Communications

The Ofcom Spectrum Advisory Board (OSAB) which will provide independent advice on spectrum management issues to communications regulator Ofcom has been set up. OSAB will advise Ofcom on how to secure optimal use of the radio spectrum while taking account of the different needs and interests of all users. The board will meet five to six times a year and ...

BT and Vodafone have teamed up to offer a fixed-mobile service which will allow customers to move automatically from a fixed to a mobile network connection during a call. The service, named Project Bluephone, will allow a single handset to be used for both fixed and mobile calls. A call originating on the BT fixed network will be able to ...

A telecoms standard has been proposed which is designed to increase the bandwidth of optical fibre networks and encourage the roll-out of broadband services. The ITU’s G.656 standard is intended to allow operators using coarse-wavelength division multiplexing (CWDM) to deploy systems without the need to compensate for chromatic dispersion. This is a phenomenon that at low levels counteracts distortion but ...

BT has announced local loop unbundling initiatives which could see prices charged to rival companies offering broadband on BT’s network reduced by up to 70 per cent by the end of this year. The first cut will come in June with a 35 per cent reduction. “BT has always argued that a market needs to develop in which those who ...

While everyone seems to agree that standards are essential to the success of the digital home, that doesn’t always mean they are created without some pain. Once again, last week the IEEE failed to approve a standard for the physical layer of ultra wideband, a wireless technology that consumer electronics companies plan to use to connect devices in the home. ...

Picsel Technologies is seeing an expansion of its mobile phone software business following the winning of a major contract in the Far East which will result in the company increasing its Scottish workforce by over 30 per cent. The Glasgow-based developer of mobile web browsers is looking for software engineers as part of a plan to add 30 staff to ...

Antenna developer Antenova has won a contract to supply more than one million of its compact quad-band dielectric antennas to a “top five” mobile handset OEM. The deal, struck in conjunction with its manufacturing partner Galtronics, is by far and away the company’s biggest to date. “It’s our first major contract. This is with one of the big boys,” CEO ...

UK-based mobile messaging software specialist, Magic4 has been bought by Openwave Systems of the US for $82.6m. The two software firms have signed a definitive agreement for Openwave to purchase all outstanding shares of privately held Magic4. Openwave plans to integrate Magic4 into its client software operation. According to Don Listwin, president and CEO of Openwave, browsing and messaging are ...

The worldwide market for mobile phones slowed slightly in Q1 due to expected seasonal effects, but still posted impressive growth year-on-year with a boost from smartphones, IDC reported. According to the firm, worldwide mobile phone shipments decreased sequentially by 5.9 per cent in the March quarter and increased by 29.3 per cent year-over-year to 152.7 million units. Additionally, the nascent ...

In an effort to hurry DVB-S2 broadcast receiver and equipment production, STMicroelectronics said it will license the VHDL code of its DVB-S2-compliant design to broadcast equipment manufacturers. The Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) organisation and the introduction of the DVB-S specification, which occurred 10 years ago, is used globally by satellite operators for TV broadcasting and data transmission. ST has been ...