Editor’s Note: RCR Wireless News goes all in for “Throwback Thursdays,” tapping into our archives to resuscitate the top headlines from the past. Fire up the time machine, put on the sepia-tinted shades, set the date for #TBT and enjoy the memories!
GSM gets on the ‘Net
STOCKHOLM-Ericsson Inc. said its “GSM on the Net” solution for providing
Internet Protocol-based wireless multimedia services will enter trials with Pacific Bell Wireless during the second quarter. During that time, the Department of Computer Science at the University of California at Berkeley also will investigate new applications for the system. Dave Williams, vice president of Network Technology for PacBell Wireless, said the company “will be evaluating this new development as an additional feature to our service offerings in California and Nevada. “If the trial is successful, I see this as an excellent solution for small- to medium-sized business that value the extra mobility it will give their staff, allowing far greater productivity than conventional, fixed private branch exchange solutions,” said Williams. … Read more
AT&T-TCI merger gets FCC approval
WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission approved the $57 billion merger between AT&T Corp. and Tele-Communications Inc. As expected, TCI must divest its interest in Sprint Corp.’s personal communications services business as part of the deal. … Read more
Field tech mobility comes to BellSouth
Called one of the largest deployments of mobile computing technology to date, BellSouth Corp. introduced a new, $163 million mobile computing platform created to give its 15,000 service technicians access to customer service and network information in the field. The BellSouth TechPlus System equips technicians with ruggedized notebook computers that include two-way wireless and wireline communications capabilities to access BellSouth computer systems in order to conduct network testing, work assignments, maintenance and customer information queries. The wireless data network used in the system is provided by the BellSouth Wireless Data division. “TechPlus is a massive project that will transform the way every field technician in BellSouth works-and help us provide faster service to our customers,” said Bill Smith, network vice president for BellSouth Telecommunications. “This gives our people in the field as much computing power as office-based workers.” It replaces the Craft Access System and older, slower Computer Access Terminals. BellSouth
began deploying the new computers to field technicians last October in Georgia, adding Florida, Kentucky and Tennessee in December. By the end of January, the computers had been distributed to all nine states served by
BellSouth. … Read more
Bell Mobility gets a Samsung CDMA phone
DALLAS-Samsung Telecommunications America Inc. announced it entered the Canadian telecommunications market through an agreement to provide Bell Mobility with the dual-mode/dual-band Code Division Multiple Access personal communications services SCH-1530 phone. “Our relationship with Bell Mobility gives us an immediate presence in Canada’s largest wireless markets while furthering the momentum gained through Samsung’s success in the U.S.,” said Peter Skarzynski, vice president of sales and marketing for wireless terminals, STA. The SCH-1530 handset supports standard network services such as voice mail, caller ID, three-way calling and call forwarding. … Read more
FCC grapples with cellular ‘dead zones’
WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission appears to be attempting to develop policy goals to solve the “dead zone” problem. The FCC then would leave it to the cellular industry to come up with technical solutions that meet its policy goals. “We [the Federal Communications Commission]are at our best when we decide what should be done and then leave it [to industry to develop standards.]We are at our worst when we define standards,” said Ari Fitzgerald, wireless legal adviser to FCC Chairman William Kennard. The dead-zone problem refers to the lack of coverage in some areas where only the A or B side of cellular systems offer service. If you are an A-side customer traveling in a B-only area, you cannot receive or place calls in areas known as dead zones. The dead-zone problem becomes particularly acute if the call being placed is a 911 call. There have been at least two examples where people have died because a 911 call could not be placed. … Read more
Finland to be first in Europe to grant 3G licenses
The Finnish government said it will be the first European country to grant third-generation mobile phone licenses by spring, and one company’s bid to use cdma2000 technology remains. Finland’s Ministry of Transport and Communications said Vodafone Group plc and a consortium consisting of British Telecom, TeleDanmark AS and Telenor AS have withdrawn their applications. Both Vodafone and British Telecom could not comment by press time on why they withdrew their bids. The ministry was hoping to scale down the number of applications for 3G licenses by Feb. 15, but 15 remain after two companies broke away from a consortium to bid on
their own. Finnish Internet service provider Suanalahden Severi Oy has bid twice, once proposing Interim Standard 95-based cdma2000 technology and the other proposing UMTS technology. UMTS is the standard chosen by the
European Telecommunications Industry Association for 3G services that includes wideband Code Division Multiple Access technology, designed to evolve from Global System for Mobile communications systems, and a hybrid of Time Division Multiple Access and CDMA technology. All other bidders have proposed using W-CDMA technology or the UMTS standard. … Read more
FCC extends deadline for local number portability
WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission last week unanimously granted a request from the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association to extend until Nov. 24, 2002, the deadline for
implementing local number portability. Portability allows customers to keep their telephone number when switching carriers. The FCC has maintained local number portability is necessary for competition to develop. The wireless industry, by contrast, has maintained it already is competitive and the money spent to implement wireless number
portability could be put to other uses. Indeed, CTIA President Thomas Wheeler said in a statement released in New Orleans at Wireless ’99, the decision “underscores the FCC’s understanding that the wireless industry already is the most competitive segment of the telecommunications marketplace. Wireless carriers can continue building and improving their services for consumers, without diverting resources to implement number portability.” The November 2002 date is the same as the sunset date for resale obligations and represents the end of the buildout requirement for personal communications services carriers. … Read more
Nortel aims to drive down data transmission costs
NEW ORLEANS-Nortel Networks announced its wireless Internet Protocol evolution plan at Wireless ’99 and said it aims to reduce a wireless operator’s total cost per megabit for data transmissions from 37 cents
currently to 4 cents within five years. “Nortel Networks has set a goal to drive the overall cost of operating a mobile network down by an order of magnitude,” said John Roth, Nortel Networks vice chairman and chief
executive officer. He said this sets a cost-performance benchmark against which wireless networks will be measured in the future. The announcement echoes the current general theme in the industry for finding ways for carriers to derive more revenue, capacity and speed and lower costs to justify building out mobile data networks in the first place. “The promise of mobile data and Internet services as convenient and ubiquitous as wireless phone service can be realized only with a profound, fundamental change in the cost of operating wireless networks,”
said Roth. … Read more
Nextel to buy Geotek 900 MHz licenses
MONTVALE, N.J.-Geotek Communications Inc. Friday said it plans to sell to Nextel Communications Inc. its portfolio of 191 specialized mobile radio 900 MHz licenses. The deal is valued at $150 million. Geotek declared bankruptcy last year and is selling off its assets to repay its creditors. The company was not expected to announce a buyer until Tuesday at a Delaware bankruptcy court hearing. The planned sale to Nextel, however, could hit a roadblock because Nextel is prohibited by a 1994 antitrust
consent decree from holding 900 MHz SMR licenses in major markets where it has 800 MHz SMR interests. The Justice Department recently rejected Nextel’s request to modify the antitrust settlement. Other companies that had made bulk bids for Geotek’s licenses, including Chadmoore Wireless Group and Mobex Communications, could challenge Nextel’s efforts in a federal district court to modify the consent decree. … Read more
Check out the RCR Wireless News Archives for more stories from the past.
The post #TBT: GSM on the Net; FCC looks into ‘dead zones’; Nextel buys 900 MHz licenses … this week in 1999 appeared first on RCR Wireless News.