Patents are a common thread running through the great debates of the day concerning strongest/adequate signal, E911 federal land antenna siting, 3G, prepaid calling and other telecom issues.This should come as no surprise. In a new report, the Commerce Department links the United States'...
An open letter praising the UWCCTo the Editor: I feel compelled to write a letter of congratulations to the entire UWCC organization. It is the first time in my company's history that I have ever done this, but your rise to the wireless public consciousness...
WASHINGTON-The telecommunications industry, while failing to get the digital wiretap grandfather date statutorily changed, appears to have been successful in getting written assurances included in the end-of-the-year spending bill that this date should be changed to correspond to the compliance date of June 30,...
WASHINGTON-With the scheduled adjournment of the 105th Congress last Friday, the wireless industry will be able to point to few visible victories. Indeed, industry can point to just two victories-one early in the session and one as Congress was racing to get out of...
WASHINGTON-Cellular operators last week overwhelmingly opposed a revised consumer-group proposal to route 911 analog calls to the cellular carrier most likely to complete the call, but it remains unclear whether carriers are ready to embrace a new Telecommunications Industry Association plan to handle emergency...
WASHINGTON-An amendment that had the potential to change the outcome of the C-block auction has been killed.The C-block personal communications services amendment was attached to a slamming bill forwarded by the House Commerce Committee. But Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), chairman of the Senate Commerce...
In comments that may reflect competitive positions in today's mobile phone market, mobile phone and mobile satellite service industries told the Federal Communications Commission more spectrum will be needed for third-generation services.Industry comments are in response to a Notice of Inquiry the FCC released...
WASHINGTON-The postponement of arguments in a federal appeals court on the wireless number portability issue seems to bode well for the industry because it will have even more time to implement this requirement.Portability refers to telephone subscribers keeping their same telephone number after switching...
WASHINGTON-Despite action by the Federal Communications Commission earlier this month to extend the compliance date on the digital wiretap act, the debate over its implementation rages on.In two separate luncheon briefings last week, the telecommunications industry-specifically the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association and the United...
WASHINGTON-Bell Atlantic Mobile refuses to throw in the towel on antenna siting and continues to fight for sites the company claims are necessary for coverage. In two cases, opponents see their actions as intransigent and perhaps even threatening. In another case, BAM has been...
WASHINGTON-Federal agency head William Kennard said he is not backing off from support of the strongest-signal proposal to ensure emergency 911 calls are completed, and indeed, is interested in a new proposal that calls for an adequate signal to place 911 calls.Kennard "is still...
WASHINGTON-The wireless industry is at a "watershed point," and is now beginning to compete in earnest with wireline telephony, said Tom Wheeler, president of the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association. The industry is entering the fourth wave of its development, Wheeler said, noting the four...
WASHINGTON-The wireless industry this week is preparing to argue before a federal appeals court in Oklahoma City that the Federal Communications Commission's rules requiring wireless number portability were enacted improperly and should therefore be reversed.Portability refers to telephone subscribers keeping their telephone number when...
The global market for in-vehicle intelligent transportation systems is expected to grow from $1 billion today to more than $18 billion annually during the next five years, according to a new report from Allied Business Intelligence. Major ITS systems include in-vehicle communications systems, electronic...
When controversy comes calling, policy makers and wireless telecom firms turn to a high-tech sounding board whose work is based more on reality than on rhetoric: the Telecommunications Industry Association.TIA, comprised of U.S. and foreign telecom manufacturers that develop technical standards, has been dragged into...
The Federal Communications Commission late Friday extended the compliance deadline for implementation of the digital wiretap act until June 30, 2000. Without the extension, telecommunications carriers were subject to possible fines of as much as $10,000 per day come Oct. 25.The extension was not...
Nextel Communications Inc. recently offered a farmer in South Coventry, Pa., a new $70,000, 105-foot silo if the wireless phone company could put an antenna inside of it to fill a gap in its coverage.This is just one example of the extremes companies will...
WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau last week issued an order granting the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association's request for a nine-month stay of wireless number portability requirements. The Wireless Bureau said it found extending the deadline from June 30, 1999, to March 31,...
WASHINGTON-Finishing guidelines to facilitate antenna sitings on park property, The National Park Service stopped short of presuming that antennas can be sited without harming NPS lands.Instead, NPS decided each application must be reviewed individually, including applications for collocation."The good news is that they have...
WASHINGTON-The wireless industry and the hearing-impaired community appear headed on a collision course over the implementation of the 1996 telecom act's mandate that equipment and service be accessible and usable by persons with disabilities if it is "readily achievable."The readily achievable caveat, among other...
WASHINGTON-In comments filed late last week with the Federal Communications Commission, CTIA asked the regulator to provide nationwide liability protection for wireless service providers when their systems are used to connect callers to emergency services.The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association pointed out in its comments...
WASHINGTON-The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association last week convened the third annual wireless number portability forum to discuss ways to implement wireless number portability before the June 30 deadline.Portability facilitates telephone subscribers keeping their telephone number when switching service providers. The Federal Communications Commission has...
NEW YORK-To get a better idea of the impact of cellular phone use while driving, tap the World Wide Web, but please don't do it while your vehicle is in motion, even if you do have Internet access via your mobile handset."To see how...
WASHINGTON-The wireless industry last week made significant strides in its efforts to reach a conciliatory note on antenna siting with various parties with which the industry has often disagreed.Additionally, the House Commerce Committee approved legislation that encourages tower sitings on federal property and uses...
