By Mike DanoMotorola scrapped its instant-messaging server business earlier this year and plans to focus solely on providing instant-messaging software in its handsets, a move that comes amid drastic cost-reduction efforts at the company that include cutting one-third of its workforce."It was a strategic...
Lucent Technologies Inc. says carrier Movilnet has launched its cdma2000 1x voice and data network using its equipment, software and services. "Movilnet's subscribers will be able to access the cdma2000 network with cdma2000 1x cell phones or personal digital assistants and laptop PCs equipped...
DUBLIN, Ireland-Independent News and Media has strengthened its retail distribution presence through the acquisition of U.K. mobile services group M4. The deal was concluded through the company's wireless application service provider arm iTouch.iTouch has moved on a number of other U.K. mobile services companies...
JAKARTA, Indonesia-Economic factors coupled with customers' general habits have driven most Southeast Asian customers to choose the most appropriate payment method for their mobile-phone plans. In developed countries like Singapore, the number of postpaid subscribers compared with prepaid subscribers is roughly a 3:1 ratio....
STOCKHOLM, Sweden-Wireless application and entertainment company Aspiro announced it has applied for protection from its creditors through bankruptcy, and as part of its restructuring efforts will sell its text messaging network business to mBlox. The company said it will continue its operations during the...
STOCKHOLM, Sweden-Telia's mobile subscribers will be able to access Hotmail e-mail sent via short message service to their mobile phones under a new deal the operator signed with MSN, Microsoft's Internet portal.MSN launched the service in Sweden today, and it is open to Hotmail...
BEIJING-Already the largest mobile-phone market in the world with more than 190 million subscribers at the end of September, China is gearing up to introduce third generation (3G) services on a trial basis sometime next year. But first, the government needs to make a...
MANILA, The Philippines—Ayala-owned Globe Telecom has entered an agreement with Norwegian supplier Colibria for the development of a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) messaging application that allows subscribers to send and receive messages from short message service (SMS), e-mail and an internal messaging system....
NEW DELHI, India-Idea Cellular, a joint venture of AT&T Wireless International and Indian partners the Tatas and Birlas, on Thursday launched its much-awaited GSM service in the Indian capital, with a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) offering and features like multimedia message service (MMS)...
CANNES, France-GartnerG2, the research and advisory arm of Gartner Group, said short message service (SMS) is potentially a powerful marketing tool in Europe, with SMS use now exceeding Internet use in Europe.According to research the company presented at the Gartner Symposium/Itxpo in Cannes, France,...
CANNES, France-GartnerG2, the research and advisory arm of Gartner Group, said short message service is potentially a powerful marketing tool in Europe, with SMS use now exceeding Internet use in Europe.According to research the company presented at the Gartner Symposium/Itxpo in Cannes, France, more...
Editor:Further to your request, I am sending a list of the countries in Europe, which have paging operations and the estimated number of users. Because the operators in Britain are members of both the U.K. Wireless Messaging Association and the European Mobile Messaging Association...
OXFORD, United Kingdom-As many mobile operators around the world install and trial their multimedia message service (MMS) infrastructure, those that have launched services have already commenced a pricing war. Two of Europe's biggest operators, Orange and MmO2, which launched their service a few weeks...
MELBOURNE, Australia-The explosive growth of short message service (SMS) in Australia has prompted the Australian Communications Authority (ACA) to consider reserving new telephone number ranges for SMS. At the moment, users can send and receive SMS messages using 04 digital mobile numbers.The proposal is...
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-Kenyan mobile network operator Safaricom has reported that its subscribers will be able to receive text message updates on political developments during the countdown to the upcoming general election.Michael Joseph, Safaricom general manager, said the information will be delivered via a short...
SEOUL, South Korea-The Mobitex Operators Association (MOA) said two new wireless data networks will begin operation in China.Telecom Digital has officially launched its Mango Mobitex-based network and service in Hong Kong. The network provides bilingual e-mail, Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), short message service (SMS),...
NEW DELHI, India-Sri Lankan operator Celltel Lanka has launched a set of secure m-commerce services on a short message service (SMS) platform.The new service called CellWallet stores encrypted electronic information pertaining to a user's credit cards, debit cards and bank accounts, and allows a...
MUNICH, Germany-Siemens said African operator Vodacom will install Openwave Systems Inc.'s multimedia messaging service platform as part of the operator's GSM/GPRS network. Vodacom licensed Openwave's equipment through Siemens, which is responsible for the overall project management and integration of the MMS solution into Vodacom's...
BEDMINSTER, N.J.-Verizon Wireless introduced new services on its vtext.com short message service companion Web site. Vtext.com includes up to 20 people in its group distribution address book, and the new Communities feature, which is a group chat room, allows customers to start their own...
NEW DELHI, India-India has become the fourth country in the Asia-Pacific region to have GSM players offering multimedia messaging service (MMS), with BPL Mobile launching the new service in Mumbai, India's commercial capital.So far, MMS has been offered by operators in Singapore, Hong Kong...
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-South African mobile network operator MTN claimed it has paid back more than US$370,000 in funds to prepaid subscribers since the relaunch in June of it payback incentive scheme. The paybacks include monthly "pay backs" received by subscribers in airtime and short...
ATLANTA-Intec Telecom Systems will provide Denmark's Sonofon with a solution to collect and process usage data on voice, data and short message service traffic on its GSM and GPRS network, in an agreement valued at approximately $1.56 million. "Intec's Inter-mediatE product, combined with the...
OXFORD, United Kingdom-Content providers looking to launch reverse-billed short message service (SMS)-based services are calling on cell-phone operators to increase the price limits set for each message. U.K. operators are said to be actively considering the request in an effort not to dissuade content...
TORONTO-Canadian and U.S. wireless carriers are planning soon to offer text messaging services across all their networks.Since April, Canadian cell-phone subscribers have been able to send text messages to users on any of the four national networks, after Bell Mobility, Microcell, Rogers AT&T Wireless...
