September 2003

Wireless enterprise company Research In Motion Ltd. announced it turned the corner and posted a profit for its second quarter-a major move for the company but one still overshadowed by its legal wrangling with NTP Inc. Indeed, the legal issues …

Nokia Corp. said it will reorganize the company into four divisions to focus on convergence, new mobility markets and growth. The four segments include mobile phones, multimedia, networks and enterprise solutions. The reorganization, the most far-reaching in a half decade, …

Cingular Wireless L.L.C. moved even closer to completing its previously announced deal to acquire 34 PCS licenses from bankrupt license holder NextWave Telecom Inc. following approval of the $1.4 billion deal by NextWave’s bankruptcy court last Thursday. The court’s approval …

COSTA MESA, Calif.-SkyFrames Inc. is enlisting the help of companies interested in joining its effort to provide U.S. military personnel in Iraq the ability to communicate with their families during the holidays. The company has so far received technical and …

LONDON-ITU Secretary-General Yoshio Utsumi has been accused of “atrocious financial management” and threatened with dismissal, according to a report in the respected Swiss business magazine L’Hebdo. The revelations come just two weeks before the opening of the International Telecommunication Union’s …

WASHINGTON-It looks like 50 million Americans who were looking forward to Wednesday to have an uninterrupted dinner with their families will have to wait because the wildly popular do-not-call list was declared unconstitutional on the same day that Congress raced …

CAMBRIDGE, U.K.-Wireless operators have less than 24 months to define, design and implement new charging architectures for mobile data services, according to a new report from U.K.-based consulting firm Analysys. Existing billing systems are not prepared to meet the requirements …

PARIS-Alcatel Corp. said it will supply a $23 million network to Kazakhstan’s second-largest mobile operator Kar-Tel. The upgrade will increase the operator’s transmission capacity and double its overall network capacity. The contract includes a complete base station subsystem, operation and …

A new wireless local area network standard is being developed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers-the 802.11n protocol. According to the standards body, the new 802.11n protocol will raise the effective throughput for wireless LAN to at least …

CHICAGO-The U.S. Department of Labor has sued wireless company Meade Communications Inc., of Berkeley, Ill., for failing to remit employee contributions and loan repayments to the company’s 401(k) plan. The lawsuit alleges that the company and James Hartmann, president of …

SAN FRANCISCO-Cellular-phone users are uniting via the Cellular Telecom Users Alliance Inc., a newly formed organization that plans to negotiate cell-phone rates on behalf of its members. The group hopes to bargain low rates from carriers in exchange for bringing …

BASKING RIDGE, N.J.-Avaya Inc. said it has entered into an agreement with Vista Information Technologies Inc. to acquire its software tools and service business units. “These acquisitions will enhance Avaya Global Services delivery of end-to-end design, implementation and management services …

Operating system consortium Symbian signed a development agreement with Japan’s leading mobile operator, NTT DoCoMo Inc. The agreement gives NTT DoCoMo access to Symbian OS source code and the right to deliver extended versions of this code to phone manufacturers …

BRASILIA, Brazil-Brazil’s lower house social and family safety commission has approved a bill to create rules for the installation of wireless communications towers. The bill calls for wireless operators to share towers in urban areas, construct them 30 meters high …

WASHINGTON-Wireless carriers currently finance about 30 percent of the universal-service fund, but only get about 2 percent of the money available, John Stanton, chairman, director and chief executive officer of Western Wireless Corp. told the House telecommunications subcommittee Wednesday. “That …

CAIRO, Egypt-The country’s first carrier, MobiNil, said it has launched a mobile multimedia messaging service using Nokia’s solutions. “The service, MobiNil Life, will enable MobiNil’s more than 2.6 million subscribers nationwide to send messages combining text, images, graphics and sound …

SEATTLE-Fans of the TV show “Fear Factor” will be able to download music, images and sounds-including screams from the show’s contestants-to their mobile phones, thanks to a deal among NBC Enterprises, Endemol USA and wireless content company Versaly Entertainment. Versaly …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission Wednesday rejected Northrop Grumman Corp.’s request for broadband spectrum to support emergency and homeland security wireless applications. Northrop Grumman filed a petition April 21 seeking expedited treatment by the FCC on its request for an additional …

LONDON-The European Commission has commissioned a study on trading radio spectrum within the EC. The study begins this fall and will be completed in May 2004. The EC appointed Analysys Consulting Ltd., DotEcon Ltd. and Hogan & Hartson to undertake …

OYSTER BAY, N.Y.-The global fuel-cell market could be worth $35 billion in 10 years, but first it has several hurdles to overcome, according to research firm ABI. “In the long term, fuel cells will provide a clean and renewable source …

BEIJING-Lucent Technologies Inc. and Nokia Corp. both signed contracts with divisions of China Unicom. Lucent said it has signed a CDMA contract worth more than $230 million to expand the networks of China Unicom. “China Unicom also will be able …

PALO ALTO, Calif.-Agilent Technologies Inc. said it has sold its wireless network planning design tools known as Wizard to Setram International, a software company. The product is a second-, 2.5- and third-generation solution that fosters network growth and manages migration …

SANTA CLARA, Calif.-Electronic payment company VeriFone Inc. released a new CDMA point-of-sale payment product, which the company said the State of Wisconsin will use to operate wireless payment terminals for Fondy Farmers’ Market. “Open air and other traditional markets are …

SINGAPORE-A jury ordered contract manufacturer Flextronics to pay more than $934 million to Beckman Coulter, which makes medical equipment. Flextronics said it would appeal the motion. Flextronics is the manufacturing muscle behind several mobile-phone companies, including Sony Ericsson.

OTTAWA-U.S. Cellular Corp. said it will use Spotwave Wireless Inc.’s SpotCell adaptive repeater to provide in-building coverage. The repeater will allow U.S. Cellular to provide wireless coverage in entire buildings or targeted areas of up to 100,000 square feet. “SpotCell …