Wireless Week back issues from September 2005:
Waiting on a phantom? Carly Simon and Heinz may have to rethink their anticipation marketing campaign. Ketchup may be slow, but the long-awaited iTunes phone actually may end up taking the cake.(Up Front)
Sep 01, 2005; ... The specter of an iTunes phone came a little closer to showing its true colors when word broke that Motorola's E790 GSM phone received FCC approval. Each time iTunes and Motorola are mentioned in the same breath, speculation begins anew. What is it about this mysterious phone ...
It's a new deal: the mobile OS market has become a high-stakes poker game, and it appears carriers and handset makers are re-examining their bets.(Cover Story)
Sep 01, 2005; ... In the high-stakes game of open mobile operating systems (OS), the carrier and handset players are now drawing their cards on the future of lucrative wireless services--and there are some signs the bets are changing. While Linux appears to be upping its ante with backers that ...
Buckle up, there's rough air ahead: media watchdog group weighs in on in-flight phone use proposal, bringing up the question of indecency standards applying to wireless.(Service Providers)
Sep 01, 2005; ... WASHINGTON -- Another front has opened up in what is becoming a brewing storm over wireless adult services, and the heart of the storm is 25,000 feet up in the air. Conservative media watchdog group Morality in Media filed comments in the FCC's ongoing review of its rules that ...
ETFs on slow boil at FCC: carriers want states to back away from imposing regulations on early termination fees.(Service Providers)
Sep 01, 2005; ... WASHINGTON -- Wireless carriers and CTIA are pushing the FCC to head off states pushing to regulate customer termination fees. The companies filed comments at the commission in August on a CTIA petition that would take away states' abilities to regulate early termination fees on ...
Mesh nets step up: old mesh network technology gets update aimed at enterprise users.(Service Providers)
Sep 01, 2005; ... As new wireless mesh networking capabilities become available, private enterprise network managers have a growing reservoir of wireless devices from which they can tap to support their facilities. Mesh networking, which uses communications capabilities between devices, not ...
ZTE zips into U.S. market: ZTE has consolidated its three lines of business in the United States under one company, ZTE USA, as it seeks a wider global role.(Business)
Sep 01, 2005; ... Ask someone in the domestic U.S. wireless telecommunications business who the largest telecom manufacturer is in China and they'll likely answer Huawei Technologies. Huawei has gained a lot of visibility outside China, but at home it takes a back seat to ZTE, which is actually the largest ...
Rollover plans come with trade-offs: Cingular customers are flocking to Rollover plans. The popular concept promotes customer loyalty, but does it diminish the carrier's ARPU?(Business)
Sep 01, 2005; ... A new focus is becoming more pervasive among Tier 1 operators: customer loyalty. Carriers that once welcomed overage fees because they bolstered revenues now are willing to sacrifice those fees in exchange for better customer perception. Sprint's Fair & Flexible plan, which ...
Sprint Nextel co-mingling begins: with the merger complete, the real work at hand begins--integrating two disparate companies and network technologies without losing customers.(Business)
Sep 01, 2005; ... The consolidation of two major wireless operators used to conjure up images of customer confusion, billing chaos, misinformed sales representatives and network glitches. But with today's proliferation of wireless operator mergers, the telecom industry has become well versed in what it ...
Super 3G answers carrier call: about 80 networks have launched with W-CDMA, but carriers already are calling out for a more powerful technology.(Technology)
Sep 01, 2005; ... W-CDMA networks only recently have become more widespread, and carriers have started to upgrade them to reach the promise that 3G failed to deliver. If that is the case, why are many of these carriers talking about the next evolution of 3G--popularly called Super 3G? And why is it ...
3G networks require complex testing: advanced wireless networks offer added features and functionality, but that makes network testing requirements even more critical.(Technology)
Sep 01, 2005; ... Verizon Wireless and Sprint tout the advanced capabilities of their new 1X EV-DO networks. Cingular Wireless promises stellar data speeds and new functionalities when its UMTS network launches in more markets later this year. Boasting advanced capabilities is great, but all ...
Brand names on deck: content firms are paying top dollar for the rights to big-name brand movies, TV shows and more. But does licensed content equate to better sales and priority deck placement?(Content & Apps)
Sep 01, 2005; ... Check out the deck of any wireless operator's mobile entertainment offerings and you'll see some familiar names--Fast and Furious, Finding Nemo, Mr. and Mrs. Smith and War of the Worlds. But this list isn't a rundown of the latest top movies. These are mobile games based on popular movies ....
