Wireless Technology

WASHINGTON-James Lee Witt, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said last week Congress should intervene if mobile-phone carriers continue to refuse to offer early-alert warnings for natural disasters and other local emergencies. “If we can’t get private industry doing …

SOMERSET, N.J.-Scantron Services Group said it will use Dynamic Mobile Data Systems Inc.’s MobileDispatch and wireless technology to help it reduce the response time of technicians by as much as 75 percent. The companies announced the successful completion of a …

NEW YORK-Charles Schwab & Co. Inc., San Francisco, launched its PocketBroker wireless service in the United States, developed in an alliance with Aether Systems Inc. The service includes access to real-time quotes, market summaries, news headlines, equities trading and confirmation, …

Plantronics Inc. announced it has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed offering by a stockholder of 1 million shares of Plantronics common stock. Corrigo secured $12 million in a second round of financing …

WASHINGTON-The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, challenged with increased use of mobile phones, navigation systems, the Internet and other technologies in vehicles, will hold meetings the next two months on digital distractions and how to curb dangers they pose to …

Cimarron Technologies With the addition of versatile hardware options, Cimarron Technologies’ Skymark VehicleTracker now allows dispatchers to view mapping software in both digital or database formats over a Cellular Digital Packet Data network. The digital map is a scanned image …

NEW YORK-Securicor Wireless said its United Kingdom-based subsidiary, Securicor Wireless Technology Ltd., won a contract to lead a consortium of wireless technology partners to develop a 1 GHz Terrestrial Trunked Radio application specific integrated circuit in Silicon Germanium for use …

WASHINGTON-The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association kicked off Wireless Safety Week last week with an emphasis on driver safety. The association focused on different wireless safety aspects each day of the week. CTIA and its member companies launched a national drive-time …

TEMPE, Ariz.-Worldwide cellular subscribers are expected to exceed 1.2 billion by 2004, according to a market study conducted by Forward Concepts titled “Wireless2000.” The report predicts the cellular subscriber base will pass the 1 billion mark in 2003, with 11 …

TOKYO-Intel Corp. and Japan’s Mitsubishi Electric Corp. announced they will co-develop a cellular chipset for the third-generation wireless technology market. The companies said work on the chipset has begun, and they will develop and market the new chipset and associated …

ALEXANDRIA, Va.-The Personal Communications Industry Association said its GlobalXChange trade show will feature a special pavilion of Bluetooth technology adopters led by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, a nine-company promoter group driving the development of the wireless technology and taking …

BOISE, Idaho-Extend Systems Inc. said it will provide Motorola Inc. with a software kit enabling Bluetooth wireless file exchange and synchronization technology in Motorola products. According to Extend, key components of the kit include Object Exchange and Mobile Communications modules, …

TORONTO-Microcell Connexions Inc. and Research In Motion Ltd. announced their intent to proceed with trials to jointly test mobile data services based on General Packet Radio Services wireless technology and incorporate RIM’s “Always On, Always Connected” features. The companies noted …

PacketVideo Corp. closed a $16.5 million round of financing, bringing the total equity capital raised to more than $41 million. The company said proceeds will go toward working capital, funding research and developing and supporting additional resources for engineering, sales …

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 …

WASHINGTON-A divided federal appeals court in Atlanta ruled wireless carriers and Internet firms do not have the same right as other telecom service providers to access utility poles on a nondiscriminatory basis-an unexpected decision that could hurt mobile-phone antenna siting …

WASHINGTON-Dr. George Carlo, the controversial scientist who broke with the cellular industry last year after finding data possibly linking mobile phone use to health problems, will roll out a new research program this week combining epidemiology, laboratory research and passive …

WASHINGTON-The White House is expected shortly to release a belated report advocating the integration of wireless technologies into the nation’s Emergency Alert System, a policy that industry, federal regulators and Congress have not aggressively pushed despite the fact that millions …

There seems little doubt the wireless Internet is going to be a reality, but what remains unclear is exactly who will use it, on what devices and using which technology. Many types of wireless devices are entering the marketplace with …

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil-Jim Murrell, chairman of the North American GSM Association, could not use his Global System for Mobile communications phone last week in Brazil during Telecom Americas 2000. But depending on a decision by the Brazilian telecommunications regulatory …

WASHINGTON-With prospects uncertain for securing third-generation mobile-phone spectrum at the World Radiocommunication Conference next month in Turkey and apparent concerns about the Clinton administration’s commitment on that score, U.S. wireless firms have turned to Congress for support. A group calling …

LOS ANGELES-The Digital Imaging Group, an open industry consortium created to expand the use of digital images across markets and applications, launched the Wireless Image Transmission Initiative to accelerate the adoption of wireless technology in digital imaging devices and simplify …

WASHINGTON-With a U.S.-Cuban custody battle and U.S.-China trade dominating business in the nation’s capital these days, the question arises: What are the prospects for future U.S.-Cuban telecom trade? The answer is not easy to come by, given the lack of …

NEW YORK-NTT DoCoMo Inc., Tokyo, has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to issue up to $9.55 billion in dollar-denominated bonds over the next few years. The shelf registration becomes effective April 11, meaning Japan’s largest wireless carrier can …

Mobile commerce services are almost universally expected to become huge revenue generators for carriers in the future. Analysts predict a market potential of more than $200 billion by 2005. As such, a slew of start-up companies have sprung up offering …