Nine global wireless companies formed a focus group, called 3G.IP, to promote an Internet Protocol-based wireless system for third-generation technology. The group comprises AT&T, British Telecom, Rogers Cantel, Ericsson, Lucent, Nokia, Nortel Networks, Telenor and Telecom Italia Mobile.Motorola signed a 10-year, US$1 billion strategic...
MONTE CARLO, Monaco-Seemingly lost in the breakneck expansion of the cellular industry is a largely forgotten fact-it was cellular operators wanting a common digital voice standard that drove the rapid adoption of GSM, not the technology developers.This market pull appears to be missing from...
MIAMI-The market opportunity for international roaming is clear, present and growing, but domestic U.S. carriers so far have been focused on tapping the large and more immediate potential posed by the burgeoning data traffic at home."Many of the U.S. carriers I follow have not...
HandsetsKyoceraKyocera plans to begin marketing at the end of July in Japan its VP-210 VisualPhone, a PHS phone with a built-in camera that can transmit and receive images in real time at a rate of two frames per second. The handset incorporates a CMOS...
VoiceStream Wireless is becoming the catalyst for GSM carrier consolidation in the United States. VoiceStream and Omnipoint Communications in June announced plans to merge in a deal valued at US$1.7 billion, ending Omnipoint's search for a strategic partner that dragged on for more than...
OXFORD, United Kingdom-While the drive to implement Internet e-commerce is being hyped almost on a daily basis, with some justification, as the way forward for almost all future business transactions, the possible success of this application within the mobile world remains less than clear.Many...
The European paging industry got up in 1999 to an unpleasant wake-up call: A small consulting firm published in January a report, financed by the European Commission, which prophesied paging would be practically extinct within three years.Six months later, the prediction looks unlikely to materialize,...
AlcatelAustria. With Tele.ring for its new GSM 1800 network.Value: US$298 millionEricssonBrazil. With Telecom Italia Mobile to expand its TDMA network.Value: US$100 millionChina. With China Telecom (Hong Kong) Ltd. for GSM equipment to expand its network in Guangdong province.Value: US$290 millionFinland. With Sonera for a GPRS system.Value: UndisclosedJapan. With...
BEIJING-China's telecom scene is in flux. China Telecom is to split into four parts, which will compete in two year's time. China Unicom took over four experimental CDMA networks from China Telecom Great Wall and is making aggressive plans to roll out a 10-million-subscriber...
TORONTO-You could call it short-term pain for long-term gain. At least that's what the Canadian wireless carriers must be hoping. They're rapidly winning new customers, but at a cost to their bottom line.Bell Mobility announced in May it's shedding 10 percent of its work...
WASHINGTON-An International Telecommunication Union task group in June in Beijing approved a carrier-crafted plan to harmonize competing U.S. and European CDMA technologies for Internet-friendly third-generation mobile phones, paving the way for the compromise to be translated into a new, global-roaming standard by year's end.ITU...
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-Nigeria has the potential of more than 5 million wireless subscribers and shows all the signs of becoming another wireless phenomenon in Africa.Looking at hard facts, this does not seem feasible. With a population of 100 million people, the country has only...
LONDON-The main trends in the Middle East wireless industry for the current year were highlighted back in March with calls from senior industry professionals for greater private-sector participation and the introduction of competition in this steadily expanding market.Speaking at the plenary session of the...
AlbaniaAlbania said it plans to issue a public tender to sell a majority stake in Albanian Mobile Communications, the sole cellular provider in the country. The government also plans to offer a license for a second GSM operator at the same time.HungaryThe Primatel consortium,...
Eight consortia are officially in the running for the third cellular license in South Africa. A ninth, Zintatu Communication Power, was disqualified. The eight consortia are Telenor/Telia; Nextcom Cellular (Pty) Ltd.; Afrozone Telecoms (Pty) Ltd.; Five Mobile Networks (FMN); Africa Speaks Cellular (Pty) Ltd.;...
DUBLIN, Ireland-The phenomenal growth of cellular services around the world has created problems for operators as their networks become increasingly congested, encouraging companies to develop technologies and systems to increase the volume of traffic that can be carried over existing infrastructure.Several established infrastructure vendors...
AUSTRALIATelstra will extend its CDMA network in Australia to include country locations currently covered by its GSM network but lacking in analog coverage, said the company.Hutchison Telecoms in Australia announced it will adopt the brand name Orange, the global communications brand of the Hutchison...
L.M. Ericsson wants the industry to know it plans to become a formidable contender in the cdmaOne infrastructure business.It's been more than a month since the company completed its purchase of Qualcomm Inc.'s fledgling infrastructure division and licensed intellectual property rights to cdmaOne technology...
ALEXANDRIA, Va.-The GSM Association appointed Robert G. Conway its new director general. Conway was the former head of global business development for Motorola Inc.'s International Network Ventures Group, and he also has served as general counsel for Motorola's Subscriber Terminals Group.The association also announced...
NEW YORK-Ericsson Mobile Phones, Research Triangle Park, N.C., introduced a suite of new handsets June 21 at MobileFocus '99 that the company plans to offer for sale later this year and early next year.For those who want a wireless communications device rugged enough for...
NEW YORK-3Com Corp. introduced a wireless modem PC card, called the 3Com Megahertz 56K Global GSM & Cellular Modem PC Card, which connects laptop computers to Global System for Mobile communications and cellular networks, the company said.
Last week proved a significantly productive one for wireless data service bureau provider Saraide.com as the company acquired a value-added service provider in Europe and received a $5.5 million investment from L.M. Ericsson.The week also marked the first time the company's various satellite offices...
SAN FRANCISCO-Telstra Corp. Ltd. in Australia will extend its Code Division Multiple Access mobile phone network to include country locations currently covered by Telstra's Global System for Mobile communications network, but lacking in analog coverage, said the company."Telstra's first priority is of course to...
The future is convergence.The future is data.The future is 3G.Now that the Operators Harmonization Group has approved a plan to harmonize wideband Code Division Multiple Access technology with the cdma2000 version, all should be fine in the new frontier, right?Of course, anyone in this...
