Is Peace at Hand for Mobile Phone Formats?

A new agreement also means no clear winner.

By Nathaniel Wice Monday, Feb. 22, 1999
    • As recently as two weeks ago a headline in the New York Times was using the term "holy war" to describe meetings in Malaysia over the future of wireless phones. But a pending agreement between the two main rivals, Sweden's Ericsson and California's Qualcomm, could signal the end of hostilities for the double-consonant combatants.

    The battlefield is "3G," the so-called third generation standards for mobile phones. Before you yawn, check out what a 3G phone is supposed to offer: regular voice but also digital data at 2 Mbps. That's faster than a T1. MORE>>