Help on the way for developers: more software platforms are available to help IT departments mobilize their enterprise apps.(Enterprise)
Sep 01, 2005; ... Turning enterprise applications into something useful on a wireless handset can be a complex task, but an increasing number of development platforms can make the job a lot easier. One of these is an upcoming release of the BlackBerry Mobile Data System (formerly called Mobile ...
Go figure.(By the Numbers)
Sep 01, 2005 ... 110 Number of Flarion Technologies' engineers to be absorbed by Qualcomm when its $8 million acquisition closes. 6,000+ Number of OEMs, designers and others who have registered to download the ZigBee specification since it was made available to the public in June. The ZigBee ...
Who's playing games?(By the Numbers)(Brief Article)
Sep 01, 2005 ... Half of all U.S. wireless subscribers now own phones capable of downloading games, and 27 percent play games on those devices compared to 20 percent last year, according to a report published by The NPD Group, Mobile Games: Who's Playing. The researchers talked to some 8,744 ...
Tracking mobile music models.(By the Numbers)
Sep 01, 2005 ... During their first quarter of offering mobile music services, South Korea's SK Telecom reported more than half a million mobile music subscriptions, and Japan's KDDI witnessed an increase in 3G average revenue per unit (ARPU) by nearly 40 percent, according to Pyramid Research in its ...
Measuring online experience.(By the Numbers)
Sep 01, 2005 ... Customer Experience Rankings 1. Wirefly 2. Lets Talk 3. T-Mobile USA Wirefly, Lets Talk and T-Mobile USA were the three best performing sites reported in the Keynote Customer Experience Rankings for Wireless, an overall measure of online ...
Wireless telecom sector VC investments 2005.(By the Numbers)
Sep 01, 2005 ... Wireless venture capital funding experienced a boost in the second quarter in terms of the amount invested. However, as a percentage of all telecom deals, wireless registered a drop. That's largely because VoIP company Vonage's $199 million in funding rocketed the overall telecom numbers, ...
Push-to-talk: the rush is on: we've all seen the success of Nextel's PTT service. But expect changes ahead as another operator not only goes head-to-head with Direct Connect but adds more spice to the mix.(Seybold's Take)
Sep 01, 2005; ... OK, Sprint and Nextel have merged. Questions 1 am fielding include, "How long will Nextel's technology, iDEN by Motorola, be around? Will Sprint Nextel stop selling iDEN systems and, if so, what will happen to customers who rely on push-to-talk (PTT)? I don't have the answers, ...
CEO balances teeter-totter of work, family.(PROFILE: Bob Plaschke)
Sep 01, 2005; ... PROFILE: BOB PLASCHKE World Traveler Plans Trips Around Family Like many CEOs, Bob Plaschke finds himself making some lonely decisions. Between answering to the Sonim Technologies' board of directors and to the company's employees, he is forced to make some tough ...
Jerk-O-Meter keeps callers in line.(OFFBEAT SOUND CHECK)(Brief Article)
Sep 01, 2005; ... Leave it to researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to come up with a technology good enough to determine whether someone is being a jerk. As part of a project based on predicting people's behavior, researchers developed the Jerk-O-Meter, a prototype ...
Intervoice.(On The Move)(appointments)(Brief Article)
Sep 01, 2005 ... KENNETH GOLDBERG was appointed to the newly created executive post of senior vice president, business ...
CBS Digital Media.(On The Move)
Sep 01, 2005 ... CYRIAC ROEDING was named vice president of wireless for CBS Digital Media. Roeding, who co-founded 12snap AG, a European mobile marketing and mobile ...
Azimuth Systems.(On The Move)(appointments)(Brief Article)
Sep 01, 2005 ... JEFF ABRAMOWITZ joined Azimuth Systems as vice president of marketing. He ...
Ericsson North America.(On The Move)
Sep 01, 2005 ... BRIAN ROSENBERG was named senior vice president of enterprise and new sales for Ericsson North America. He ...
AirDefense.(On The Move)(appointments)(Brief Article)
Sep 01, 2005 ... DAVID GAGNE was named vice president of business development at ...
iMedia International.(On The Move)(appointments at iMedia US)(Brief Article)
Sep 01, 2005 ... ROGER PAVANE was tapped to lead the new wireless media group for iMedia ...
