RCR Wireless News back issues from February 2006:
RCRNews.com.(News)
Feb 06, 2006 ... Who will be the big winner in the 3G spectrum auction in June? Will it be top-dog Cingular? ...
DoCoMo posts mixed results, buying stake in Philippine carrier.(News)
Feb 06, 2006 ... Japanese telecom giant NTT DoCoMo Inc. posted weaker year-over-year third-quarter fiscal 2005 results. For the nine months ended Dec. 31, the consolidated results for DoCoMo and its subsidiaries included an operating revenue decrease of 1.7 percent, an operating revenue decline of 7.7 ...
Wireless could transform mining communications.(News)
Feb 06, 2006 ... Byline: JONI MORSE It seems like hardly a week has gone by lately without a miner tragedy or a near-tragedy in the news. As the media shines its light on the mining industry, it's clear that mining communications is ripe for modernization. Today most mines have ...
MVNO competition spreading to MVNEs.
Feb 06, 2006 ... Byline: KELLY HILL The hype surrounding mobile virtual network operators has created a new segment of the mobile industry with MVNO enablement, and a myriad of companies are eager to tell would-be operators the best way to plunge into the MVNO space. Last week, DBS ...
Wireless History; 15 years ago this month...(Wireless Metrics)
Feb 06, 2006 ... Carriers who attended CTIA's 1991 Winter Meeting and Expo expressed hopes the industry could reach 15-percent penetration in the United States by 2000. By mid-2000, the U.S. actually boasted ...
Consumers can access content, but managing it can be tricky.
Feb 06, 2006 ... Byline: COLIN GIBBS Content companies are hoping that wireless users-just like George Carlin-are looking for a place for their stuff. It seems mass-market consumers are becoming comfortable with the idea of paying for things like music, games and even ...
Sprint Nextel fights calls to force roaming pacts at 2.5 GHz.(News)
Feb 06, 2006 ... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA Sprint Nextel Corp., already on record with other national wireless carriers as opposing mandated roaming for voice services, has been forced to also fight off calls for the company to strike roaming agreements for push-to-talk and possible services using ...
Unhappy 800 MHz licensees plead their case in appeals court.(News)
Feb 06, 2006 ... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER Two licensees-one site-based and one economic area-told a federal appeals court they got the short straw when the Federal Communications Commission decided to reconfigure the 800 MHz band in an attempt to reduce interference to public safety. ...
Bush nominates McDowell to FCC.(News)
Feb 06, 2006 ... The White House said President George W. Bush intends to nominate Robert McDowell, assistant general counsel of CompTel, which represents competitive landline carriers, to the fifth and remaining open seat on the Federal Communications Commission. FCC members serve five-year ...
FCC rushes DE rules for June auction.
Feb 06, 2006 ... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The Federal Communications Commission late last week opened a review of a program that gives bidding discounts to small businesses in wireless license auctions, a move that comes only five months before the auction of advanced wireless service licenses and ...
Motorola deploys PTT in Yemen, Sonim unveils OMA-compliant PoC server.(Global Wireless)
Feb 06, 2006 ... Motorola Inc. said it plans to supply and install its end-to-end push-to-talk over cellular (PoC) offering in partnership with a public-sector telecommunications company in Yemen. The Illinois-based manufacturer said the deal calls for it to provide infrastructure, servers and ...
Infrastructure Awards.(Wireless Metrics)
Feb 06, 2006 ... Following are infrastructure contracts announced in January: L.M. Ericsson Indonesia With Natrindo Telepon Selular to build, operate and manage its 3G/W-CDMA network in Jakarta and surrounding areas. Value: Undisclosed Huawei Technologies Co ....
Sprint Nextel names wireline spinoff Embarq.(News)
Feb 06, 2006 ... Sprint Nextel Corp.'s local communications company, which is scheduled to be spun off from the rest of the company in the second quarter, has selected its name and logo. Embarq, which will officially be known as Embarq Corp., expects to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under ...
