The Brazilian government's decision to auction spectrum in the 1800 MHz band was thought to be a shoo-in for GSM technology.GSM technology has gained big economies of scale around the world at the 1800 MHz band. CDMA and TDMA equipment is only available at...
WASHINGTON-With worries in some quarters that America will lose the third-generation mobile- phone market to Europe and Asia, the blame game has begun.Leading the finger-pointing is John Stanton, chief executive officer of VoiceStream Wireless Corp. and chairman of the Cellular Telecom-munications Industry Association.Stanton, addressing...
SEOUL, South Korea-The South Korean Ministry of Information and Communication has extended the deadline for third-generation mobile licenses until the end of October, one month later than its original deadline.The postponement is due to a dispute over technology standards, Reuters reported.The country's three expected...
One of the largest wireless companies in Latin America is considering a technology flip for the next generation.Sources close to BellSouth International Inc. say the carrier wants to convert TDMA systems in its Latin American markets to CDMA-based 1XRTT technology, a third-generation standard offering...
As handset makers continue to stretch their resources in the three digital technologies and future 3G technologies, they are finding an increasing need to outsource a portion of the business.L.M. Ericsson, struggling for profitability in its handset business, has turned to outsourcing lower-end handsets,...
WASHINGTON-Standards Committee T1, sponsored by the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions, released two new standards.The Enhanced Wireless 911 Phase II Standard defines the messaging required to support information transfer to identify and locate wireless emergency calls.The IMT-2000 CDMA Standard describes in detail the specification...
WASHINGTON-A Clinton administration aide last week denied that industry or political pressure has played a part in delaying the issuance of a White House report advocating mobile phones and other wireless technologies for alerting citizens of emergencies like tornadoes, hurricanes and chemical spills.The delay...
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill.-Motorola Inc.'s Network Solutions Sector signed seven digital cellular network expansion contracts, valued at a total of $258 million, with China Unicom to enhance the operator's GSM network in China.The contract calls for Motorola to expand China Unicom's GSM 900 networks in...
The second handset vendor Nextel Communications Inc. was counting on to make an iDEN phone by this year has decided to pursue other technology avenues.Japanese vendor Kyocera Corp. and Nextel late last year signed a letter of intent calling for the vendor to produce...
COSTA MESA, Calif.-CDMA technology adoption doubled worldwide in the past year, climbing to more than 65 million users by the second quarter of 2000, according to the CDMA Development Group.With the deployment of third-generation services approaching, the CDG said it expects the demand for...
SAO PAULO, Brazil-Two issues characterized the Brazilian cellular market during the first half of the year-an increase in subscriber numbers and the rollout of more advanced services.Latin America in general saw an explosion of prepaid services, but in Brazil, prepaid subscriptions overcame all operator...
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina-Although cellular telephony client bases doubled last year in Uruguay and Paraguay, at this point it seems only Paraguay will be able to achieve this objective again in 2000.Uruguay's strong cellular growth has slowed during the year, with a lack of competition...
NEW DELHI, India-The Southeast Asian region is set to enter a new era of wireless data within the next two years. Many operators in the region have already introduced wireless data services, including Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) launches, in preparation for a full-scale transition...
MELBOURNE, Australia-Hutchison Telecommunications (Australia) had more than 18 months to sweat on its marketing. That is how long it took the wireless carrier, with Samsung, to develop a "revolutionary" wireless local loop (WLL) technology using CDMA mobile-phone infrastructure.Claimed by the carrier as a world-first,...
BEIJING-China's telecom circles are hotly debating whether the country's own standard for third-generation (3G) mobile communications-Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA)-will be the goose with the golden eggs, allowing it to claw back precious terrain from foreign equipment suppliers.Still, the Chinese are...
HONG KONG-Hong Kong may become the Asian leader in mobile e-commerce, as network operators rush to embrace next-generation smart cards, said Claus Hansen, GSM marketing director at smart card vendor Schlumberger."Wireless Internet and mobile e-commerce will boom in Hong Kong next year, as network...
TORONTO-The consolidation trend in the North American wireless sector is intensifying. The prevailing wisdom is that it is no longer good enough to be merely a regional or national carrier with transborder capabilities. The game plan is to be part of a global presence,...
NigeriaIntercellular Nigeria awarded a US$21 million contract to Motorola for the supply and deployment of a CDMA fixed wireless local loop (WLL) network expansion. The 800 MHz system will be expanded for up to 45,000 limited mobility subscribers.South AfricaTETRA technology, a digital two-way radio...
AustraliaTelecom New Zealand said it intends to make a takeover offer for the approximately 18 percent of shares in Australian operator AAPT that it does not already own for A$444 million (US$258 million). The company said it will offer minority shareholders A$7.25 (US$4.23) in...
EricssonCanada. With Microcell Connexions for a GPRS network.Value: UndisclosedChina. With China Unicom for GSM expansions in Jilin, Sichuan, Jiangsu, Anhui and Hubei provinces.Value: US$176 millionLaos. With Lao Telecommunications Co. for GSM switching.Value: US$1.2 millionMexico. With Pegaso forCDMA equipment for its PCS network.Value: US$200 millionTurkey. With Turkcell for a...
MELBOURNE, Australia-Australian telecommunications giant Telstra has significantly boosted the capacity of its mobile telephone networks to cater to the large influx of visitors to Sydney, Australia, for the Olympic Games. Telstra has the exclusive task of handling all communications for the Sydney 2000 Games.According...
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...
Almost exactly one year after becoming the first wireless carrier to introduce wireless Internet service to customers, Sprint PCS has introduced a new program to its Wireless Web service that caters to business clients.The new suite is called Wireless Web for Business. The service...
Telus Corp. offered to acquire all the shares of Clearnet Communications Inc. for $4.48 billion, creating a daunting competitor in Canada's tight wireless market.Under terms of the offer, Telus will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Clearnet for $47.48 per share. Clearnet shareholders...
