Mobile Phones

DUBLIN, Ireland-As mobile phone technology continues to develop rapidly, users continually are encouraged by operators and manufacturers to upgrade their phones to the latest models to take advantage of advanced network services. This, however, leaves the question of what should …

Stet Hallas Telecommunications S.A., Greece, went public 3 June through an equity offering by a holding company. Stet Hallas is 20-percent owned by Bell Atlantic Corp. of the United States. Telecom Finland officially has changed its name to Sonera. Telstra …

BANGLADORE, India-Bangladesh is one of the world’s least-developed countries, and most of the rural heartland lacks roads and electricity, as well as telephones. For its 140 million people, Bangladesh has just 500,000 phones, nearly all in the urban centers of …

BEIJING-Singapore Telecom has pulled out of the US$650 million Asia-Pacific Mobile Telecommunications (AMPT) satellite project it set up in December 1995 together with ST Telemedia, a subsidiary of the Singapore Technologies Group, and four Chinese partners: China Satellite Launch and …

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-High on the agenda of issues raised by African ministers at Africa Telecom ’98 held here in May was using satellite technology for boosting African economies and low telephone-penetration rates. Africa presents an ideal candidate for Mobile Satellite …

WASHINGTON-The State Department, amid a flurry of high-level lobbying and an unsuccessful last-minute move to withdraw U.S. support for the European-based mobile phone technology used by carriers here and abroad, will forward four standards for third-generation wireless technology to the …

ECUADOR STOCKHOLM, Sweden – L.M. Ericsson was awarded a five-year frame agreement valued at more than $250 million by BellSouth Ecuador to upgrade its Advanced Mobile Phone Services wireless network to the Interim Standard-136, or digital AMPS, standard. The network …

VANCOUVER-Nettech Systems introduced a communications solution called Smart IP that enables Internet and intranet applications to run over wireless networks without the challenges associated with Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol connections. Many Internet applications use TCP/IP as the communication protocol to …

AirTouch Cellular customers in Wyoming now can receive Caller ID service. Users of narrowband Advance Mobile Phone Service phones with Caller ID capability can see who is calling when their phone rings. AirTouch said it is offering free Caller ID …

WASHINGTON-As House Telecommunications Subcommittee Chairman Billy Tauzin (R-La.) and Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) negotiate funding federal cancer research with revenue from E911 legislation, a major effort is underway in Europe to address the health question head on. The European Commission …

NEW YORK-Silvio Scaglia, chief executive officer of Omnitel Pronto Italia S.p.A., called it the “What we are doing today that others will do tomorrow” plan. The Italian carrier has executed a series of steps to further its goal of making …

A German study indicates the electromagnetic fields emitted by mobile telephones cause an increase in blood pressure. Dr. Stephan Braune of the University Neurology Clinic in Freiburg, Germany, strapped a mobile phone to the heads of 10 volunteers between the …

The Italian government named the Wind consortium the winning bidder for the country’s third mobile phone license, bringing to a close a tender process that began in the fall of 1996. The Ministry of Communications made the announcement June 10, …

MADRID-Spain’s incumbent mobile phone operators Telefonica and Airtel could have some competition soon, as the country prepares to award a third license this month. Involved in the auction is the mobile arm of the Spanish fixed-line operator Retevision, called Retevision …

ATLANTA-A survey of 500 small business owners, released at SuperComm ’98, demonstrated a “tremendous potential for sales in the coming years.” The survey, conducted by the Verity Group last month, was commissioned by SuperComm co-sponsors, the Telecommunications Industry Association and …

An indoor solution to wireless electronic asset tracking that uses digital radio-frequency technology to locate personnel and property has been developed by PinPoint Corp., a fledgling company based in Bedford, Mass. Outdoor tracking of vehicles, personnel and equipment has long …

ATLANTA-Wireless data’s success in the future depends on how easily users can access it, said some wireless executives last week at SuperComm ’98. Key executives from the wireless industry’s largest companies participated in a panel addressing the direction of the …

WASHINGTON-In an action that provides insight into the complex policy issues simmering beneath the surface of the fiery debate on local competition, the Federal Communications Commission quietly has rejected a bureau-level proposal to pre-empt states from heavily regulating fixed wireless …

WASHINGTON-A seemingly parochial fight between a small San Diego firm and two European manufacturing giants over next-generation wireless technology could foreshadow a larger confrontation between the United States and the European Union and offer a glimpse into a future where …

WASHINGTON-A hearing on an E911 bill backed by a cellular industry-public-safety coalition and championed by House telecom committee Chairman Billy Tauzin (R-La.) backfired last week when the measure’s supporters were forced to defend their opposition to independent cancer research and …

Motorola Inc. and Lucent Technologies Inc. have formed an alliance to jointly develop next-generation digital signal processing technology, a move that is expected to jump-start third-generation mobile phone technology. Motorola’s semiconductor segment and Lucent’s Microelectronics Group next quarter plan to …

WASHINGTON-CTIA last week at its fourth annual Cellular Telephone Industry Association Foundation Achievement Awards Dinner paid tribute to Dennis F. Strigl, Newt Gingrich and the 50 winners of its Vita wireless samaritan awards who all used wireless phones to help …

WASHINGTON-President Clinton last week renewed favorable trade status for China, while under fire from Republicans and Democrats over allegations linking illegal Democratic campaign contributions to technology transfers from U.S. wireless companies to China that some believe threaten U.S. security and …

The Italian government said it plans to award the license for a third mobile phone service later this month. A spokeswoman for the communication regulatory agency said it expects to finish assessing the three bids by June 10 and likely …

WASHINGTON-While lawmakers and industry executives toiled last week through the minutia of competing third-generation wireless technologies, Qualcomm Inc. was laying the foundation to parlay an esoteric standards dispute into a major trade debate that would pit the United States against …