WASHINGTON-The Iraqi National Communication and Media Commission is seeking applications for national and provincial licenses for local telecom services based on wireless local loop technologies. The licenses are expected to offer a major opportunity for U.S.-based CDMA technology in a region dominated by GSM...
YONKERS, N.Y.-Wireless carriers struck out for a fourth straight year in the annual survey of cellular service and phones conducted by independent evaluator Consumer Reports. Cingular Wireless L.L.C. acquisition of AT&T Wireless Services Inc. came under particularly harsh criticism because of problems reported by...
WASHINGTON-Small rural carriers argued that they are treated unfairly by the four nationwide carriers when it comes to automatic roaming, an accusation disputed by their larger counterparts. Because mergers have reduced the number of nationwide wireless carriers from six to four, the Federal Communications...
TAMPA, Fla.-Syniverse Technologies Inc. said it has won the contract to provide GSM clearinghouse services for Vodafone Group plc. Syniverse recently announced plans to establish a clearinghouse data center in Europe by the end of first-quarter 2006. It opened its European headquarters in 2003.
While Bluetooth's emergence into the marketplace was probably over-hyped a couple of years ago, the short-range wireless connectivity technology is coming of age quickly. Last week, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group excitedly released the latest Bluetooth numbers from IMS Research, which found that, globally...
Cingular Wireless L.L.C. is testing a rate plan in select markets that allows customers to place unlimited calls to AT&T Inc. wireline customers for a flat monthly fee. AT&T, which recently changed its name from SBC Communications Inc. following SBC's $16 billion acquisition of...
KINGSTON, Jamaica-Caribbean carrier Digicel Group plc launched mobile service in three new countries: Anguilla, Bermuda and St. Kitts & Nevis. Digicel acquired Cingular Wireless L.L.C.'s Caribbean and Bermuda operations earlier this year, allowing the company to expand its GSM service. Recent license acquisitions in...
NEW YORK-Nokia Corp. introduced one of its first W-CDMA gadget built specifically for the Americas-the sliding-style 6282, which is scheduled to be available in the first quarter of next year. Although Nokia did not say which carriers will sell the device, Cingular Wireless L.L.C....
TAMPA, Fla.-Syniverse Technologies Inc. said it has won the contract to provide GSM clearinghouse services for Vodafone Group plc."We have spent several years working closely with one of Vodafone's largest partners to identify the unique aspects of GSM roaming and operators' needs. We have...
ESPOO, Finland-Nokia Corp. announced it has won a contract valued at $141 million from Indian operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. for a GSM/EDGE/GPRS network expansion project in northern India.Nokia said the expansion will include core and radio network equipment as well as a range...
REDWOOD SHORES, Calif.-Wherify Wireless Inc. said it now plans to launch its Wherifone GPS-capable mobile phone in the United States sometime in the first half of next year, almost a year after the company initially planned to offer the gadget. Wherify's John Cunningham said...
In these early days of wireless entertainment, it appears content providers have effectively deployed a variety of Digital Rights Management solutions to protect their wares. But many believe all those "solutions" are actually a problem.Behind-the-scenes haggling over royalties continue between MPEG LA, which holds...
WASHINGTON-The Iraqi government's issuance of mobile-phone licenses appears to have been pushed back from next month to June, a delay attributed to political uncertainties associated with the scheduled Dec. 15 election of a new parliament. The licensing is being watched closely by Motorola Inc.,...
REDWOOD CITY, Calif.-Strong subscriber growth is driving an increase in GSM-based infrastructure equipment sales, which grew six percent in the third quarter according to the latest Dell'Oro Group Mobility Infrastructure Quarterly Report.The Dell'Oro Group said that in the third quarter the market for GSM/GPRS/EDGE...
STOCKHOLM, Sweden-L.M. Ericsson announced a pair of GSM/EDGE contracts from Digicel Group, a mobile telecommunications company in the Caribbean. Under the contracts, Ericsson said it will deliver and install GSM/EDGE networks in Trinidad & Tobago and Haiti. Ericsson said the contracts include radio equipment...
REDWOOD SHORES, Calif.-Wherify Wireless Inc. said it now plans to launch its Wherifone GPS-capable mobile phone in the United States sometime in the first half of next year, almost a year after the company initially planned to offer the gadget.Wherify's John Cunningham said the...
The potential breadth of the mobile virtual network operator model was evident last week as a pair of companies reported plans to enter the wireless space with services spanning the gamut from the loftiest of the high end to entry-level prepaid services. Seeking to...
Siemens AG announced plans to invest substantial capital in key Asian markets, aiming to climb from the No. 3 position to the No. 2 slot among the world's mobile telecommunications equipment makers. "We want to be No. 2 on the world market for mobile...
Watching Nokia Corp. and Qualcomm Inc. exchange nasty barbs over intellectual property rights smacks of similar bickering between Qualcomm and L.M. Ericsson in 1999 over patents for the CDMA protocol.The Qualcomm-Ericsson fistfight ended not in court but in a business deal.Here's what RCR Wireless...
After years of hype and billions of dollars in network upgrades, the time has come for the worldwide W-CDMA market to take off. Perhaps the best indication that W-CDMA technology has reached the tipping point comes from Vodafone Group plc, one of the world's...
HONG KONG-Several infrastructure vendors reported successful demonstrations at the 2005 3G World Congress and Exhibition in Hong Kong. Motorola Inc. unveiled a prototype CDMA2000 1x EV-DO Revision A solution, which enables operators to offer enhanced services such as simultaneous video, voice and data applications."Motorola's...
Alltel Corp. continued its rural expansion by gobbling up privately held Midwest Wireless for $1.075 billion in cash. The acquisition comes just months after Alltel closed on its $6 billion purchase of Western Wireless Corp. and follows its 2002 acquisition of CenturyTel Inc.'s wireless...
Cingular Wireless L.L.C. has identified more than 12,000 GSM sites that it plans to decommission as it integrates 30 of 63 GSM markets by the end of the year, according to Securities & Exchange Commission filings. In addition, the company said it had completed...
NEW YORK-T-Mobile USA Inc.'s parent company T-Mobile International said it planned to bolster its U.S. operations through the acquisition of smaller U.S. operators and participation in upcoming spectrum auctions. T-Mobile International recently quashed rumors that it was looking to sell its rapidly growing U.S....
