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 those sepia-tinted shades, set the date for #TBT and enjoy the memories!
Verizon kicks off 1X rollout
DENVER, United States—Verizon Wireless became the first nationwide U.S. carrier to commercially launch cdma2000 1x services this week as it unveiled its Express Network in a select number of markets. The nation’s largest operator said the next-generation services initially will be available to digital customers along the East Coast from Virginia to southern Maine; the San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley, California; and the Salt Lake City, Utah, area in time for the upcoming Winter Olympics. While the initial rollout will only encompass 53 million of Verizon Wireless’ more than 200 million covered potential customers, company spokesman Jeffrey Nelson said the company expects to aggressively roll out in additional markets throughout the year, covering more than half its digital footprint by the end of the third quarter. … Read more
Dobson to upgrade TDMA to GSM/GPRS
OKLAHOMA CITY, United States—Dobson Communications said it will follow nationwide roaming partners AT&T Wireless and Cingular Wireless in overlaying its current TDMA network with GSM/General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) technology. Dobson also announced a new 10-year roaming relationship with Cingular, which the company said will increase roaming traffic on each other’s networks for the long-term. Cingular is currently the second-largest roaming partner on Dobson’s TDMA network. … Read more
CTIA objects to Local Number Portability
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association is urging the Federal Communications Commission against a mandate for wireless local number portability (LNP). “In the matter of wireless number portability you will shortly be asked to make a decision for wireless carriers to choose between funding a new regulatory mandate or funding continued improvement of the quality of wireless service and the expansion of competition,” CTIA President Tom Wheeler wrote in a recent letter to the FCC. “The choice is clear.” … Read more
RIM to work on Nextel device
TORONTO—Research in Motion (RIM), the maker of the popular BlackBerry pager, announced a major alliance with Motorola and Nextel Communications to develop a combined e-mail, pager and telephone device for the U.S. market later this year. The Waterloo, Ontario, Canada-based RIM did not disclose the number of handhelds it plans to ship to Nextel, but it said they will be commercially available in the fourth quarter. RIM is working with Motorola because it manufactures Nextel’s iDEN network. The Canadian manufacturer has been marketing a new BlackBerry specifically designed to operate on faster wireless networks, particularly networks using General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) technology, which allows for higher-speed transmission of data and voice services. … Read more
Palm’s new wireless PDA hits the shelves
SANTA CLARA, Calif.—Palm Inc.’s new wireless integrated device, the i705, seems to have hit the shelves in consumer electronic retail stores Friday, but the company isn’t commenting one way or the other. Several Office Depots in the Denver area confirmed that they started selling the device Friday, and preliminary reviews of the i705 are already starting to pop up on PDA enthusiast Internet sites. A Palm spokeswoman said the company had no comment. During its quarterly conference call last month, Palm said it would introduce a data-only wireless integrated PDA working over Cingular Interactive’s Mobitex network by the end of February, which is likely the i705. The industry got its first look at the i705 when pictures and specifications of the device were inadvertently posted on the Federal Communications Commission’s Web site in September. … Read more
China faces a dearth of CDMA handsets
BEIJING—Only five of the 19 authorized vendors of CDMA handsets in China have released their models on the Chinese market. The latest was Datang, which launched its DT618 handset priced at 2,580 yuan (US$312). Motorola, Hisense, Haier and Eastcom are already selling CDMA handsets. Morgan Stanley analyst Lina Choi told Reuters that only 300,000 CDMA handsets were available on the Chinese market at the end of 2001, much less than the expected 2 million. CDMA operator China Unicom expects 400,000 more units to become available before the end of February. … Read more
RIM, Nextel and Motorola partner on a PTT PDA
RESTON, Va.—In a move to combine almost all of their popular business services and applications into one offering, Research In Motion Ltd., Nextel Communications and Motorola Inc. announced they will team to create a new Personal Data Assistant, one that the companies hope will become the new standard for enterprise-focused devices. Under the new teaming, RIM will develop a BlackBerry-type device working over Nextel’s iDEN network that can support voice calls, as well as Nextel’s popular Direct Connect push-to-talk radio service, text and numeric paging, and the carrier’s packet-based wireless Web service. The device, which will be released by the fourth quarter of this year and will feature a new design, will also support Java technology—which has received broad support from both RIM and Nextel. “RIM and Nextel have both developed unique wireless solutions for corporate customers,” said Mike Lazaridis, RIM’s president and co-chief executive officer. “This new integrated offering, together with our mutual commitment to Java-based wireless applications, will provide an innovative and attractive proposition for our business customers and development community.” … Read more
KPN to buy BellSouth’s ownership stake in German operator
AMSTERDAM—Dutch telecommunications giant KPN will buy the remaining 22.5-percent interest in German mobile-phone operator E-Plus from U.S.-based BellSouth Corp. for about $1.06 billion in KPN stock, giving KPN full control of E-Plus. As part of the deal, KPN will pay a $416 million loan back to BellSouth and will consolidate $1.8 billion in E-Plus debt previously held by both companies. … Read more
Check out the RCR Wireless News Archives for more stories from the past.