Despite no standard, all sides ready to move UWB forward.(News)
Feb 06, 2006 ... Byline: JONI MORSE The IEEE'S recent decision to allow competing ultra-wideband standards in the marketplace has not deterred investors, but could spell trouble for the Bluetooth industry, which last year hooked its future to the UWB standard. The IEEE group voted ...
Muni Wi-Fi vendor Cohda raises $1.8M.(News)
Feb 06, 2006 ... Cohda Wireless Pty. Ltd., a public-safety and municipal wireless technology developer, said it raised $1.8 million in its first round of venture funding. Cohda said it plans to use the funds in its efforts to commercially launch its technology and to expand operations in the ...
Handset Briefs.(Briefs)
Feb 06, 2006 ... Kyocera Wireless Corp. announced it plans to build dual-mode CDMA/Wi-Fi handsets using chips from Marvell Technology Group Ltd. "The footprint and adoption of (wireless local area networks) is increasing exponentially and we have carrier customers who are viewing this technology as a ...
Privacy group sues AT&T as part of NSA wiretapping scandal.(News)
Feb 06, 2006 ... A San Francisco-based privacy group claims in a new class-action lawsuit that telecom giant AT&T Inc. violated the law by cooperating with the National Security Agency as part of a massive program to eavesdrop on and extract data from Americans' communications. AT&T was formed ...
Truth-in-billing lawsuit may influence other cases.(News)
Feb 06, 2006 ... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The high-stakes legal battle over truth-in-billing regulation continued to play out last week in a federal appeals court, with a consumer group and Vermont regulators arguing the Federal Communications Commission's justification for pre-empting state ...
DTV hard date-Feb. 17, 2009-sails toward Bush approval.(News)
Feb 06, 2006 ... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER Finally! Congress has told TV broadcasters that they must give up the spectrum they were given to transition to digital TV by Feb. 17, 2009. After an unexpected delay caused by an unrelated procedural move in the Senate, the House ...
Who's your sugar daddy?(Opinion)
Feb 06, 2006 ... Byline: Jeffrey Silva It is by no means coincidental some-if not most-major wireless legislation enacted by Congress the past decade has been tucked inside bulging budget bills aimed at balancing the nation's off-kilter checkbook. Indeed, in seemingly counterintuitive fashion, ...
Wireless e-mail space intense with patents, lawsuits, competition.(News)
Feb 06, 2006 ... Byline: COLIN GIBBS The flurry of legal wrangling in the wireless e-mail space continued as Visto Corp. filed a patent-infringement lawsuit against competitor Good Technology Inc. Meanwhile, Research In Motion Ltd. scored several patent wins. In its lawsuit, Visto ...
Katrina panel: Lack of communications sparks additional problems.(News)
Feb 06, 2006 ... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER Public-safety, communications and special-interest group representatives came together last month to tell the Federal Communications Commission what worked and what didn't during last year's hurricane season-specifically Hurricane Katrina, which ...
Censorship at core of debate for business practices in China.(News)
Feb 06, 2006 ... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA U.S. tech firms, bedazzled by Internet, wireless and other business opportunities in China's massively underserved market, find themselves facing intensive scrutiny and criticism from Congress, human-rights groups and others for adhering to the communist ...
New health studies provide ammunition to both sides of debate.(News)
Feb 06, 2006 ... German researchers have detected an increased risk for certain brain tumors from long-term cell phone use, a finding that is not quite statistically significant but coincides with other recent studies suggesting a possible danger for consumer who use wireless phones for more than a decade ....
FCC to suggest tougher rules for call records.(News)
Feb 06, 2006 ... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER The Federal Communications Commission is expected to propose additional rules to protect cell-phone customer records later this month. Testifying before the House Commerce Committee, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin also asked that lawmakers strengthen ...
Wal-Mart to offer German MVNO service, mum on U.S. plans.(News)
Feb 06, 2006 ... Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it plans to offer its own discount wireless service in Germany under the brand name MangoMobile. Wal-Mart Germany is partnering with telecommunications distributor Facey Retail Solutions GmbH for the mobile virtual network operator service, which will ...
