Editor’s Note: The RCR Wireless News Time Machine is a way to take advantage of our extensive history in covering the wireless space to fire up the DeLorean and take a trip back in time to re-visit some of the more interesting headlines from this week in history. Enjoy the ride!
ITU details dates for 3G specs
Standards bodies met with the International Telecommunication Union last week to prepare the detailed specifications of third-generation mobile-phone technology. The ITU is trying to find the best way to work with all standards bodies developing 3G specifications. This follows a recent ITU meeting in Beijing where participants agreed to make the ITU the “one-stop shop” for 3G global standards to ensure the radio recommendations for 3G, or IMT-2000, meet industry needs worldwide and make use of the work carried out by other team members where appropriate. … Read More
J.D. Power: Pricing contributes to increased usage
Competitive pricing strategies have contributed significantly to a steep increase in the average number of minutes used per month by wireless consumers, according to J.D. Power and Associates’ “1999 Wireless Customer Satisfaction Study.” Minutes of use increased from 199 per month in 1998 to 242 per month in 1999, the study said. This upward trend could continue because consumers report having more than 300 minutes per month available with their calling plans. … Read More
Qualcomm to sell handset unit
After months of denying any plans to sell its wireless handset division, Qualcomm Inc. is publicly relenting to the pressures of severe competition from Asia and the likes of Nokia Mobile Phones and Motorola Inc. “With increased competition, parts shortages and industry consolidation reducing margins in consumer products, Qualcomm desires to transition the business to a manufacturer that will support its customer base and employees while providing economies of scale, a strong purchasing base and other operating efficiencies,” Qualcomm said in a statement. “Discussions are under way with a number of companies that have expressed interest.” … Read More
Glenayre to lay off 20% of its workers
Glenayre Technologies Inc. released more details of its worldwide restructuring plan last week, saying the effort will result in a 20-percent work force reduction and expected annualized operating cost savings of up to $20 million. According to Eric Doggett, Glenayre president and chief executive officer, most of the layoffs-about 200 positions-will take place at Glenayre’s Vancouver manufacturing plant as all production activities are moved to its Quincy, Ill., factory or outsourced elsewhere. The Vancouver facility will remain a research and development site, retaining about 350 employees. … Read More
Bell Atlantic confirms Vodafone alliance discussions
Bell Atlantic Corp. confirmed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Sept. 13 its engagement in discussions to forge a mobile telephony alliance with Vodafone AirTouch plc. Bell Atlantic at first refused to comment on this possibility when the British carrier acknowledged the negotiations five days earlier. Also last Monday, Vodafone AirTouch said one possible scenario, when and if a joint venture is formed, would be a spinoff of its wireless business in an initial public offering. That entity would have a market valuation of $70 billion to $80 billion, analysts said. … Read More
Internet sites to get more savvy
A number of Internet sites have popped up in recent months offering side-by-side wireless services pricing comparison and purchasing. But some are evolving to become much more. The wireless industry soon could see a total of eight to 10 Web sites offering consumers the ability to purchase handsets and pricing plans via the Internet, said Richard Siber, associate partner with Andersen Consulting in Boston. “The wireless industry has created a very complicated buying process for a consumer,” said Siber. “It is a natural evolution for the Internet and e-commerce in particular to provide one-stop comparison shopping capability to help the buyer sort through a plethora of rate plans, handset choices and, of course, noncompatible competing standards.” … Read More
NextWave bankruptcy saga continues on all fronts
The saga of the NextWave Telecom Inc. bankruptcy, like a hurricane in the ocean, kept churning last week as a variety of activities here and in New York had players of all sizes scrambling to keep up. On the business front, the company’s unsecured creditors’ committee unsuccessfully sought an end to the exclusivity arrangement. On the regulatory front, William Kennard, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, responded to a letter from Thomas Wheeler, president of the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association, and Wheeler responded back. … Read More
Scientific community debates validity of RF absorption tests
Millions of cellular telephones may be getting safety approvals by the Federal Communications Commission despite possibly exceeding the agency’s radio-frequency radiation exposure guidelines. Professor Om P. Gandhi, a prominent RF scientist at the University of Utah, contends some testing of mobile phones for radio-frequency radiation absorption by the human head is flawed. As a result, Gandhi asserts some wireless companies may be under-reporting the amount electromagnetic energy captured by human tissue in the human head by 40 to 60%. … Read More
FCC keeps spectrum cap for urban markets
The Federal Communications Commission last week largely kept in place rules that restrict how much spectrum a carrier can control in any geographic area to no more than 45 megahertz. The FCC relaxed the cap to 55 megahertz in rural service areas. Additionally, at its open meeting, the FCC issued rules on a range of other topics, including local exchange competition, enhanced 911 and direct access to satellite services for long-distance companies. It also approved an application granting an investment by Lockheed Martin Corp. in Comsat Corp. … Read More
PCIA urges FCC to question CALLS proposal
The Personal Communications Industry Association last week urged regulators to question certain aspects of an agreement by giant wireline telcos on how to reduce the amount long-distance companies pay local exchange carriers to connect their customers’ calls. The agreement by the Coalition for Affordable Local and Long-Distance Service (CALLS) to make explicit the way the universal-service fund is financed and to reduce access charges includes a proposal to shift $650 million into the USF. All telecommunications carriers, including wireless, pay into the USF. Wireless companies are sensitive to paying into the USF because they have not had much success in being able to withdraw from the USF. … Read More
