2003

MILAN, Italy-Italy’s largest mobile operator Telecom Italia Mobile said that although it has not commercially launched its third-generation network, it has launched services that will become available on UMTS, including television services. TIM said beginning this week, users can connect …

PLAINVIEW, N.Y.-Aeroflex Inc. has launched the Aeroflex 3000 series PXI-based modular test suite for wireless carriers. The new test suite includes a 3 GHz RF synthesizer, a 2.5 GHz digital RF signal generator, a 3 GHz RF digitizer and a …

Customer retention is a top priority for wireless carriers, according to J.D. Power and Associates’ new 2003 U.S. Wireless Regional CSI Study. Slowing penetration and upcoming wireless local number portability are making customer retention more important than ever according to …

BEDMINSTER, N.J.-Verizon Wireless announced it will offer a BREW application that will allow users to wirelessly link to their desktop calendar applications. The iDatebook application, from Xpherix Corp., allows users to access calendar content held in existing Microsoft Outlook or …

HELSINKI, Finland-Nokia Corp. said it plans to hire 150 new staff for its Salo mobile plant in Finland in a move that bucks industry’s tide of layoffs and export of jobs to Asia. Although Nokia’s layoffs have been relatively fewer …

NEW YORK-More than a year after its delisting, Marconi plc is returning to the Nasdaq Thursday to satisfy the yearnings of its influential U.S. shareholders. The company, which has restructured, had indicated its intention to return in August. The company …

Nokia Corp. appears to have updated its 3650 smart phone with two new models recently approved by the Federal Communications Commission. Nokia declined to comment on the devices. The FCC must approve any radio-frequency product before it is commercially available. …

AUSTIN, Texas-Wireless Valley Communications Inc. has been awarded a patent for a network design and deployment tool. The patent covers instant error-checking capabilities for engineers to create and compare network infrastructure designs.

DUBLIN, Ireland-Irish mobile operator MmO2 began a new service called FoneBlog that allows customers to create and run personal Web sites from their mobile phones. The service, from NewBay Software, allows mobile users to tap into the increasingly popular blogging …

WASHINGTON-Bankrupt NextWave Telecom Inc. is asking its judge to allow it to conduct a $39 million trial of wireless broadband technology in Las Vegas using spectrum to be obtained from IPWireless Inc. “Given the nascent nature of the wireless broadband …

HELSINKI, Finland-Nokia Corp. said it has won a five-year, $117 million contract to supply Singapore carrier StarHub with equipment for a W-CDMA network. According to the deal, Nokia will provide radio access and core network equipment and deliver management services …

OYSTER BAY, N.Y.-Price points below $100 have made global positioning system receivers affordable to the masses, according to research from ABI. In fact, demand for GPS applications will help grow the global GPS market to more than $22 billion by …

Dobson Communications Corp. said AT&T Wireless Services Inc. sold all of its shares-more than 4.5 million-in Dobson, and as a result, AT&T Wireless has ceased to be a party to the stockholder and investors rights agreement with Dobson. Dobson also …

WASHINGTON-The Bush administration voiced support for making additional spectrum available for unlicensed wireless devices and ensuring that commercial use of frequencies do not disrupt Pentagon radar. “Today, we continue the Bush administration’s successful efforts to boost dynamic new technologies like …

WASHINGTON-The wireless industry and others have blasted Bush administration efforts to globally promote concepts in a November 2002 report by the Federal Communications Commission’s Spectrum Policy Task Force, a criticism that comes as a U.S. delegation prepares to travel to …

BOCA RATON, Fla.-SBA Communications Corp. said it will restate some financial statements from 2001, 2002 and 2003 to reflect this year’s sale of towers to AAT Communications Corp. and other towers held for sale. The re-audit showed the company overstated …

WASHINGTON-The Telecommunications Industry Association applauded Senate Finance Committee passage of legislation that includes a tax break designed to foster broadband investment. “TIA supports the use of fiscal incentives as a necessary step in addressing the current lack of investment in …

BOSTON-New research shows the market for multimedia messaging services in the United States will grow from just $8 million last year to $900 million by 2007, and the number of active MMS users will increase from several hundred thousand in …

NEW YORK-Telecommunications site consulting and management company HighPointe Group L.L.C. has acquired the assets of Site Spectrum Management Corp. from a subsidiary of Crown Castle International Corp., increasing the number of rooftop sites HighPointe manages to more than 3,000. The …

MILPITAS, Calif.-Palm Inc. today released three new personal digital assistants, and though none includes support for wide area wireless networks, the devices nonetheless acknowledge the growing influence and importance of the wireless industry. Indeed, one of the three devices includes …

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia-A Russian operator has begun a trial of CDMA2000 1X technology at 450 MHz using equipment from Nortel Networks Ltd. The trial is being conducted in Yekaterinburg, Russia’s fourth-largest city, by UralWestcom, a joint venture between Russian Telecommunications …

The battle of standards over base stations has heated up with the Common Public Radio Interface initiative announcing the launching of its specification. CPRI, which is led by L.M. Ericsson, faces rival Open Base Station Architecture Initiative led by Nokia …

LONDON-In the second such European alliance aiming to gain power in numbers, nine second- and third-tier mobile operators joined forces in a new mobile alliance to provide seamless, enhanced voice and data solutions for businesses and consumers across the Continent. …

STOCKHOLM, Sweden-TeliaSonera AB said it will invest in EDGE technology to improve the speed of its Finnish mobile network. The company said it EDGE technology will be available this fall. TeliaSonera, which owns mobile subsidiaries in several Nordic and Baltic …

WASHINGTON-The Nebraska Public Service Commission said it will ask the state legislature next year for authority to regulate wireless service and billing. “As the wireless industry grows and users become more dependent on them, it is important that we ensure …