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!
Verizon to shut down CDPD in 2005
Verizon Wireless announced it will shut down its slow-speed wireless data CDPD network by December 2005, following a similar move by CDPD network operator AT&T Wireless Services Inc. The move comes as little surprise because much of the wireless industry is working to migrate to faster-speed wireless networks like CDMA 1xRTT and GPRS. Verizon said it is working to alert its CDPD customers and will urge them to move to the carrier’s 1x network. … Read More
DRM solutions will yield new wireless business models
Those in the industry agree digital rights management is a key issue for wireless, and as a result there are several companies and a range of peripheral players looking to cash in on solutions to the problem. However, the complicated nature of the subject, as well as the involvement of the Open Mobile Alliance, could stem the success of DRM players for the foreseeable future. “It’s just the early days,” said Rich Luhr, an analyst with the Shosteck Group. … Read More
DHS will provide guidance on critical infrastructure information
The Department of Homeland Security is considering a controversial plan that could dramatically reshape the relationship between the wireless industry and the federal government on critical infrastructure protection, an initiative that may provide telecom and high-tech firms less privacy protection than advertised by the Bush administration. The rulemaking, an offshoot of homeland security legislation signed by President Bush last November, would exempt from the Freedom of Information Act information voluntarily provided by companies to DHS and other government agencies-including the Federal Communications Commission-on critical infrastructure protection. … Read More
Chipmakers battle it out in applications processor space
Chipmakers continue to stake claims in anticipation of an assured industry upswing. Bellwethers Intel Corp. and Texas Instruments Inc. offered optimistic second-quarter projections, reinforcing a view that the sector has seen its worst days. In separate filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, both companies said they would experience good second-quarter margins. Intel expects a 50-percent margin, while TI anticipates 7 percent sequential revenue growth. Texas Instruments also said it would expand its CDMA efforts. Although TI is the largest supplier of chips for wireless handsets, the company only makes chipsets for GSM phones. TI would not elaborate on its CDMA plans, only saying it is the right time to enter the CDMA arena. … Read More
Motorola, Telsim duel refuels in ad, vendor under fire
The legal duel as well as the claims and counterclaims between Motorola Inc. and Turkish carrier Telsim intensified with a recent full-page advertisement in the Wall Street Journal and some other large-circulation publications, highlighting the woes of vendor financing. In the ad, titled “Important Notice to Motorola Shareholders,” Telsim claimed that the Schaumburg, Ill., firm’s legal actions against Telsim were “its management’s efforts to divert attention from their failure to inform you (shareholders) of risks they took when seeking a foothold in the worldwide telecom market and to cover up their mediocre performance.” … Read More
Nokia refocuses developer efforts with hiring of Palm alum
Nokia Corp. hired a former Palm Inc. executive to head up its worldwide developer efforts, a move that highlights Nokia’s continuing focus on its developer and licensing business and the potentially troublesome issues in the space. Lee Epting started as Nokia’s vice president of developer operations in March, relocating her family from their warm Silicon Valley home to one near Nokia’s corporate headquarters in Helsinki, Finland. Epting hails from Palm, where she started in 1997 and oversaw the launch of the first Palm Pilot Pro. Epting later followed fellow Palm executives Jeffrey Hawkins and Donna Dubinsky to help start their new company, Handspring Inc. There Epting managed the company’s developer efforts for its personal digital assistant devices and later the Treo mobile phone/PDA. … Read More
SDR technical advances may be outweighed by revenue drops
Software-defined radios may be the answer to today’s interoperability issues, but carriers and handset makers do not seem overly enthused about adopting the technology because the technological advances gained from SDR may hurt their business models. Why? Because SDR gives “too much flexibility to the user and both carriers and handset makers will not have control over their customers,” remarked Robert Sanchez, vice president and chief technology officer at inCode Telecom. Indeed, some handset carriers already have SDR technology but are unwilling to implement it, an industry source close to the Software Defined Radio Forum told RCR Wireless News. … Read More
RealNetworks turns on streaming video service
Wireless streaming video over mobile phones is now available at a store near you. Internet video company RealNetworks Inc. today planned to launch a wireless Web site featuring streaming content from several media companies, as well as a promotional program for content providers and carriers. The service is available for users of Nokia Corp.’s 3650 mobile phone, as well as some Palm Inc. and Pocket PC-based devices. … Read More
MCI wins mobile contract in Iraq
MCI is working with the Pentagon to provide mobile-phone service in Iraq, but it is unclear whether the embattled long-distance telephone company has an inside track to bring large-scale commercial wireless service to the war-torn country. “Yes, we have been awarded the contract, and we are scheduled for implementation in June,” said Natasha Haubold, an MCI spokeswoman. … Read More
T-Mobile clarifies Microsoft OS handset delay rumors
T-Mobile International AG and Microsoft Corp. sought to clarify media reports concerning possible delays of the release of a T-Mobile phone using Microsoft software in Europe, but T-Mobile wouldn’t give a specific release date. Media reports surfaced last week that T-Mobile had delayed the release of a phone using Microsoft’s Smartphone operating system, scheduled for sale in June. However, a T-Mobile spokesman said the carrier had never set a definite date, only that it would begin selling the phone sometime this summer. Spokesman Philipp Schindera said there are software problems with the phone, and that T-Mobile, manufacturer HTC and Microsoft are working to fix those problems. He said the phone has not been delayed, because there are still several months of summer left. … Read More
