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!
A `Cingular’ carrier: SBC, BellSouth marriage official
Following months of speculation, regulatory red tape and the seemingly elusive approval by the Federal Communications Commission that came Sept. 29, SBC Communications Inc. and BellSouth Mobility officially came together last week, announcing its joint venture now will be known as Cingular Wireless. “Cingular is a name that shows the importance of the individual customer, as well as the unity of this joint venture,” said Stephen Carter, president and chief executive officer of Cingular Wireless. “I absolutely love this name,” Carter said during a conference call announcing the new company. … Read More
Network operators tackle connectivity
As carriers’ capital expenditures race ahead of revenues, existing wide area and new local area data networks are poised to capture a good chunk of the market for corporate e-mail connectivity, today’s killer application in wireless communications. “In Europe, the (3G) bids were so high that carriers are having a tough time justifying the prices they paid,” said Kevin Werbach, editor of Release 1.0 and former Federal Communications Commission Counsel for New Technology. “Europeans are smug because they believe they have it better than the United States, where we are wireless connectivity snobs. But if you ask Europeans what wireless data they have other than short message service and some people in Finland buying soda from machines, no one has any idea.” … Read More
ArrayComm leader says industry still lacks maturity
Some 27 years after he placed the first “public portable cellular call,” from Midtown Manhattan to Bell Laboratories in New Jersey, Martin Cooper said he is unsure “if we, as an industry, have grown up yet.” Introduced at “Wireless World 2000″ as the inventor of the cell phone, the chief executive officer of ArrayComm said he finds it instructive that only 15 percent of the U.S. population use wireless phones today. Just 3 percent to 4 percent of talk time in this country goes over cellular and personal communications services networks. “Given a choice, if wireless were as reliable and cost the same as wireline, why would you use wireline? You might think Europe is better, but I was in Britain two weeks ago giving this same talk. The only difference is you pay more in Europe for the privilege of having calls dropped,” he said in his keynote address. … Read More
Panasonic eyes U.S. phone sales
A three-hour bus ride from Tokyo will get you to Kakegawa, the leading production area of two popular Japanese items: green tea (ocha) and Panasonic wireless phones. But just like green tea, Panasonic’s wireless phones have not achieved the same level of success in the United States as they enjoy here. However, Panasonic hopes to re-enter the U.S. wireless phone market by the end of this year with grand designs for the future. “In five years, we would like to capture a double-digit market share,” said Osamu Waki, director of Matsushita Communication Industrial Co. Ltd., the division of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. that makes the company’s wireless devices. … Read More
Labor, business approve of DT wireless purchase: EU, U.S. may spar on int’l trade issue
As the unlikely union of labor and business leaders ratcheted up pressure last week to kill legislation that would nix Deutsche Telekom AG’s $50.7 billion purchase of VoiceStream Wireless Corp., it appeared the controversy could get dragged into a bigger fight between European Union and the United States. All of a sudden, a handful of transAtlantic trade issues have collided and given rise to an awkward situation for both the Clinton administration and the EU. Of key interest to the wireless industry is legislation sponsored by Sen. Ernest Hollings (D-S.C.)-and supported by 29 other senators-that would prohibit any firm more than 25-percent owned by a foreign government from acquiring American telecom firms. Deutsche Telekom is 46-percent owned by the German government, which recently told the Clinton administration it will fully privatize the German telecom giant. … Read More
Tower pact hits historic preservation snag
Attempts by the wireless industry to reach a collocation agreement with a historic preservation group hit a few bumps last week when members of the historic preservation community questioned language in a document intended to allow collocation on most existing towers. While industry representatives believe the concerns expressed at the meeting were not indicative of a real problem with the agreement, historic preservation representatives were not as convinced their community was on board with the agreement. The agreement would allow collocation on towers built before a specific date (the draft reads Aug. 31, 2000, but this date will change until the document is completed) that are not in historic areas, are not subject to a current investigation by the Federal Communications Commission and when the collocation would not substantially alter the property to be grandfathered-even if a historic preservation review had not been previously done on the property. … Read More
Satellite indsutry prepares to shine: Infant indsutry recovers from Iridium and focuses on broadband future
For more than six months the mobile satellite industry has been trying to polish its image after the well-publicized failure of Iridium L.L.C. tarnished the reputation of all those involved in the industry. While Iridium shuffled in and out of bankruptcy court and deliberated with throngs of suitors wanting to purchase its 66 low-earth-orbit satellites, other operators such as Globalstar Telecommunications L.P. and Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. moved forward with plans to provide narrowband and broadband services to the consumer market. “Iridium may have caused more speculation than not. … The failure of Iridium, the problems ICO (Global Communications) had, all go into investors’ minds,” said Larry Swasey, senior vice president of communications research at Allied Business Intelligence Inc., Oyster Bay, N.Y. … Read More
Handset players on edge of dramatic change cycle
More than any other part of telecommunications, the handset business “will go through the most severe changes in the next several years,” said Jeffrey Schlesinger, wireless technology analyst for UBS Warburg, New York. Slowing rates of growth in voice communications, coupled with the lag in data uptake, mean a changing competitive landscape that cannot support the expansion of every handset vendor, he said last week at the investment bank’s “Global 2001″ conference. “In its euphoria, the sell side (analyst community) has been overly aggressive in terms of (predicting) number of handsets sold,” Schlesinger said. … Read More
NeoPoint looks to regain lost ground with new phone line
At previous wireless industry trade shows, NeoPoint Inc. could be counted on to make significant announcements, guaranteeing throngs of foot traffic around their booth and an overall buzz of excitement. First it was the introduction of its groundbreaking NeoPoint 1000 smart phone. Then it was the introduction of the MyAladdin wireless portal. At PCIA’s GlobalXChange show, while noticeably absent from the floor, its voice was still heard. The company introduced its long-awaited next generation smart phone line, the NeoPoint 2000 and 2600, featuring dual-mode and tri-mode support, respectively, additional voice user interface options and a slide-on Qwerty keyboard for easier text entry. … Read More
PCS show has fans, detractors
Was last week’s Personal Communications Industry Association GlobalXChange show a success? It depends on who you ask. While some exhibitors complained loudly about the lack of traffic, others said they received more attention since some traditional large vendors opted out of the show. Before the event, PCIA President Jay Kitchen promised a show about convergence-the bringing together of voice and data services, and he couldn’t overemphasize the networking opportunities and the ability to meet people. Last year’s PCIA show was a disappointment to most large vendors, which chose this year to stay away because of previous poor attendance. Big names like L.M. Ericsson, Lucent Technologies Inc. and Nokia Corp. declined to exhibit again. As a result, PCIA announced a new direction for the convention, renaming it PCIA GlobalXChange and positioning it as a wireless Internet show. … Read More
