2003

Countering claims that the technology has yet to gain a foothold, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group reported shipments of the short-range wireless technology exceeded 1 million units per week worldwide during the third quarter, according to Bluetooth semiconductor volume tracking …

With hundreds of wireless operators spread throughout the country, T-Mobile USA Inc.’s position as the sixth-largest carrier would seem to be one of the more enviable. The carrier has posted stronger customer growth in the past year than most of …

ESSEX, Conn.-Interest in mobile marketing continues to grow, with new entrant Mynamics announcing its official launch. The new company is based in London and counts offices in Connecticut and Sydney, Australia. The company said it will work to manage marketing …

Becky Welke had a problem. As general manager of the Plaza Hotel & Suites in Eau Claire, Wis., Welke wanted to offer her guests high-speed access to the Internet, but the installation and service costs made her think twice. However, …

OTTAWA-In tune with its “Business Without Borders” vision, Nortel Networks Ltd. said it plans to trial its public wireless local area networks architecture with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and British Telecom plc. Nortel said it will reduce the costs …

Record companies Def Jam Recordings and Elektra Records will team with two wireless companies to develop wireless marketing campaigns to promote various musicians. The first campaigns will center on recording artists Fabolous and Ja Rule and will include text promotions …

WASHINGTON-Some wireless carriers are hoping the fat lady has yet to sing. Lobbyists staged a last-ditch effort to delay the Nov. 24 wireless local number portability mandate until after the holiday shopping season. The hope is to attach a rider …

WASHINGTON-Verizon Wireless last month said that if the Federal Communications Commission agrees to the Consensus Plan to solve the public-safety interference problem in the 800 MHz band, Nextel Communications Inc. will receive a $6.5 billion windfall. “As detailed in the …

Interest in mobile marketing continues to grow, with new entrant Mynamics announcing its official launch. The new company is based in London and counts offices in Connecticut and Sydney, Australia. The company said it will work to manage marketing campaigns, …

SAN FRANCISCO-Record companies Def Jam Recordings and Elektra Records announced they will team with two wireless companies to develop wireless marketing campaigns to promote various musicians. The first campaigns will center on recording artists Fabolous and Ja Rule and will …

LAKE CHARLES, La.-Sprint PCS affiliate US Unwired Inc. said it reached an agreement with its senior credit lenders modifying certain provisions of its $170 million senior credit facility that the carrier said will provide it with increased financial flexibility. The …

Triton PCS Holdings Inc. posted a disappointing 3,567 net customer additions during the third quarter of this year, which was well below the 33,000 the carrier added during the third quarter of 2002 and less than the approximately 15,000 to …

SAO PAULO, Brazil-Motorola Inc. said it has won a contract to supply base stations and transmission equipment for Brazilian carrier Vivo’s CDMA2000 1x network in the northern and western parts of the country. The contract signals the first phase of …

Western Wireless Corp. said it has asked the Federal Communications Commission to discontinue using the Rate-of-Return regulatory system for setting rural telephone companies’ universal service support and access charges, arguing the system “bloats the universal service fund, creates opportunities and …

TORONTO-Enterprise telematics company AirIQ Inc. announced it plans to expand its business into the consumer market with both white-label offerings and its own MobileIQ brand. “Our vision was to create a strong commercial telematics business, with the ability to utilize …

WASHINGTON-The wireless industry and other business sectors face stiffer penalties for antitrust violations under a new bill sponsored by Sens. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) and Herb Kohl (D-Wis.). “Recently, we’ve been reminded how damaging white-collar crime can be to consumers, employees …

LONDON-Vodafone Italy has begun a new voice conference service that allow participants to join, leave, re-join, and involve friends and colleagues through technology from Telsis. The technology allows spontaneous conferencing without pre-booking or set-up using a per-minute pricing model. Anyone …

WASHINGTON-A powerful lawmaker called for wireless carriers to get universal-service subsidies for deploying towers in rural America. “We should let cell-phone companies get additional price support to expand cell-phone towers into rural America,” said Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), chairman of …

MUNICH, Germany-Siemens Mobile Acceleration said it invested in Singapore-based software company PurpleACE. The proceeds of the financing will be used to commercialize PurpleACE’s flagship product MobileBAG. The product allows subscribers to deal with content in a new way by extending …

LONDON-Radio Frequency Investigation Ltd. said it has accredited Panasonic’s first Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone, the X70. RFI approved the phone through testing and regulatory compliance services. The phone includes a full-color display with GPRS and WAP capabilities, along with a digital …

RALEIGH, N.C.-Sony Ericsson Corp. said it has launched a combined GPRS and Wi-Fi PC card known as GC79, which enables notebooks users to access both 802.11b and GPRS networks in hot spots and wide area networks. The card operates on …

HELSINKI, Finland-Tecnomen said it will deliver a voicemail and unified messaging system to MTC-Vodafone’s new GSM network in Bahrain through a contract with Siemens AG. The value of the deal was not disclosed. The system will provide unified messaging, wireless …

CINCINNATI-Cincinnati Bell Inc. reported that its wireless division, which is an AT&T Wireless Services Inc. network partner, posted a 6-percent year-over-year drop in revenues from $68.9 million during the third quarter of 2002 to $65.1 million during the third quarter …

DALLAS-In what both companies see as a signal of future collaboration, Sun Microsystems Inc. and Texas Instruments Inc. are working together to deliver optimized end-to-end wireless solutions for 2.5- and third-generation networks. In the deal, TI licensed Sun’s Connected Limited …

LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif.-South Korean wireless carrier SK Telecom announced it will offer over-the-air software upgrades to its customers through a new deal with OTA technology company Bitfone Corp. SK Telecom said it will use Bitfone’s mProve product to remotely update …