Here’s what’s new with AZWA.

Submitted on January 3 2012, 09:45 am by John Stevens

SAVE THE DATE!

The 5th Annual AZWA Golf Tournament will be held on Wednesday April 4th, 2012 at the ASU Karsten Golf Course . We hope to see you all there!

Please see the "events" tab for sponsorship details.

Submitted on October 2011, 03:36 pm by John Stevens

Please join the AZWA and your colleagues for a fun filled event with food, drink and music to ring in the holiday season.

When: Thursday Nov 17th 2011

Where: The Buttes Resort, 2000 West Westcourt Way Tempe, AZ 85282 (800) 615-1279

Time: 5:30pm - 9:00pm

Please see the "Events" tab for details and to pay.

Submitted on 3 February 2012, 10:06 am by Fierce Wireless

Telenor CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas has expressed anger at the decision by India's Supreme Court to revoke the mobile licence it jointly holds with Unitech. Baksaas told Reuters that the ruling is a very serious attack on Telenor's investments, and withdrawing from the Indian market "is one alternative that is on the table."

Baksaas

The court's decision to cancel 122 mobile licences, which also impacts Etisalat, Russia's Sistema and many local mobile operators, follows accusations that the licences were subject to corruption when sold in 2008.

But the Telenor CEO is adamant that his company is being penalised unfairly. "We met every inch of that regulation of that licence. We have brought competition to the Indian market ... just to see a ruling that has significant retroactive consequences. It is an action that we have never seen in any country before."

Baksaas added that the move created a high level of uncertainty, and would immediately impact activities with its partner Unitech that involves investments totalling $3 billion in India.

The CEO also stated that he would ask the company's largest shareholder, the Norwegian government, to lobby the Indian government on Telenor's behalf. "That is part of the tool kit," said Baksaas.

One institutional investor told Reuters that securing the Norwegian state's help would be the only route to salvaging Telenor from the situation.

Saeed Baradar, a telecoms specialist at Societe Generale in London, told Bloomberg: [Telenor] "really needs to get out because shareholders worry that capital discipline will be broken in India." He estimated that the operator may have to pay an additional $2.1 billion to rebid for the mobile licences that have been withdrawn by the court.

However, the court ruling seems likely to benefit some of the larger mobile operators, such as Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications and Vodafone, which remain unaffected. Observers believe this upheaval could lead to much needed market consolidation.

"This verdict is good news for established incumbent operators and, in the short term, we are likely to see some increase in tariffs," a director of consulting firm Frost & Sullivan told Reuters.

For more:
- see this Reuters article
- see this separate Reuters article
- see this Bloomberg article

Submitted on 3 February 2012, 10:03 am by Fierce Wireless

A German court ordered Apple to stop online sales of its older model iPhones and 3G-enabled iPads, but Apple managed to reverse the ruling within hours. The dust-up stems from a court injunction secured by Motorola Mobility in December after Apple failed to license Motorola wireless patents.

Apple's iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4, but not its latest iPhone 4S, were involved in the dispute, as were all 3G models of the iPad, but not the Wi-Fi-only models.

An Apple spokesperson said Motorola repeatedly refused to license its patents on reasonable terms, despite having declared it an industry standard patent seven years ago.

However, Apple may still fall to a separate ruling in Germany related to its iCloud and MobileMe push email service. A court granted Motorola's request for an injunction against Apple's push email service; Motorola argues the products infringe on its patent for a similar paging technology.

"Apple believes this old pager patent is invalid, and we're appealing the court's decision," an Apple spokeswoman told AllThingsD, which noted that Apple is likely to fight the injunction.

The battle between Apple and Motorola is just one of dozens of patent-infringement lawsuits spanning the globe and invovling just about every major smartphone manufacturer.

For more:
- see this Bloomberg article
- see this AllThingsD article
- see this Reuters article
- see this BBC News article
- see this Teltariff.de article (translated via Google Translate)

Submitted on 3 February 2012, 12:55 pm by Wireless Week

What the heck is frand? CNET breaks down what this obscure legal term means, and why it's so important to companies such as Apple and Samsung.

Submitted on 3 February 2012, 11:55 am by Wireless Week

Tablets see most growth, but PC category overall can't compete with nearly half a billion phones shipped worldwide in 2011, according to a research firm's estimates.