March 2001

NEW DELHI, India-HFCL, a leading Indian telecom equipment manufacturer, has bagged a contract in Nepal to supply 5000 wireless local loop (WLL) lines. The contract, part of a World Bank-aided project in the Himalayan kingdom, is said to be worth …

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.-The Westchester County Legislature voted unanimously last Monday to prohibit drivers from talking on handheld cellular phones. The measure authorizes fines of up to $150 for an offense in the county unless the driver is using a hands-free …

ENGLEWOOD, Colo.-Triton PCS Inc. selected Agilera’s Extended Enterprise as the platform for its Lawson Software applications, allowing Agilera to integrate and host the suite of human resource applications and provide business process outsourcing services including the printing and distribution of …

WOODBRIDGE, N.J.-In the wake of the devastating earthquake in the Pacific Northwest, Cingular Interactive said its Interactive Intelligent Wireless Network continued operations in the region providing customers with a means of communications. Cingular said all base stations in the area …

FREMONT, Calif.-ClickServices presented a wireless software platform for global business that it said overcomes barriers posed by the competing wireless networks and various wireless devices. According to the company, ClickServices is interoperable between TDMA, CDMA and GSM, as well as …

Telefonica takes control of four Mexican companies Telefonica Moviles announced it will take management control of Bajacel, Movitel, Norcel and Cedetel, four of Motorola Inc.’s operating companies in Northern Mexico. As a result of this agreement, Telefonica Moviles said it …

HELSINKI, Finland-Nokia has been chosen by several companies to provide its third-generation network solution. Nokia said its 3G infrastructure is based on open standards, platforms and interfaces critical for evolution to commercial 3G services in a multivendor network. Nokia will …

WASHINGTON-The wireless industry last week received the strongest indication to date that securing third-generation mobile-phone spectrum will be difficult if not impossible, as an eclectic mix of military, educational, religious and fixed wireless licensees voiced serious reservations about leaving their …

Controversy is brewing in the Texas state House of Representatives over a far-reaching bill that could give individual counties the authority to regulate tower siting, even requiring those with whip antennas on their cars or a home satellite dish to …

WASHINGTON-The Bush administration last week proposed to delay key spectrum auctions and to phase out programs designed to bridge the Digital Divide, components of the president’s $1.96 trillion budget that signals the White House’s desire to improve spectrum management and …

LITCHFIELD PARK, Ariz.-Amid the scorched desert ground abutting the lush greens of golf courses, the future of the wireless Internet was the topic of discussion in the small community of Litchfield Park, Ariz., where industry consultant Andrew Seybold held his …

In a marriage of convenience, carriers are signing temporary dotted lines to outsource their network management to vendors as they migrate to the next generation of wireless technology. The trend, which concedes to vendors a pivotal role in positioning carriers …

FALLS CHURCH, Va.-Capital One Financial Corp. reported the conclusion of a direct marketing test relationship with Sprint PCS. The relationship involved Capital One originating wireless telephone accounts for Sprint PCS with the wireless carrier providing the telephone service and management …

Mobile computing company Psion plc shook the European wireless market-and sent its stocks rocketing to a new 27-month low-with news that it is dropping out of the running in the smart-phone industry, cutting its workforce and now plans to focus …

TORONTO-Avaya Canada, a provider of business communications systems and services, signed an agreement with OnSat Hospitality Joint Venture Ltd., which provides broadband satellite-based wireless Internet connections to deliver wireless broadband services to the hospitality industry. Avaya’s wireless systems will be …

If professionals need to be productive on the go, vVault thinks it has a platform on which they can walk. A mobile productivity applications provider, the company sets out to provide a technology platform to power network operators, ISPs, telecom …

WASHINGTON-BellSouth Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Duane Ackerman told reporters at the Precursor Group annual conference that the country’s third-largest local telephone company had no plans to cut its work force, in light of recent cuts made by telecom …

WASHINGTON-The Cellular Tele-communication & Internet Association launched its new Wireless Internet Caucus (WIC), a forum addressing development of the wireless Internet. An inaugural meeting of WIC will take place in Las Vegas Monday, March 19, just before CTIA’s WIRELESS 2001 …

SAN DIEGO-Wireless Facilities Inc., a provider of wireless telecommunications systems, said it received notice of contract suspension and termination from Metricom Inc. with regard to remaining RF engineering and deployment services for Metricom’s data network build-out. Wireless Facilities expects the …

INDIANAPOLIS-Brightpoint Inc., a provider of outsourced services, said it completed its plan to repurchase 130,000 of its convertible, subordinated, zero-coupon bonds due 2018. As of December 31, 2000, the bonds had an accreted book value of approximately $506 per bond …

NEW YORK-Some recent developments have brightened the longer-term prospects for smart cards in North American wireless communications, although the picture gets cloudier when framed as an immediate prospect. Opportunity is knocking for expansion of their use in provisioning of telecommunications …

TORONTO-Mist Inc., which provides wireless technologies applications and other information management technologies, is conducting a test of its MIST Freedom II Wireless point-of-sale terminal with McDonald’s Corp., in the Vivencia Restaurant franchise at the Stouffville, Ontario, location. The terminal is …

WASHINGTON-Huawei Technologies Inc., a Chinese telecom firm that is quickly becoming a global wireless juggernaut, is reportedly suspected of violating U.N. sanctions by supplying Iraq with fiber optic cable to improve its air defense capability. The Washington Post, citing Western …

WASHINGTON-TV broadcasters said they plan to fight any proposal that would force them to pay fees for 700 MHz spectrum they have not vacated by 2007. Further, during a Senate panel hearing on the transition to high-definition television, bickering between …

BEDMINSTER, N.J.-Verizon Wireless said it will introduce Kyocera Corp.’s 6035 smart phone onto its network beginning March 5. The dual-branded, Palm OS-powered handset features wireless Web access and a near-Palm handheld size screen, and it supports the installation of applications …