Cellular carriers have made significant progress in their efforts to upgrade their 800 MHz analog networks to digital technology.Consumers' appetite for digital features is demonstrated by the success of digital pricing plans such as AT&T Wireless Services Inc.'s Digital One Rate plan, said industry...
CARROLLTON, Texas-CellStar Corp., Carrollton, Texas, announced Nov. 5 it has signed a memorandum of understanding to settle with the State of Wisconsin Investment Board lawsuits filed against the company for alleg'ed securities fraud in 1996. The state of Wisconsin was the lead plaintiff in...
Motorola Inc. announced a partnership with BMW North America Inc. to create a new telematics cellular phone system expected to be available on all BMW models by late this year.The BMW Mayday Cellular Phone combines cellular telephony with global positioning system satellite location technology...
AirNet Communications Corp. has struck a chord with smaller personal communications services licensees and is working on grabbing the attention of A- and B-block PCS operators.Melbourne, Fla.-based AirNet, a Global System for Mobile communications infrastructure pro-vider, has four GSM-1900 deployments completed with five additional...
Frustrated by the lack of cooperation in Europe over convergence of third-generation technology, some U.S. cdmaOne operators have vowed to push ahead aggressively with cdma2000 technology."Negotiations have gone on long enough," said Keith Paglusch, senior vice president of technical services and network operations with...
Qualcomm Inc. and Microsoft Corp. plan to announce this week they are creating a new wireless communications company to focus on the integration of wireless data, information technology and computers.According to information leaked to the press last week, the venture aims to extend Microsoft's...
What began as an idea 11 years ago is a reality today as Iridium L.L.C. brought its constellation of 66 low-earth-orbit satellites online for commercial service Nov. 1, becoming the world's first global wireless phone service provider."This is a very exciting week for Iridium,"...
HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam-While other countries in the region continue to liberalize their mobile phone markets, Vietnam will return to a status of near-monopoly by year-end.The merger of the two GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) providers, Mobiphone and Vinaphone, will tighten the...
DUBLIN, Ireland-The trunked-radio industry in Europe is making confident noises about future growth, with much of this optimism based on development of new applications arising from the TETRA (Terrestrial Trunked Radio) digital standard. Proponents hope the voice and data service capabilities of the digital...
Constant debate migrates in telecom circles as to the best communications solution to serve the needs of large rural markets, such as those that exist in Africa. While there are plenty of solutions that would work technically, many argue they're not cost-effective for low-density...
Argentina will adopt calling party pays for cellular as of 1 January. Trunking and paging also are expected to adopt the system in an attempt to develop these markets. The paging sector experienced a significant drop in subscribers as a result of competition with...
ERICSSONEricsson Inc. introduced a snap-on wireless modem that allows users to browse the Internet and send or receive faxes and e-mail without cable hookups or a phone line. The DI 27 eliminates the need to connect a personal computer modem card and telephone line...
At a rate of nearly 400,000 new subscriber additions each quarter, U.S.-based Nextel Communications Inc. has been attracting a lot of attention, including from traditional wireless carriers that may try to imitate Nextel's unique Direct Connect dispatch feature.Wireless carriers in the United States have...
NEW YORK-Earlier this month, Charles E. Hoffman, president and chief executive officer of Rogers Cantel Inc., temporarily assumed a new identity as a retail sales clerk to gain first-hand understanding of his wireless customers.After four hours on the job, the CEO concluded, "It's obvious...
CHAPEL HILL, N.C.-ReadyCom Inc. said it completed development of its two-way wireless voice messaging technology and is lining up carriers and distribution partners to make the service available in first half of next year.The Responder service allows users to send voice messages to voice...
Royal Philips Electronics and Lucent Technologies Inc. last week said they will dissolve the consumer communications joint venture they established just more than one year ago.At the time of its formation Oct. 1, 1997, Philips Consumer Communications had high hopes it would be a...
HELSINKI, Finland-Nokia Corp. declared itself the world's largest manufacturer of mobile phones, as the company's mobile phone net sales increased by 94 percent to $2.6 million during the third quarter."Lower than anticipated price erosion in mobile phones and rapid digitalization in the Americas resulted...
Nextel Communication Inc.'s third-quarter operating results indicated it reached the financial milestone of achieving domestic positive operating cash flow, but investors clearly focused on other aspects of the financials, as the company's stock fell more than $4 per share when results were released Oct....
Amidst growing pressure from the Clinton administration, Japan's Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications is set to begin studying other third-generation radio transmission technology proposals-namely cdma2000 technology-besides the W-CDMA proposal it submitted to the International Telecommunication Union.The ministry's decision comes after the Office of the...
ORLANDO, Fla.-To paraphrase a Bell Atlantic commercial, "wild things are happening" in dispatch radio, according to speakers at the recent PCS '98 show.Just outside the spotlight, which is focused on the apparent dominance of Nextel Communications Inc. and the demise of Geotek Communications Inc.,...
Sources indicate Ericsson Inc. may be preparing to enter the cdmaOne handset business.Ericsson, the only major vendor that has yet to license Interim Standard-95 technology from Qualcomm Inc., has been in discussions with at least one cdmaOne handset vendor in an attempt to arrange...
While the debate around third-generation wireless technology to date has focused on which air interface to incorporate into the standard, leading wireless vendors brought up a few other crucial points at PCS '98 in Orlando that will have to be addressed at some point.Who...
SpectraLink Corp., a Boulder, Colo.-based company that provides wireless telephone systems for the workplace, introduced its Link 3000 Wireless Telephone System.The company's systems, which can attach to existing private branch exchanges, deliver the same features of desk phones to wireless handsets. The handset, which...
CHS Electronics Inc., an international distributor of microcomputer products, announced an agreement to purchase BrightStar Corp., a start-up wholesale distributor of cellular phones and accessories, the companies said.CHS will use cash and shares of stock to pay for the acquisition, but other terms of...
