This year promises to be a transition period for the Latin American wireless market, a year hosting key events necessary to drive the subscriber growth that is projected by the end of the decade.Impending introduction of competition in Brazil and Central America, as well...
Colombia continues to be a top performer in the Latin American cellular arena, with the highest digital growth and high overall cellular penetration.As part of its licensing process, the Colombian government mandated that cellular carriers deploy a certain amount of digital technology in their...
An initial progress report on testing at the University of Oklahoma between hearing aids and wireless phones indicates some interference exists but makes no conclusions at this time."The key objective is to evaluate short-term and long-term solutions that will enable people with hearing aids...
The cellular industry has taken numerous steps to package cellular for the mass consumer retail market, but a small gap remains between the industry's effort and the complicated process to activate a phone."Mass merchants are a substantial opportunity for everyone to make this business...
DALLAS-AT&T Wireless Services has launched its commercial rollout of Interim Standard-136 service with a Dallas in-office system, using L.M. Ericsson microcells and Nokia Corp. handsets.The office system installed at Perot Systems uses a distributed antenna strategy, and allows handoffs to the public cellular network....
Large markets in Latin America are serving as test beds for a range of digital cellular and personal communications services standards, according to a study from Pyramid Research Inc.The report outlines the astounding cellular growth in Mexico, Central and South America, a trend that...
As the entrepreneurial block auctions for broadband personal communications services get underway this December, the first broadband PCS services also are scheduled to become reality. But a later rollout schedule is par for the course among major PCS license holders, resulting in part from...
Wireless operators continue to line up behind one of the seven technologies that will be used for personal communications services, solidifying the formation of PCS technology camps and leading to several arms-length partnerships.The most recent protocol announcement came from Southwestern Bell Mobile Systems Inc.,...
Nearly half of the 20 companies holding licenses for broadband personal communications services have made firm technology decisions, but others continue the difficult task of weighing options."It is like building 10 years of cellular all at once," said Jack Finlayson, vice president and general...
On a recent trip across Europe to visit some of the major operators and manufacturers of the blossoming cellular industry there, I was asked to describe the state of the industry in the United States. Of course I spoke of the great advancements we...
Fueled by increasing safety concerns and customer demand, the cellular market has become the fastest-growing segment for speech-recognition use in the United States, according to industry analysts.Being able to command a cellular phone to "call office"-instead of requiring users to fumble for their handsets...
ierre Dogan, David Patton and Ray Nettleton Two observations can be drawn from the recent personal communications services license auctions. First, PCS participants are willing to assume enormous financial risk, on the order of tens of billions of dollars-an unprecedented level of risk-taking by...
STOCKHOLM-Malaysian cellular operator Mobikom Sdn Bhd has placed an order with L.M. Ericsson, valued at $60 million, to expand its Mobifon 800 Time Division Multiple Access/Advanced Mobile Phone Service network, according to Ericsson.The order includes base stations and switching capacity that will increase the...
Hoping to raise $1 billion to be used toward cellular expansion efforts, L.M. Ericsson said it is proposing an equity share offering."There is an increased need for working capital in the rapid growth phase which Ericsson is currently experiencing," noted Lars Ramqvist, Ericsson's chief...
Cellular operators may have to continue to price digital service lower than analog to capture and keep customers until digital service matures and can offer advanced features, said cellular phone analyst Herschel Shosteck. But digital service has been accepted by users more quickly than...
BELLEVUE, Wash.-McCaw Cellular Communications Inc. said it has begun testing switching equipment from AT&T Network Systems Inc. and L.M. Ericsson in two markets. McCaw plans to purchase $450 million dollars worth of switching equipment during the next several years from the two companies to...
Launching personal communications services with a multitude of standards may be the way for industry to sort out the benefits of each technology, but it could set consumers up for chaos and confusion, said longtime wireless architect Jesse Russell.The AT&T Bell Laboratories engineer is...
DALLAS-Northern Telecom Ltd. will provide Star Digitel with a Time Division Multiple Access digital cellular phone system valued at $24 million under the terms of a three-year supply agreement. Star Digitel is a wholly owned subsidiary of Star Paging (International Holding) Ltd."Star Digitel will...
CLEVELAND-The TDMA Forum said it has successfully completed bench and laboratory testing of prototype Interim Standard-136 compatible mobile stations on the infrastructures of AT&T Corp., L.M. Ericsson, Hughes Networks Systems Inc. and Northern Telecom Ltd.The IS-136 standard provides dual-mode, analog-digital service on Time Division...
Bell Atlantic Corp. formed a joint wenture with the Bombay-based Essar Group to bid for basic and mobile telephone service licenses in India. Bell Atlantic will be a minority partner in the yet unnamed venture with a 33 percent stake. Essar, which has widespread...
Texas Instruments Inc. and AT&T Microelectronics have launched a semiconductor marketing race, each introducing single-chip digital signal processors they say complete more instructions per second using less power.Texas InstrumentsDallas-based TI offers two DSP solutions; the 541 DSP for digital cellular telephones and personal digital...
With plans to target the corporate market, Swedish telecommunications operator Telia and Ericsson Inc. are testing a new dual-mode telephone that will allow users to seamlessly switch from private wireless networks to the public cellular network.Telia and Ericsson said they are jointly testing a...
Hail the birth of broadband PCS! Hail more competition in the marketplace! And hail to what likely will be continued growth for the wireless industry!But while the industry revels in its inaugural week of auctions to award broadband PCS licenses, some techno-types are working...
Qualcomm Inc. agreed to pay InterDigital Technology Corp. $5.5 million in an out-of-court settlement of the companies' Code Division Multiple Access patent dispute.In return for the one-time payment, Qualcomm will receive a royalty-free, worldwide license to use and sublicense ITC's CDMA patents and certain...
