BROWSING: Qualcomm

The 15th Plenipotentiary Conference of the International Telecommunication Union kicks off today in Minneapolis, a meeting whose focus on internal governance and strategic planning could be overshadowed by an item likely not to appear on the official agenda: third-generation wireless technology. The meeting lasts from...

While the debate around third-generation wireless technology to date has focused on which air interface to incorporate into the standard, leading wireless vendors brought up a few other crucial points at PCS '98 in Orlando that will have to be addressed at some point.Who...

WASHINGTON-Pekka Tarjanne, outgoing secretary general of the International Telecommunication Union, predicted last week a family of third-generation wireless standards will emerge by year's end and that family will include a standard "pretty close" to the Global System for Mobile communications-based technology dominated by Sweden's...

For months now, my buddy Mike Houghton and the North American GSM Alliance have been scratching their heads trying to figure out how Qualcomm, Lucent and the CDMA crowd have made such inroads with Congress and the Clinton administration on this seemingly esoteric issue...

The campaigning efforts in Washington, D.C., are set to heat up within the next few months as the International Telecommunication Union enters the decision-making process for third-generation technology.The CDMA Development Group's operator members recently submitted a letter to 21 key government officials stressing the...

ORLANDO, Fla.-Unwired Planet Inc. released its UP.Link Platform Version 3.1 with Wireless Markup Language support at PCS '98.The platform, which includes the UP.Link Server and UP.Browser, now can deliver WML content from industry-standard Web servers to wireless handsets and is Wireless Application Protocol compliant.The...

ORLANDO, Fla.-The North American GSM Alliance L.L.C. and the Universal Wireless Communications Consortium last week said they will join forces to collaborate on next-generation technology and to provide a unified lobbying force on Capitol Hill."We've agreed on a set of principles," said UWCC Chairman...

ORLANDO, Fla.-Qualcomm Inc. announced plans to begin market trials of its pdQ smart phone, which integrates 3Com's Palm Computing platform with its Interim Standard-95 Code Division Multiple Access technology to provide wireless data and voice communications in one device.Market trials of an 800 MHz...

INTERDIGITALGerard Pepenella was hired by InterDigital Communications Corp. as vice president and general manager of broadband Code Division Multiple Access technology. He will collaborate with Gary Lomp, chief technology officer, on growth and enhancement of the company's technology and products. Pepenella joined InterDigital with...

ORLANDO, Fla.-Qualcomm last week at PCS '98 announced it now is offering its cdmaOne Interim Standard-95 network with an open system radio-switch interface, meaning carriers using Qualcomm equipment can use its radio access equipment but use switches from a different vendor.In the United States,...

ORLANDO-Economic problems elsewhere in the world have hit home in Mexico's new personal communications services market. Two of the PCS license winners there-Midicel and the SPC consortium-have announced they are worried about being able to make final payments for their licenses, due Sept. 30,...

Recent developments in Japan suggest standards leaders there realize they must deal with the cdma2000 third-generation proposal. Japan's standards body, the Association of Radio Businesses (ARIB), recently concluded that both W-CDMA, based on the GSM platform, and cdma2000 third-generation proposals are valid proposals and meet...

In preparation for PCS '98, RCR sat down last month with Jay Kitchen, president of the Personal Communications Industry Association to talk about the trade show, the wireless industry in general, and PCIA specifically. The following is a transcript of that interview: RCR: What is going...

Qualcomm Inc. said it expects to distribute common shares of Leap Wireless International Inc.-Qualcomm's spun-off wireless communications carrier-Sept. 23 after the close of marketing trading.The Securities and Exchange Commission indicated it has no further comments to the registration statement filed by Leap Wireless. Regular...

KANSAS CITY, Mo.-Sprint PCS added Qualcomm Inc.'s QCP-1920 Code Division Multiple Access phone to its product lineup. The single-branded personal communications services phone comes with a standard lithium ion battery. The QCP-1920 is available in Sprint PCS stores and other retailers in its distribution...

Determined not to miss out on market opportunities provided by third-generation technology, NEC Corp. has taken early steps into the 3G arena.The Japanese manufacturer has begun operation of a new subsidiary in Singapore that will design and develop hardware and software for wideband Code...

Sorry Microsoft Corp., but analyst firm Strategy Analytics predicts the handheld device market in the future will not be dominated by any single standard."Microsoft will not dominate this category as it has with PCs," Matthew Checkley, associate consultant with the firm, said in a...

News that Globalstar L.L.P. lost 12 satellites late last week in a failed rocket launch left mobile satellite service investors uneasy. An announcement from Iridium L.L.C. indicating it plans to postpone commercial service because of technical delays didn't help investors' confidence either.The glitches are...

When controversy comes calling, policy makers and wireless telecom firms turn to a high-tech sounding board whose work is based more on reality than on rhetoric: the Telecommunications Industry Association.TIA, comprised of U.S. and foreign telecom manufacturers that develop technical standards, has been dragged into...

EAST LANSING, Mich.-Zsigo Wireless Data Consultants Inc. said it is launching a new workshop aimed at bringing software developers into the wireless industry in the form of "feeder" events, designed to flow into the larger Wireless Developer conference, to be held in Silicon Valley...

WASHINGTON-A powerful Senate resolution that was to promote third-generation wireless harmonization was thoroughly diluted by U.S. backers of European-based mobile phone technology last week, a bizarre turnabout that drew a mix of new faces into the escalating controversy and further muddied the waters for...

I need your help.The next few weeks at RCR and everywhere else in the wireless industry are going to be crazy. It's too late to try to clean off my desk, but I'd like to be able to file away some questions that keep...

Sweden-based L.M. Ericsson said it has found no reason to believe the current W-CDMA 3G standard chosen by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute would infringe on any valid intellectual property rights claimed by Qualcomm Inc.In fact, CEO Sven-Christer Nilsson's comments to the Japanese press...

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-The licensing of two additional cellular carriers in South Africa will represent the biggest opportunity for black empowerment in Africa-and for some, the last chance to become involved in the vibrant telecommunications market here.When the Department of Communications issues tender invitations later...