2001

HELSINKI, Finland—Nokia Networks said it has selected TietoEnator as its research and development partner effective Oct. 1.According to the terms, about 300 Nokia workers will move to TietoEnator, while TietoEnator will develop, test and maintain software related to mobile core …

SALT LAKE CITY—Verizon Wireless celebrated the opening of its newest customer service call center in West Valley City, Utah. The $42 million facility includes more than 800 workstations and 200 training stations and will bring more than 1,000 jobs to …

WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission expects to begin releasing data on consumer complaints by the middle of next month, Rosemary Kimball, director of media relations for the FCC’s Consumer Information Bureau, told RCR Wireless News on Thursday.Information on the amount and …

WASHINGTON—Dr. Jeffrey Runge, the newly installed administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said that NHTSA is watching closely the growing issue of driver distraction but said that it is every motorist’s responsibility to avoid distractions.“That is not to …

SARASOTA, Fla.—Speedcom Wireless Corp. closed an $8.4 million private placement that leaves the fixed wireless broadband products provider in the enviable position of having a “virtually debt-free” balance sheet, the Sarasota, Fla.–based company said Aug. 28.As the result of this …

LOS ANGELES—Motorola Inc. has developed a product called photomasks that makes chips with integrated circuits smaller than 100 nanometers in breadth, about 10,000 times smaller than the human hair.The company calls the technology photolithography, which uses light to burn excess …

FREMONT, Calif.—Wireless gaming company Synovial Inc. scored a major deal today with Sega of America under which the company will offer Sega’s video game content to handheld devices and next-generation mobile phones.Synovial will use its development toolkit, code named SYN, …

ANNAPOLIS, Md.—TeleCommunications Systems Inc. said it successfully completed compatibility testing with Grayson Wireless’ Geometrix wireless location system. The testing assures wireless carriers that the two systems can operate together to provide an E911 Phase II solution.Geometrix provides the technology to …

TOKYO—Kyocera Corp. said it plans to cut 10,000 jobs at is branches overseas, representing 20 percent of its 51,000 work force worldwide.The company said the decision was a reaction to the market slowdown and a strategy to revamp itself.

SAN DIEGO—Leap Wireless International Inc. launched it Cricket wireless service in Boise, Idaho, allowing customers to make unlimited local wireless calls for a fixed price each month. Ericsson provided wireless infrastructure systems and deployment services for the network.

TOKYO—Hitachi Ltd. denied reports that it had decided to shut down its plant that makes dynamic random-access memory chips.A news report also had said the company planned to lay off 1,300 workers.

BEIJING, China—China’s state Development Planning Commission said it has approved 19 firms to make CDMA handsets to cater to part of its 120.6 million cellular phone subscribers.Some of the approved companies include Ningo Bird, China Kejian Co., Zhongxing telecom and …

HELSINKI, Finland—Nokia Corp. has lost some of its market share in the handset business, while L.M. Ericsson has climbed up to the No. 3 spot, according to the latest survey by Gartner Dataquest.Although Nokia remains the market leader, its market …

FRAMINGTON, Mass.—IDC said phone sales have dropped three percent this year, a reflection of what it described as the ongoing IT recession in the United States and worsening conditions in Europe.The research firm, however, foresees growth from 412 million sales …

ATLANTA—Sprint Network Partners AirGate PCS Inc. and iPCS Inc. have agreed to merge their operations in a deal valued at nearly $900 million.The deal calls for AirGate to issue 13.5 million common shares to iPCS and assume $97 million of …

MURRAY HILL, New Jersey, United States—Lucent Technologies claims it is the first vendor in North America and one of the first worldwide to make its third-generation cdma2000 equipment and software available for commercial launch.“Mobile operators that upgrade their current-generation networks …

LONDON—Vodafone Group plc reported it is selling its 11.68-percent equity stake in Korean telecommunications company Shinsegi Telecomm Inc. for an undisclosed amount to SK Telecom Co. Ltd.

SINGAPORE—Flextronics International Ltd. said it plans to acquire Telecom Global Solutions Inc., which provides wireless networks and radio-frequency consulting services for the wireless telecommunications industry.The company expects to close the acquisition of Irving, Texas-based Telecom Global by the end of …

PHOENIX—Under a strategic partnership, Yaahteh Communications L.L.C., a majority Navajo-owned company, and North/South Communications Corp. will work to provide a telecommunications network to the Navajo Nation in northern Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.The companies will also work on an upgraded …

LONDON—Just days after the initial launch of MIGway, the new joint venture between TDC Mobile International and CMG Wireless Data Solutions, the companies announced they will offer wireless access to MSN Hotmail e-mail services to select European carriers.MSN Hotmail is …

NEW YORK—Tele2 AB, formerly NetCom AB, today said it will be the first mobile virtual network operator in the Netherlands under an agreement with Telfort, a GSM operator in the Netherlands that is owned by British Telecom.Tele2 said the agreement …

NEIUWEGEIN, the Netherlands—TDC Mobile International and CMG Wireless Data Solutions announced their plans to create a pan-European revenue-sharing WAP gateway, which the companies said will give content providers a simple, unified method to offer their services to Europe’s 320 million …

MOSCOW—Major Russian Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) carrier said it had completed a deal to buy an 81-percent stake in the Telecom 900 Company, which has a controlling interest in three regional carriers in the Urals, Siberia and the Far East.The statement …

BUCHAREST, Romania—GSM Kazakhstan announced that it has the largest mobile communications subscriber base in Kazakhstan with 330.000 subscribers. The company, operating under the brand name K’cell, is one of the largest investors in the field of telecommunications in Kazakhstan. At …

ISTANBUL, Turkey—Turkish mobile carrier Turkcell today said it will launch its new mobile Internet service, SurfCell for WAP and General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) users.Users will be able to access Internet sites through either Turkcell’s WAP page or by entering …