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Home News Index 2005 Wireless News 2004 Jan. to June Wireless News July to December, 2004, Wireless News December, 2004 Radio waves from mobile phones 'alter human DNA' But the European Union-funded Reflex research did not prove such changes were a risk to human health. A spokesman said the study had not shown the biological changes led to disease. Around 1.5 billion people around the world use mobile phones. Full Story BBC News_ 12/21/04
Mobile phone subscribers around the globe totaled nearly 1.5 billion by the middle of this year, about one quarter of the world's population, the U.N.'s International Telecommunication Union (ITU) said. Mobile phone subscriber growth outpaced fixed lines, which totaled some 1.185 billion today against 1 billion at the start of the century, and was also outstripping the rate of increase in Internet users. Reuters_ 12/9/04 October, 2004 US cell firms OK technical standards for multimedia messages sent over mobile phones The common standard for multimedia messaging should enable mobile phone users to exchange photos, video and audio clips just as they do e-mail, regardless of their wireless carrier. The standardized service won't go into effect until wireless companies negotiate terms to deliver "outside" messages to their customers. The lack of interoperability is seen as a key stumbling block toward wider usage of each individual carrier's multimedia offerings -- and increased wireless data revenues for the companies. Full Story AP/MSNBC_ 10/29/04 TV-B-Gone: Inexpensive remote zaps off any TV in public places like restaurants San Francisco entrepreneur Mitch Altman's invention is creating an internet buzz and already has sold 2,000, the entire first production run. The gadget works by emitting every known set manufacturer's signal to shut down. In his daily experiments in stores and elsewhere, Altman said, few people have objected. Is Cellphone-B-Gone next? Full Story Los Angeles Times_ 10/21/04 (logon required) Ultrawideband: The once-secret military technology is Wi-Fi on steroids The new type of high-speed wireless connection that promises downloaded data rates of up to 1 gigabit per second -- roughly 18.5 times the speed of Wi-Fi -- to personal computers and other devices. Upstream data can be sent at 480 megabits per second. The technology has won support from big chip companies like Intel Corp., Texas Instruments Inc. and Motorola Inc. spinoff Freescale Semiconductor Inc., as well as smaller players like Pulselink, Israel's Wisair and San Diego-based Staccato Communications. Electronics giants Sony Corp., Philips and Panasonic are also embracing the technology. Full Story Reuters_ 10/11/04
September, 2004 African leaders seek global donations to help people in poor countries buy mobile phones, computers President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal said cell phones and Internet access are steps out of poverty and into economic growth. The new fund, pooling voluntary contributions solicited from buyers of high-tech goods in wealthy nations, will be launched in Geneva on Nov. 17, Wade said. Full Story Reuters 9/22/04 Israeli defense electronics block unwelcome cell phone calls in Mexico churches Four churches in the northern city of Monterrey are using equipment made by Israeli telecoms equipment firm Netline Communications Technologies to block incoming calls during masses. The Tel Aviv-based company was set up in 1998 by former military and defense industry specialists to develop mobile telephone jamming systems, mainly for the security industry. An official at one church said the jamming is so successful they're getting calls asking for information from churches all over the country. Full Story Reuters_ 9/21/04 New German mobile phone to detect bad breath The phone will use a tiny chip measuring less than one millimeter to detect unpleasant odors, a spokeswoman for Siemens Mobile said. A research team in the southern city of Munich is developing the device using new sensor technology. Full Story Reuters_ 9/21/04 Motorola Inc. to invest $90 million in a new research facility in Beijing as the U.S. mobile phone maker fights to wrest back top position in the domestic handset market The world's second-largest cellphone maker expects the research and development center to focus on phone design and user interfaces in a volatile market expected to be worth more than $8 billion this year. The move is part of the Schaumberg, Illinois-based company's plans to consolidate its North Asian headquarters in a sleepy Beijing suburb. Full Story Reuters_ 9/10/04 Wireless technology to rival cable, DSL - Intel The emerging wireless communications technology called WiMAX, which can blanket entire cities with high-speed Internet connections, will rival DSL and cable as the preferred way to connect homes and businesses to the Internet, Intel Corp. says. Intel has begun shipping samples of WiMAX chips to customers and has committed to building WiMAX into its Centrino notebook computer chips starting in 2006.The company stands to profit if customers also back WiMAX, since Intel likely would become a lead supplier. Full Story Reuters_ 9/7/04 Wi-fi nets get security
makeover For about $10 million,
Philadelphia officials believe they can turn all 135 square miles into
the world's largest wireless Internet hot spot Verizon Wireless offers consumers a worldwide phone The phone from Samsung Electronics
is designed to work on mobile networks around the world. The U.S. wireless
venture of Verizon Communications introduced the phone so that Verizon
customers can begin use Vodafone's network services when they travel
in Europe and Asia. Full
Story Reuters_ 9/1/04 August, 2004 Business travelers
to surf the Web securely on long-distance flights by combining services
from Boeing Co. and iPass Inc.
New York City is on the verge of going fully wireless, according to a deal being finalised this month between authorities and a group of six technology companies. More than 18,000 new lamp post-based antennas will be installed to strengthen wireless cell coverage around the five boroughs. The companies will pay the city government around $25 million each year. However, in the borough of Queens, local activist John Campos has set up a protest group to lobby for what he describes as a more responsible placing of wireless transmitters and antennas. Full Story BBC_8/21/04 Wireless net to get 10-fold speed boost Competing technology groups are proposing different ways to speed up the data rates of wi-fi which could reach 540 megabits per second. The battling technologies, called WWise and TGn Sync, are being assessed by the US Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) which oversees developments to wi-fi technology. Full Story 8/15/04 July, 2004 Motorola has fix for GPS flaw on some phones Motorola Inc. said a software glitch is hampering the use of global positioning services on some cellular phone models sold by Nextel Communications Inc. Motorola said the problem was traced to a flaw in the interface between the handsets and a software module from SiRF Technology Holdings Inc. Motorola said the flaw was not caused by the SiRF software, and the two companies were testing a fix that would be deployed as soon as possible. Customers use the A-GPS service for things like downloading weather updates and locating vehicle fleets. Full Story Reuters_ 7/21/04
AT&T Wireless launches
fast data networks Lucent signs $5 billion
pact with Verizon Wireless FCC OKs spectrum swap
by Nextel T-Systems, a unit of
Deutsche Telekom, aims to make worldwide WiFi as easy as phone calls Are remotes out of
control? European Commission
demands more wireless R&D
Home News Index 2005 Wireless News 2004 January to June Wireless News
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