March 2001

BEIJING-China Mobile (HK), the Hong Kong listed subsidiary of the China Mobile, based in Beijing, has received approval from the Ministry of Information Industry (MII) for its new tariff scheme. Currently, users pay a monthly fee of 50 yuan (US$6) …

MELBOURNE, Australia-Telstra has paid $3.7 million for the remaining spectrum licenses in the 800 MHz band after AAPT withdrew from the Australian auction of new spectrum currently under way. The licenses, mainly in regional and remote areas, were sold in …

SAN DIEGO, United States-Samsung Electronics selected Qualcomm’s MSM5200 Mobile Station Modem integrated circuit and system software solution for use in its new handsets. The handsets will meet the IMT-2000 wideband-CDMA (W-CDMA) mode for third-generation (3G) services. According to Qualcomm, with …

CEDEX, France-France Telecom Mobiles added MichelinTravel.com to its Itineris WAP portal. With the new service, users will be able to access the complete database of addresses tested and classified by the Michelin Red Guide all over Europe, with more than …

MILAN, Italy-Andala, the Italian consortium headed by Hutchison Whampoa that won a third-generation license last year changed its name to H3G and announced it will invest $3.7 million in the new network by 2006. And in contrast to the warnings …

OXFORD, United Kingdom-BT Cellnet and its wireless services arm Genie are to launch a data service to allow mobile users and field workers wireless access to corporate networks. The two BT divisions have agreed to team up with the U.S. …

ST. LOUIS-Amdocs, provider of customer care, billing and order management solutions to the communications industry, announced its e-care and prepaid solutions will be implemented for Esat Digifone, an Irish mobile operator with more than 1 million subscribers. The e-care solution …

BUCHAREST, Romania-At the end of February, ONE began offering GPRS service throughout Austria. Billing is based on the data volume transferred. The handsets for the network are the GPRS-enabled Motorola Inc. Timeport 260 handsets. “Our customers merely have to pay …

BUCHAREST, Romania-Schlumberger Test & Transactions announced this week Slovakia’s leading mobile operator EuroTel Bratislava has chosen Schlumberger as its partner in delivering a new, highly secure mobile banking service to multiple banks, based on Schlumberger Simera Java subscriber identity modules. …

MOSCOW-Russian Communications Minister Leonid Reiman said a third GSM license can be issued in major Russian cities and territories only after penetration exceeds 10 percent of the population there. He cited world experience as showing that no competition emerges if …

WASHINGTON-With the Federal Communications Commission having reaffirmed last month that state courts are not prohibited under the telecom act from awarding monetary damages in lawsuits against wireless carriers, the mobile-phone industry suddenly finds itself vulnerable to consumer litigation on a …

When Verizon Wireless introduced the Kyocera 6035 smart phone last week, many were surprised by how quickly the country’s largest wireless operator brought the new phone to market. “Time to market is very important, and Verizon did a good job …

LINCOLN, Neb.-Transcrypt International Inc. ended the year with revenues totaling $42.2 million compared with annual revenues of $53.5 million for 1999 and is evaluating a sale of part or all of the company. The losses are due to a weaker …

DENVER-Daniels & Associates, a provider of financial services to media, Internet and telecommunications clients, set an all-time company record in 2000 by completing 115 transactions, totaling more than $22.7 billion. The firm completed 84 mergers and acquisitions. Also included in …

WASHINGTON-Government testing of potential interference between the global positioning system and ultra-wideband devices seems to be politically inconclusive, while an UWB-industry funded study shows that UWB devices do not interfere any more than other unlicensed RF-using products. “The report documents …

WASHINGTON-The Bush administration last week retreated from its proposal to overhaul the schools and libraries Internet discount program and may be forced to backtrack on proposed budget cuts to telecom programs administered by the departments of commerce and agriculture. Education …

Following news of huge job cuts at Intel Corp. and Cisco Systems Inc., the Nasdaq tumbled 115.95 points Friday to land at 2,052.78, its lowest close since December 1998. A strong employment report, which could cause the Fed to lighten …

DES MOINES, Iowa-Nextel Partners Inc. was awarded the “Business of the Year” award from the Iowa Crime Prevention Association for its Nextel Partners Project Patrol the company launched last May in Des Moines, West Des Moines and Davenport, Iowa. The …

NEW YORK-AT&T Wireless Group Inc. said it would use most of the $6.5 billion the company raised in its recent bond offering, in conjunction with the $6.2 billion it received from NTT DoCoMo Inc., to build its network and invest …

VANCOUVER, British Columbia-Brian Tobin, Canada’s Minister of Industry officially announced a $9.9 million repayable investment in Sierra Wireless by Technology Partnerships Canada. The TPC investment is to be used for developing next-generation wireless technology for Canadian mobile workers, including high-speed …

SANTA CLARA, Calif.-Palm Inc. agreed to acquire Extended Systems Inc., a mobile solutions vendor, allowing Palm to provide both handheld computers and enterprise-class mobile infrastructure software and support for multiple operating systems, including Palm OS, Pocket PC, Windows CE, EPOC …

LONDON-Vodafone Group plc customers on seven of the company’s networks in Europe now can use their normal “short code” dialing numbers to access services such as voicemail, directory assistance and customer service when traveling outside their home country. “Allowing customers …

With a commercial launch in full gear in South Korea, Samsung Inc. may be the John the Baptist of 3G as the first manufacturer to streak out of the uncertain cloud hovering over migration to the technology. Already eyeing the …

As wireless carriers focus more and more of their resources on reducing churn, signing up new subscribers and acquiring spectrum for third-generation services, tower siting and construction is continually falling into the hands of companies like Mericom Corp., which has …

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina-The arrival of a third cellular telephony operator will provide the conditions for the Bolivian market to acquire more cellular than fixed telephony users during the first half of this year. Currently, there are 500,000 cellular telephony and …