WASHINGTON-Thomas Sugrue, chief of the FCC's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, has begun preparing for the likelihood that many mobile-phone carriers will not meet upcoming deadlines governing location-based 911 wireless emergency service rules.Meanwhile, Sugrue and his staff are mired in other prickly 911 policy issues dealing...
AT&T Wireless Services Inc. and BT Wireless announced the first phase of their strategic alliance designed to create seamless mobile communications services worldwide for global travelers and multinational companies.The carriers nine months ago announced the alliance called Advance, which complements the companies' cooperation in...
REDWOOD CITY, Calif.-Brazilian wireless carrier Telesp Celular S.A. launched wireless Internet access service using Phone.com Inc.'s UP.Link Server and MyPhone applications on its Code Division Multiple Access network.Telesp expects 500,000 subscribers to be using Wireless Application Protocol-enabled CDMA handsets by the end of the...
It's been a wild roller-coaster ride for Qualcomm Inc.'s stock this year.The former Wall Street angel is fighting a public-relations battle that says a move to wideband Code Division Multiple Access technology is a move away from Qualcomm.Such is the story in South Korea,...
Adding to the list of carriers deploying its BrandFinder and MapBlast! location-based marketing information, Vicinity Corp. said Verizon Wireless will offer the services to its subscribers nationwide with Internet-enabled phones.Vicinity formerly had a similar relationship with GTE Wireless, which Verizon now owns. AT&T Wireless...
For those people still neglecting to turn off their cellular phones in public places like movie theaters, churches and restaurants, a technology is in the works that will take the monitoring responsibilities away from the cell- phone user and automatically lower the volume of...
Analysts these days are seeing rays of hope for Nokia Mobile Phone's dismal market share in the CDMA handset business.The world's largest mobile-phone manufacturer dominates the global Time Division Multiple Access and Global System for Mobile communications handset markets, but its market share in...
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...
The CDMA industry recently chose to standardize Qualcomm Inc.'s High Data Rate technology, but industry analysts wonder when carriers will see a big enough business case to deploy the data-only megabit-speed technology and what type of applications are in store for it in the...
NEW DELHI, India-High handset prices in Thailand have become a bone of contention between operators and government authorities. Operators are offering huge airtime promotions, while keeping handset prices high, attracting the wrath of consumer groups.Although the government has resolved the issue by ending the...
Two-way messaging equipmentMotorolaMotorola introduced its Talkabout T900 two-way messaging device, featuring a full Qwerty keyboard with a flip-top screen and a four-line, 80-character display. It supports two-way messaging, wireless Internet e-mail and on-demand information services. It also features a private-time feature, which users may...
SEOUL, South Korea-As the ban on handset subsidies went into effect 1 June, Korean mobile handset makers, wireless carriers and distributors are undergoing a drastic change in market conditions that will reshape the mobile-phone industry at large.In a surprise move late in May, the...
DUBLIN, Ireland-Trunked radio may be dismissed by some as the poor relation of GSM and an irrelevance in the world of multibillion pound Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) license bids, but it has carved a niche in the communications world, and at least one...
SINGAPORE-Governments in Asia will issue licenses of third-generation (3G) cellular networks to around 40 operators in 11 countries within the next year, representatives from several equipment vendors said at the CommunicAsia show here recently. And 3G deployments may begin in the most advanced markets...
TORONTO-The major Canadian carriers are cautiously laying the groundwork for third-generation (3G) wireless networks. But true, full-blown 3G in Canada is at least three to four years away."Canadian mobile operators are unlikely to reach the promised land of mobile data services in one single...
SAO PAULO, Brazil-Telecom regulatory authority, Anatel, said Brazil's personal communications services (PCS) licenses will be auctioned later this year in three geographic areas, with up to three operators in each area. The regions will be similar to the current fixed telephony regions: northeast, central-south and...
BUCHAREST, Romania-At the end of May, the principle vendors of mobile telephones in Romania held a meeting to discuss the country's black market for mobile handset sales.In the other Eastern and Central European countries, the illegal import level is much less than in Romania,...
PARIS-SnapTrack Inc. said an international consortium of Global System for Mobile communications wireless carriers and equipment manufacturers are preparing to evaluate SnapTrack's Wireless Assisted Global Positioning System technology, which provides services such as location-based billing, mobile directory and roadside assistance and vehicle fleet management.France...
PARIS-Nortel Networks introduced a wireless data initiative and noted its commitment to the European market here last week. Included in the announcements was a partnership with Hewlett-Packard Co. to integrate Nortel's wireless data technology into HP's wireless hardware.Nortel is looking to capitalize on the...
DENVER-Mobile location services will be an essential element of the mobile Internet revolution, but the industry's success teeters on its ability to ensure privacy to the end user.Application service providers and carriers emphasized this and other points during IBC USA Conferences Inc.'s "Mobile Location...
One thing Cricket Communications Inc. did not plan on when it decided to offer a wireless service that competes with landline telephony was the fact that handsets break faster.In the two markets where Cricket has launched service, customers are using an average of 1,000...
The GSM community, which has struggled to make inroads in Latin America, was ensured access to an important market as the Brazilian government granted personal communications services licenses in the 1800 MHz band.Last week's decision caught many mobile-phone carriers and infrastructure providers off guard....
WASHINGTON-James Lee Witt, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said last week Congress should intervene if mobile-phone carriers continue to refuse to offer early-alert warnings for natural disasters and other local emergencies."If we can't get private industry doing this, then I think Congress...
As the wireless Internet evolution develops, government should resist the temptation to bury the industry in regulations and instead, let competition for customers shape the market.In France, customer ownership issues are under scrutiny. A Paris trade court recently ruled that France Telecom must stop...
