NEW YORK-Nextel International Inc., Seattle, last week announced it launched commercial service of its integrated Digital Enhanced Network in Manila, Philippines, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.Nextel International, a wholly owned subsidiary of Nextel Communications Inc., McLean, Va., owns 77 percent of Nextel S.A., the...
rain's Chicago BusinessCHICAGO-Motorola Inc. has quietly exited the business of making programmable computer chips used in consumer electronics and other products.Late last week, a spokeswoman for Motorola's semiconductor components group, based in Phoenix, Ariz., confirmed the move, saying it is part of a restructuring...
Safety and security may be becoming a smaller factor for wireless subscribers. Fewer than half of respondents to an IDC/Link survey of current users reported they used their phone primarily for security or safety.Last year, 54 percent of respondents said safety and security was...
Meeting its planned mid-1998 launch deadline, General Magic Inc. began commercial rollout of its Portico virtual assistant service July 30 through a network of nationwide resellers.Portico, formerly code-named Serengeti, is a second-generation virtual assistant that General Magic hopes will allow it to take advantage...
LOS GATOS, Calif.-ARM Ltd. announced it will support the newly formed Symbian joint venture recently created by L.M. Ericsson, Nokia Corp., Motorola Inc. and Psion.Symbian was established to create new products and license software to drive open standards for wireless information devices. ARM creates...
WASHINGTON-Hughes Electronics Co., under fire in Congress for heavy-handed lobbying on satellite exports to China, again is pushing the Clinton administration to relicense a $500 million Asia-Pacific Mobile Telecommunications satellite system to the Communist giant."If this contract were to be terminated for cause at...
ALEXANDRIA, Va.-The Personal Communications Industry Association announced the industry leaders who will speak at the Personal Communications Showcase '98 conference Sept. 22-25 in Orlando, Fla.Federal Communications Commission Chairman William Kennard will deliver the keynote address at the opening SuperSession, "Connect to Leadership: Building a Wireless...
NEW YORK-For consumers, the important news out of a Motorola Inc. press conference July 21 is the broad suite of new wireless telecommunications devices the industry heavyweight debuted.For other manufacturers, the big news from the event is the industry giant will seek to partner...
Iridium L.L.C. said two more of its satellites failed last week, adding to a list of concerns that caused the company's stock price to fall about $8 following the disclosure.Of the 72 satellites placed in orbit to date, seven have failed. According to Michelle...
Continuing his vision to build a worldwide telecom powerhouse, Craig McCaw and his gaggle of companies have agreed to share the cost of building Level 3 Communications' national fiber optic network by contributing $700 million.Newly formed Internext L.L.C., to be beneficially owned by competitive...
WASHINGTON-While congressional and Justice Department investigators concentrate on whether satellite technology transfers helped Communist China improve its nuclear missile capability, the United States quietly is leading an effort to decontrol all telecommunications technology by this fall.The so-called Wassenaar Arrangement, named after the Dutch town...
This week the wireless industry at last understood the pace of summer. Only 10 or so breaking news events designed to change the face of the industry as we see it today happened.With that in mind, I finally managed to organize the pile of...
WASHINGTON-Nextel Communications Inc., admonished by the Federal Communications Commission for alleged marketing misrepresentations that could-if continued-lead to hefty fines or revocation of licenses, has ordered its sales force not to use pressure tactics or make misleading statements to sign up customers on its digital...
Though the wireless industry remains an employee-driven market, signs indicate the intense demand for employees domestically may be slowing as companies are becoming cost sensitive under intense competition and merger-and-acquisition activity increases.Two years ago, when new personal communications services operators were building their armies...
L.M. Ericsson signed a software licensing agreement with Lernot & Hauspie Speech Products for the latter's speech recognition, text-to-speech and speech compression technology.L&H in the past has signed licensing agreements with Motorola Inc., Deutsche Telekom AG, Northern Telecom Inc. and Intellivoice Communications Inc.Speech user...
Metrocall Inc. announced a two-year interactive marketing agreement with America Online, by far the country's largest Internet online service with more than 12 million members.Under the terms of the agreement, AOL will establish links to Metrocall's Web site throughout the AOL service area and...
CHICAGO-Motorola Inc. announced a fairly expansive technology transfer agreement with Advanced Micro Devices Inc., allowing the two to collaborate on making embedded and desktop microprocessors and embedded flash memory.AMD, based in Sunnyvale, Calif., provides semiconductors to the telecom and computer industries.Under terms of the...
The paging industry experienced some greater-than-usual excitement in the second quarter that securities analysts at Toronto Dominion Securities Inc. believe will set the tone for the next stage of the market's transformation.Second-quarter highlights include: Arch Communications Group's operational restructuring and financial recapitalization, Metrocall Inc.'s acquisition...
WASHINGTON-Motorola Inc. last week vehemently denied transferring sensitive technology to Communist China after a leaked classified Air Force report concluded Chinese nuclear missile capabilities improved as a result of work on Iridium global satellite launches.Excerpts of the report by the Air Force National Air...
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill.-Three of Japanese cellular operator DDI Corp.'s regional service providers launched commercial Code Division Multiple Access service in Japan, according to Motorola Inc.'s Cellular Infrastructure Group.Service is available in 177 cities, including Osaka, Kobe, Kyoto, Nagasaki, Fukuoka and Naha, plus 440 towns...
At a somewhat lavish press event at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Motorola Inc. announced it signed a definitive agreement to acquire Starfish Software Inc., a leading supplier of customized solutions for the Connected Information Device market.Terms of the transaction were not...
WASHINGTON-Iridium L.L.C. reported second-quarter financial results of little surprise to anyone, fulfilling all expectations.Net loss for the quarter was $244.7 million, or $1.74 per class 1 interest. Its six-month net loss totaled $448.3 million, or $3.19 per class 1 interest.Costs incurred and capitalized for...
COMSTREAMJohn F. Hodgson joined ComStream Corp. as vice president of human resources. Before ComStream, Hodgson held the same position with NextWave Telecom, San Diego, and prior to that with General Communications Inc., Anchorage, Alaska. He also has been the director of human resources for...
NEW YORK-A Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association group is developing recommendations for handset manufacturers that would reduce fraud potential and facilitate over-the-air customer activations for non-Global System for Mobile Communications carriers.The CTIA Fraud Technology Assessment Group, charged with evaluating and recommending new fraud-prevention measures, has...
