2001

ATLANTA-MobileBriefs announced it launched a customized audio business service the company said allows users to create their own business news show and listen to it over mobile devices. Users can control the program’s length and content, and can download it …

LOS ANGELES-Oberthur Card Systems announced that with $3.3 million, it has acquired the remaining 50 percent of Rapsodia Software from French customer relationship management company, Prosodie. “We set our sights a while ago on making the shift from being a …

BIRMINGHAM, United Kingdom-Mobile-phone maker Sendo today announced it signed an agreement with Italian telecommunications operator Wind Telecomunnicazioni, which calls for Wind to sell Sendo’s S200 phones through its retail outlets in Italy. This is up-start Sendo’s fourth major carrier agreement.

ASHBURN, Va.-Comsearch announced it has been selected for the fourth consecutive year as the official frequency coordinator for the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association for its upcoming Wireless I.T. & Internet show. Comsearch uses its frequency analysis software, IQ.Clear, and …

Two of the world’s leading chip makers last week announced deals they said would lead to the creation of faster and more efficient processors for 2.5- and third-generation mobile devices. Texas Instruments Inc. and Intel Corp. separately said they would …

NEW YORK-OmniSky Corp.’s September 2000 initial public offering of 9.1 million shares of common stock at $12 per share has led to a shareholder class-action lawsuit, which was filed late month against OmniSky executives and several of its IPO underwriters. …

A trio of wireless carriers released second-quarter results last week showing ongoing strength of the industry despite the continued slowdown in the general economy. Alltel Corp.’s reliance on its wireless operations increased during the second quarter of this year as …

RESTON, Va.-Motient Corp. announced a distribution agreement with InPhonic, which calls for the virtual private wireless network provider to use the Motient network for data services and sell Motient’s eLink wireless e-mail product. “Forming this relationship with InPhonic is a …

SAN DIEGO-Wireless start-up PC-EPhone Inc. today released its new integrated personal digital assistant/CDMA phone, a device the company said was two years in the making. The PC-EPhone initially will be sold for wireless data only, and features a 640 x …

MILAN, Italy-Control of Italy’s largest telecom company, Telecom Italia, has changed hands, with Pirelli, an Italian tire and cable company, and Edizione, the holding company for the Italian Benetton family, buying a 23-percent stake in Olivetti for about $6.1 billion. …

BOYNTON BEACH, Fla.-Wireless messaging is now officially history. The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History selected Motorola Inc.’s PageWriter 2000 as part of the museum’s permanent collections. Introduced Sept. 10, 1996, the PageWriter was the world’s first two-way text messaging, …

It was a pretty violent descent. The plane was being tossed around like an ice cube in a cocktail shaker. I decided there was only one safe course of action. I blacked out. Coming round in the airport terminal, it …

Even the last bastion has been hit. The heat of the economic slowdown is choking contract electronics manufacturers that help the major original equipment manufacturers make their phones and infrastructure equipment. The scourge of high inventory levels with the OEMs …

VANCOUVER, British Columbia-Telus Corp. completed the sale of its directory information services business to Verizon Information Services, a Yellow pages and online directory provider. Telus said it would use the $527 million in gross proceeds to pay down debt and …

WALTHAM, Mass.-BTC Mobility, a division of The Bermuda Telephone Co. Ltd., introduced Wildfire Communications Inc.’s voice-activated personal assistant service to its customers in Bermuda. The Wildfire service allows users to manage their mobile communications using voice commands, including taking messages, …

CAMPBELL, Calif.-Horizon 3, a systems integration company, announced it will partner with Luna Communications, a wireless networking solutions company, to broaden its services, product portfolio and presence. Horizon 3 will now deliver a range of Luna’s existing products and services …

HELSINKI, Finland-Nokia Corp. said it has signed $705 million contracts with Orange U.K. to supply third-generation Universal Mobile Telecommunications System and GSM network expansion for three years. Initial delivery of Nokia’s 3G trial equipment for Orange UK and the Orange …

HELSINKI, Finland—Nokia said it has signed US$705 million in contracts with Orange U.K. to supply Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) and GSM network expansion for three years.Nokia said trial equipment for Orange U.K. and the Orange Group is complete, and …

LISBON, Portugal—Optimus, a subsidiary of Sonae.com and France T

HELSINKI, Finland—Nokia has signed a contract with A.S.T.R.I.D., the Belgian public-safety and security network operator, to supply and implement a Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA) network in 10 Belgian provinces.The digital trunked radio network rollout, which is under way, will cover …

BIRMINGHAM, United Kingdom—Mobile phone maker Sendo announced it signed an agreement with Italian telecommunications operator Wind Telecomunnicazioni, which calls for Wind to sell Sendo’s S200 phones through its retail outlets in Italy.This is up-start Sendo’s fourth major carrier agreement.

OXFORD, United Kingdom—Consumers continue to shun mobile e-commerce because of a lack of confidence in their cell-phone operator to manage secure transactions, claimed a survey by a European security software developer. However, the company reported that users said they would …

MOUNTAIN VIEW, California, United States—The WAP Forum officially launched the specifications for Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) version 2.0, an upgrade that includes added functionality and a new developer language.“The new specification is a significant milestone towards the WAP Forum’s goal …

LONDON—German vendor Siemens has won a contract, worth about US$17.6 million, to design, install and integrate a GSM network and telecommunications services for rural areas of Oman. The deal with OmanTel is the latest in a recent string of successes …

BEDMINSTER, New Jersey, United States—While cdma2000 1x handsets are not expected to be available until the fourth quarter, Verizon Wireless upgraded its network in parts of New York and northern New Jersey to support the next-generation technology. The carrier said …