WebTech Wireless Inc.(On The Move)(retirement)(Brief Article)
Sep 01, 2005 ... GORDON BECKER, president of WebTech Wireless International Barbados, ...
Acta Wireless.(On The Move)
Sep 01, 2005 ... Former Verizon Wireless executive PAUL PALMIERI joined Acta Wireless as a venture partner and mobile entertainment practice ...
When mother nature & man collide: this was no ordinary hurricane. And then the levees broke, which upgraded Katrina from disaster to catastrophe. Should wireless change its disaster planning.(UpFront)
Sep 15, 2005; ... In March, the Ernest Morial Convention Center grandly housed CTIA's Wireless 2005 exhibition. The city of New Orleans hosted thousands of wireless professionals in its hotels, restaurants and bars. Watching recent scenes of that once-familiar stomping ground is eerily other-worldly. The ...
Barbed wireless.(Cartoon)
Sep 15, 2005 ... * CELL SITES ON WHEELS * CELL BATTERIES * ...
Juggling enterprise assets: enterprise IT managers have to keep track of an upwardly spiraling number of mobile devices, but now several products can make that job easier.(DEVICE MANAGEMENT)(Cover Story)
Sep 15, 2005; ... For an IT manager, keeping track of the company's wireless device assets is like trying to herd cats--nearly impossible. With wireless handsets and laptops increasingly becoming the tools of a company's business, managing these devices can be vexing--there are myriad models and ...
Corporate customers eye device management.(DEVICE MANAGEMENT)
Sep 15, 2005; ... The ability to upgrade a fleet of employees' company-provided wireless phones, as well as manage the networks they're connected to, is beginning to catch on with large corporations. Industries such as manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, hospitality services, energy companies and other large ...
The EV-DO pricing plunge: Verizon and Sprint cut unlimited EV-DO price packages in hopes of spurring adoption rates.(evolution data only)(Sprint Nextel Corp. and Verizon Wireless Inc.)
Sep 15, 2005; ... Competition often spurs price declines, but rarely does it prompt a dramatic price cut of 25 percent. That's exactly what recently occurred in the high-speed wireless data world. Late last month, Verizon Wireless initiated the price cut when it dropped the price of its BroadbandAccess 1X ...
Cingular fine-tunes contracts: company moves to appease consumer groups and state regulators with more detailed contracts.(Service Providers)
Sep 15, 2005; ... WASHINGTON-State regulators and consumer groups say wireless carriers are closer to finally getting the message when it comes to consumer billing complaints. That thought is reinforced as Cingular Wireless, the nation's largest carrier in terms of subscribers, aggressively ...
Searching for service: millions of Americans use the Internet to buy phones and plans, which search engines say is a marketing opportunity for carriers.(Service Providers)
Sep 15, 2005; ... It's no secret that the Internet has become a leading information tool on a global scale. Now there's evidence that consumers are using it more and more to find the best handsets and wireless plans. A recent study by the research firm Compete estimates that nearly 24 million ...
Backhaul overhaul: with 3G networks coming on line, wireless carriers are looking beyond traditional T1 lines to support rising network traffic.(Service Providers)
Sep 15, 2005; ... In the evolving world of bigger and faster cellular networks, operators are finding that the traditional T1 isn't the only method when it comes to backhaul connections. Pressure from rising subscriber traffic and the addition of higher-bandwidth services is prompting cellular ...
Distributors tap new markets: the role of the handset distributor is evolving to encompass new business strategies such as customization and content aggregation.(Business)
Sep 15, 2005; ... Tracking and moving handsets from warehouses to retail stores used to aptly describe a wireless handset distributor's role. But that portrayal no longer holds true. Today's wireless distributor must be a consultative partner to its customers, many of which are MVNOs or smaller regional ...
Mulling mobile music's potential: technology--in the form of higher speed networks, better quality playback and smaller file sizes--is making mobile music services more appealing, but business strategies are still in flux.(Technology)
Sep 15, 2005; ... Mobile music--whether downloading songs to your cell phone or listening to music that's streamed to your handset--is probably the most anticipated mobile entertainment service in the United States this year. U.S. operators are expected to soon debut downloadable mobile music ...
