As if the Iraq quagmire (mobile-phone licensing mystery aside) and the jobless recovery have not done enough to take the wind out of the administration's sails, now comes an unpatriotic pitch by Bush telemarketers with enough punch to sink the ship. The White House...
LONDON-In the second such European alliance aiming to gain power in numbers, nine second- and third-tier mobile operators joined forces in a new mobile alliance to provide seamless, enhanced voice and data solutions for businesses and consumers across the Continent.MmO2, which operates in the...
SAN JOSE, Calif.-Bankrupt mobile satellite service provider Globalstar L.P. and its subsidiaries have filed a joint plan of reorganization, according to a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The plan follows news earlier this year that ICO Global Communications would invest $55...
As Hurricane Isabel bore down on the U.S. eastern seaboard late last week, wireless carriers were confident their networks were already prepared for the worst. Unlike other recent emergencies, including Sept. 11, 2001, and the August power outage, Isabel was anticipated, giving operators time...
Opponents of wireless local number portability lost a substantial ally last week as Verizon Wireless threw in the towel on fighting the proposed Federal Communications Commission mandate and announced plans for how the nation's largest wireless carrier would handle customers looking to change carriers...
TOKYO-NTT DoCoMo Inc. and Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. released further details and expanded their previously announced agreement to cooperate on the development and promotion of third-generation W-CDMA services.Under the partnership, the companies will collaborate on handsets, standards, international roaming and radio technology. DoCoMo...
SAN JOSE, Calif.-Italian telecommunications provider Wind Telecomunicazioni SpA has completed the implementation of Amdocs' ClarifyCRM at its three main customer care centers in Italy, providing Wind with a single view of all customer information to improve customer care and reduce costs."With Amdocs ClarifyCRM as...
NEW DELHI, India--India, one of the fastest-growing wireless markets in the Asia Pacific region, is set for a churn. But it is unable to decide which way it will go--toward GSM or CDMA or perhaps both.The battle lines are clearly drawn between full mobility...
PARIS-Orange announced Friday it will sell its 26.6-percent stake in Italian operator Wind to Enel for $1.37 billion plus a $210 million shareholders' loan to be repaid to Orange.The price is subject to a post-closing upward adjustment should Enel dispose of all or part...
ROME-The European Commission is investigating possible illegal state aid to Italian telecom operator Wind. The probe is reported to be at a preliminary stage.In addition to providing a fixed-line business, Wind is the third-largest mobile operator in Italy.State-owned utility Enel owns 73 percent of...
WOODBURY, N.Y.-Comverse Technology Inc. reported that Italian wireless operator Wind Telecomunicazioni S.p.A. launched its My Wind service based on Comverse's Who Called platform.Comverse said its platform notifies consumers by SMS of the phone number associated with not completed inbound calls, which it noted could...
CANNES, France-Emblaze Systems, which develops customized services and technologies for wireless carriers, will join Micorsoft, Nortel, LG and others to demonstrate third-generation (3G) technologies for mobile carriers at this year's 3GSM World Congress in Cannes. Emblaze will demonstrate: Microsoft Internet content, including movie trailers...
EINDHOVEN, The Netherlands-Philips Electronics said its video and playback encoding software is being used by Italian mobile operator Wind for its multimedia message service (MMS). Subscribers to the service can capture and play video clips on suitable handsets equipped with the Philips' Platform4 ME...
HELSINKI, Finland-Italian operator Wind is using technology from Nokia Corp. to offer downloadable content and applications such as video, color games and polyphonic ringing tones.The commercial service works over the Nokia Downloading Solution and uses Java technology.
DUBLIN, Ireland-The majority backers of Portuguese Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) hopeful OniWay have decided to pull the plug on the venture. However, two other shareholders-Telenor, which controls 20 percent, and Spanish utility Iberdrola with 8 percent-have refused to support the decision. A Telenor...
DENVER, United States-The solar-powered Pathfinder-Plus, operating at 65,000 feet over Hawaii, has successfully completed commercial tests of third-generation (3G) wireless video telephony, wireless Internet surfing via laptop computer modem and high-definition television (HDTV) broadcast. The three weeks of tests, which ended 21 July, involved...
HELSINKI, Finland-Tele2, Sweden's second-largest telecom operator after Telia, has confirmed plans to present a joint bid with London-based Star Capital Partners to acquire Italian mobile operator Blu's network. A sale has been in the cards since 2000, when Blu failed in its attempt to...
LONDON-Wireless platform provider Cash-U scored another major win through a new resale deal with Ericsson.Under the agreement, Ericsson will resell Cash-U's wireless application platform to its carrier customers. Cash-U's platform provides management capabilities for carriers to offer entertainment applications based on SMS, WAP, Java...
PARIS—Maporama announced a partnership with Navigation Technologies that will enhance location-based service offerings for Italy's WIND Telecomunicazioni customers."Maporama is excited to provide its industry-leading technology to forward-thinking operator WIND for the development of new generation LBS applications," explained Laurent Vermot-Gauchy, Maporama's chief executive officer...
STOCKHOLM, Sweden—Wireless giant Ericsson continued to lead the multimedia messaging service infrastructure industry through its new deal with T-Mobile. T-Mobile will use Ericsson's MMS center to launch services in its Hungary market and plans to roll out similar services in its German, Austrian and...
ROME—Four telecom companies have filed formal offers to buy Italian mobile-phone operator Blu, which has been for sale for about 18 months since failing to win a third-generation (3G) license in Italy.Reuters reported incumbent Italian mobile operators Telecom Italia Mobile (TIM), Wind and Omnitel...
LOS ANGELES—Oberthur Card Systems announced its SIMphonIC Application Loader and Manager platform has been integrated into Wind's Italian mobile network, allowing Wind to remotely manage Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards and to offer new services to subscribers."The SIMphonIC ALM platform will enable Wind to...
NEW YORK—Vivendi Universal has deployed MyNetonomy , developed by U.S.-based Netonomy, as the portal through which customers can purchase, activate and personalize services on Universal Music Mobile (UMM).Launched commercially in late September, the service delivers Vivendi Universal's music-oriented content over the GSM network of...
NEW YORK—Italy's Wind Telecommuicazioni has licensed and purchased Emblaze Systems' Wireless Media Platform and backend system. Wind will integrate the architecture with its systems to operate on GSM/General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) networks, allowing it to offer its customers next-generation multimedia applications.
