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, vendors demo UMTS, EDGE
DALLAS-The future of GSM-based next-generation services are being demonstrated this week as AT&T Wireless Services Inc., Ericsson Inc., Motorola Inc., Nokia Corp., Nortel Networks Ltd. and Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications have gathered in Dallas to show support and showcase services using both EDGE and UMTS technology. The demonstrations include calls over a live UMTS network, high-speed wireless data applications and showcasing Nokia’s EDGE-enabled handset. “We’re moving the technology out of the lab and into a live environment,” said Rod Nelson, chief technology officer for AT&T Wireless. “Our track record over the past year and a half proves we will provide customers with the most advanced wireless services available.” … Read more
Nextel, Motorola celebrate a decade of Direct Connect PTT
RESTON, Va.-Nextel Communications Inc. and Motorola Inc. announced the 10 year anniversary of the first lab test of Nextel’s Direct Connect push-to-talk service allowing customers to instantly talk with each other in their local calling areas with a push of a single button. The service has become a popular side effect of the carrier’s specialized mobile radio spectrum and Motorola’s iDEN technology and according to Nextel handles more than 150 million Direct Connect calls daily. … Read more
Get weather graphics on your PDA!
MAHWAH, N.J.-Vector graphics animation, an advanced visual technology, will now be available to personal digital assistant users viewing AccuWeather.com’s weather service. Sharp Electronics Corp. developed the vector graphics technology, dubbed SharpMotionART, and teamed with AccuWeather to develop the first application of the technology. Users with Palm OS or Pocket PC-based devices will be able to view graphical weather presentations on AccuWeather.com’s site. “Consumers and content developers have waited a long time for a rich graphics solution that supports current devices and networks,” said Bruce Goldstein, senior manager of the SharpMotionART business development team at Sharp Electronics. … Read more
Software bug means phones could run up unauthorized charges
OXFORD, United Kingdom-Having deployed several thousand Panasonic GD87 cell phones, Vodafone Germany has confirmed the handsets can make billable calls without users being aware. The company said the software bug within the device could lead to fraud or unwanted charges. According to Vodafone, which has been marketing the Panasonic GD87 under its own brand, new software makes it possible for outsiders to push messages to the handset, which then cause the GD87 to access Internet pages using the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) without user intervention. While Vodafone claims the bug makes it only theoretically possible for this unplanned activity to take place, commentators in Germany have … Read more
Downloadable games are gonna be big in Europe, analyst firm predicts
CAMBRIDGE, United Kingdom-Research and advisory firm Analysys predicted that downloadable wireless games will become so popular in Western Europe that in just three years they will replace ring tones as the area’s most popular wireless entertainment service. The firm said that mobile games offer the greatest prospects in the short term among all entertainment applications, and that the gaming market will increase more than tenfold, from $255 million this year to over $3 billion in 2005. “Ring tones, logos and other personalization services have formed the backbone of mobile content and entertainment services to date, with an estimated market value of $1.2 billion across Western Europe in 2002,” said the firm’s principal analyst. … Read more
Nokia backs off (a bit) on handset market growth prediction
OXFORD, United Kingdom-Having stated in November the worldwide growth in handset sales would climb by as much as 15 percent, Nokia’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jorma Ollila has now revised this forecast down to 10 percent, or possibly “slightly more.” Nokia gave more weight to the 10-percent growth forecast by stating that it estimates 400 million cell phones will be sold by the end of this year, rising to at least 440 million in 2003. Ollila, who justified this forecast change by pointing to the poor global economy and the possibility of hostilities with Iraq, said it is only prudent to now see around 10-percent growth. However, he reaffirmed the company’s three-year growth forecast of an average 10-percent to 15-percent growth in industrywide phone sales. Separately, Nokia declared it is ready and willing to act as the operator of cellular networks for existing mobile operators wanting to outsource this part of their business. … Read more
You say you want a (wireless) revolution
FRAMINGHAM, Mass.-Along with research firm IDC’s report entitled “Attack of the Phones: Worldwide Handset Market Forecast and Analysis, 2002-2006,” program manager Kevin Burden predicts that a “wireless revolution is waiting in the wings.” Burden’s rosy outlook is backed by the report’s optimistic numbers: mobile phone shipments are projected to increase from 391 million this year to an astounding 606 million in 2006, a compound annual growth rate of almost 10 percent. As the wireless handset industry drags itself out from its worst year ever, mobile phone makers will likely find respite from the gloom in replacement handset sales boosted by new advanced networks and applications. But that growth is contingent on the timely deployment of those networks and content. … Read more
GSMA looks to its future
OXFORD, United Kingdom-Much to the annoyance of those promoting competing technologies, GSM continues to grow in worldwide dominance. While the reasons behind its original success have now largely been lost in the fading memories of retired executives from the wireless industry, its future is coming under fresh examination as the GSM operator community faces a plethora of challenges that worry even the most hardy of chief executive officers (CEOs). In an attempt to bring some focus to these problems, the GSM Association (GSMA) is looking to claw itself out of its inward-looking myopia and has set itself the task of injecting a fresh sense of urgency to bring about much-needed changes to how the GSM operator industry interacts. While some have started to question the remit of the GSMA, the organization has decided to “reinvent” itself by conscripting CEOs or senior executives from operators to help establish a commercial, rather than technical, road map to return the GSM industry to pride of place. Craig Ehrlich, CEO of Hong Kong-based Sunday Communications and deputy chairman of the GSMA, admitted that GSM operators did not feel the GSMA structure was the correct one to take the industry forward. “Maybe it had been the right one until a year ago. But, it was not suitable to take us through the next five to 10 years,” he said. “The questions that the operator CEOs face are more associated with how they can get their companies’ valuations back up and how they can drive more revenue. This is a game about revenue and strategy, and less to do with standards, albeit they are critical.” The organization defends its past track record by pointing to the unrivalled success during the last decade of the GSM standard. However, it does admit that during the past few years as business issues have become more critical, an association that viewed itself as more involved with technology and standards had to take a hard look at how to tackle the rising tide of commercial and strategic questions. … Read more
Check out the RCR Wireless News Archives for more stories from the past.