March 2003

WATERLOO, Ontario-Research In Motion Ltd. said it will take an additional provision of up to $8 million due to its patent battle with NTP Inc., bringing its provision cost to …

TOKYO-KDDI on Wednesday announced it would reduce the communications fee from a fixed-line telephone to a mobile phone by 25 percent starting 21 April. Due to the price cut, the …

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina-The Peruvian cellular market grew 25 percent during 2002, reaching 2.12 million customers. Telef

NEW DELHI, India-The Egypt-based Orascom Telecom announced an investment of US$130 million in its Pakistan-based subsidiary Mobilink GSM for service expansion during the current year. The company will spend nearly …

TOKYO-Rakuten, the largest virtual marketplace operator in Japan, on Tuesday opened its renewed mobile-phone site, which carries a total of 5,000 virtual stores and 1.3 million items available for purchase. …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Wednesday proposed fining T-Mobile USA US$1.25 million for not providing wireless enhanced 911 (E911) Phase I within six months of a request. The fine …

STOCKHOLM, Sweden-Ericsson said it was awarded an order from Sri Lankan operator Mobitel as the sole supplier of a GSM 1800 MHz network. Mobitel is migrating its TDMA network to …

MUNICH, Germany-German company Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) announced a deal whereby it will swap its interest in NamITech subsidiary Integrated Card Technology, a South African smart card supplier, for a …

RESTON, Va.-Nextel Communications Inc. said it has revised securities purchase agreements with Digital Radio and Craig McCaw that will result in both parties possibly leaving the carrier’s board of directors …

IRVING, Texas-Mitsumi Electronics Corp. announced it is now shipping its new Bluetooth-enabled Class 1 and Class 2 USB adapters that easily integrate into USB capable PCs. Mitsumi said it plans …

WASHINGTON-The wireless data arm of the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association said it plans to expand its focus to include the rapidly growing content creation community, and that content companies …

SCHAUMBURG, Ill.-Motorola Inc. has settled all lawsuits filed by Chase Manhattan Bank relating to Iridium L.L.C., the satellite communications company Motorola created in 1998. Motorola will pay Chase Manhattan and …

OXFORD, United Kingdom-Having decided to abandon its third-generation (3G) plans and write down to zero its license and network investment, Germany’s MobilCom is reported to be considering bids from KPN …

ATLANTA, United States—BellSouth signed an agreement to sell its stake in Brazilian cellular provider BSE, also known as BCP Nordeste, to América Móvil subsidiary Telecom Américas for an undisclosed amount. …

HUNTINGTON, N.Y.-CirckaMedia Inc. has released a Web service application programming interface for management of promotions and campaigns delivered to desktop computers and mobile communications devices. The CirckaAPI defines how developers …

BELLEVUE, Wash.-T-Mobile USA Inc. launched its HotSpot service at San Francisco International Airport as part of a multi-year lease agreement. T-Mobile USA said it entered into agreements with Syntegra to …

OVERLAND PARK, Kan.-Sprint PCS launched a new promotion providing customers that sign a two-year contract for the carrier’s $100 per month unlimited PCS Vision Plan for laptops and personal digital …

COLUMBIA, Md.-PEAK Technologies has launched ePOD, a wireless proof-of-delivery product that allows fleet and logistics companies to track the delivery process. With ePOD software, delivery workers can user PDAs with …

WASHINGTON-The State Department reached a settlement with Hughes Electronics Corp. and Boeing Satellite Systems Inc., imposing a $32 million fine against the two firms for arms-control technology transfer violations in …

WASHINGTON-U.S. District Judge Catherine Blake today dismissed five class-action lawsuits against the mobile-phone industry that sought to force wireless carriers to supply consumers with headsets to reduce radiation exposure and …

SCHAUMBURG, Ill.-Motorola Inc. has extended its deadline for Next Level Communications Inc. to accept its buyout offer until Friday. Motorola already owns 74 percent of Next Level and made a …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday proposed fining T-Mobile USA Inc. $1.25 million for not providing wireless enhanced 911 Phase I within six months of a request. The fine represents …

BEIJING-China’s two mobile carriers, China Mobile and China Unicom, are resisting competitive pressure from fixed-line operators China Netcom’s and China Telecom’s aggressive promotion of a wireless local loop (WLL) system …

OXFORD, United Kingdom—Having launched its first W-CDMA handset in Cannes last month, Sony Ericsson is trying to convince Hutchison that it does have a medium-term third-generation (3G) cell-phone strategy in …

SURABAYA, Indonesia—Singapore mobile operator StarHub joined 5G and Bluengine to form Singapore’s first marketing partnership initiative for wireless broadband. This Wi-Fi initiative aims to develop a convenient and uniform roaming …