Mu-Fi, meet Dr. Shannon: municipal Wi-Fi projects still face interference issues.(Tech Insight)
Sep 15, 2005; ... It started in Philadelphia and seems to be spreading to cities and t, owns across the United States: It s the idea of using thousands of overlapping Wi-Fi service zones to provide blanket coverage over a municipal area. The concept, which of late has come to be known as "Mu-Fi," promises ...
CDMA nearing dead-end? Not so fast: although some think CDMA may hit a technological wall, there are a lot of things going on with the technology to give it life into the future.(Technology)(code division multiple access)
Sep 15, 2005; ... Walk the hallways at some industry shows and talk to people about the future of wireless air interface technologies and you'll likely run across someone who says CDMA will reach a dead-end as a technology in the next several years. That idea might shock some, considering where CDMA has ...
.mobi's mainstream moves: remember five years ago when the industry was excited about the wireless Internet? It didn't catch on. Now some powerful companies want to pump new life into the idea.(management of mTLD Top Level Domain Ltd.)
Sep 15, 2005; ... Sometime after the first of the year, consumers with cell phones will be offered a new way to access content, when a system of Internet Websites start coming out specifically geared for the mobile world. This will be the world of the .mobi Top Level Domain (mTLD), similar to ...
Jamdat sets game standard: the mobile game company values its close operator relationships but also sees growth potential in new distribution channels.(management of JAMDAT Mobile)(Company Profile)
Sep 15, 2005; ... LOS ANGELES -- In the mobile gaming world, Jamdat Mobile is often held up as an example of what can be achieved in mobile entertainment. In fact, Jamdat is the envy for many mobile gaming firms trying to make inroads in the U.S. market. The company, which launched its first game ...
Content under pressure: family group wants more hands-on protection capabilities for wireless services.(beliefs of National Coalition for the Protection of Children and Families)
Sep 15, 2005; ... WASHINGTON -- Citing concerns about increasing convergence between wireless services and other media, another activist group representing families is pushing for more control over how advancing wireless services can be accessed. The National Coalition for the Protection of ...
Hitching a ride: companies use wireless to increase trucking efficiencies, but not everyone is sold on it.(Enterprise)
Sep 15, 2005; ... WASHINGTON -- Wireless phones hitchhiking in long-haul trucks are quietly becoming the official timekeeper in those vehicles. The movement is happening at a somewhat overlooked crossroads between the expanding popularity of wireless phones and government trucking regulations ....
Security becomes bigger issue: as wireless networking becomes more computer-like, the possibility of bad things happening will increase. Security companies have recognized that fact with new offerings.(Enterprise)
Sep 15, 2005; ... Like it or not, the computing world and all the benefits and problems it entails has reached cellular communications. Most people relish the positive things that bandwidth and sophisticated devices provide, but there's a downside as well. Part and parcel of the computing world ...
Europeans unlock garden gates: broader Internet companies like Google are wiggling their way into wireless, which may nudge more carriers to step back from their walled garden strategies.(International)(customer service management of T-Mobile International AG und Company KG)
Sep 15, 2005; ... DUBLIN, Ireland -- T-Mobile International's plan to essentially abandon its portal in Europe has some observers thinking this may be the beginning of the end of the walled garden. For now, operators across Europe have different approaches to using the walled garden. On one end ...
Adult content, U.K. style: wireless operators in the United Kingdom crafted their adult content policies with an eye toward self-regulation and assuming greater customer care than ISPs.(International)
Sep 15, 2005; ... DUBLIN, Ireland-Adult content on mobile phones is expected to be big business. By 2010, mobile adult content will generate about $2.3 billion globally, according to research by Daniel Winterbottom, a senior analyst at Informa Telecoms and Media. The catch is that while operators ...
Go figure.(By the Numbers)(Brief Article)
Sep 15, 2005 ... 10% Decrease in overall satisfaction performance with wireless service providers from 2004 to 2005, reports J.D. Power and Associates. 35% Of public schools now using wireless systems, up from 10 percent in 2001, according to Market Data Retrieval. 71% Of teens ...
Bundled offerings still hot ticket.(household surveys)(Brief Article)
Sep 15, 2005 ... Some 19 percent of high-tech households surveyed would consider subscribing to a quadruple-play bundle that included services for TV, Internet, landline and wireless phone from a single service provider, according to Telephia's Emerging Personal Communications Options (EPCO) survey. In ...
