Sarantel Ltd. and TChip Semiconductor will develop antenna and radio combination that will let manufacturers integrate GPS functions into cellphones, PDAs, other products. Called T-Ant, product combines Sarantel Power-Helix antenna with TChip’s TJ1004 low power GPS radio IC. Companies said product solved technical challenges of adding GPS to wireless phones, including control of interference from cellphone transmitter, optimal antenna placement, shielding and controlled impedance for RF circuitry, disactivation and reactivation of GPS with minimal latency. Sarantel provides antennas for mobile applications including telephone including Bluetooth, GPS, 3G.
Cable executives who gathered in N.Y.C. for week of meetings on state of industry instead joined rest of nation in focusing on attacks on World Trade Center and Pentagon. While most cable meetings and conferences were cancelled, some executives who attended Kagan Broadband Summit were stranded in city by airline shutdown and decided to “tough it out,” continuing to hold meetings, however informal. Some organized trips to local hospitals to donate blood for victims. Others who had planned to spend only one day were left to scramble for hotel rooms and other accommodations. “I came here with only the clothes on my back,” said one Washingtonian, an attorney and panelist at Kagan meeting.
Departing FCC Comr. Gloria Tristani bade farewell Fri. with long wish list of issues she felt FCC still must act on, ranging from wireless E-911 rules to V-chip and broadcast indecency. She said enforcement of indecency laws could be improved if complaint process was made more “consumer-friendly.” She recommended improving eligibility requirements for universal service programs targeted to low income consumers, taking actions to ease ability of carriers to serve Indian reservations and increasing enforcement of slamming rules. On children’s TV: “Television stations should not be allowed to preempt regularly scheduled children’s programming to such an extent that the purpose of the children’s requirement is essentially nullified.”
NEW ORLEANS - Although they didn’t call for FCC mandates, 2 of 4 remaining agency commissioners said Fri. that broadcasters should voluntarily keep tapes or transcripts of programs that might be subject of Commission indecency enforcement actions. Comr. Copps, who first raised issue immediately after taking office, said voluntary industry action might be “the best way to avoid a draconian solution.” He suggested broadcasters keep tapes or transcripts of all programming, but Comr. Abernathy said that might be limited to programming that broadcasters believed might generate complaints.
Hallmark Channel and Jim Henson Co. have donated “Kermit the Frog” image to FCC. Commission intends to make beloved amphibian of Sesame St. fame its “official spokesfrog” for promotional campaign on V-chip. Outgoing Comr. Tristani said frog would help with “critical next step” in raising awareness among parents of ratings system and V-chip technology, which allows adults to filter out programs inappropriate for children. V-chip is in every TV 13 inches or larger sold since Jan. 1, 2000. Hallmark, when it was known as Odyssey channel, had conducted its own V-chip campaign with Kermit but decided to donate image to FCC.
IBM and OpenTV are teaming up to help service providers build set-top boxes that deliver interactive TV applications at home. OpenTV’s interactive software will run in IBM’s PowerPC-based set- top box chips under the partnership.
Although it’s unknown who will lead House Armed Services Procurement Subcommittee following last week’s death of Chmn. Spence (R-S.C.), one likely successor intends to fight any attempt to transfer military spectrum to private sector. Rep. Hansen (R- Utah), senior majority member of procurement panel, will do battle with proponents of mandatory relocation of 1775-1850 MHz block of spectrum, staffer said: “Absent some new and compelling information, he would be opposed to having the military relinquish” that spectrum block.
STMicroelectronics received orders from radio manufactures for 170,000 two-chip receiver chipsets for XM Radio, digital satellite radio service to be launched commercially this summer by XM Satellite Radio, company announced Wed.
Qualcomm stepped back Tues. from plan to spin off its semiconductor business, Qualcomm CDMA Technologies, which covers its integrated circuits and system software. It said point of spinning off that business in first place had been to allow Qualcomm CDMA Technologies to gain access as separate company to 3rd party intellectual property through cross-licensing agreements. Since spinoff plans were unveiled year ago, Qualcomm entered into 40 license agreements, including with NEC, Nokia, and Fujitsu, covering 3rd generation wireless systems. “Last year, we viewed the spinoff as necessary, among other things, to minimize potential patent litigation that could arise as a result of Qualcomm’s selling multimode chipsets, including WCDMA (Wideband- CDMA) and GSM technology,” Qualcomm Chmn.-CEO Irwin Jacobs said. Agreements subsequently reached with other companies have afforded Qualcomm “freedom to support global expansion of wireless industry by supplying integrated circuits and software that support one or more modes of CDMA as well as GSM.” Separately, Qualcomm said Richard Sulpizio was stepping down as pres.-COO. He didn’t give reason but said he would stay on as board member. In other major restructuring news, company’s board created two business groups: (1) Qualcomm Wireless & Internet Group. (2) Qualcomm CDMA Technologies Group. Board also named: CFO Anthony Thornley as COO; Paul Jacobs as group pres., Qualcomm Wireless & Internet Group, which covers Internet services such as Brew operating language; Donald Schrock as group pres., Qualcomm CDMA Technologies Group.
Although 40% of American parents now own TV equipped with V- chip, only 17% of them are using it to block programs with sexual or violent content, according Kaiser Family Foundation survey. In contrast, more than half of all parents have consulted TV ratings to decide what their children can watch, it said. More than half of parents with V-chip didn’t know their TV was equipped with one, survey found, and of those who were aware, only 1/3 had programmed it to block programs. The survey said 56% of parents reported having used TV ratings system to determine what their children could watch.