LAS VEGAS-Like fresh water on a dry rock, some good news for Lucent Technologies Inc. But how good?The $5 billion deal last week with Verizon Wireless provided a shot in the arm for a company whose repeated stumbles have made industry watchers wonder if...
With a commercial launch in full gear in South Korea, Samsung Inc. may be the John the Baptist of 3G as the first manufacturer to streak out of the uncertain cloud hovering over migration to the technology.Already eyeing the United States' market with trials...
SEOUL, South Korea-As South Korea postponed plans to select a third and final third-generation (3G) mobile service operator, the government's enthusiasm for a viable bidder is greater than ever. But potential bidders seem unimpressed, putting the 3G license itself into doubt.The Ministry of Information...
NTT DoCoMo became the largest investor in AT&T Wireless Group last week when the previously announced strategic alliance between the two wireless giants officially commenced.For its $9.8 billion investment, DoCoMo gained an approximate 16-percent interest in the country's third-largest wireless operator. The deal is...
SEOUL, South Korea-South Korea awarded much-coveted third-generation (3G) mobile service licenses to SK Telecom, the country's largest mobile carrier, and state-run Korea Telecom on 15 December. The race, however, is not over, analysts said.The Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC), which handled the licensing...
HONG KONG-"Third-generation services are here," proclaimed the advertisements from Qualcomm at International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Telecom Asia 2000. "The wait is over." Korea's SK Telecom was the first operator to deploycdma2000, noted Terry Yen, Asia Pacific director of the CDMA Development Group. SK Telecom...
TOKYO-NTT DoCoMo has been gearing up its global strategy, concluding one investment agreement after another. Since December 1999, it has invested in carriers in Hong Kong, the Netherlands and Britain.At the end of November 2000, DoCoMo announced another big deal with a U.S. carrier,...
NEW YORK-For Samsung Telecommunications America, South Korea's mandatory elimination of wireless handset subsidies created a ripple effect across the ocean that translates into more aggressive marketing in the United States.Next year, the manufacturer plans to introduce several new models, including a combination personal digital...
SEOUL, South Korea-Four South Korean telecom companies have applied for one of three third-generation (3G) licenses. The licenses, to be awarded through a modified beauty contest by the end of 2000, will bring in at least US$2.7 billion for the government.SK Telecom, Korea Telecom,...
Hong KongHong Kong's Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) will use a "hybrid" method-a prequalification followed by an auction-to allocate four third-generation (3G) mobile services licenses early next year. New market entrants must compete with Hong Kong's six incumbent operators. Hutchison Telecom, Pacific Century...
SEOUL, Korea-SK Telecom has begun commercial service of the first cdma2000 1XRTT wireless data and voice network. 3Com Corp. and Samsung Electronics Company Ltd. supplied the equipment.In the initial service rollout, SK Telecom introduced the 1XRTT network to subscribers in the Seoul and Inchon...
CHICAGO-Video content may be the new show to watch on the wireless Internet.Content is the name of the game in the wireless Internet evolution going forward. And while it is by no means a new concept, companies are paying more attention to the wireless...
SUNNYVALE, Calif.-Conductus Inc. named Microwave International Inc. as the exclusive sales representative for its ClearSite superconducting wireless systems in Korea.Microwave International currently markets multitone, ultra-linear CDMA amplifiers as well as TRS systems used by SK Telecom and Korea Freetel in their networks."This further expansion...
SEOUL, South Korea-The South Korean Ministry of Information and Communication has extended the deadline for third-generation mobile licenses until the end of October, one month later than its original deadline.The postponement is due to a dispute over technology standards, Reuters reported.The country's three expected...
COSTA MESA, Calif.-CDMA technology adoption doubled worldwide in the past year, climbing to more than 65 million users by the second quarter of 2000, according to the CDMA Development Group.With the deployment of third-generation services approaching, the CDG said it expects the demand for...
NEW YORK-Korea Telecom Freetel, the second-largest wireless provider in South Korea, is leaning toward deploying new technology in the third-generation license band.As recently as late June, Y.D. Hong, KT Freetel's chief financial officer, told securities analysts at a public forum in New York that...
The CDMA industry recently chose to standardize Qualcomm Inc.'s High Data Rate technology, but industry analysts wonder when carriers will see a big enough business case to deploy the data-only megabit-speed technology and what type of applications are in store for it in the...
TAMPA, Fla.-GTE Telecommunications Services Inc. signed a contract with Korean Code Division Multiple Access wireless operator SK Telecom to provide international roaming for SK's wireless subscribers.The contract calls for GTE to provide SK with a multiservice offering including clearinghouse services for roaming revenue settlement...
SEOUL, South Korea-South Korea said it would limit the number of licenses for operating much-coveted third-generation (3G) mobile services networks to three, adopt a modified "beauty contest" that will bring in auction-like revenues and allow a double technology standard that could introduce both European-favored...
Alcatel.Benin. With Office des Postes et Telecommunications (OPT) for a GSM network, along with fiber-optic and switching equipment.Value: US$32.8 millionKenya. With KenCell for a 50,000-subscriber capacity GSM network.Value: UndisclosedMorocco. With Maroc Telecom for mobile switching centers.Value: UndisclosedPortugal. With Portugal Telecom's TMN for a GPRS network.Value: UndisclosedQatar. With Q-Tel...
SINGAPORE-Governments in Asia will issue licenses of third-generation (3G) cellular networks to around 40 operators in 11 countries within the next year, representatives from several equipment vendors said at the CommunicAsia show here recently. And 3G deployments may begin in the most advanced markets...
SINGAPORE-The dominant rise of prepaid cards compared with subscription-based accounts has been the defining element of Vietnam's mobile phone environment during the last six months.Almost entirely due to the introduction of these cards, by the end of May, the number of mobile-phone users had...
Lucent Technologies Inc. and Sprint PCS announced they will conduct a joint trial of 1XEvolution technology, a third-generation technology based on High Data Rate technology.The trial will begin over the Sprint PCS network in the first half of 2001 and involves testing and verification...
HONG KONG-The CDMA Development Group last week announced support for Qualcomm Inc.'s High Data Rate technology as a third-generation technology, but agreed to leave room open for other competing technologies such as Motorola Inc.'s and Nokia Corp.'s 1xtreme technology.The CDG has submitted the proposal...