Revol expanding into four new markets.(Late News)
Feb 06, 2006 ... Regional wireless operators Cleveland Unlimited Inc. and CSM Wireless L.L.C. are expanding their Revol-branded unlimited postpaid calling service into the Ohio cities of Canton, Youngstown and Columbus, as well as Indianapolis. Revol launched in Cleveland in June of last year ...
Lombardi to lead MediaFlo USA.(News)
Feb 06, 2006 ... Qualcomm Inc. tapped the architect of its BREW business to head the commercial launch of its new mobile TV effort, MediaFlo USA Inc. Qualcomm's Gina Lombardi was appointed president of the company's MediaFlo subsidiary ....
Alcatel, Ericsson boast strong 4Q.(News)
Feb 06, 2006 ... Byline: JONI MORSE European telecom vendors reported strong earnings based largely on increasing sales of wireless equipment. L.M. Ericsson posted $1.1 billion in net income for the fourth quarter, a 52-percent increase from the $738 million the company reported for ...
Muni Wi-Fi wave continues to build as industry wrestles with standards.(News)
Feb 06, 2006 ... Byline: JONI MORSE New agreements, contract details from Philadelphia and a smidge of a slowdown in product certifications kept Wi-Fi circles buzzing last week. In Philadelphia, reports surfaced early last week that the city had worked out the terms of its contract ...
Nortel re-enters broadband space in joint venture with Huawei.(Global Wireless)
Feb 06, 2006 ... Nortel Networks Corp. announced plans to re-enter the broadband access market, unveiling a teaming with Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. to develop access offerings for service providers around the world. The companies said they plan to establish a joint venture that would sell ...
Rogers launches Melodeo-powered podcast service.(Global Wireless)
Feb 06, 2006 ... Canadian operator Rogers Wireless Inc. and Melodeo Inc. have partnered to launch what the companies call North America's first mobile podcast service. The offering includes more than 1,500 news, sports, comedy and music podcasts that are updated throughout the day. Subscribers ...
Global Carriers.(News)
Feb 06, 2006 ... Editor's Note: The RCR Wireless News and RCR Wireless News Database research staff have compiled this list of the world's largest operators ranked by subscribers. Subscriber numbers reflect quarterly results ended Dec. 31, 2005, unless otherwise noted and were derived from individual ...
Alltel to stay cautious amid bright outlook.(News)
Feb 06, 2006 ... Byline: KELLY HILL Alltel Corp. officials emphasized plans to continue their conservative path during a company analyst day in New York last week, even though they said they remain optimistic going forward. "We've never been `let's swing for the fences' and bet ...
Alltel expands prepaid options with U service.(News)
Feb 06, 2006 ... Byline: KELLY HILL Alltel Corp. is revamping its prepaid service to try to profit from recent trends. As the U.S. postpaid wireless market saturates, fourth-quarter results showed most carriers, including Alltel, registered a heavier prepaid and reseller mix among newly added ...
Yahoo leads wireless Web portals.(Wireless Metrics)
Feb 06, 2006 ... Yahoo has the early lead in the race to become the wireless Web portal of choice for U.S. consumers, according to new figures from M:Metrics. An average of nearly 13 million consumers per month accessed Yahoo's services from their handset during the fourth quarter of 2005, the ...
Phones, marvelous phones.(Opinion)
Feb 06, 2006 ... Byline: Tracy Ford One of the best things about being a journalist in the wireless industry is that we get to test new toys, er, I mean, phones. Many of the industry's best devices make it to the hallowed halls of RCR Wireless News because some very nice people in the handset ...
Phone cancer studies more consistent than reported in newspaper.(Letters)
Feb 06, 2006 ... To the Editor, Recent results of cell-phone tumor studies are much more consistent than your news item, "Conflicting studies muddy cell-phone health risks,'' in RCR Wireless News on Jan. 30 would have us believe. As you noted, Lennart Hardell has reported an increased risk of ...
