NEW YORK-The irony inherent in the proliferation of communications devices and technologies is the difficulty of getting them to interact with home base.Therein lies a business opportunity for MobileSys Inc., a Mountain View, Calif., start-up that provides middleware. Its mission is to serve as...
NEW YORK-Contrary to headlines about heavy merger activity in all sectors, the $234 billion worth of transactions for which dollar values were disclosed last quarter doesn't come close to either of the prior two quarters.Nevertheless, aggregate merger and acquisition deal values stood at $992...
Last week heralded a slew of fairly positive announcements from the still-struggling paging industry, with PageMart Wireless Inc., Paging Network Inc., SkyTel and TSR Wireless L.L.C. announcing significant partnerships.PageMartPageMart announced a strategic agreement with the MSN.com Mobile Service to provide customized personal information services...
BellSouth Corp. last week announced plans to restructure the company to better position itself to provide bundled services.The move comes just weeks after BellSouth failed in a bid to acquire Sprint Corp., which agreed instead to merge with MCI WorldCom Inc.Jeff Battcher, a spokesman...
ORLANDO, Fla.-The term convergence means different things to different people. To some, convergence means bundling and selling more than one product to a customer. To others, convergence means merging different companies together for size and scope.So how do carriers combat fraud in a converging...
GENEVA-Hewlett-Packard Co. announced at Telecom '99 a new company initiative focused on the mobile electronic services industry that combines products, a subscription- and transaction-based payment model, and centers for product development and testing. The company is targeting wireless carriers with the initiative.HP said its...
Dear Editor,Studies of possible harms to the brain from cell phone use by the Wireless Technology Research Group, meant to be a definitive, industrywide effort, focus on cancer and genetic damage but miss other, more likely, harmful effects.If I bring my cell phone within...
Glenayre Technologies Inc. launched Symmetry, a PC-based intelligent agent software package provided through Infowave Software Inc. that connects Glenayre pagers to information stored on Microsoft Outlook software.The two companies together began developing the wireless desktop extension software, then code-named Kodiak, in June. According to...
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...
OXFORD, United Kingdom-Most cellular operators now recognize that to ensure their businesses continue to experience breakneck growth, they must compete more directly with fixed operators. According to industry analysts, this battle for the telephone user will take place over the provision of voice and...
NEW YORK-Comparatively few of the hundreds of telecommunications billing companies in business today are publicly traded, but that list could grow by one if Daleen Technologies Inc., Boca Raton, Fla., proceeds with a planned initial public offering scheduled for late this month.The company views...
STOCKHOLM, Sweden-Ericsson Mobile Communications AB and Mannesmann VDO AG announced a strategic alliance to cooperate in developing integrated in-car communications and information systems and applications.The companies said they plan to bundle in-car navigation, communication, telematics and entertainment services. One possible application is to deliver...
By almost all accounts, the market for in-vehicle wireless communications and information services-called telematics-is going to explode in the next few years.Studies by consulting firms Strategis Group and Allied Business Intelligence predict more than 1.2 million automobiles will be equipped with telematics devices by...
DUBLIN, Ireland-National industry regulators have one of the most difficult jobs in the telecommunications world and face criticism from consumers, network operators and government. But the role of the regulator in the European mobile communications sector has been made even more difficult by the...
German telecom operator Mannesmann AG said it executed its option rights on shares of Italian mobile operator Omnitel, raising its stake in the company by 1.5 percent to 55 percent.TSR Wireless L.L.C. signed a two-year connectivity agreement with Internet provider ZipLink Inc., under which...
NEW YORK-Since the launch of carrier competition in the duopoly wireless market, third-party distributors have had to work hard to manage increasingly complex distribution issues. Carriers, meanwhile, are dealing with this same level of complexity-trying to improve sales processes for existing distribution channels while...
Although they believe the future growth of the paging industry lies in advanced messaging, paging carriers continue to search out new ways to attract customers to traditional paging services as the one-way market becomes increasingly saturated.Analysts say distribution is the key to this effort....
ALEXANDRIA, Va.-Metrocall Inc. this week signed several interconnection agreements with Bell Atlantic Corp. and a three-year bundling agreement with AnswerNet Network.The interconnection agreement provides for the delivery of local phone traffic to Metrocall's paging network, as well as compensation to Metrocall for terminating Bell...
DULLES, Va.-America Online Inc. announced a strategic relationship with 3Com Corp., designed to extend AOL e-mail to Palm Computing handheld devices.3Com said it will bundle AOL's new software in retail packages of certain Palm organizers and PalmModem accessories. As part of a market test,...
Novatel Wireless Inc. introduced the Merlin Type II Cellular Digital Packet Data modem, a wireless modem that enables data and e-mail transmission, Internet connection and corporate database access to mobile users."It's just like plugging in a regular modem. You use the same drivers as...
NEW YORK-AmTec Inc. has its home base in the Big Apple, where the money is, and its heart in the People's Republic of China, where it believes telecommunications has the greatest growth opportunity.Several years ago, AmTec became one of 46 foreign companies to forge...
Sprint PCS believes it has a strong enough wireless footprint to begin aggressively targeting business users.Analysts didn't expect the company to heavily pursue this segment until next year, but Sprint PCS cites a national network that is well positioned to accommodate demanding users and...
AT&T Corp. last week signed a definitive merger agreement with cable company MediaOne Group after cutting a deal with rival bidder Comcast Corp., which agreed not to try to outbid AT&T's offer.Comcast and AT&T agreed to exchange various cable systems, giving Comcast about 750,000...
ChinaChina Telecom granted U.S.-based Cwill Telecommunications' smart antenna technology a digital Network Access License to connect its wireless PCS-band technology for WLL to China Telecom's phone system anywhere in China, said Cwill.Hong KongBritish Telecom is continuing its buying spree in Asia. In its latest...
