China Mobile Communications Corp., the largest wireless operator in China, recently announced plans to create a wireless Internet setup much like NTT DoCoMo's i-mode service in Japan, but the company faces some significant challenges due to a cash-strapped population, cloudy government regulations and network...
REDWOOD CITY, Calif.-Openwave Systems Inc. will provide Hutchison Telecommunications Ltd. with its Openwave Download Fun WAP platform, a service that allows mobile users to download and personalize handsets with various ringing tones and characters. "In partnering with Openwave, Orange becomes the world's first mobile...
Nextel Communications Inc. posted stronger-than-expected subscriber numbers for the first quarter, along with financial results in line with most analysts' lowered expectations. The carrier also reported its customer acquisition and handset upgrade costs inched up along with its usually low churn rate, and it...
The role Thomas F. Carter played in the birth of modern telecommunications has been largely overlooked."He had a huge impact on the telecommunications industry-way beyond what I think people give him credit for," said George Benson, chairman and chief executive officer of Wisconsin Wireless...
DENVER, United States-Cooperation and services are two focus areas for the GSM Association during the upcoming year, according to Scott Fox, who assumed the association's chairmanship 1 May. Cooperation will extend from the group's GSM Global Roaming Forum, which also includes rival TDMA and...
NEW DELHI, India-The Indian wireless market, so far a preserve of GSM, has been opened to the competing CDMA technology in a big way. CDMA growth is expected to pick up in all segments of the telecom market-rural telephony, urban fixed wireless services and...
OXFORD, United Kingdom-The announcement by NTT DoCoMo of a five-month delay to its wideband-CDMA (W-CDMA) launch must have been music to the ears of Irwin Jacobs, the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Qualcomm. While the major wireless operators in Europe have remained...
BANGKOK, Thailand-After years of war and political instability, Cambodia and its 12 million people have entered a period of relative calm. With its economy starting to grow once more, demand for telephony services has jumped.The country's service of choice is the mobile phone. Exploding...
NEW DELHI, India-The Asia-Pacific region is witnessing a rapid growth of short message service (SMS), which is not only beginning to contribute significantly to operators' revenues, but is also setting the stage for future mobile data services. The Philippines continues to be the most...
STOCKHOLM, Sweden-Uncertainty related to the future of Scandinavian mobile prepaid calling plans, less preferred here than in Western Europe generally, is largely due to the struggle to migrate customers to more expensive products and emerging technologies that could fundamentally change the relationship between vendor...
LONDON-The market for mobile services in the Middle East continues to show strong growth, with the ever-increasing number of new cellular operators barely keeping pace with growing customer numbers. An eventful first-quarter 2001 has seen new network expansion projects, a host of new value-added...
TORONTO-It is clear that Canada's dominant trunked radio network is going to get much more dominant.Last year's C$6.6 billion (US$4.3 billion) blockbuster deal by Telus to acquire Clearnet Communications means a big boost in Mike, Clearnet's dispatch network. With Mike's iDEN proprietary digital dispatch...
HONG KONG-Trunked radio has been the Cinderella of Hong Kong's wireless communications in recent years, compared with the fast-growing mobile-phone technologies, but things may soon change. China's industrialization is opening the door to a potentially large market for transport and industrial communications, and digitalization...
SAO PAULO, Brazil-Vesper, Brazil's largest wireless local loop (WLL) operator, has changed its business strategy with an objective to reduce costs and to win profitability.Vesper is a "mirror" fixed wireless operator in Sao Paulo state, region three, and the 16 states of Brazil's region...
SINGAPORE-The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore said the number of prepaid card subscribers in Singapore has doubled in the 12 months ending January 2001 from 306,600 to 741,200 users. The 141.7-percent increase exceeds the 65-percent rise in the country's overall mobile-phone subscribers during the...
AustraliaAustralia's third-generation (3G) spectrum auction fell well short of the federal government's budget forecasts of A$2.6 billion (US$1.3 billion). Six bidders paid a total of almost A$1.17 billion (US$577 million) for spectrum in the 2 GHz band. The auction felt an early blow when...
A ray of hope illuminated the increasingly dark local multipoint distribution service sector last week when XO Communications Inc. announced in conjunction with its first-quarter financial results that it secured $250 million in much-needed funding, but the broadband provider also said it will be...
NEW YORK -Ten Square, San Jose, Calif., plans to expand its provision of wireless e-commerce services to 2,800 service stations and convenience stores in various cities by year-end.The privately held company, whose lead investor is Marconi Ventures, delivers interactive content to consumers during the...
The future of third-generation networks took a hit last week following NTT DoCoMo's announcement that it was suspending the introduction of its highly touted 3G network in Japan from May until October. Japan's largest wireless operator, which many in the industry look to as...
A number of wireless carriers released surprising first-quarter financial results last week showing stronger than expected customer additions despite continued uncertainty in the U.S. economy. "In fact, based on the results in so far, net additions are tracking 5-percent below , better than our...
STOCKHOLM, Sweden-Dutch operator Libertel Vodafone selected Ericsson as its sole supplier for a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System network through a $45 million contract. The contract includes hardware, software and services.The carrier plans to begin commercially offering 3G services by the end of 2002.
LAS VEGAS-With company names based more on family names or regions of the country instead of original creations brewed up by marketing experts, members of the Rural Cellular Association last week held their Ninth Annual Convention and Exhibition in the city of excess, Las...
LOS ANGELES-Advanced Communication Technologies Inc. introduced its SpectruCell software- defined radio multiple protocol mobile wireless network base station operating platform, which it said provides a definitive solution to the 3G spectrum allocation issues that are creating controversy among U.S. regulators and operators.According to the...