Stock Watch: February 2-February 9.(Wireless Metrics)
Feb 13, 2006 ... table: Stock Watch: February 2-February 9 * 3 charts: ...
Pentagon report underscores wireless needs for successful military.(News)
Feb 13, 2006 ... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA A new Department of Defense report says the military will depend on broadband and wireless technologies in future warfare, a policy direction that could create added business opportunities for telecom and high-tech industry sectors. The ...
Bush signs DTV bill.(News)
Feb 13, 2006 ... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER, JEFFREY SILVA President George W. Bush signed into law budget deficit legislation requiring TV broadcasters to surrender analog spectrum by Feb. 18, 2009, paving the way for the redistribution of valuable frequencies to public safety and other ...
Sony Ericsson hedges on wireless e-mail standards.(News)
Feb 13, 2006 ... Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications L.P. released a new high-end 3G device and also laid out its plans for wireless e-mail. The company apparently has decided to forgo choosing sides in the hotly contested wireless e-mail market by supporting virtually every major wireless e-mail program ...
5 GHz Wi-Fi pact reached for testing, guidelines.(News)
Feb 13, 2006 ... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The Bush administration confirmed an agreement among military, high-tech and wireless firms on criteria for certifying new 5 GHz Wi-Fi devices capable of avoiding harmful interference to military radar. RCR Wireless News first reported the accord ...
Apertio scores Vodafone deal, $30M in funding; IPO on horizon.(Global Wireless)
Feb 13, 2006 ... Apertio announced a new deal with Vodafone Group plc that places Apertio's One Network Directory Server at the core of Vodafone's network in the United Kingdom. "By deploying a single data platform underpinning the entire core network, Vodafone is able to create a truly ...
Spain's Fon gets financial backing from Google, Skype for Wi-Fi sharing strategy.(Global Wireless)(Company Profile)
Feb 13, 2006 ... Byline: JONI MORSE Google Inc. and Skype Technologies SA are among the backers of Fon, a Spanish Internet software company with plans to create a global network of 1 million shared Wi-Fi hot spots by 2010. In its first round of funding, the three-month-old company ...
3G handsets a growing chunk of US market.(Wireless Metrics)
Feb 13, 2006 ... Third-generation handsets now account for roughly 16 percent of the U.S. mobile phone landscape, according to a new study from CIBC World Markets. In the firm's January report on 3G handset sales, CIBC found that 12 out of a total of 76 handsets sold in the United States support ...
Comverse products to personalize text messages.(News)
Feb 13, 2006 ... Comverse Technology Inc. hopes to boost already booming text messaging usage with a series of new personalized services and short cuts. The company said the services include an offering that allows members to insert a predetermined signature at the ...
Motorola teams with Interphase for servers.(News)
Feb 13, 2006 ... Motorola Inc. named Interphase Corp. its preferred provider for I/O Advanced Mezzanine Cards, according to an alliance announced by the companies. The first communications server products to ...
FBI probes bulk prepaid buys for black-market ties.(News)
Feb 13, 2006 ... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The FBI and Department of Homeland Security have advised state and local law enforcement officials to be alert for large purchases of prepaid cell phones, an FBI spokesman said. The advisory follows an investigation of recent incidents in Texas, ...
Products.
Feb 13, 2006 ... Andrew Andrew Corp. launched a compact tower-mounted amplifier for third-generation networks. The company said its OneBase Compact TMA product, at 1.5 liters, is the smallest and lightest tower-mounted amplifier available in the industry. The product complies with Antenna ...
People.
Feb 13, 2006 ... Motorola Motorola Inc. named Hamid Ahmadi its first chief architect, with responsibility for developing a unified architectural framework and leading strategic hardware and software architecture planning across all business units. Ahmadi will report to Padmasree Warrior, the ...
