BROWSING: Network Infrastructure

TAOYUAN, Taiwan-In a surprising turnaround, Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo Inc. announced it will sell phones running Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Mobile operating system. DoCoMo previously had allowed only phones running either the Linux or Symbian OS. In a brief announcement, DoCoMo said it reached an...

CALABASAS, Calif.- NeoReach Wireless announced it plans to use equipment from Strix Systems, a wireless mesh-network provider, to build a 72-sqare mile municipal Wi-Fi network in Chandler, Ariz. Strix said the companies plan to build one network offering Wi-Fi access to about 19,000 businesses...

SAN JOSE, Calif.-A 1,500 square-mile high-speed wireless data network covering Silicon Valley is being planned by the area's civic and business leaders. A coalition called Smart Valley agreed to begin collecting bids for the wireless broadband network.Smart Valley members include the San Mateo County...

MORRISVILLE, N.C.-Tekelec named former Nortel executive Frank Plastina president, chief executive officer and board member.Plastina replaces Fred Lax, who announced his resignation in October, saying for personal reasons he did not intend to move with the company when it relocated corporate headquarters from California...

LAS VEGAS-What do Intel Corp., Modeo L.L.C., Motorola Inc., Nokia Corp. and Texas Instruments Inc. all have in common? They are all eager to promote Digital Video Broadcasting-Handheld, an open standard for broadcast digital TV reception on mobile devices. The companies formed the Mobile...

The Chinese government has given its homegrown TD-SCDMA technology a thumbs up, calling it an officially backed standard, the Xinhua news agency reported. China's Ministry of Information Industry said the technology is "already mature and ready for manufacturers to move ahead with production."Industry analysts...

SAN DIEGO-Wireless Facilities Inc. said it racked up about $40 million in new government contract wins and extensions in the fourth quarter of 2005. The network design, deployment and management company said the duration of the contracts ranges from one month to five years."We're...

TAOYUAN, Taiwan-In a surprising turnaround, Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo Inc. announced it will sell phones running Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Mobile operating system. DoCoMo previously had allowed only phones running either the Linux or Symbian OS. In a brief announcement, DoCoMo said it reached an...

Boston's neighborhood business districts may soon be bustling with free Wi-Fi hot spots thanks to the city's Main Streets economic development project. But Boston's free project is different from those proposed in other large U.S. cities. First of all, Boston said its Wi-Fi project...

With little fanfare, T-Mobile USA Inc. has expanded the reach of its network by more than 50 percent, chiefly through 850 MHz roaming agreements that have put the carrier on more competitive footing and mark a shift from its historic 1900 MHz-only platform. Most...

HONOLULU-The IEEE 802.11n task group voted 184-0 in favor of a joint proposal for the 802.11n standard for high-speed Wi-Fi. The vote ends months of bickering and maneuvering by competing Wi-Fi technology developers.While the new standard is not 100-percent completed yet, chipmakers are expected...

BOCA RATON, Fla.-Global Tower Partners says it's scooping up 209 towers and 24 tower sites under construction as part of an agreement to purchase the wireless assets of TCP Communications, a Massachusetts-based tower company. The deal brings GTP's nationwide collection of owned towers to...

EarthLink Inc. announced a contract with Motorola Inc. and Tropos Networks Inc. as the Internet service provider prepares to launch municipal Wi-Fi networks in five cities. Though terms of the contract were not disclosed, EarthLink said the agreement includes design, installation, system integration and...

WASHINGTON-Two courts on opposite sides of the country have ruled in favor of Sprint Nextel Corp. and against two municipalities that wished to reject tower-siting applications. Both courts said that cities could not enact rules that arbitrarily restricted tower sites."Because the City of La...

LUXEMBOURG-Mobile operator Millicom International Cellular said it's mulling over its options after receiving "a high number of unsolicited approaches," according to a company statement. According to the Wall Street Journal, the cellular carrier received indications of interest from as many as 10 unnamed companies,...

WASHINGTON-Top U.S. mobile phone carriers have joined to bid for rights to offer wireless service in hundreds of subway stations throughout New York City. Cingular Wireless L.L.C., Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel Corp. and T-Mobile USA Inc. are bidding for the project. A Cingular spokesman...

ATLANTA-EarthLink Inc. announced a new contract with Motorola Inc. and Tropos Networks Inc. as the company prepares to launch municipal Wi-Fi networks in five cities. Though terms of the contract were not disclosed, EarthLink said the agreement includes design, installation, system integration and hardware....

WALTHAM, Mass.-Supported by advertising revenue, the city of Boston says its public Wi-Fi project currently provides free Internet access in four commercial districts of the city. The city said the project stands as an example of how advertising-supported Wi-Fi can eliminate usage charges and...

The first public airing of Qualcomm Inc.'s proprietary MediaFlo technology for mobile TV is taking place as the Flo Forum submitted its specification proposal for the Flo air interface between towers and devices to the Telecommunications Industry Association subcommittee TR-47. The Flo Forum, led...

Investors gave tower companies a thumbs up last week as plans for augmenting or expanding their facilities were greeted with a slew of new financing options. SBA Communications Corp., the nation's fifth-largest tower company, said it obtained a new $160 million credit facility. SBA...

Crown Castle International Corp. and Qualcomm Inc. are placing huge bets on mobile TV, spending a combined $1.3 billion to build networks dedicated almost entirely to one-way wireless video. Traditional TV networks and film studios are hastily establishing divisions to produce content for "the...

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission set a May 10 date to auction 800 MHz air-to-ground licenses. The FCC is auctioning the four megahertz of spectrum in the 800 MHz ATG band after it decided that the current ATG spectrum was being underutilized. The agency plans...

DENVER-The line in the sand between Airgo Networks Inc. and backers of the Enhanced Wireless Consortium may be washed away if the IEEE adopts the Joint Proposal Team's first draft of the 802.11n standard for high-speed Wi-Fi. The IEEE's Joint Proposal team is set...

FREMONT, Calif.-The first public airing of Qualcomm Inc.'s proprietary MediaFlo technology for mobile TV is taking place as the Flo Forum submitted its specification proposal for the Flo air interface between towers and devices to the Telecommunications Industry Association subcommittee TR-47. The Flo Forum,...