standard the group said would allow camera-phone users to transmit their pictures to TVs and other electronic gadgets. Dubbed IrSimple, NTT DoCoMo Inc., Sharp Corp., ITX E-globaledge and Waseda University developed the protocol."IrSimple is the...
ARLINGTON, Va.-The Telecommunications Industry Association said it will create a committee to establish technological standards for terrestrial broadcasts and wireless multimedia services.The committee will be charged with developing and maintaining standards for terrestrial mobile multimedia multicast interfaces as well as components, systems, networks and...
The Consumer Electronics Association announced it will team with training firm Corporate Dynamics Inc. to help sell its Wireless Certification Program to independent wireless retailers. "Wireless retailers, both carrier and non-carrier-owned, need reputable sources for sales training and technology information," said Mike Mohr, president...
ARLINGTON, Va.-The Telecommunications Industry Association's board of directors established a division to focus on increasing federal funding for communications technology research."The board unanimously agreed on the importance of increasing federal funding for communications research and created this new division to advocate research as key...
LONDON-The Fixed-Mobile Convergence Alliance has contracted with IDC to assess the challenges and opportunities presented by global convergence during the next five years.The project will support an FMCA workstream designed to assess the market opportunity for fixed-mobile convergence products and services, said the group....
CARY, N.C.-Wireless professionals in North Carolina and South Carolina have formed the Carolinas Wireless Association.The association will kick off its initial membership drive in October.The Carolinas join a number of states that have formed wireless associations recently, including Florida.
