Multipurpose Wireless PC-EPhone is Introduced

A wireless PDA with full Internet, PC and organizer functions has been introduced and will be distributed exclusively in the US and Canada by Newlands Oil & Gas Inc. (doing business as PC-EPhone.com Inc.).

The instrument features PC functions with Internet capabilities using a full VGA size web browser, a cellular phone with stylus handset with CDMA, AMPS, PCS and GSM capability, interactive personal organizer functions, GPS navigation module, Bluetooth chip for wireless roaming communication and a 4" color touch 640 * 480 dot screen. It is equipped with Microsoft Pocket Internet Explorer, Word, Excel and Outlook software and is 5" * 4" * 1" deep.

The instrument was developed by Cyberbank Co., a privately owned telecommunications company in Korea. Samsung is expected to begin its manufacture during the first quarter of this year.

 Base Station Semiconductor Market to Approach $9 B in 2004

According to a new report from the Cahners In-Stat Group, The Infrastructure Revolution - Five Year Worldwide Cellular/PCS BTS Semiconductor Forecast, the continued rapid growth of worldwide wireless phone subscribers coupled with the move to third-generation (3G) high speed technology will create a booming market for base station (BST) semiconductors over the next few years.

The report forecasts a 25 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for wireless base stations from 2000 to 2004 and estimates that base station semiconductor revenues will grow from $5.6 B in 1999 to almost $9 M in 2004.

The choices which wireless carriers must make about future infrastructure investments over the next few years are discussed in detail. The emergence of GPRS in Europe which bridges the gap between GSM and W-CDMA will have to be considered by European carriers. The need to move to 3G in Asia to increase network capacity is believed to be necessary. In the US, each carrier will have to decide which of the three existing air interfaces it will choose as it moves to a 3G system.

The report expects the power amplifier segment to account for the largest BST semiconductor revenue share and be followed by radio front-end, modulation, demodulation and signal processing segments. It notes that GSM technology, with a 52 percent revenue share in 2000, leads the market, followed by CDMA at 35 percent, TDMA at 10 percent and PDC at 3 percent, and forecasts that GSM and CDMA will each have a 44 percent revenue market share in 2004. For additional information, contact: Matt Woods, Cahners In-Stat Group (617) 630-2139.

 Pan-European Wireless Location Technology Test Completed

A series of wireless handset location tests employing SnapTrack's Wireless Assisted GPS™ system which was conducted across Europe by an international consortium of GSM carriers, handset suppliers, applications suppliers, infrastructure manufacturers and semiconductor manufacturers has been successfully completed.

Wireless handset location roaming trials, using prototype handsets and two types of miniature GPS antennas suitable for use in small mobile devices, were conducted in and around Paris, Bonn, London, Utrecht and several other locations. A single Location Server hosted by France Telecom Mobiles provided location calculation support for all of the trial locations in Western Europe, and demonstrated the system's ability to provide cross-border roaming and wide-area service coverage from a single service center.

Callers were successfully located on successive networks during the trials in a wide range of city centers, rural villages and motorways. CMG Telecommunications teamed with France Telecom Mobiles and SnapTrack to provide the interface between the location server and the network Short Messaging Service Center (SMSC) to test the use of SMS as the data bearer for wireless position information. This allows location transactions to take place during voice calls and idle periods, and is believed to have been shown suitable for the application.

Location reports for open outdoor sites during the test were typically accurate to within 5 to 10 meters. Outdoor testing in dense urban and urban canyon environments including both narrow, medieval Parisian streets and skyscraper complexes yielded accuracies of 30 to 40 meters. Indoor tests in a variety of commercial and residential structures in city center and suburban locations such as train stations, apartment buildings, restaurants, shops and residences had typical accuracies of 30 to 45 meters. London roaming tests yielded accuracies similar to those in Paris, demonstrating satisfactory operation across carrier network boundaries.

Nortel to Supply 3G Core Network for AT&T Wireless

AT&T Wireless Services has signed a letter of intent to purchase advanced IP (Internet Protocol) infrastructure equipment from Nortel Networks for its next generation of high performance Wireless Internet services. Subject to the execution of a definitive agreement, Nortel Networks will supply a complete new core network infrastructure for AT&T and will work with AT&T on the creation of an applications laboratory for the development and integration of Wireless Internet services.

The new network infrastructure will support evolution from present 2G wireless standards through 2.5G and 3G standards including General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Enhanced Data Rates for Global Evolution (EDGE) and Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). UMTS is designed to provide high speed access to information, email, real-time video and other Wireless Internet services through a variety of personal, portable devices. The new AT&T network is expected to be one of the first to support UMTS outside of Europe and Japan.

Broadband Modem Revenues to Reach $13 B by 2004

A report from the Cahners In-Stat Group, "Broadband Consumers --Profiles and Strategies," forecasts that subscription revenues from DSL and cable modems will reach $13 B by 2004. It estimates that approximately 9 percent of online households in the US have some form of broadband Internet access with the most common forms being DSL and cable. The report expects that the number of these subscribers will grow 77 percent between 1999 and 2004 and that subscriber revenues from the two services will grow from just over $1 B in 1999 to $13.3 B by 2004.

The report finds that home networking is the biggest broadband consumer application with 33 percent of broadband users involved with that use. It also finds that, with only 5 percent of US households with broadband access, the high cost of delivering content per user plus the difficulties encountered without broadband access, i.e., time to download large media files, poor picture quality and small picture size, etc., have prevented streaming media from becoming a major broadband application at this point.

The report estimates that 65 percent of broadband consumers are between the ages of 25 and 44 and have a four-year degree or post graduate education. Close to 40 percent of broadband consumers are single and more than 50 percent have yearly household incomes of $50 K or more. The report provides market forecasts, demographics, online user habits and strategies for ISPs to increase their broadband consumer customer base. To purchase this report or for more information, contact: Courtney McEuen, Cahners In-Stat Group (408) 609-4533 or e-mail: cmceuen@instat.com.  Additional information is also available at http://www.instat.com/catalog/CAT-IA.HTM#is0005.sp. *