March 2003

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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-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 …

ASTANA, Kazakhstan-Kazakhtelecom, the national operator of the Central Asian republic of Kazakhstan, said it plans to buy a controlling stake in its Kirghiz counterpart. The government of the neighboring republic …

New York-A new report predicts mobile phones will become as prevalent as televisions and radios and that handset sales will continue to grow during the next five years. FastTrack Wireless …

SAN JOSE, Calif.-Nokia Corp. said it has worked together with Metrowerks to unveil an all-in-one developer kit for the series 60 platform. “The new CodeWarrior Developer Kit for series 60 …

CAMPBELL, Calif.-P-Com Inc. said its Encore Plus, a variable bandwidth, digital microwave radio, has been approved for use by telecom operators in Mexico by the country’s Comision Federal de Telecomunicaciones …

WILMINGTON, N.C.-ComScape Telecommunications Inc. reported that its Kiwi PCS operations in Wilmington, N.C., was earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization positive four months after launch. “We are gratified that …

SAN DIEGO-Qualcomm Inc. is strengthening its Chinese operations with the appointment of Jing Wang as chairman of Qualcomm China and Frank Meng as president of Qualcomm China. Wang, also senior …

ALAMEDA, Calif.-In a cash transaction valued at $100 million, UTStarcom Inc. will purchase some of the assets of the CommWorks division of 3Com Corp., Santa Clara, Calif. The deal, which …

NEW YORK-In its first privatization of a state-owned company, the government of South Africa sold a 25-percent stake in Telkom South Africa Ltd. March 4, raising $488 million, well below …

MOSCOW-Russia boasted unexpected major growth in the total number of mobile-phone users in 2002, however, various governmental bodies differed in estimates. The Communications Ministry said the number of subscribers grew …

ORLANDO-Sonic Mobility announced sonicadmin now allows for wireless access to NetIQ’s AppManager Suite via Pocket PC or BlackBerry wireless handhelds. “Together, NetIQ and Sonic Mobility enable customers to quickly respond …

NEW YORK-In its first privatization of a state-owned company, the government of South Africa sold a 25-percent stake in Telkom South Africa 4 March, raising US$488 million, well below expectations, …

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-Nigerian mobile network operators MTN Nigeria and Econet Wireless have blamed a gang of thieves called the Area Boys for the poor quality of service in some areas …

BATH, U.K.-SFR, the wireless division of France’s Groupe Cegetel, has completed the rollout of Cramer Systems’ inventory solution, which SFR is using to manage the growth and development of its …

BEIJING-Nortel Networks Ltd. said it has signed an approximately $36 million contract to expand the GSM digital cellular network of China Mobile in Hebei province. Targeting about 1.8 million subscribers, …

SINGAPORE-The telecom regulator in Singapore announced a collaboration with chip maker Intel Corp. on a Wi-Fi initiative that the Infocomm Development Authority said would help achieve “seamless connectivity in the …

NEW YORK-Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services affirmed its ‘B+’ corporate credit rating on Nextel Communications Inc. and revised its outlook from negative to stable. S&P said the action was based …

HERZELIA, Israel-Comsys Communications & Signal Processing Ltd. announced Elkana Ben-Sinai has been made chief executive officer. Ben-Sinai previously served as acting CEO, chief operating officer and vice president of marketing …

ATLANTA-Cingular Wireless L.L.C. launched its Voice Connect voice-activated portal across its markets enabling customers to access voice and data services using voice commands. Customers activating the service will receive a …