Wireless News
Wireless News

Wireless News

Vodafone Selects A-GPS Solution

Openwave Systems announced that NEC Corp. is integrating Openwave Location Manager into NEC’s Network Assisted Location Information Solutions. Vodafone K.K. in Japan is the first customer to select the combined solution. Openwave and NEC’s location solution is in compliance with the pre-standard Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) standard currently under consideration by the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA). The solution integrates Openwave Location Manager’s Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) with NEC’s SUPL positioning server to provide a high-accuracy, Assisted GPS (A-GPS) offering that enables location-based services for both the consumer and enterprise markets. The combined solution also incorporates an access management feature to protect subscriber privacy at both the mobile handset and application levels.

FY2005 Mid-Term Demand Forecast for Telecommunication Equipment

CIAJ’s Research and Statistics Committee has compiled its annual mid-term demand forecast. A slowdown in new subscribers pulled the growth rate of cellular handsets down, a break in capital investments by fixed telecommunication carriers decreased demand for modems and central office switching systems, and the transition to multipurpose equipment had a negative impact on facsimiles for business-use. On the other hand, continued healthy growth was seen for business and personal multipurpose equipment, optic communication equipment and routers. Strong interest in security and contingency planning for disasters pushed demand up for fixed communication equipment and other consumer equipment, migration of public PHS users to new carriers, and PHS subscriber growth due to new services contributed to the CIAJ forecast of flat overall growth at 4,138.5 billion yen (negative growth of 0.4% over the previous year) for FY2005. The midterm outlook for the telecommunication equipment market from mid FY2006 onward expects steady market growth, with further migration from 2G to 3G mobile communications, the transition from ADSL to FTTH, the switch to IP, and the lasting popularity of multipurpose equipment.

Cops Surf Web to Find Killer

Japanese police searching for the killer of a seven-year-old girl are studying internet bulletin board messages boasting of a plan to kidnap a girl after school, a report said on Monday. Newspaper delivery man Kaoru Kobayashi pleaded guilty earlier this year to drowning a kidnapped seven-year-old girl in a bathtub and mutilating her body in a crime he documented in photos that he sent by mobile phone to her mother.

Omron Targets Global RFID Market

Omron Corporation, a $5.5 billion Japanese manufacturer of automation and sensing products, will invest $20 million worldwide over 2005 and 2006 as a first step in seizing a larger share of the U.S. and global RFID market. The company’s aggressive entry into the U.S. marketplace focuses on its RFID label inlay and reader products. Omron president and chief executive officer Hisao Sakuta, who has appointed himself as project leader, said “RFID is an important, global initiative which requires a large investment. I believe RFID could be a major growth engine for the company.”

DoCoMo Announces New Investments

DoCoMo has announced plans to invest approx. $234 million in Japanese handset software companies Access and Aplix. Firming it’s position as the second largest investor in Access, DoCoMo will increase their current 7% holding to just over 11% for an estimated cost of $124 million. DoCoMo uses the company’s NetFront browser in most of its 3G FOMA handsets and Access recently acquired PalmSource. Another $110 million investment in Aplix will give DoCoMo the top shareholder in that software developer with nearly 18 percent. Applix is working with Sun Microsystems on the so-called Star Project to improve Java software control systems for mobile devices.

Trapeze Networks Opens Office in Tokyo

Trapeze Networks, the award winning provider of the wireless LAN (WLAN) Mobility System, today announced the opening of Trapeze Networks KK in Minato-ku, Tokyo. Toshikazu Tamada will drive the company’s new initiatives in Japan. As director of sales, Tamada-san will report to Neil Sundstrom, vice president of worldwide sales. Prior to joining Trapeze, Tamada was the country manager and representative director of Proxim KK. He has also been instrumental in opening Japanese markets for other US-based communications companies including: Avaya, Infosys, Sprint, Lucent Technologies, Comverse Technology and AT&T.