Mobile Phones

The cellular industry has taken numerous steps to package cellular for the mass consumer retail market, but a small gap remains between the industry’s effort and the complicated process to activate a phone. “Mass merchants are a substantial opportunity for …

Motorola Inc. has introduced a lightweight, flip-top cellular phone that can be worn on a belt holster or armband. Weighing 3.1 ounces, the StarTac operates on two miniaturized batteries. When one battery’s power is depleted, the other battery automatically provides …

L.M. Ericsson and Telia Mobitel have signed a two-year general purchasing agreement covering delivery and installation of Global System for Mobile communications systems to expand the capacity and radio coverage of Telia Mobitel’s digital mobile network in Sweden, Ericsson announced. …

This may be the year that Code Division Multiple Access technology becomes a commercial reality for cellular operators, with one system already running in Hong Kong and four nearing completion in the United States. Systems launched today are deployed with …

TAMPA, Fla.-Nokia Corp. has announced a new version of its Nokia 232 cellular phone that enables the phone to operate on a Narrowband Advanced Mobile Phone Service network. The company also said Sears will distribute Nokia phones in its Brand …

NEW YORK-Industry analysts remain confident in the outlook for Nokia Corp., despite the mid-December drubbing its American Depository Receipts took after the Finnish electronics manufacturer announced poor profit performance in its sales of mobile phones in the United States and …

STOCKHOLM, Sweden-L.M. Ericsson said it has signed an order for a Time Division Multiple Access/Advanced Mobile Phone System cellular network with Compania de Telecommunicaciones Moviles Chile S.A., one of two operators in Chile. Ericsson said the system will enable CTCC …

Ameritech Corp. announced it has formed a consortium with Singapore Telecom and Tele Danmark to pursue a partnership with Belgacom S.A., the national telecommunications operator in Belgium. The Belgian government this summer selected Ameritech as a final bidder for the …

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill.-Motorola Inc.’s Pan American Wireless Infrastructure Division will expand Comunicaciones Celulares’ cellular phone system in Guatemala City and surrounding areas, Motorola announced. The contract, valued at $20 million, calls for Motorola to add 12 SC 9600 digital base …

The cellular industry’s major handset manufacturers reported lower growth figures in third quarter reports, a sign that the wireless phone industry could be slowing down in the United States. Low cellular phone prices were one of the contributing factors that …

Datum Inc.’s Timing Division announced the release of a small high-performance Global Positioning Satellite system receiver. Datum said the StarTime GPS Clock is designed for applications that require not only high performance but small physical size and low price. The …

Two kinds of private, in-building wireless systems are seeking the attention of today’s large business customers-stand-alone systems that provide portable extensions of employee desk phones, and stand-alone systems that provide portable extensions but also can hand off calls to the …

Flash Comm Inc. has named former Paging Network Inc. chief executive officer Terry Scott its president and CEO. Flash Comm, headquartered in Melbourne, Fla., offers wireless two-way data communications nationwide. The company’s terrestrial system competes with both existing and emerging …

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill.-Motorola Inc.’s International Cellular Infrastructure Division will expand and upgrade cellular phone service in Thailand under a contract valued at $160 million. Total Access Communications Public Co. Ltd. ordered the expansion to increase overall network capacity and extend …

As the entrepreneurial block auctions for broadband personal communications services get underway this December, the first broadband PCS services also are scheduled to become reality. But a later rollout schedule is par for the course among major PCS license holders, …

Allen Telecom Group Inc. announced it has reached a purchase agreement with Pacific Bell Mobile Services. The three-year, non-exclusive agreement allows Pac Bell to purchase Allen’s omni-directional and panel antennas and accessories in preparation for building its personal communications services …

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill.-Hutchison Telephone Co. Ltd. launched what it says is the world’s first commercial Code Division Multiple Access digital cellular phone system in Hong Kong. Hutchison plans to migrate customers from cellular analog Advanced Mobile Phone Service to CDMA …

WASHINGTON-Federal Communications Commission Chairman Reed Hundt directed the wireless telecommunications industry to develop a plan by next week to address interference from European-designed digital pocket telephones to hearing aids. Hundt, according to sources, met last Monday with representatives from the …

MEMPHIS, Tenn.-Celcore, a developer of advanced wireless switching and networking solutions, announced a contract with Telecel International Ltd. to supply Advanced Mobile Phone Service cellular systems for deployment in Madagascar beginning in the fourth quarter. The contract calls for as …

AT&T Network Systems Inc. installed a digital wireless data communications system on Tele2000’s wireless network in Lima, Peru. Tele2000 said it was the first to bring cellular telephone service to Peru. AT&T’s Cellular Digital Packet Data system allows subscribers on …

ORLANDO, Fla.-Switch manufacturer Summa Four Inc. is collaborating with software designer Engineering and Business Systems Inc. to create and market a mini mobile switching center for the personal communications services market. The miniMSC will use Summa Four’s Virtual Central Office …

ORA Electronics introduced Travel Talk, a hands-free speaker phone for portable cellular phones. The unit can be transferred from one vehicle to another providing hands-free conversations without compromising the convenience of a portable cellular phone, said ORA. Travel Talk also …

Succeeding plans for a two-year network expansion project, Mercury One 2 One intends to launch a multimillion dollar marketing and advertising campaign today aimed at new customers, with three flagship calling packages the company said deliver “the lowest running costs …

On a recent trip across Europe to visit some of the major operators and manufacturers of the blossoming cellular industry there, I was asked to describe the state of the industry in the United States. Of course I spoke of …

Riding the “third wave” of the cellular industry, Memphis, Tenn.-based Cellcore is gaining ground as a wireless supplier, focusing on three key areas: cellular and personal communications services networks, microcellular networks and integrated communications offerings. Distributed network architecture distinguishes Celcore’s …