Intersil, Proxim Resolve 802.11b Patent Spat
Proxim and Intersil said they resolved on Tuesday all pending patent-related litigation between the two companies that pertain to their involvement in WLAN. Under the terms of the agreement, Proxim and Intersil agreed to dismiss all claims against each other, including lawsuits before the International Trade Commission and Delaware and Massachusetts Federal Courts. As part of the confidential settlement agreement, the two companies have entered into a patent cross-license agreement for their respective patent portfolios and Intersil will make a one-time payment of $6 million to Proxim. The company said it would spend about half of that amount to pay off legal fees and other litigation-related expenses.
Read the full story on: InternetNews.com
SiS Launches Its First Wireless LAN Chip
Silicon Integrated Systems (SiS) of Taiwan on Monday introduced its first wireless LAN chip in what the firm said will become a family of WLAN products. The SiS160 is a media access controller (MAC) chip that conforms to the 802.11b standard. It supports either 64-bit or 128-bit data encryption using the wired equivalent privacy (WEP) algorithm but can be upgraded to the pending 802.1x security standards when they are ratified. The Taiwan firm said the SiS160 is ready for volume production immediately.
Read the full story on: EBN
Powell Talks e911 at CTIA
Issues surrounding the roll out of e911 were among the first items on the agenda at the CTIA Wireless 2003 show Monday, as CTIA President and CEO Tom Wheeler brought out U.S. Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-LA), chairman of the House Commerce Committee, and then FCC Chairman Michael Powell for discussion of the industrys concerns. “The regulatory policies need to take on the same sort of radical change,” Powell said. “Let innovation be the central focus of policy.” He added that government can do something other than making rules, it can be a leader and coordinator. Thats what he thinks the e911 initiative requires from the government. He said the various parties — including regulatory bodies, carriers and emergency response officials — will meet on April 29th to hash out what it takes to implement the long delayed initiative. The e911 initiative seeks to implement location-based services which will allow emergency responders to pinpoint the location of a caller on a mobile phone.
Read the full story on: InternetNews.com
Why Investors Arent Dialing Motorola
You wouldnt know it from its stock price, but Motorola has been on an upswing for much of the past year. Thanks to massive cost-cutting and growth in mobile-phone sales fueled by an aggressive marketing strategy, Motorola was able to battle back to profitability in the second half of 2002 after six quarters of losses. Its December 2002 quarter — when it posted stronger-than expected sales on 11% growth at its handset division — was a particularly nice surprise. Yet the companys stock has barely budged from this years $8 floor — even given the surge in the stock market in recent days. Motorola shares closed on Mar. 17 at $8.53, up only 49 cents, or 6%, from its Mar. 12 close, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq index has risen 9% over that time.
Read the full story on: E-Commerce News
Ericsson Names New Management Team
Mobile phone giant Ericsson announced a new management team Monday. Carl-Henric Svanberg will become Ericssons new chief executive. Per-Arne Sandstrom, former chief operating officer, has been promoted to deputy CEO and first executive vice president. And Karl-Henrik Sundstrom, former general manager of Ericssons global services business unit, will be the companys new chief financial officer. The executives, who will also serve on the new executive management team, will begin their new roles April 8.
Read the full story on: CNET News.com
Bug in Siemens Mobile Phones
A long-known bug can still freeze two series of cell phones manufactured by Siemens AG if users havent yet installed a patch. Siemens 35 and 45 series phones are affected by the bug, said Siemens spokesman Michael Stenberg. The bug, according to Stenberg, is linked to the EMS (enhanced messaging service) technology used in the phones. By sending a single word, for instance, from the phones language menu surrounded by quote marks and preceded by an asterisk as control code to an EMS-capable handset, people can cause the phone receiving the message to freeze. EMS software contains symbols, such as hearts, which are activated by short text messages containing control code. The flaw in the Siemens phones, according to Stenberg, allows a corrupt message to tell the devices to activate a symbol that doesnt exist. The search for nonexistent symbols freezes up the handsets, he said. The companys new 55 series is not affected.
Read the full story on: IDG