Health care slow to adopt passive RFID.(radio frequency identification equipment)(Brief Article)
Sep 15, 2005 ... A survey of health care organizations across the United States found that fewer than 23 percent of RFID solutions deployed by health care organizations are using passive RFID technology, indicating a slow market acceptance compared to active systems. Why? Vendors are the ones controlling ...
Timing is everything.(Americans surveyed about phone calls)(Brief Article)
Sep 15, 2005 ... A national survey of Americans ages 14 to 24 shows that certain phone calls leave a big impact on young people's lives. The survey, conducted by MRSI (Marketing Research Services Inc.) for Boost Mobile, reveals some interesting age and gender variations in young people's attitudes and ...
Report: modest growth in 2005.(market size forecasts of cellular telephone services)(Brief Article)
Sep 15, 2005 ... After expanding at a rate of nearly 24 percent in 2004, the global mobile wireless market is expected to experience healthy, although relatively modest, growth of 9.3 percent in 2005, increasing from $60.7 billion in 2004 to $66.3 billion in 2005, according to a Research and Markets ...
Hot PDAs & handhelds for August 2005.(rankings)(personal digital assistants)(Brief Article)
Sep 15, 2005 ... 1. PalmOne Tungsten E2 Handheld 2. PalmOne Zire 31 Handheld 3. Fossil Abacus AU5005 Wrist PDA 4. PalmOne LifeDrive Mobile Manager 5. PalmOne Tungsten E Handheld 6. PalmOne Zire 72 ...
Seeking drivers for the mass adoption of MMS: taking a lesson from SMS will speed MMS emergence. But there are other considerations as well.(Guest Opinion)(multimedia messaging service, short message service)
Sep 15, 2005; ... Mass adoption of a new mobile messaging technology depends heavily on simplicity and interoperability. As long as a technology user has to stop and ask, "Can a person receive this communication?" the service will fail the near-term test of mass-market adoption. Such a technology also may ...
Teen drivers: hub of concern: wireless technology offers hope, but some see dangerous distractions.
Sep 15, 2005; ... WASHINGTON -- Teenage drivers are at a curious nexus of wireless communications these days. They are among the most sought-after audience for wireless devices and services, yet they are also among the more vulnerable of customers in certain instances. "It's definitely a ...
Seeing into entertainment's future: Mitch Feinman: VP's Wireless Roots Started With Locations.(PROFILE: Mitch Feinman: VP's Wireless Roots Started With Location)(Fox Mobile Entertainment)(Biography)
Sep 15, 2005; ... Not too many people in this world get the opportunity to create a new word that becomes part of the lexicon not only of an industry, but the broader populace as well. Mitch Feinman has that distinction, having created the word "mobisodes" to marry mobility and short television clips. ...
And the Emmy goes to ...(Sprint Corp. and MobiTV get Emmy Engineering Award)(Brief Article)
Sep 15, 2005; ... Telecommunications executives soon may get accustomed to rubbing elbows with the likes of Debra Messing, Ellen DeGeneres and other celebrities as Hollywood becomes enamored with the cell phone and its potential as the "third screen" for delivering entertainment. But that ...
Red Bend Software.(On The Move)
Sep 15, 2005 ... DOMINIQUE JODOIN joined Red Bend Software as executive vice president for business strategy and president of U.S. field operations. ...
Agere Systems.(On The Move)
Sep 15, 2005 ... PETER KELLY was named CFO at Agere Systems. He previously served as the ...
airBand Communications.(On The Move)
Sep 15, 2005 ... MARK SPAGNOLO was named president and CEO of airBand Communications ....
Hypres.(On The Move)
Sep 15, 2005 ... RICHARD HITT was named president and CEO of Hypres. A 20-year veteran of the wireless communications industry, Hitt previously ...
Actix.(On The Move)
Sep 15, 2005 ... RICHARD EVANS was named general manager for the U.S. operations of ...
Microtune.(On The Move)
Sep 15, 2005 ... BERNARD MARREN, president and CEO of OPTi, joined the board of Microtune. Marren also is chairman and founder of ...
WJ Communications.(On The Move)
Sep 15, 2005 ... EPHRAIM KWOK, senior vice president and CFO at WJ Communications, resigned to join a pre-IPO technology company. RAINER ...