COPENHAGEN, Denmark-Reaching agreement on a single work item within a standards organization can be a long and laborious process. Reaching an agreement between five standards organizations across the world is nothing less than a minor miracle.The miracle happened on 4 December 1998 in Copenhagen,...
At the end of each year, the RCR editorial staff looks back on the news events that made RCR headlines and decides which were the most significant, industry-impacting stories of the past 12 months. Here are our picks for 1998.1. March 16IPR issues spark...
Sierra Wireless said it has brought together 17 other companies in an alliance formed to work together to offer more complete solutions so the general public will adopt wireless data devices more quickly.The WirelessReady Alliance is an invitation-only collaborative venture of hardware vendors, software...
Research companies predicting wireless handset market share have ruffled a few industry feathers.Qualcomm last week issued a statement disputing Dataquest research that had Qualcomm's market share dropping from 17.4 percent in 1997 to 8.2 percent for the first three months of this year."Although Qualcomm...
SPRINGFIELD, Ill.-Amica Wireless Phone Service said it expects to begin offering digital wireless calling Dec. 14 in Bloomington, Champaign, Dectaur and Springfield, Ill., using Code Division Multiple Access technology.Among other services, Amica Wireless offers pay-per-use minutes, voice mail and caller ID with basic monthly...
SAN DIEGO-Qualcomm Inc. said it signed a contract with Mauritius Telecom to supply and install a cdmaOne wireless local loop network. The network, using Interim Standard-95 Code Division Multiple Access technology, initially is expected to add 50,000 subscribers nationwide to Mauritius Telecom's modern wireline...
Ever since Nokia Mobile Phones Inc. introduced the first in a new class of mobile phones with its Nokia 9000 Communicator, the excitement surrounding the idea of devices that combine wireless voice and data has been growing.Nokia last week manufactured its 100 millionth mobile...
SpainThe government of Spain reportedly may award its fourth mobile phone license to a consortium made up of two formerly separate consortia-Lince and Uni2. Both companies submitted failed bids during Spain's third tender for a Global System for Mobile communications 1800 MHz license earlier...
WASHINGTON-Richard Bliss, the Qualcomm Inc. field technician detained on espionage charges last November but conditionally freed by Russian authorities a month later, sued the San Diego firm last week for failing to secure proper authorization for Global Positioning System equipment he brought into the...
As I debate again this year whether to actually make mashed potatoes to bring to the family Thanksgiving dinner or whether to buy them and pretend I made them (you cannot use this to blackmail me because my husband already spilled the beans to...
WASHINGTON-A critical European Parliament vote last week, which could effectively mandate a third-generation mobile phone standard dominated by Sweden's L.M. Ericsson and Finland's Nokia Corp. and lock out American technology, will ratchet up the stakes in upcoming negotiations here among U.S., European Union and...
This year's holiday season promises to be an interesting one for wireless carriers and vendors offering their products to online buyers.Jupiter Communications, a new media research firm, predicts holiday shoppers will spend $2.3 billion online this season, up from $1.1 billion in 1997. According...
In a surprising letter to the International Telecommunication Union, Europe's standards body said it will consider harmonizing all CDMA-related third-generation proposals sent to the ITU, including cdma2000.The move is a positive sign for vendors and U.S. carriers that have pushed heavily for convergence of...
Alcatel to deliver network to PegasoSAN DIEGO-A subsidiary of Mexico's Pegaso Telecomunicaciones S.A. de C.V. and Alcatel Althsom signed an agreement that calls for Alcatel to provide up to $270 million in equipment, services and construction to build out Pegaso's nationwide personal communications services...
WASHINGTON-The Clinton administration will brief the Senate Finance Committee this week on mobile phone trade and standards policy, a meeting prompted by intensified lobbying by Global System for Mobile communications advocates and the European Telecommunications Standards Institute in response to Congress and the White...
Is this it?Is the wireless data market sitting on the runway to (finally) take off, offering instant text applications anywhere on the planet?Like a child before Christmas, I anticipate the day when wireless data applications make my life easier, when I easily can use...
China has been considered a mountain of opportunity for mobile phone infrastructure vendors, but signs today indicate a bleaker outlook as Chinese officials seem to have soured on cdmaOne technology and have banned certain foreign joint ventures in telecommunications projects.Vendors say China presents a...
The mere idea it may one day be possible to connect computers, mobile phones and other electronic devices to share voice and data transmissions without the need for cables has brought together some of the industry's heaviest hitters under the umbrella of the Bluetooth...
NEW YORK-Nickel cadmium batteries, long the mainstay of rechargeable power sources for wireless phones, are fading fast into handset history.Today, nickel metal hydride batteries are emerging at the top of the charts, but this ranking may not last too long. Lithium ion technology, a...
Analysts say the launch of Iridium L.L.C.'s mobile satellite service has positioned Globalstar L.L.P. to be a low-cost provider when it offers service around 2000.After losing 12 satellites in a rocket launch accident in September, Globalstar's general partner, Globalstar Telecommunications Ltd., has seen its...
WASHINGTON-Key lawmakers, amid stepped-up negotiations last week on third-generation mobile phone technology, are laying the groundwork to move legislation in 1999 if they conclude in crucial coming months that U.S. wireless interests in Europe and elsewhere have been compromised unfairly.3G was a major topic...
Frustrated by the lack of cooperation in Europe over convergence of third-generation technology, some U.S. cdmaOne operators have vowed to push ahead aggressively with cdma2000 technology."Negotiations have gone on long enough," said Keith Paglusch, senior vice president of technical services and network operations with...
Qualcomm Inc. and Microsoft Corp. plan to announce this week they are creating a new wireless communications company to focus on the integration of wireless data, information technology and computers.According to information leaked to the press last week, the venture aims to extend Microsoft's...
WASHINGTON-Qualcomm Inc. is waging a major court battle against the Federal Communications Commission to gain recognition of Code Division Multiple Access technology innovation in personal communications services and the potentially lucrative prize that comes with it. The Qualcomm case will be briefed in the...
