The satellite-based telecommunications market made headlines again last week as Globalstar Telecommunications Ltd. released disappointing financial results and bankrupt provider Iridium L.L.C. endorsed a $25 million buyout bid from former airline executive Dan Colussy.Globalstar's results were based on what it called "unacceptably slow" subscriber...
WASHINGTON-As the FCC's Enforcement Bureau prepared to celebrate its one-year anniversary, the agency fined Qualcomm Inc. $25,000 for not complying with the 911 strongest-signal rules.The fine, which was agreed to as part of a consent decree, was the second one the Federal Communications Commission...
HONG KONG-The Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) is generally regarded with something between scorn and indifference in Hong Kong among industry sources, and mobile operators will not even reveal subscriber numbers for the service.This contrasts with the bullish claims of Scott Goldman, chief executive officer...
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-Operators in the Middle East are focusing on extending coverage and considering networks upgrades. The region offers enormous potential, considering the cellular penetration is only 3.5 percent-very low in comparison with world standards. However, penetration rates in some single markets exceed 30...
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-Israel is determined not to be shaken from its pristine position of having one of the highest cellular penetration rates in the Middle East by the current unrest in the region."Penetration in Israel is growing steadily at a double-digit rate for next...
NEW DELHI, India-India is set to witness an explosion in wireless services during the next few months, with the decision to end the duopoly of GSM operators and to allow fixed telephony companies to offer "limited mobility" services using wireless technology.Two more cellular operators...
AfricaStratos Global completed its Mount Kilimanjaro educational expedition using its remote communications network. Stratos provided the expedition team with an Inmarsat-M4 terminal, allowing the team to send and receive voice, high-speed data, video conferencing and Web streaming communication services throughout the journey. While the...
SINGAPORE-The once sleepy telecommunications market in technology-centric Taiwan is finally stirring from its slumber.Having taken a back seat to the country's more well-known semiconductor industry until now, Taiwan's mobile-phone industry has now become one of the fastest-growing sectors in Taiwan, if not all of...
Mobile satellite services will shortly be available across the Middle East via the Thuraya network. United Arab Emirates-based Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications has announced the launch of its Thuraya-1 satellite. The turnkey mobile satellite communications system was provided by Boeing Satellite Systems as part of...
OXFORD, United Kingdom-Unlike the hype that surrounded the launch of Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) services, European mobile operators are taking a conservative approach to how General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) will be commercially deployed.This time, no TV advertisements proclaim the wonders of accessing the...
The satellite-based telecommunications market made headlines again as Globalstar Telecommunications released disappointing financial results and bankrupt provider Iridium endorsed a US$25 million buyout bid from former airline executive Dan Colussy.Globalstar's results were based on what it called "unacceptably slow" subscriber growth and use. At...
WASHINGTON-The chief wireless regulator in the United States has been spreading the message of auctions as a key licensing tool in various overseas trips during the last year."You are struck when you travel that people are interested in the perspective of the U.S. government....
PRAGUE, Czech Republic-Cesky Mobil, the Czech Republic's third mobile telephone operator, is seeking to differentiate itself from its competition by offering low start-up costs and emphasizing ease of use.The formula has paid quick dividends. In its first four operational months, it signed up more...
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-Pay phones may not be the panacea to Africa's need of extending telephony, but in rural areas where there is little or no fixed infrastructure, wireless-and specifically GSM-pay phones provide a viable option. Wireless pay phones can be an ideal tool to...
MOSCOW-Russian wireless carriers, which this year considerably expanded their client bases thanks to radically decreased prices, registered a major average revenue per user (ARPU) decrease from more than US$215 two years ago to US$36 for one Russian carrier this year. Therefore, carriers have launched...
NigeriaThe Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) released a technical consultative document for the four new national licenses to offer second-generation (2G) cellular systems in Nigeria. Four licenses are to be issued to access Nigeria's 120 million population market. The NCC sought comments from potential bidders...
BELFAST, United Kingdom-With a mobile penetration of just 1.4 percent, less than that of many third-world countries, the Russian mobile segment appears to offer little excitement. At closer glance, however, most factors that contribute to investor satisfaction are securely in place.The country's hot spots...
DENVER, United States-U.S. paging operator WebLink Wireless is making plans to implement a narrowband PCS (NPCS) network in Central America using a first-ever infrastructure-sharing arrangement that would enable low-volume providers in the seven-nation region to cost effectively begin providing two-way paging services.Central America, sandwiched...
Not one operator around the world has rolled out third-generation services yet, but discussion of fourth-generation technology is already under way. An industry that began offering a basic communications tool is evolving into something much flashier, much more futuristic and certainly more exciting.Japan, the...
BUCHAREST, Romania-Although most of the third-generation (3G) licensing attention in Europe is focused on Western Europe, Eastern European countries are also moving forward with licensing plans. The region, with lower wireless penetration rates than many Western European countries and improving economies, promises to hold...
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-Orascom Telecom (OT) is emerging as the winning titan in the conquest of cellular operations in Africa and the Middle East. With GSM cellular licenses firmly secured in the last few weeks in the Cameroon and Niger, Orascom now boasts more than...
CHICAGO, United States-One of the first commercial deployments of Enhanced Data Rates for Global Evolution (EDGE) technology could be in Mexico next year based on presentations and interviews at the PCIA GlobalXchange event in late September. Mexico's largest wireless carrier, Telcel, plans to roll...
The controversy surrounding European third-generation (3G) spectrum auctions reached a new peak with Dutch and Italian competition authorities launching investigations in early November into possible collusion between rival bidders. These moves put further pressure on the European Community (EC) to instigate a pan-European probe...
ROME-The results of the Italian third-generation license auction are unfortunate for the Italian government and British Telecommunications plc, while most opportune for the five companies that have unofficially won licenses at prices much lower than anticipated.After just two days of bidding among six mobile...
