BROWSING: NTT Mobile Communications
Connexion by Boeing signs agreements with 2 Asian carriers
SEATTLE-Boeing's efforts to bring high-speed wireless Internet access to airline passengers made news again Friday with two agreements with Asian telecom companies.StarHub, a Singapore-based communications company, agreed to add Connexion by Boeing to its services portfolio. The companies said they are completing network compatibility...
NTT takes stake in Hong Kong carrier
NEW YORK-NTT Mobile Communications Network Inc., Japan's largest mobile carrier, said Dec. 2 it plans to buy a 19-percent interest in Hutchison Telephone Co. Ltd., Hong Kong's biggest wireless provider, for $410 million.Under terms of the agreement, reached with Hutchison Whampoa Ltd., which is...
Japan’s carriers ready for Y2K
TOKYO-Japan's major carriers said they had taken all necessary measures by the end of September to cope with any potential Y2K problems. Now, say the carriers, they are busily preparing for counter measures for the upcoming critical days.Reports say there could be two types...
JAPAN’S TOP NCC PAGING OPERATOR GOES BANKRUPT
TOKYO-Tokyo Telemessages Inc. (TTM), a paging company suffering from huge debts due to a sharp drop in customers because of strong competition from mobile phone operators, went bankrupt at the end of May. The beeper operator has debts of around 25 billion yen (US$206...
INT’L ROAMING PLANE STANDING AT THE GATE
MIAMI-The market opportunity for international roaming is clear, present and growing, but domestic carriers so far have been focused on tapping the large and more immediate potential posed by burgeoning data traffic at home."Many of the U.S. carriers I follow have not spent a...
NTT DOCOMO PARTNERS WITH SUN & MICROSOFT
TOKYO-As part of its effort to become a comprehensive multimedia service provider rather than just a cellular telephone operator, NTT Mobile Communications Network (NTT DoCoMo) has joined up with the world's leading software companies to use their leading-edge enabling technologies.Japan's cellular telephone market, which...
NEC, NTT TO COOPERATE ON W-CDMA TRIAL IN THAILAND
TOKYO-NEC Corp. and NTT Mobile Communications Network Inc. have agreed to work together in technical trials of a wideband Code Division Multiple Access system with the Telephone Organization of Thailand.Based on a memorandum of understanding with the TOT, NTT DoCoMo and NEC plan to...
JAPANESE CARRIERS GEAR UP FOR EARLY LAUNCH OF 3G
TOKYO-Anticipating the International Telecommunication Union's (ITU's) scheduled March decision regarding key characteristics for the third-generation cellular, IMT-2000, Japanese carriers are mounting efforts to be able to kick off their 3G businesses earlier than any other nation.Japan Telecom Co. (JT), in cooperation with Nissan Motor...
LATE NEWS
AT&T Wireless employee wounded in Utah shootingSALT LAKE CITY-The Associated Press reported AT&T Wireless Services Inc. employee Anne Sleater was shot in the head Thursday by a woman demanding entrance to a local newsroom housed in the same building as AT&T Wireless Services' administrative...
U.S. DELEGATION PUSHES FOR 3G CONVERGENCE
The State Department late last month urged the European Commission to allow U.S. third-generation wireless equipment and service providers a fair opportunity to compete in Europe.In a letter sent to EC Commissioner Martin Bangemann Dec. 19, the United States expressed concern Europe may be...
WAP EXPANDS MEMBERSHIP; APPOINTS DIRECTORS
LONDON-The Wireless Application Protocol Forum announced 11 new companies have joined the organization, and it appointed three additional members to its board of directors.New to the board are Hiroshi Sakai, director and general manager of the Mobile Communications Engineering Division of DDI Corp.'s Engineering...
TELEFONICA, PORTUGAL TELECOM NOW MAJOR POWERS IN BRAZIL
WASHINGTON-Almost 500 years after Columbus visited, Portugal and Spain are back on Latin American shores; this time, it isn't sugar cane or gold they are after, but rather the potentially lucrative telecom sector. Telefonica de Espana and Portugal Telecom were the most aggressive bidders...
GTE, NTT COMPLETE ROAMING GATEWAY
TAMPA, Fla.-GTE Telecommunication Services Inc. and NTT Mobile Communications Network Inc. announced they completed installation of gateways to allow interoperability between Advanced Mobile Phone Service and Personal Digital Cellular wireless networks.GlobalRoam is the first two-way international roaming service between the United States and Japan,...
GTE TSI’S GLOBALROAM TO BE AVAILABLE IN JAPAN
SAN FRANCISCO- In two weeks, Japanese cellular customers will gain the ability to roam internationally for the first time, using their own phone.GTE Telecommunications Services Inc. of Tampa, Fla., and Tokyo-based NTT Mobile Communications Network Inc., known as NTT DoCoMo, last week signed formal...
JAPAN WILL CONSIDER OPENING UP PERSONAL HANDYPHONE MARKET
WASHINGTON-The Clinton administration has said Japan will consider opening its personal handyphone system equipment market, a potential breakthrough for American wireless suppliers.Last week's announcement came as the United States completed its annual review of telecommunications trade agreements with Japan, Korea and Mexico."Ensuring that our...
JAPAN TRADE NEGOTIATOR BECOMES PRIME MINISTER
WASHINGTON-While the Clinton administration is pledging stricter enforcement of trade pacts involving telecommunications and other business sectors, the future relationship between the United States and Japan has been left uncertain by last week's promotion of Japan's tough trade negotiator, Ryutaro Hashimoto, to prime minister.Hashimoto,...
U.S., JAPAN REMAIN AT IMPASSE OVER PHS EQUIPMENT CONTRACTS
WASHINGTON-The Clinton administration is expected to press Japan on the Personal Handyphone System issue before returning home this week from Tokyo, where the United States participated in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Osaka.The United States and Japanese trade negotiators are at an impasse...
INTERNATIONAL PHS GROUP READY TO SPREAD TECHNOLOGY IN ORIENT
The prime movers behind the recent rollout of Personal Handyphone System services in Japan are not losing any time promoting the digital technology in other Asia-Pacific markets.Cable & Wireless plc joined with Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp., NTT Mobile Communications Network Inc., Hongkong Telecom...
NTT, ACCESSLINE TO OFFER A SINGLE-NUMBER SERVICE
BELLEVUE, Wash.-Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. and AccessLine Technologies Inc. have formed a joint venture to deliver AccessLine's single-number service in Japan. It will be offered to customers in metropolitan Tokyo.Nippon's wireless subsidiary, NTT Mobile Communications Network Inc. also is a partner in the...
AMERICAN TRADE OFFICE PRESSES TO ENTER JAPANESE PHS MARKET
WASHINGTON-The United States and Japan will resume talks this fall in hopes of heading off a full-blown trade dispute concerning foreign access to Japan's booming next-generation pocket telephone business, which American trade officials argue is subject to a major telecommunications accord agreed to by...