Mobile Phones

IPmobile Wireless communications infrastructure company IPmobile Inc. hired Louis Wooldridge as its vice president of sales in Asia, and Chuck Derrick as its vice president of product development. Wooldridge will spearhead the company’s initiative to secure and capitalize on the …

HELSINKI, Finland-Nokia Corp. unveiled Nokia Activ for its Wireless Application Protocol Server 1.1, a one-button solution enabling Web sites to send WAP service settings to WAP-enabled mobile phones wirelessly. The service will allow consumers to click a Nokia Activ button …

NEW YORK-24/7 Media Inc. and i3 Mobile have formed a strategic marketing relationship to extend advertising to mobile phones and other wireless devices, the companies announced. i3 Mobile said it works with more than 20 wireless carriers and media networks …

WASHINGTON-After a shaky start, Clinton administration officials last week said progress is being made at the World Radiocommunication Conference on a global multiband spectrum allocation for third-generation mobile phone systems. “There’s no more talk about a single band. All the …

OSLO, Norway-Telenor AS announced it entered an agreement to acquire a 30-percent stake in Thai mobile carrier Total Access Communication Public Co. Ltd. and up to a 24.9-percent stake in TAC’s parent company, United Communication Industry Public Co. Ltd., for …

SignalSoft Steven Adams was appointed vice president of operations for SignalSoft Corp., a developer of wireless location services. Adams will oversee product deployment and installation, product technical support and customer training for all geographic areas, including North America, South America, …

WASHINGTON-Justice Department antitrust lawyers reportedly oppose the proposed $115 billion merger between WorldCom Inc. and Sprint Corp., a major snag that-if true-could kill the deal and spark bidding wars for top wireless carriers not yet claimed. The Justice Department did …

The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association likes to talk about safety. And why not? Thousands of 911 calls from mobile phones are made every day, millions each year. No doubt countless lives have been saved and serious injury averted by a …

WASHINGTON-Federal regulators, lawmakers and consumer groups are ratcheting up pressure for stronger privacy protections for consumers in the Digital Age, a development with major implications for the wireless Internet sector. On several fronts, digital privacy is showing signs of mushrooming …

FRAMINGHAM, Mass.-Average household mobile phone use increased to 247 minutes per month, compared with 155 minutes per month in 1999 and 89 in 1998, according to IDC’s annual Personal Wireless Communications User Survey. “We are seeing this dramatic growth for …

WASHINGTON-A comprehensive proposal by European and Arab states covering third-generation mobile phone spectrum and other issues appeared to be disintegrating late last week at the World Radiocommunication Conference in Turkey, a development that is forcing the U.S. delegation to redouble …

The wireless industry received some reprieve from the barrage of negative attention mobile phones have encountered in recent months after findings in the Stewart Report, officially released by the British government last week, suggested that people who use mobile phones …

CANCUN, Mexico-The big push to interoperate GSM and TDMA standards is well under way, allowing customers using either standard to roam around the world and giving U.S. TDMA operators a breath of life in their ongoing struggle with CDMA carriers …

WASHINGTON-The wireless industry’s push to enter the populous Chinese market got a big boost last week as several undecided Democrats and Republicans announced they will vote for permanent normal trade relations with China, a swing in momentum driven by stepped-up …

On the heels of press reports that the British government soon will require mobile phones to carry health warnings, a Swedish team of medical investigators released findings from a new study that resurrects concerns about links between brain tumors and …

WASHINGTON-Even with President Clinton’s decision last week to dramatically improve global positioning system accuracy for civilians, vendors that offer a network-based E911 solution say their products are still valid. Meanwhile, mobile-phone carriers remain tight-lipped about which location-based wireless technology they …

DUBLIN, Ireland-Utility companies across Europe are entering the mobile communications business, hoping to simultaneously grab a slice of an extremely lucrative market and diversify their operations. But analysts are undecided on whether the companies have the requisite technical expertise or …

Bulgaria KPN Telecom and Greece’s Ote raised their offer to US$600 million for a 51-percent stake in Bulgarian Telecommunications Co. The companies previously offered US$510 million, Reuters reported. If the purchase is successful, KPN and Ote will acquire 51 percent …

Israel Riots and injuries occurred during protests against the installation of cellular masts in a Druze Arab village in March, according to international press reports. Reports said seven police officers and members of the public were injured in the riots, …

South Korean mobile phone carrier Hansol M.com said talks to sell a controlling stake in the company to either Korea Telecom or the LG Group had broken down. The problems centered around differences over prices, according to press reports. Both …

TOKYO-J-Phone Group, Japan’s second-largest mobile phone company, plans to merge its nine member firms into three companies later this year. The announcement follows the company’s application for a third-generation license to the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications earlier this month. …

BEIJING-China agreed in its negotiations with the United States for entry to the World Trade Organization (WTO) that foreign operators would be allowed a maximum 49-percent stake in mobile telephone joint ventures by 2005. The European Union is aiming for …

Great Aunt Agatha has never really come to terms with electricity. She keeps buying dummy plugs to insert into any unused electricity socket she can find. “If you leave the socket open, the electricity could leak out,” she explains, “and …

MOSCOW-Three nationwide Russian wireless carriers, which control close to 75 percent of the market, have launched a fierce battle for new clients as mobile phones become more common communications tools in Russia. Cellular phones are now ringing in buses, trolley …

SINGAPORE-Falling margins, cheaper alternatives and technological obsolescence have combined to deal a major blow to Singapore’s four paging operators. From an all-time high of 1.36 million subscribers in June 1998-representing a penetration of more than 40 percent, the world’s highest-the …