WASHINGTON-Last December, two months after President Clinton ordered government studies on spectrum availability for third-generation wireless systems and at a time when mobile-phone and Pentagon officials were intensely studying the issue, Senate Armed Services Committee member James Inhofe (R-Okla.) quietly directed the General Accounting...
The plan is ambitious, to say the least.Metrocall Inc. and WebLink Wireless Inc. announced last week a plan to merge by concurrently filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a business move that apparently has never been done before. The struggling companies face a number of...
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa-Verizon Wireless launched its digital wireless service in Cedar Rapids, which includes coverage to Iowa City, Waterloo/Cedar Falls and Dubuque.According to the company, features of the new digital service include caller ID, text messaging, superior voice quality, longer battery life and enhanced...
Amid the frenzy over a flagging economy and road bumps to the next generation of technologies, Nokia Corp. won a series of third-generation infrastructure contracts that gives the handset vendor coveted status as a network provider.The deals, including a $1.3 billion deal to supply...
Nokia Corp.'s splash into the CDMA handset market was tempered last week after the world's largest cell phone manufacturer admitted some of its phones already on the street will not work with high-speed networks expected to roll out later this year. Nokia said the...
INDIANAPOLIS-Brightpoint Inc. announced its subsidiary Brightpoint North America L.P. will provide B Digital USA Inc. with integrated logistics services including packaging fulfillment and other support services for wireless handsets and accessories in the United StatesB Digital was formed in March 2000 as a subsidiary...
BEDMINSTER, N.J.-Verizon Wireless added more than 518,000 new customers during the first quarter, bringing its total customer base to 28 million subscribers.While Verizon Wireless was pleased with the additions, the carrier noted net additions were negatively impacted by the company's ongoing plan to remove...
EDGE is dead. Long live EDGE.Depending on where they stand on the EDGE debate, some operators want EDGE born alive. Others think it should be left as merely an idea.Andrew Seybold of the Andrew Seybold Group is not amused by the optimism expressed about...
BEDMINSTER, N.J.-Verizon Wireless launched Mobile Office, a service allowing customers to use their data-capable wireless handsets to dial into their company network or Internet service provider.While the service is included with all of the carrier's digital service plans, Verizon Wireless offers a Mobile Office...
WASHINGTON-The mobile-phone industry, stung by two government reports last week that largely rule out use of the 1700 MHz and 2500 MHz bands for third-generation wireless systems, managed to win a commitment from Commerce Secretary Donald Evans to work with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld...
In addition to being headquarters to a slew of businesses that have become known worldwide, including Microsoft Corp. and Starbucks, Seattle last week was ground zero for GSM technology as VoiceStream Wireless Corp. hosted the GSM Association's 45th Plenary Meeting.While the meeting is only...
WASHINGTON-The Illinois Supreme Court upheld a lower court's decision that said Illinois cities, including Chicago, could not charge wireless carriers rights-of-way fees because they do not use them.The Illinois court is the first in the nation to address the constitutionality of fees imposed on...
It's all about connecting.The notion that telecommunications exists to connect people is no longer a simple yet catchy idea, but an obvious cliche that does little to sell communications services. Advertising agencies and wireless companies are looking to connect with consumers on a different...
NEW YORK-Lenders anted up significant capital during the first quarter for the five publicly traded wireless tower companies, even as their share prices declined amid the stock market's general concerns about telecommunications."At a time when companies like PSINet made announcements that their stock is...
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...
NEW YORK-To enhance the capabilities of existing infrastructure, Schema Ltd. has developed a network optimization tool that Yuval Davidor, company founder and president, said can increase capacity by as much as 30 percent."You cannot manufacture more spectrum, and we will always want more of...
LAS VEGAS-Verizon Wireless has selected Cisco Systems to develop and implement a new ATM Core that it said will provide extended bandwidth, quality of service and more reliability for its wireless network.Verizon will be one of the first wireless network providers to deploy the...
LAS VEGAS-Sprint PCS used the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association's Wireless 2001 show to finalize its widely rumored plans to roll out next-generation services using cdma2000 later this year. While the carrier's 3G plans surprised few, its claim to have enough spectrum to cover...
WASHINGTON-The trade association for state legislators said recently it will try to find "common ground" on the use of wireless devices while driving."Our goal was to bring the various stakeholders together. Safety advocates in the same room with telecommunications carriers, automobile manufacturers and state...
IRVINE, Calif.-Verizon Wireless introduced its Local Digital Prepay Phone In A Box in Southern California, allowing customers to purchase airtime on a pay-as-you-go basis."We recognize that many people would like to have digital wireless service, but are unclear about how to begin," said Mike...
AWRApplied Wave Research appointed Ronald Patston as vice president of marketing. Prior to joining AWR, Patston held several positions in various companies in the wireless and EDA industry including Agilent Technologies, Verticom Inc. and Hewlett Packard. As VP of marketing, Patston will lead AWR's...
BEDMINSTER, N.J.-Verizon Wireless and Novatel Wireless, which provides wireless data communication access software, announced commercial availability of their co-branded Merlin CDPD Special Edition for use with Pocket PC devices.The software, which is only slightly larger than a credit card, slides into a Type II...
WASHINGTON-A new day appears to be dawning for FCC Chairman Michael K. Powell.This new day will have Powell greeting four new colleagues by the end of the year, reforming an agency that some on Capitol Hill have said cannot be fixed and should be...
The path to third-generation services for many wireless operators appears to be anything but smooth. While Asian carriers seem to be taking the high-speed approach, European carriers recently have seen their paths clogged by uncertainty. For U.S. carriers, 3G plans are being dictated by...
