Monthly Archives: April, 2006
Nokia to pay InterDigital $253M to end patent dispute
KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa.—Nokia Corp. has agreed to pay $253 million to InterDigital Communications Corp. to settle a long-running patent dispute between the companies,...
Trimble acquires mobile application vendor Eleven
SUNNYVALE, Calif.—Location-based services provider Trimble Mobile Solutions Inc. said it plans to acquire Eleven Technology Inc., a Massachusetts-based developer of wireless applications. Terms of...
Lawsuit aims to block AWS auction with cell-phone radiation
WASHINGTON—A health-related lawsuit filed against Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin and other agency members seeks to block the scheduled June 29 start of...
UbiquiTel investor wants company to hold out for more money
CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa.—One of UbiquiTel Inc.’s largest shareholders is protesting the sale of the CDMA affiliate to Sprint Nextel Corp., according to a letter filed...
Upton joins CTIA in opposing plan for national public-safety network
WASHINGTON—Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), chairman of the House telecom and Internet subcommittee, has come out against a new proposal to preserve a large chunk...
Microsoft’s wireless business sees expanding losses
REDMOND, Wash.—Microsoft Corp. said its Mobile and Embedded Devices unit operating loss widened during its fiscal third quarter ended March 31. The company reported...
Weekly infrastructure awards wrap-up
The following list details this week's infrastructure awards for the cellular, Wi-Fi and WiMAX industries. The contracts are broken down by transmission technology, country...
Openwave announces messaging pact with O2
REDWOOD CITY, Calif.—U.K. carrier O2 plc and Openwave Systems Inc. announced an initiative that calls for the companies to build a simplified mobile messaging...
Siemens cuts 1,000 jobs from Communications unit
MUNICH, Germany—Siemens AG announced plans to cut about 1,000 jobs in Germany from its largest division, Communications. The wireless and wireline telecommunications equipment unit...
Weekly wireless ratings wrap-up
The following list includes ratings changes and financial information for wireless companies announced this week by investment-banking and financial-services firms. Click here for wireless...
Britain’s OFCOM awards 12 low-power GSM licenses
LONDON, England—Britain’s Office of Communications has announced the winners of 6.6 megahertz of technology-neutral spectrum to be used for low-power GSM wireless services such...
House passes bill to criminalize pretexting
WASHINGTON—The House of Representatives earlier this week unanimously passed the Telephone Records and Privacy Protection Act of 2006, which criminalizes pretexting—the practice of impersonating...
AskMeNow acquires Israeli ‘natural language’ search vendor
IRVINE, Calif.—Mobile information service provider AskMeNow announced plans to acquire Israel-based IntelliGate Ltd., a specialist in information retrieval and natural language search technology. AskMeNow,...
Disney Mobile expanding into U.K. market
NORTH HOLLYWOOD, Calif.—The Walt Disney Internet Group is teaming up with United Kingdom mobile network operator O2 plc to offer a Disney Mobile-branded mobile-phone...
Verizon, Cingular, Alltel losses hit BCGI bottom line
BEDFORD, Mass.—Boston Communications Group Inc. was hit hard by the ongoing defections of Verizon Wireless, Cingular Wireless L.L.C. and Alltel Corp. from its real-time...
Alcatel blames lower wireless sales on 3G ‘pricing war’
PARIS—Alcatel Inc. reported strong growth in its fixed-line business during the first quarter, but intense competition in mobile network equipment sales hurt the company’s...
Network neutrality sparks further arguments
WASHINGTON—An intra-party dispute broke out late Wednesday regarding the issue of network-neutrality when Rep. Charles Gonzalez (D-Texas) tried to require the Federal Communications Commission...
Xero to use Xius for ad-supported MVNO service
LOS ANGELES—Xero Mobile, a mobile virtual network operator that plans to offer ad-supported prepaid service targeted at college students, said it selected Xius’ VOISE...
Qualcomm signs OFDM royalty agreement with Soma
SAN DIEGO—Qualcomm Inc. says it has signed a new royalty-bearing patent license agreement giving Soma Networks Inc. license to develop, manufacture and sell subscriber...
CTIA stands against proposal to create 700 MHz national public-safety network
WASHINGTON—The U.S. mobile phone industry opposes a newly unveiled plan to reserve a large block of auction-bound spectrum for a national broadband public safety...
Disney to release multiplayer ‘Pirates’ game
NORTH HOLLYWOOD, Calif.—Mobile publisher mDisney is getting into the multiplayer gaming space. The content provider—formerly Disney Mobile Studios—said it will offer Pirates of the...
InfoSpace earnings up on wireless gains
BELLEVUE, Wash.—Shares of InfoSpace Inc. dipped after the company reported first-quarter revenue of $90 million, up 4 percent from the year-ago period. The mobile...
Zingy touts bright prospects despite CEO’s resignation
NEW YORK—Wireless content vendor Zingy lost its second chief executive officer in six months as Andy Volanakis stepped down over differences with Japanese parent...
Crown Castle narrows losses
HOUSTON—The nation’s second largest tower company appears to be closing in on its losses, as Crown Castle International Corp. reported first-quarter net losses of...
House committee votes to streamline FCC’s multi-mode device authorization
WASHINGTON—The House Commerce Committee late Wednesday voted to streamline the process that the Federal Communications Commission uses to approve multi-mode devices. "All we are...