AT&T acknowledged it was eyeing Dobson, while Intel and Cisco announced job cuts and Qualcomm claimed 3G was ready … 16 years ago this week.
Editor’s Note: RCR Wireless News goes all in for “Throwback Thursdays,” tapping into our archives to resuscitate the top headlines from the past. Fire up the time machine, put on the sepia-tinted shades, set the date for #TBT and enjoy the memories!
AT&T, Dobson possibly in merger discussions
AT&T Corp. is reported to be in “exploratory discussions” with Dobson Communications Corp. regarding a potential transaction between the two companies, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. The report cites an AT&T filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. “As part of this ongoing review, (AT&T) has engaged, and may in the future engage, legal and financial advisers to assist in such review and in evaluating strategic alternatives that are or may become available with respect to their holdings in (Dobson),” AT&T said in its filing. … Read More
Intel, Cisco cut jobs, stock market tumbles
Following news of huge job cuts at Intel Corp. and Cisco Systems Inc., the Nasdaq tumbled 115.95 points Friday to land at 2,052.78, its lowest close since December 1998. A strong employment report, which could cause the Fed to lighten up on interest-rate cuts, also contributed to the decline. Computer networking company Cisco reported late Friday it planned on cutting 3,000 to 5,000 permanent jobs through attrition and consolidation of positions. Also, the company said it may cut another 3,000 temporary employees. Cisco employs about 44,000. … Read More
Motorola serves up handsets in Cannes
Motorola tried to square up to recent hard times with a series of announcements from product launches and contract wins to brokered alliances and games. The announcements made last week at the 3GSM World Congress in Cannes, France, include the launch of a five-strong portfolio of handsets, a partnership with CodeOnline to introduce two popular games (Trivial Pursuit and Who Wants to be A Millionaire), and an alliance with Trintech to develop the Motorola m-Wallet. Motorola also announced an office solution to allow users access to the Internet from a WAP-enabled phone and a $7 million contract to expand GPRS and WAP in the Republic of Georgia. … Read More
Companies strive to improve wireless Web searchability
While the wireless community continues to search for the killer application that will make wireless Internet access mandatory, the mysterious application may be as simple as following the model set out by the wired Internet. Eric Harber, vice president of marketing and business development for wireless Internet search provider Pinpoint, noted that rapid acceptance of the wired Internet only took off once search engines came around offering simple searches for information based on keywords. These search engines, including Yahoo and Alta Vista, unlocked the information available on the Internet to anyone. … Read More
Qualcomm defends 3G
Qualcomm Inc. rose to the defense of third-generation technology, amid reports the technology will drag its feet for about three years. The company said the demand for its CDMA integrated circuits would meet the forecast of 16 million units, a 1 million unit increase from the previous quarter. Third-quarter demand, Qualcomm maintained, will surpass the second. The company said that one of the 3G CDMA technologies, cdma2000 1x, has been deployed in South Korea and will be in Japan, North America and Latin America later this year. … Read More
Heavyweights feel stock market blows
Two of the country’s largest wireless operators saw their stock prices jolted last week, as financial and performance concerns continued to plague the telecommunications market. Nextel Communications Inc.’s stock fell to a 52-week low of $20.62 per share last Tuesday, continuing its fall following the company’s Feb. 15 release of less-than-spectacular fourth-quarter financial numbers. Salomon Smith Barney also downgraded Nextel’s stock from “Buy” to “Outperform,” and cut its price target for the stock from $48 to $35 per share, noting concerns about the company’s churn rate, competition and pricing pressure. Nextel warned its first-quarter results would be hurt by higher-than-anticipated operating expenses. … Read More
Product aims to tap ‘untouched’ residential broadband Internet market
Robert Gemmell is thinking about a group of people, scattered throughout the world, who each live in a nice house or apartment in a semi-rural area. These people want fast Internet access, but they either can’t get a cable or digital subscriber line installed, or the installation costs far too much. These people, Gemmell thinks, are primed for cheap, easy-to-install fixed wireless broadband Internet access. Gemmell is the chairman and chief executive officer of a company he thinks is poised to offer just such a product to exactly this type of market. … Read More
Bush spectrum plan could speed up U.S. 3G services
The Bush administration has proposed to delay key spectrum auctions and to phase out past Internet programs, as components of the president’s $1.96 trillion budget that signals the White House’s desire to improve spectrum management and its intention to end corporate telecom subsidies. Bush’s spectrum plan, which would force U.S. television broadcasters to pay $200 million in annual lease fees and employ other band-clearing incentives, indicates the new president is serious about forcing TV broadcasters to relinquish frequencies that mobile-phone carriers need for third-generation wireless systems. … Read More
Texas considers controversial siting regulations
Controversy is brewing in the Texas state House of Representatives over a far-reaching bill that could give individual counties the authority to regulate tower siting, even requiring those with whip antennas on their cars or a home satellite dish to obtain a permit from the county they live in. But even more pertinent to the wireless industry is the power it would give counties to control the timing and placement of PCS and cellular towers in Texas. The bill addresses “wireless communication facilities,” which include antenna support structures for mobile and land-based facilities, whip antennas, panel antennas, microwave dishes, cell enhancers, mobile radio systems facilities, monopole and steel lattice towers and any type of communication equipment shelter. … Read More
Carriers move to outsource entire network management to vendors
In a marriage of convenience, carriers are signing temporary dotted lines to outsource their network management to vendors as they migrate to the next generation of wireless technology. The trend, which concedes to vendors a pivotal role in positioning carriers for the new technologies, moves the operator focus to customer care and provision of richer services. “It signals the end of an operator as the old school utility company and the birth of the operator as a dynamic service provider,” said Adam Guy, a senior analyst with Strategis Group. Major vendors and carriers involved in this trend range from Nokia Corp., Nortel Networks, L.M. Ericsson to AT&T Wireless Services Inc., Telcel, VoiceStream Wireless Corp., BT Cellnet plc and Cable & Wireless plc. … Read More
Check out RCR Wireless News’ Archives for more stories from the past.
