BROWSING: Verizon
Vodafone down on cautious outlook
LONDON-Vodafone Group plc's stock price took a beating Tuesday on the London Stock Exchange after the global wireless carrier offered a cautious outlook. Vodafone's stock price slid about 4.3 percent despite plans for an $8.2 billion share buyback and a dividend increase of 100...
Verizon signs Clear Channel for Vcast concert footage
NEW JERSEY-Verizon Wireless announced an agreement with Clear Channel Entertainment Properties to broadcast concert footage of Velvet Revolver, Avril Lavigne, the Moody Blues and other artists.The carrier added a channel to its Vcast service that will feature rotating performances from shows around the nation...
InPhonic to manage Sprint’s e-commerce biz
Online wireless retailer and mobile virtual network operator InPhonic Inc. scored a major coup last week, signing a deal with Sprint Corp. to manage Sprint's targeted e-commerce initiatives using InPhonic's online marketing channels and e-commerce platform. The deal also strengthens InPhonic's ties with Sprint,...
Verizon uses Bridgewater software with Vcast
OTTAWA-Bridgewater Systems, which develops subscriber-centric policy management software, introduced its Application Authorization Software with Verizon Wireless. The product provides a common profile and policy system for central management of authentication and authorization of users when they try to access applications, said the company. Verizon...
Carriers ratchet up enterprise offerings
Despite highly publicized launches of consumer-oriented products and services, the mobile enterprise market remains a hotly contested segment for wireless carriers as evident by numerous announcements made during the past several weeks. However, analysts warn that carriers need to refine their efforts if they...
VoIP carriers must offer E911
WASHINGTON-After hearing emotional presentations from users who were unable to successfully connect to 911 from Voice over Internet Protocol phones, the Federal Communications Commission last week adopted rules requiring VoIP providers to offer direct access to 911 services within about 165 days. "VoIP providers...
Games, games, games
LOS ANGELES-With mobile gaming looking to explode from niche to mass market, game-makers are targeting consumers with everything from casual poker games to arcade classics to high-tech 3-D first-person shooters. And it was all on display here at E3. The wireless industry had more...
Antitrust law’s future in doubt, debate
WASHINGTON-While government approval of the proposed $35 billion Sprint Corp.-Nextel Communications Inc. deal and other pending telecom mega-mergers do not appear in doubt, there is a lively debate going on about the adequacy of long-standing antitrust law in the face of consolidation, convergence, innovation...
MMS interoperability moves forward
Struggling to shore up decreasing revenues from voice usage, U.S. carriers agreed last October to a set of messaging guidelines they said would allow them to be MMS-interoperable by the end of 2004. While the target date is long past, it appears they're now...
Survey finds business users satisfied with wireless, less loyal
Wireless carriers have gained a level of satisfaction among business users equal to wireline offerings, but are still struggling to gain truly loyal subscribers, according to the Walker Loyalty Report for Communications Services released this week by Walker Information. The study, which surveyed more...
Verizon Wireless adopts Bridgewater software with VCast
OTTAWA-Bridgewater Systems, which develops subscriber-centric policy management software, introduced its Application Authorization Software with Verizon Wireless.The product provides a common profile and policy system for central management of authentication and authorization of users when they try to access applications, said the company. Verizon deployed...
Verizon Wireless denies congressional allegations of union busting
WASHINGTON-Verizon Communications Chairman Ivan Seidenberg reacted angrily to a letter signed by 123 congressmen asking him to investigate allegations of union-busting activities at Verizon Wireless. "I am dismayed that you authored a letter for public consumption which contains false statements about our company and...
Amp’d Mobile releases gaming plans
Soon-to-launch mobile virtual network operator Amp'd Mobile Inc. announced the creation of its mobile gaming category and distribution deals with more than a dozen mobile game developers.Amp'd Mobile said the mobile gaming category will be available through its live user interface when the company...
Wireless gamers announce new releases at E3 show
LOS ANGELES-The wireless industry came out in force for the E3 video game convention, with a variety of gaming players making news.Jamdat Mobile Inc. announced it reached a deal with Id Software to bring the company's popular computer game Doom to mobile phones. Jamdat...
SmartVideo to stream music videos to wireless phones
Mobile TV got another boost from SmartVideo Technologies Inc., which announced an advertising-supported streaming music video service for mobile-phone users. The service will feature videos culled from Digital Music Video Network and will be free to end users."Fans of music videos are members of...
Centennial launches service in Mich. markets acquired from AWS
Regional wireless operator Centennial Communications Corp. said it expanded its Midwest footprint into Grand Rapids and Lansing, Mich. Centennial acquired the 10-megahertz of spectrum used for the expansion from AT&T Wireless Services Inc. last October for $19.5 million. The carrier also acquired spectrum in...
Wireless carriers’ rankings drop in customer satisfaction index
ANN ARBOR, Mich.-The wireless industry posted a 3-percent year-over-year drop in customer satisfaction, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index ranking released by the Stephen M. Ross Business School at the University of Michigan in partnership with the American Society of Quality and consulting...
Verizon Wireless expands N.C. coverage to Outer Banks
NAGS HEAD, N.C.-Verizon Wireless said it is investing $14 million to expand its network into the Outer Banks and surrounding areas of northeastern North Carolina.The expansion includes Elizabeth City, Edenton, Hertford City, Murfreesboro, Ahoskie and Camden County. The company also plans to establish a...
Wireless carriers partner on Amber Alert text messages
WASHINGTON-Nine wireless carriers said they will send text messages to people who opt in to receive Amber Alerts over their cell phones in the culmination of a movement CTIA President Steve Largent began more than a year ago.Participating carriers are Alltel Corp., Cingular Wireless...
Crown Castle prepares for mobile TV trial
DALLAS-I can see Homer Simpson peering out of the phone in Martyn Gregory's hand. The animated "Simpsons" TV star is trying desperately to jump off a burning oil tower and into a hovering helicopter. I see Homer's wife Marge waving him on. But I've...
Cingular Wireless takes worldwide HSDPA lead with DoCoMo delay
Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo Inc. will delay its High-Speed Downlink Packet Access network launch until sometime later next year, a move that puts Cingular Wireless L.L.C. at the world's bleeding edge of wireless innovation. DoCoMo's news also serves to add an extra layer of...
Not everyone in CTCNet opposes Sprint-Nextel merger: Group’s motives in question
WASHINGTON-When the Community Technology Centers' Network officially began its ambitious campaign in late March to persuade federal regulators to force Sprint Corp. and Nextel Communications Inc. to divest "sufficient spectrum" in the 2.5 GHz band as a condition for approval of their proposed $35...
Pate to resign from Justice Department
WASHINGTON-The Justice Department said antitrust czar Hewitt Pate will resign next month, creating a vacancy amid a pending $35 billion merger between Sprint Corp. and Nextel Communications Inc. and other large telecom deals. "It has been a great honor to serve under President Bush...
CPSC, CTIA release wireless phone battery-use recommendations
WASHINGTON-The Consumer Product Safety Commission and CTIA Friday released a list of recommendations for mobile-phone users regarding the use of their handsets and batteries."It is increasingly important for consumers to follow guidelines on the maintenance of wireless phones and batteries," said CPSC and CTIA...