Mobile Phones

NEW DELHI, India—Seven leading cellular service providers—covering about 80 percent of India’s 5 million cellular subscribers—have slashed mobile-to-mobile long-distance telephony rates to one-half the current rates beginning 26 January, 2002. …

SHANGHAI—China Unicom Group announced it will launch China’s first nationwide CDMA mobile phone network on December 31. A statement in a China newspaper said the network will operate in 31 …

GARDEN GROVE, Calif.-Disposable-phone maker Hop-On announced another customer, evidence that its prepaid, easy-to-use and fully recyclable mobile phone product may be catching on. Wakefern Food Corp., the merchandising and distribution …

MILWAUKEE—Three technology companies teamed up to announce the U.S. release of a wireless payment acceptance software they said will help merchants capture sales information and streamline their back-end systems.The Skypay …

WASHINGTON—Oftel, the U.K. regulatory agency, referred its proposed decrease in the cost of calling mobile phones to the European Competition Commission. The action comes after U.K. mobile-phone operators rejected Oftel’s …

HELSINKI, Finland—Nokia said sales of its next-generation mobile phones indicate it will beat its fourth-quarter estimates, an indication the company is enjoying the Christmas boom. The company said it expects …

Hoping to appease both the federal government and its own subscriber base, Verizon Wireless said in a Federal Communications Commission filling it would increase network capacity during emergencies instead of …

TOKYO—Oki Electric Industry Co. and Payment First Co. launched a service enabling Internet payments for NTT DoCoMo’s i-mode wireless Internet service. Payment First is a joint venture among NTT DoCoMo, …

HELSINKI, Finland—Nokia Corp. said sales of its next-generation mobile phones indicate it will beat its fourth-quarter estimates, an indication the company is enjoying the Christmas boom. The company said it …

OXFORD, United Kingdom—Despite the sluggish European phone market, Toshiba announced it plans to market Taiwanese-made handsets in Europe to boost sales beyond Japan and the United States. The company, which …

OSLO, Norway—Norway’s Telenor Mobile said it will open its third-generation (3G) network on 1 December according to its license conditions. The Universal Mobile Telecommunications System network (UMTS) will initially cover …

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif.—Fans of the “Jurassic Park” movie series will soon be able to get their hands on what is likely a wireless industry first—branded disposable mobile phones. The phones, …

TOKYO—Fujitsu Ltd. licensed Symbian’s operating system for use in the company’s third-generation mobile phones, further adding to the long list of Symbian licensees. Fujitsu joins Nokia, Ericsson, Motorola, Kenwood, Panasonic …

OSLO, Norway—Norway’s Telenor Mobile said it will open its third-generation network on Dec. 1 according to its license conditions. The Universal Mobile Telecommunications System network will initially cover central areas …

TOKYO—NEC Corp. says it is having talks with Matsushita Communications Industrial Co. to explore details of establishing an advanced cellular phone handset joint venture focusing on the Chinese market. “Consideration …

NEW YORK—Nokia Corp. says it expects annual growth sales of handsets to between 420 and 440 million in 2002, slightly lower than other industry forecasts. The comments caused its stock …

NEW YORK—Vivendi Universal has deployed MyNetonomy , developed by U.S.-based Netonomy, as the portal through which customers can purchase, activate and personalize services on Universal Music Mobile (UMM). Launched commercially …

LONDON—French telecommunications regulator ART has said that it will cut the price of calls from fixed lines to mobile phones by nearly 40 percent during the course of the next …

WASHINGTON—An Illinois judge in Chicago today approved a partial settlement that sets up a cell-phone health registry headed by epidemiologist Dr. George Carlo. The class-action suit, which alleges privacy invasion …

SAN JOSE, Calif.-Hitachi Semiconductor Inc. said it has unveiled a new Flash memory product, called Mobile Media Chips, which saves space and enhances storage for multimedia functions in handheld PCs, …

SEOUL, South Korea—VeriSign said it signed a deal with South Korean company 7DC to promote VeriSign’s WebNum services, which allow businesses to register for a one- to seven-digit number that …

WASHINGTON—A former Motorola Inc. employee today has filed a $1.5 billion lawsuit against the mobile phone industry, claiming cell phone use caused his brain cancer. In dollar terms, the suit …

SAN DIEGO-Microsoft Corp. selected Silicon Wave Inc. to provide Bluetooth solutions for its Windows CE .NET operating system. Silicon Wave said its solution will allow original equipment manufacturers to produce …

SEOUL, South Korea—VeriSign Inc. said it signed a deal with South Korean company 7DC to promote VeriSign’s WebNum services, which allows businesses to register for a one- to seven-digit number …

WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday launched a rulemaking to consider making mobile phones hearing-aid compatible. The action, prompted by a petition filed last year by a group of hearing …