Mobile Phones

A move by the Chinese government is sure to develop a new wireless telecommunications landscape in China but also may create an uncertain future for foreign wireless infrastructure and handset vendors selling equipment there. The Chinese government is urging the …

Ever since Nokia Mobile Phones Inc. introduced the first in a new class of mobile phones with its Nokia 9000 Communicator, the excitement surrounding the idea of devices that combine wireless voice and data has been growing. Nokia last week …

CHICAGO-Safco Technologies Inc., a division of Salient 3 Communications, said its VoicePrint voice quality measurement system is available for Global System for Mobile communications networks. VoicePrint helps carriers and infrastructure vendors determine the performance of GSM networks using Harvard speech …

Some analysts are expecting Code Division Multiple Access infrastructure spending to taper off in 1999 as cdmaOne infrastructure deployments in China remain questionable. “I think China is the lynch pin for CDMA infrastructure going into next year and to a …

Spain The government of Spain reportedly may award its fourth mobile phone license to a consortium made up of two formerly separate consortia-Lince and Uni2. Both companies submitted failed bids during Spain’s third tender for a Global System for Mobile …

WASHINGTON-A wireless-industry proposal that would allow carriers to institute calling party pays is stalled at the Federal Communications Commission due to a lack of consensus among industry players, said Thomas Wheeler, president of the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association. “[The industry] …

LOUISVILLE, Ky.-Powertel Inc. said it has begun offering personal communications services in Louisville, Lexington, Frankfurt and Bowling Green, Ky. Powertel said it now provides commercial mobile phone service to 32 metropolitan areas and major highway corridors throughout its 12-state license …

With the Nov. 1 commercial activation of Iridium L.L.C.’s satellite-based global mobile phone network, the mobile satellite services industry proved it is technologically possible to extend cellular communications to virtually any point on the planet. With this validation behind it, …

L.M. Ericsson disclosed its corporate vision for the future last week, a large part of which involved a new strategy for enterprise customers that focuses on converging communication networks with Internet Protocol technology. Recently, Ericsson announced reorganization plans to better …

Robinson-Humphrey Co. L.L.C.’s third-quarter survey of U.S. mobile phone pricing indicates pricing overall has increased as carriers move from offering local calling plans to introducing one-rate plans that eliminate roaming and long-distance fees. One-rate plans “give the effect of increasing …

Telecom companies from around the world are dashing to the Asia Pacific region as they begin to find willing sellers that need cash to expand their telecommunications services. “It’s definitely a buyer’s market right now because of the economic conditions …

WASHINGTON-While consumer advocates and wireless lobbyists tie up the Federal Communications Commission in heated debate over 911 strongest-signal and text-telephone compatibility issues, Rome is burning. Phase I wireless enhanced 911 implementation is a disaster. And it appears the FCC does …

SAN DIEGO-Qualcomm Inc. announced it established a software developers program for the pdQ smartphone. The program will provide applications developers with the resources and tools needed to create new applications for the phone, which is a combination Code Division Multiple …

WASHINGTON-A critical European Parliament vote last week, which could effectively mandate a third-generation mobile phone standard dominated by Sweden’s L.M. Ericsson and Finland’s Nokia Corp. and lock out American technology, will ratchet up the stakes in upcoming negotiations here among …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission last week officially proposed rules that could lead to the end of spectrum caps. Additionally, the FCC announced rules to relocate incumbents in the 2 GHz spectrum band that has been allocated to mobile satellite services. …

Nextel Communications Inc. is testing nationwide pricing plans that fall in line with high-end one-rate plans offered by national mobile phone competitors. Analysts say the company quietly is rolling out the plans, which eliminate long-distance fees, to test the market’s …

This holiday season will see an unprecedented number of mobile phone competitors in the market, but carriers still seem unwilling to compete with break-neck pricing as they aim to keep average revenue per user at high levels. It’s a “digital …

WASHINGTON-Daniel Phythyon, capping a stormy year-and-a-half stewardship of the Federal Communications Commission’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, which had him under constant siege from feisty bankruptcy lawyers, angry lawmakers and high-powered lobbyists, said he will step down Dec. 1. “The timing was …

HELSINKI, Finland-Nokia Mobile Phones announced a new mobile phone for Japan’s PDC market. Nokia said the phone is the first in Japan to have built-in infrared connectivity and a slide cover. The phone also incorporates the Yo-Be-Ba voice recognition function …

LAFAYETTE, Calif.-Mobex Communications said it will centralize mobile phone services for San Francisco-based Pacific Gas and Electric Co. The first phase of the project will consolidate about 8,000 of the utility’s wireless phones under one carrier to streamline accounting processes, …

BEIJING-Six wireless operators with 11 networks is the daunting choice offered to Hong Kong’s techno-savvy consumers. The mobile phone scene here is a lot brighter than one would have expected just one-and-a-half years ago, with the territory’s hand-over to the …

WASHINGTON-The Clinton administration will brief the Senate Finance Committee this week on mobile phone trade and standards policy, a meeting prompted by intensified lobbying by Global System for Mobile communications advocates and the European Telecommunications Standards Institute in response to …

China has been considered a mountain of opportunity for mobile phone infrastructure vendors, but signs today indicate a bleaker outlook as Chinese officials seem to have soured on cdmaOne technology and have banned certain foreign joint ventures in telecommunications projects. …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission this week will vote to consider lifting the 45 megahertz spectrum cap, revamping relocation rules for 2 GHz mobile satellite operators and auctioning spectrum mandated by Congress-three controversial issues with broad implications for future terrestrial and …

The mere idea it may one day be possible to connect computers, mobile phones and other electronic devices to share voice and data transmissions without the need for cables has brought together some of the industry’s heaviest hitters under the …