Bell Atlantic Mobile, Vodafone AirTouch plc and PrimeCo Personal Communications L.P. had a problem when they were going to merge their U.S. wireless assets into a single company. How do you combine three company names, each with strong regional appeal, into a single entity...
Taking a cue from its past, Lucent Technologies Inc. announced it plans to spin off segments of the company in an attempt to streamline its operations.The communications equipment manufacturer originally was spun off in 1996 from AT&T Corp. in a move by the telecom...
ALBANY, N.Y.-Independent Wireless One Corp. signed a supply contract with Lucent Technologies Inc. enabling the wireless carrier to expand the coverage and capacity of its personal communications services network in select Northeastern markets.Lucent will provide the switching hardware and software as well as radio...
The Personal Communications Industry Association said it will make some key announcements next week regarding association membership and its trade show, which it renamed last month PCIA GlobalXChange.PCIA President Jay Kitchen has promised a number of announcements in the coming months concerning membership and...
The FBI, Bell Atlantic Network Services and Lucent Technologies Inc. signed a set of agreements to help facilitate the deployment of the digital wiretap act. The FBI signed a similar agreement with Nortel Networks last year. "This latest agreement exemplifies the type of cooperative,...
WASHINGTON-With prospects uncertain for securing third-generation mobile-phone spectrum at the World Radiocommunication Conference next month in Turkey and apparent concerns about the Clinton administration's commitment on that score, U.S. wireless firms have turned to Congress for support.A group calling itself the Wireless Spectrum Coalition...
The Federal Communications Commission has approved 35 bidders to participate in this Wednesday's auction of licenses for the 39 GHz band. The 39 GHz band is located at 38.6-40 GHz. Some of the prominent bidders and their up front payments include WinStar Wireless Fiber...
ATISThe members of Standards Committee T1, a telecommunications network standards development organization sponsored by the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions, chose leaders for its full committee and six technical subcommittees at the group's national meeting. E. Raymond Hapeman, of Telcordia Technologies Inc., and Wayne...
The flurry of consolidation in the wireless industry leads the industry observer to believe a nationwide presence is a necessity to compete in this market going forward.AT&T Wireless Services Inc. raised the bar in 1998 offering its nationwide plan, the Digital One Rate plan....
Sprint PCS last week announced its first voice call over 1XRTT technology, a third-generation solution for Code Division Multiple Access technology operators.The call is the first phase of a test between Sprint PCS, Samsung Telecommunications America Inc. and Qualcomm Inc. to evaluate 1X technology...
Aether Systems Inc. launched a $15 million national television and print advertising and branding campaign last week in support of its growing wireless data systems and services business.The "Wireless Solutions for a Portable Planet" campaign that began with print ads earlier in the year...
Nokia threw its support behind Motorola Inc.'s 1X Plus proposal last week and said it is evaluating making cdmaOne-based infrastructure equipment.Motorola announced earlier this month plans to challenge Qualcomm Inc.'s proprietary High Data Rate technology, introducing its own 1XRTT enhancement for cdmaOne carriers to...
The Personal Communications Industry Association announced another initiative last week to turn the association around in the midst of dwindling membership and public-relations problems surrounding its annual trade show.PCIA said it is repositioning and renaming its annual conference and trade show PCIA GlobalXChange to...
One press article after another has asserted that the European Union's single standards regime for wireless services has given Europe an enormous "lead" over the United States. These stories, however, do not present a complete picture regarding the global leadership of the U.S. wireless...
WASHINGTON-The chairman of the largest Internet service provider in the world last week called on Congress to give China permanent normal trade relations in an effort to reform China."Here in the United States, Congress is considering whether to extend permanent normal trade relations to...
WASHINGTON-The Personal Communications Industry Association said Thursday that it is eliminating 10 positions as it "recharges its organization to further advance wireless industry.""In 1999, PCIA had the best fiscal year in its history. To continue this success, we are setting a new strategic...
WASHINGTON-While the Senate appears ready to pass China trade legislation sent to Congress by President Clinton last week, the administration lacks the votes in the House to pass a measure that would dramatically open China's vast wireless telecom market to foreign firms.The vote, which...
NEW YORK-Last May, 25 technology companies established the ASP Industry Consortium, Wakefield, Mass., to accomplish a delicate but important mission. Bring some order to the burgeoning and somewhat chaotic application service provider sector, but avoid actual standards setting.By definition, ASPs house, host and manage...
Broadband. It is a familiar term being tossed around the wireless industry like a hot potato, but its relatively new status is making its definition, applications and implications elusive to many.At the most basic level, wireless broadband-also known as fixed wireless, Broadband Wireless Local...
NEW ORLEANS-A standoff over 1XRTT technology enhancements began to brew at last week's Wireless 2000 show, as Motorola Inc. challenged the business case of Qualcomm's proprietary High Data Rate technology, introducing its own 1X enhancement for cdmaOne carriers to consider.Qualcomm has aggressively marketed HDR...
DENVER, United States-Qualcomm is putting a financial stake in the ground to push CDMA technology in Europe.Qualcomm announced plans to acquire U.K.-based Tellit Communications, a cellular handset design and manufacturing company with expertise in NMT 450 technology. The purchase price is around US$20 million,...
TOKYO-Three Japanese carrier groups are gearing up their efforts to launch IMT-2000 services-earlier than any other wireless carriers in the world. The three players are NTT DoCoMo Group, Japan Telecom (JT) Group and DDI Group.NTT DoCoMo plans to be the first carrier in the...
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina-The Latin American data-transmission industry has been surprised at the unusual technological and financial display of Diginet Americas, which plans to offer fixed-wireless broadband communications in some of Latin America's largest cities by year-end.Only a year after its first commercial launch, a...
Corsair Communications Inc. introduced this week its PrePay Open billing system, as well as its PhoneFuel mobile commerce application, both of which allow carriers to add Internet access to their prepaid wireless offerings.PrePay Open is capable of supporting the functionality of the Wireless Intelligent...
