SINGAPORE-Motorola Inc. took another step in providing Internet capabilities for wireless phones with the first demonstration in Asia of General Packet Radio Service using the Wireless Application Protocol over Global System for Mobile communications networks.The demonstrations took place in Singapore using test frequencies from...
First MessageLink Inc. founder Don Buzzelli decided to take advantage of the paging industry's consolidation frenzy by acquiring enough small paging carriers to reach 500,000 subscribers and $50 million in revenues.Now the company's president and chief executive officer is shifting to take advantage of...
TOKYO-NTT DoCoMo's iMode Internet service is winning attention around the world as the first success case for mobile Internet.Since the carrier launched the service in February 1999, it has attracted more than 2.8 million users. Subscribers are expected to reach 4 million by March...
The two major developers of high-speed cellular data technology, Nokia and Ericsson, have opened a public argument over which has achieved the most success in terms of contract awards. The number of cellular operators that have placed orders for high-speed data infrastructure now amounts...
BUCHAREST, Romania-Telemobil, Romania's NMT 450 operator, is facing stiff competition from three GSM operators, each of which have both strong financial backing and national coverage. Similar to the experience of other NMT 450 operators in Europe, whether Telemobil will survive depends on how it...
WebLink Wireless Inc., formerly PageMart Wireless, announced several companies have joined its Enterprise Solutions Provider Program in the last week.The most recent addition is JP Systems Inc., which said it will integrate its InfoBeam Enterprise Server messaging technology with WebLink's network. The addition will...
NEW YORK-World Access Inc., Atlanta, plans to "divest, spin off or otherwise monetize" its telecommunications network equipment business units, in accordance with a board of directors' vote made public Dec. 9.The company's equipment group designs, manufactures and sells intelligent multiplexers, digital microwave radio systems...
WASHINGTON-On one level, the wireless campaign on Capitol Hill this year was not unlike that of Congress as a whole. In the end, when it came time for Congress to adjourn for the year, lawmakers belatedly passed a handful of bills-mostly legislation to keep...
WASHINGTON-In a ruling both beneficial and potentially devastating for industry, the Federal Communications Commission ruled wireless carriers are not exempt from all state contractual and consumer fraud laws.The Nov. 24 ruling was prompted by a 1997 petition for declaratory ruling from Southwestern Bell Mobile...
Just weeks after a bankruptcy court approved the first part of his plan to bail out the financially struggling ICO Global Communications, Craig McCaw reportedly is close to completing a similar deal to save another bankrupt satellite-based global voice provider-Iridium L.L.C.While officials at Iridium...
NEW YORK-Telecommunications companies pay insufficient attention to revenue leaks, possibly due to the misconception that these hidden losses have a minor impact on their bottom line, according to a report by the communications practice of Deloitte & Touche L.L.P., Atlanta.The consulting firm said it...
NEW YORK-The astounding success of NTT DoCoMo's mobile Internet access service is a resounding note of affirmation to proponents of wireless Web services, said Crispin K. Vicars at the Yankee Group's conference Nov. 8.By the end of September, DoCoMo's wireless Internet service had 1.7...
It could have been an isolated path for TDMA operators going forward as they struggled for economies of scale in their businesses, but with a new agreement with the GSM Association, the Universal Wireless Communications Consortium hopes to gain access to the worldwide equipment...
The GSM Association and the Universal Wireless Communications Consortium (UWCC) announced they signed a memorandum of understanding to work toward worldwide interoperability between GSM andTDMA technologies.The nearly 490 GSM and TDMA carriers currently have 290 million subscribers worldwide.Member companies of the two associations will...
TOKYO-Japan's major carriers said they had taken all necessary measures by the end of September to cope with any potential Y2K problems. Now, say the carriers, they are busily preparing for counter measures for the upcoming critical days.Reports say there could be two types...
Wireless location-based services have been talked about for years and few carriers have deployed them, but reality should begin to set in within the next few years.The Federal Communications Commission's revised enhanced 911 rules released in September have put carriers on notice that decisions...
TORONTO-Ericsson Australia and Solect Technology Group signed a partnership to jointly provide a range of wireless Internet Protocol solutions to the Australian market. Under the agreement, Ericsson will sub-license Solect's billing and customer care solution, Internet Administration Framework, to end users as part of...
WASHINGTON-Sens. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) and Byron Dorgan (N.D.), backed by industry and cities, last week introduced legislation to simplify taxation of wireless carriers by local and state authorities.Instead of having wireless calls taxed by multiple jurisdictions, the Mobile Telecommunications Sourcing Act would assign all...
There was a time, not so long ago, when reasonably priced voice service with decent coverage delighted most wireless subscribers. But subscribers soon were demanding the same features-like voice mail, caller ID and three-way calling-offered on wireline phones.These features, previously known as enhanced services,...
HarrisHarris Corp. previewed its ClearBurst 2.5/3.4/10.5 GHz point-to-multipoint system, the newest addition to the Harris broadband wireless access product line, which is intended for deployment by public service providers as well as private network operators. The ClearBurst product offers a solution for delivering Time...
GENEVA-The GSM Association announced it plans to establish a roaming forum to address roaming issues among wireless protocols. Approval of the World Roaming Forum will be discussed at a GSM Association meeting in Montreal next week, said Michael Stocks, chairman of the association, at...
NEW YORK-In a market environment Wall Street bankers view as difficult for companies wishing to go public, at least two firms serving the wireless industry have cleared that hurdle so far this month.Illuminet Holdings Inc., which calls itself the largest unaffiliated Signaling System 7...
WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission reached a tentative agreement with state regulators on what type of notification will be heard when a person calls a calling-party-pays wireless subscriber, said Kris Monteith, chief of the policy division of the FCC's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau.It is really a...
KANSAS CITY, Mo.-Sprint PCS announced its business customers now can select a new Nationwide Team Option for team-based calling from any Sprint PCS phone to another Sprint PCS phone.The new option replaces the existing local Team Option launched in May and offers Sprint PCS...
