2003

FORT WORTH, Texas-LGP Allgon has been awarded a contract to provide an indoor distributed antenna system to improve wireless phone and data coverage at Moscone West, the expansion of San Francisco’s Moscone Center conference facility. The contract was awarded by …

HOUSTON-Crown Castle International Corp. announced it has received consents for amendments to the terms of its 10.375-percent senior discount notes and its 11.25-percent senior discount notes from holders of the notes following its Nov. 24 tender offers and consent solicitations. …

NEW YORK-Verizon Communications Inc. said it expects to record an after-tax fourth-quarter charge of approximately $2.8 billion related to a voluntary separation plan under which 21,260 employees left the company’s payroll this quarter. Verizon, which is the majority owner of …

SAN RAMON, Calif.-Industry leaders have formed the Mobile Expert Group with a view to promoting Java technology in the mobile space. The focus will be data-capable phones. The group was formed by the OSGi Alliance, an ecosystem whose members specify, …

SANTA CLARA, Calif.-Intel Corp. said it has brought its wireless operations under a larger group known as the Intel Communications Group. With this announcement, the Wireless Communications and Computing Group will be incorporated into the ICG. The WCCG covered wireless …

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.-Motorola Inc. announced a new version of its text input system the company said could predict and suggest entire sentences based on users’ past typings. “Our aim with iTAP 6.0 is to make text messaging from a mobile …

SAN BRUNO, Calif.-IPWireless announced its mobile broadband solution will be used to power South Africa-based Sentech’s new MyWireless service to offer broadband wireless connectivity to South African customers. “Due to bandwidth restriction, the reality of Internet connectivity in South Africa …

CAMBRIDGE, United Kingdom-The wireless industry is at a crossroads, according to new research from Analysys Research that investigates three plausible scenarios for the evolution for the wireless industry. “Three major uncertainties will shape the future of the wireless industry over …

PISCATAWAY, N.J.-Telcordia Technologies Inc. has acquired intellectual property from DAX Technologies Corp. related to the DAX Optima Performance platform. With the acquisition, Telcordia will create Telcordia Network Vision and Telcordia Performance Vision, two new products for wireless carriers within its …

After more than two weeks of availability, AT&T Wireless Services Inc. led its nationwide competition in local number portability customer complaints, according to a report released by the Federal Communications Commission this week, with the carrier garnering more than half …

Sun Microsystems Inc. announced its newly launched Java.com Internet site will feature wireless Java games for Vodafone Live! subscribers. The effort is aimed at promoting Sun’s wireless Java push, as well as Vodafone’s Live! wireless data offering. “We’re delighted to …

WASHINGTON-The Bush administration sidestepped a confrontation with poor nations at the World Summit on Information Society in Geneva after officials from around the world agreed to ask U.N. Secretary General Kofi Anan to create a blue-ribbon panel to study and …

LOS ANGELES-Ring tone company Xingtone announced it expanded its innovative ring tone service, which allows users to turn their MP3 or WAV music files on their desktop computers into 30-second ring tones. “This is an explosive opportunity to marry the …

REDMOND, Wash.-Former Microsoft Corp. pointman Juha Christensen again popped into the limelight, this time as an appointment to the board of directors for wireless technology company Action Engine Corp. “We are delighted to have someone of Juha’s caliber step into …

KAWASAKI, Japan-Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd said it has developed an amplifier with the world’s highest output for W-CDMA base stations. It is known as a gallium nitride high electron mobility transistor amplifier. “This breakthrough represents a significant step forward in making …

DALLAS-Chipmakers STMicroelectronics and Texas Instruments Inc. said they are jointly developing a standard CDMA2000 1x EV-DV solution, which they hope to market to handset manufacturers worldwide. The protocol, which provides both voice and data, will enable cell phones, personal digital …

As the holiday season approaches, the industry’s mobile-phone players are working to gear up for a quarter most predict will be gangbusters. First up is Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., which announced it will sell its SGH-x426 through AT&T Wireless Services …

DUSSELDORF, Germany-Vodafone Germany began UMTS tests for business customers using data cards for PCs. The operator plans to launch commercial third-generation service next year. Vodafone said the participants of the trial include large corporate groups and tradesmen’s businesses. The Vodafone …

SAN DIEGO-Qualcomm Inc. said its board of directors has approved a quarterly dividend of 7 cents per common share, which will be payable March 26, 2004. “Our business results continue to generate a strong cash flow,” said Bill Keitel, senior …

OYSTER BAY, N.Y.-The overall market for GaAs and silicon-based power semiconductors will remain relatively flat during the next five years, hovering around the $2 billion mark, according to market research firm ABI. ABI expects the market to rise at just …

PARSIPPANY, N.J.-Avis Rent a Car System Inc. and Motorola Inc. announced the “Avis Assist” navigation service has been expanded, with premieres this week in Chicago, Detroit, Minneapolis and St. Louis. Avis Assist uses Motorola’s Viamoto software, which features global positioning …

SAN JOSE, Calif.-AT&T Wireless Services Inc. reported an alliance dealer relationship with Semotus Solutions to co-sell BlackBerry Handheld mobile applications to AT&T Wireless business customers. Semotus said the mobile applications would include its HipLinkXS line of wireless communications applications.

NEW YORK-SBC Communications Inc. told investors at the Lehman Brothers Fifth Annual Telecom, Trends & Technology Conference that it plans to reduce its workforce by 3,000 to 4,000 employees during the current fourth quarter as part of an ongoing staff …

WASHINGTON-Cingular Wireless L.L.C. told the five California Public Utility Commission members that findings leading to a record $12 million fine against the mobile-phone carrier are flawed, claiming on appeal that its network service quality is not inferior to other wireless …

MURRAY HILL, N.J.-Lucent Technologies Inc. said it has unveiled a solution to enable service providers to manage customer data such as subscriber profiles and user location. The platform, known as Flexent super-distributed home location register, also allows customers to authenticate …