ROW International News Briefs

Wi-Fi Alliance announces new branding effortsThe Wi-Fi Alliance has announced new enhancements to its Wi-Fi CERTIFIED branding programmed aimed at assisting consumers with their wireless local area network purchasing decisions and to help them confirm that their products are certified for interoperability. The two new elements are a colour-coded Wi-Fi CERTIFIED logo and the product Interoperability Certificate. The Wi-Fi Alliance will now require newly CERTIFIED products to place the Standard Indicator Icons on the front of the product packaging when the logo is used. The Interoperability Certificate is recommended for the inside of product packaging and provides detailed information regarding the capabilities and features that have passed the Alliance’s interoperability testing requirements. Common environment needed for advanced servicesWireless operators need to adopt a common service environment so they can implement flexible and scalable advanced services, the Yankee Group reports. There is an existing standard on which operators can build these services, says the research firm. "The IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) architecture - on which all major equipment vendors are standardizing - fulfills these requirements because it enables a homogeneous service environment and incorporates IP, session initiation protocol, applications servers, home subscriber services and multimedia resource functions," reads a Yankee Group news release. California PUC adopts new rules, CTIA vows fightThe California Public Utility Commission has narrowly adopted new rules in a 3 to 2 vote that would punish wireless carriers for making false and misleading statements in advertising and marketing materials. The rules also allow subscribers to opt out of contracts within 30 days and to make "routine" changes to the contract. The Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA) has vowed to fight the new rules, but has yet to provide details as to how. In a May 27 statement released after the rules were adopted, CTIA president and CEO Steve Largent expressed his displeasure with the CPUC’s decision. "CTIA will consider all possible options to challenge the unnecessary and sweeping rules on wireless communications adopted today by the California Public Utilities Commission … Existing laws and the industry’s own voluntary consumer code clearly provide consumers with adequate protections. The tiny wireless complaint rate of 0.03% at the CPUC is an indication of the high level of consumer satisfaction with the wireless industry." CPUC’s commissioner Geoffrey Brown, who authored the proposal, was unapologetic in announcing the new rules. "My rules don’t tell carriers how to compete. They tell them how to compete fairly," he said during the meeting on May 27. U.S. wireless highlights contributions to securityThe Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA) highlighted the wireless industry’s accomplishments late last week as Wireless Safety Week 2004 drew to a close. The following is a short list of some of the highlighted achievements: carriers have developed cell sites on wheels or COWs; operators are in the process of implementing a priority access program aimed at giving government officials and first responders access to capacity in times of crisis; and the soon-to-be-launched Capital Wireless Integrated Network, which allows officials from more than 40 local, state and federal agencies to communicate on PCs, PDAs and data-enabled cell phones. Survey reveals consumer and business purchasing habitsTwo recent surveys from In-Stat/MDR highlight key findings on the wireless device purchasing habits of both consumer and business users, and the findings should help device manufacturers and service providers hone their marketing strategies. The research firm reports that consumers prefer to buy their phones from leading manufacturers, but won’t pay more than US$100. Business users on the other hand expect to pay higher prices for mid-tier phones - in the US$100 to US$200 range. All users would pay extra for extended battery life. Nokia and Motorola continue to be the strongest brands, while Sony Ericsson and Samsung lead the second-tier pack.

ROW International News Briefs

News | 06/01/2004 4:00 am EDT

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