DALLAS-iVB Network Solutions, a division of InterVoice-Brite, has extended its contract with BT Cellnet to provide a prepaid mobile-phone service for U.K. customers.The 18-month extension, which uses Telemac-enabled prepaid mobile-phone technology, begins January 2002 and expires July 2003. According to the companies, the value...
Worldwide rollout of next-generation wireless services went 2 for 1 last week as both Japanese operator NTT DoCoMo and U.K.-based Vodafone Group plc introduced handsets for high-speed data services, while Finnish operator Sonera said it was delaying its rollout due to a lack of...
Nextel Communications Inc. privately sold $1 billion of 10-year convertible senior notes in a "drive-by" sale to capitalize on favorable market conditions. The carrier plans to use the proceeds for network expansion, additional spectrum, strategic investments, working capital, debt service and other corporate purposes....
NEW YORK-Although growing use of Research In Motion's BlackBerry e-mail service has congested wireless networks in some areas, paging carriers are not well-positioned to seize this opportunity to serve as alternative providers, said Jim Balsillie, co-chief executive officer of RIM."Paging carriers have tried to...
In a dramatic move to bolster its value and trim debt, British Telecom said last week it would spin off its wireless unit, BT Wireless, as a separately traded company, and temporarily suspend dividend payments. The telecom giant said it expects the moves to...
DUBLIN, Ireland-During the next few weeks, third-generation (3G) mobile communications will take its first shaky steps in Europe, as the Isle of Man, population 75,000, prepares to become the unlikely setting for the world's first commercial 3G service courtesy of BT Cellnet subsidiary Manx...
GENEVA-How the mighty have fallen. British Telecommunications (BT), once ranked among the world's most powerful carriers, is finding itself buckling under a crippling mountain of debt in a climate where raising equity in the telecom/information technology (IT) sector has hit an all-time low. In...
Amid the frenzy over a flagging economy and road bumps to the next generation of technologies, Nokia Corp. won a series of third-generation infrastructure contracts that gives the handset vendor coveted status as a network provider.The deals, including a $1.3 billion deal to supply...
OXFORD, United Kingdom-While all the major European cell-phone operators have either launched or announced target dates for GPRS services, a growing number of technology developers are voicing concerns.One of the most recent to join the GPRS detractors is Ubinetics, which is involved in GPRS...
In a marriage of convenience, carriers are signing temporary dotted lines to outsource their network management to vendors as they migrate to the next generation of wireless technology.The trend, which concedes to vendors a pivotal role in positioning carriers for the new technologies, moves...
TAIWANChunghwa Telecom Labs (CHTTL), the technology development group of Taiwan's state-owned telecommunication operator, has selected Nokia to conduct its third-generation trials. Nokia will provide CHTTL with the core and radio network, network management system and technical consultancy services. Then based on the trial results,...
GENEVA-Despite a subdued initial public offering (IPO) that saw the company reap a modest US$9 per share-near the bottom end of an already hastily reduced US$8.7 to US$10 range-the future is looking good for Orange, the former U.K. operator that now forms the cornerstone...
A huge number of wireless companies hope to make money by helping businesses replace their cumbersome cords and wires with the freedom of wavelength-the hot phrase lately seems to be "enabling the wireless work force."The market for creating these wireless systems is "fairly big,...
OXFORD, United Kingdom-Once again the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) has been consigned to the dust bin of failed technology by the U.K. consumer magazine Which?. The independent guide said the "concept of WAP was far more striking than the reality."The organization conducted consumer tests...
Finally, a glass of champagne.Nortel Networks toasted its fourth quarter with a result that matched market expectations and a robust promise for the future.Nortel, a leader in communications equipment for wireless networks, switching, transmission and access, reported fourth-quarter net earnings of $825 million, or...
NEW YORK-Without fanfare, Securicor Wireless Inc. continues its quiet and methodical assembly of a nationwide enhanced specialized mobile radio network, which it plans to extend into Canada and Latin and South America.Within five years, this hybrid network operator, spectrum owner and patent holder expects...
Like the harmony of opposites, caution and adventure characterize the journey to the wide-scale rollout of GPRS. Vendors are playing starry-eyed idealists while operators are avoiding a possible precipice on board the chief migration vehicle: handsets.In view of their contrasting attitudes, operators' low blood pressure...
The news of WAP's demise has been greatly exaggerated, according to the Wireless Application Protocol Forum.The WAP Forum last week struck back against a report released by the Nielsen Norman Consulting Group downplaying the advantages of the wireless Internet technology. The report stated WAP...
DENVER, United States-Like the harmony of opposites, caution and adventure characterize the journey to the wide-scale rollout of General Packet Radio Service (GPRS). Vendors are playing starry-eyed idealists, while operators are avoiding a possible precipice on board the chief migration vehicle: handsets.In view of their...
Extolling them as "wings of light," Nortel Networks hopes to illumine the wireless Internet space with four new initiatives. Basking in a 55-percent third-quarter growth, the Internet and communications company identifies the four-pronged blitz as optical infrastructure, wireless access, Internet Protocol services to create...
SAN JOSE, Calif.-SnapTrack Inc., a Qualcomm Inc. subsidiary, announced a year-long test of its position-location technology is over and the results are positive.The tests of SnapTrack's Wireless Assisted global positioning system solution, conducted by a consortium of various industry representatives, found the technology can...
HELSINKI, Finland-Sonera Corp. said it will be the first operator in the Nordic countries to launch a GPRS network when its commercial service begins Dec. 11. Initial service will be in the Helsinki area, as well as Turku, Tampere and Oulu. Early next year,...
LittlefeetLittlefeet Inc., a wireless network infrastructure developer, appointed Kai Cheong Chan as the general manager and sales director for the company's new regional office, which will serve Singapore and the Asia-Pacific region.Chan will be responsible for developing business relationships and managing distribution channels for...
PAKISTANMillicom International Cellular SA announced it acquired Paktel Ltd., Cable and Wireless plc's cellular operation in Pakistan. Millicom said Paktel is the No. 3 operator in the country. "MIC's acquisition of Paktel will enhance the value of our investments in Pakistan and allow us...
