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InterOP signs short-code partnerships

FORT MYERS, Fla.-InterOP Technologies L.L.C. recently announced it has signed multi-year service partnerships with Cellcom, First Cellular of Southern Illinois and thumb Cellular to provide short message service short-code functionality.InterOP's short-code platform features a Web-based architecture that allows carriers to securely create, edit and...

Alltel’s Ford elected chairman of CTIA board

WASHINGTON-Scott Ford, president of Alltel Corp., Wednesday was elected chairman of the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association's board of directors for 2003-2004. "The wireless industry is evolving at mach speed, and transforming other industries as it grows," said CTIA President Thomas Wheeler. "The leadership,...

Gurian helped to shape cellular’s formative years

The legacy Mal Gurian leaves the wireless industry will be found as much in the generations of people he has influenced as in the technological innovations he has shaped.Gurian is perhaps best known for his role as president of Oki Telecom, the first cellular...

Multi-Tech Announces Wireless Product Line

NEW ORLEANS-Multi-Tech Systems Inc., a data communications technology company, announced its first cellular modems at CTIA Wireless 2003. The new products include embedded and external modem models using both GSM/GPRS and CDMA technologies.The company announced a partnership with Wavecom Inc., which calls for the...

Movicom Bellsouth defaults on interest payments

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina-Movicom Bellsouth in Argentina suspended payment of interests and capital of its debt, which is around US$ 500 million, and designated BroadSpan Capital as its financial adviser in order to restructure its debt with its creditors. The company's creditors include banks, technological...

VeriSign finalizes three CALEA contracts

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.-VeriSign Inc. has finalized three new contracts for its NetDiscovery services, an outsourced solution for compliance with the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA).Calif.-based CLEC Arrival Communications, regional wireless carrier Cellular Mobile Systems of St. Cloud, Ill., and regional wireless carrier...

Spice offering targets Indian women

NEW DELHI, India-The ongoing tariff war in Indian cellular markets is seeing operators designing new packages to attract customers. Spice Telecom in Karnataka has launched a special package for women, which it claims is a "world first."The new service, called "Disha Spice," will enable...

CTIA elects board, executive committee

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association announced election results for its new board of directors and executive committee for 2002-2003. Nextel Communications' Tim Donahue was made chairman, Scott Ford of Alltel was made vice chairman, Terry Addington of First Cellular of Southern Illinois...

Policy breeds competition, competition breeds policy

WASHINGTON-One word describes wireless telecom policy in the last 20 years: competition."Wireless was competitive before competition was cool," said Brian Fontes, vice president of federal relations for Cingular Wireless Inc. and former senior vice president of the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association and...

Wireless Hall of Fame

Editor's note: In 2000, RCR Wireless News founded the Wireless Hall of Fame to honor those individuals who have made significant contributions to the wireless industry. Following is a look at each of the inductees:

Movicom BellSouth expands

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina—A year after initiating its operations outside the Buenos Aires metropolitan area (AMBA), Movicom BellSouth announced it has 200,000 new users in 10 cities of Argentina. Using its personal communications services (PCS) at 1900 MHz, the carrier is providing value-added services, such...

Ekstrand chosen as CTIA chairman

WASHINGTON-The Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association announced election results for the 2001-2002 board of directors and executive committee.Rick Ekstrand of Rural Cellular Corp. will serve as chairman, Tim Donahue of Nextel Communications Inc. was voted vice chairman, Mohan Gyani of AT&T Wireless will be...

James Dwyer: Success by `Independence’

While many people make a name for themselves by inventing technology that somehow changes the world, James A. Dwyer Jr.'s contribution to the wireless communications industry during the past 40 years is a little more subtle. Instead of earth-shattering technology, Dwyer's contribution involves both...

Bush high-tech agenda not telling

WASHINGTON-Republicans and Democrats last week officially began the fight for control of America's high-tech agenda, a battle more about broad national economic policies than about key digital issues like privacy, e-commerce taxation, cyber security and third-generation mobile-phone spectrum.President Bush, seeking to shore up support...

Business case still a question mark for services in South America: First GPRS network in Americas laucnhes in Bolivia

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina-A year after the launch of mobile Internet services in South America, almost all the cellular telephony operators are offering Internet services, although exclusively in the major cities of the region and without generating profits.Entel PCS of Chile is the most advanced,...

Breaking Ma Bell

How it came to pass that AT&T let its cellular licenses slip away during its 1984 divestiture is the stuff of wireless industry urban legend. Some say AT&T was less-than-concerned about giving up its cellular business, believing industry forecasts that at the time predicted...

Study says wireless revenues will exceed wireline in 2 years

MELVILLE, N.Y.-A new study from pulver.com finds wireless revenues will exceed wireline revenues by as early as 2003, pointing to the quickly falling costs of wireless services-and rising wireline costs due to inflation-as evidence.According to the study, "Telephony unplugged: Wireless achieves price parity with wireline,"...

GSM standard pushes forward in Latin America: Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay offer GSM services

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina-2000 marked the year GSM fully made its way into the Latin American market.The first cellular networks were installed in Latin America during the late 1980s, with AMPS analog technology. Later, the majority migrated to TDMA and CDMA equipment, following the Northern...

Gent shows foresight, confidence, determination in building, leading world’s largest mobile carrier

Chris Gent has had quite a year.For the chief executive of Vodafone Group plc, 2000 began with a hostile takeover of Mannesmann AG, parent of its rival Orange plc, and continued with a spending spree for third-generation licenses across Europe. The year also marked...

C-block re-auction finally a go

WASHINGTON-As the Federal Communications Commission frantically prepared to re-auction 422 C- and F-block personal communications services licenses beginning tomorrow, the agency on Dec. 1 released the names of those planning to participate in the auction and those that had been rejected.Of the large companies...

GTE TSI to manage roaming agreements

TAMPA, Fla.-GTE Telecommunication Services Inc. announced it signed contracts with seven wireless operators to facilitate and manage their worldwide roaming agreements.The operators include Appalachian Wireless, Bell Mobility, BellSouth Cellular, First Cellular of Southern Illinois, Iusacell of Mexico, Midwest Wireless and U.S. Cellular.GTE TSI said...

Telesp begins WAP services

SAO PAULO, Brazil-Brazilian wireless carrier Telesp Celular said it began offering Internet access services based on the Wireless Application Protocol. The WAAAP-The Pocket Internet service allows users to send and receive e-mail; access bank accounts; and receive online news, traffic conditions, restaurant and movie...

Motorola to expand CDMA network in Israel

SWINDON, England-Motorola Inc. received a $122 million contract from Pele-Phone Communications to supply and deploy infrastructure equipment to expand Pele-Phone's Code Division Multiple Access digital cellular network.The new infrastructure will expand Pele-Phone's CDMA digital network in Israel, which currently supports 500,000 subscribers, to handle...

MOBILE POISED TO DOMINATE FIXED-LINE OPERATIONS

DUBLIN, Ireland-The mobile communications market in Eastern Europe offers massive untapped potential for cellular operators and market entrepreneurs. Indeed, some companies have already taken a stake in operators there, expecting exponential subscriber growth like those experienced in countries such as Sweden, Italy and Ireland....