AWS auction could spell windfall for government, though analysts differ on value.(News)
Feb 13, 2006 ... Byline: DAN MEYER The Federal Communications Commission's planned auction of so-called "advanced wireless services'' spectrum scheduled for June could spell a windfall for government coffers, though analysts are mixed on the amount of said windfall. The government has said it ...
USF reform bill unkind to rural wireless.(News)
Feb 13, 2006 ... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.), often an advocate for rural America and former chairman of the Senate communications subcommittee, celebrated the tenth anniversary of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 last week by introducing a universal-service ...
Senate panel sympathetic to large bandwidth users.(News)
Feb 13, 2006 ... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER The Senate Commerce Committee seemed cool to the idea that broadband-pipe owners should be able to require some bandwidth hogs-like Voice over Internet Protocol providers, Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc.-to pay to access their broadband pipes. ...
Telecom execs asked about roles in warrentless wiretaps.(News)
Feb 13, 2006 ... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA Two powerful Senate Democrats asked executives of three telecom giants with major mobile-phone units to turn over information on their alleged participation in the Bush administration's warrantless domestic surveillance program. Sens. Edward ...
Lobbying reform shouldn't impact wireless spending on Capitol Hill.(News)
Feb 13, 2006 ... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA Wireless, telecom and high-tech sectors that spend an estimated $300 million a year to change the hearts and minds of congressmen, federal regulators and White House officials are unlikely to lose prized access to policymakers, with efforts to pass lobbying ...
FCC proposes rules strengthening customer call record privacy.
Feb 13, 2006 ... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER Late Friday, the Federal Communications Commission announced it will examine ways to strengthen the protection of customer call records. The agency is seeking comment on five specific measures proposed by the Electronic Privacy Information Center ...
RIM touts NTP workaround, aims to assuage fears.(News)
Feb 13, 2006 ... Byline: COLIN GIBBS Research In Motion Ltd. may have found some leverage in its fight against NTP Inc., unveiling a software "workaround'' it says would prevent a shutdown of its service to U.S. BlackBerry users. The Canadian developer said it has developed and tested ...
Mobilitec software aids MVNOs.(News)
Feb 13, 2006 ... Mobilitec Inc. this week expects to launch an offering for operators and brands looking to publish, manage and deliver mobile content. The mobile software developer will release mPower 5.0, a single-platform solution that supports the spectrum of wireless content including ...
Openwave, Sun to share technologies for SDK.(News)
Feb 13, 2006 ... Byline: COLIN GIBBS Openwave Systems Inc. and Sun Microsystems Inc. this week will unveil an agreement to share technologies in an effort to whittle time-to-market for applications from operators and software developers. The companies will share technologies to ...
Nvidia launches mobile TV chip.(News)
Feb 13, 2006 ... Nvidia Corp. said it plans to unveil a single chip solution that supports mobile TV, music and games. applications at the 3GSM show. The graphics processor technology company said the GoForce 3D 5500 is designed to capitalize on 3G networks and ...
Speedy credentials crucial to telecom recovery after disasters.(News)
Feb 13, 2006 ... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER Government officials should move quickly to ensure that telecommunications carriers can gain access to their sites and the necessary fuel and security to be able to restore communications service as rapidly as possible. This was the conclusion of ...
Of bragging rights and Wi-Fi for favelas.(Opinion)
Feb 13, 2006 ... Byline: Jeffrey Silva There are two interesting discussions in progress in the United States and abroad, each legitimate, timely and blindly interrelated. In the United States, the Bush administration, industry leaders, governors and august academic institutions are ...
Bush budget sits heavy on wireless.
Feb 13, 2006 ... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The Bush administration last week proposed setting user fees on un-auctioned spectrum regulated by the Federal Communications Commission, but the agency refused to disclose which wireless services would be subject to new government taxes. The ...
Presence migrating from chat rooms to board rooms.
Feb 13, 2006 ... Byline: COLIN GIBBS One of the most popular features of instant messaging is expanding off the desktop and into the mobile enterprise. It's called presence, and it allows users to determine the availability of others. An employee, for instance, can use presence to ...