2003

LAS VEGAS-The Fox TV network is planning a major new wireless effort centered on one of television’s most well-known families-the Simpsons. Homer, Marge and the rest of the cast of the hit animated series will soon make the jump to …

LAS VEGAS-Gaming highlighted a rash of announcements made at the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association’s Wireless I.T and Entertainment show in Las Vegas, providing a peak at what might be some of the hot-selling offerings for the holiday sales season. …

WASHINGTON-While the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association was laboring to find a new leader whose conservative politics would align with the GOP-led Congress and as top members steered hundreds of thousands of dollars to congressional Republicans who might share their …

DENVER-Mobile phones are used for talking, texting, gaming, photographing and documenting. They link to the public Internet and private, corporate Intranets. They store important names, numbers and calendars. In the not-so-distant future, wireless devices may be used for identification purposes …

BELLEVUE, Wash.-T-Mobile USA Inc. launched an extended “free weekend” minute offering rate plan that included 600 anytime calling minutes and unlimited weekend calling minutes that now include Friday, Saturday and Sunday for $40 per month. The new plan does not …

BOSTON-Mobile multimedia platform provider Acotel made its U.S. debut at the CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment show in Las Vegas last week. The company announced the opening of its U.S. headquarters in Boston, as well as a sales office in …

ALBERTA, Canada-Some scientists have reported that wireless handhelds can use water batteries rather than the technology currently available. According to research by the Institute of Physics Journal, Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering, a team of scientists at the University of …

LAS VEGAS-Ascendent Telecommunications announced that its AscendentCS mobility and continuity application has been installed inside media specialist OMD’s New York office. Ascendent’s solution allows mobile phones to be linked to Private Branch Exchanges (PBX), allowing users to access the same …

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador-The Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL) and Global VSAT Forum (GVF) signed an agreement this week for the coordination of satellite-related programs. “Widespread access to broadband satellite communications can promote the flow of information in the Americas, both …

LUBBOCK, Texas-Alamosa Holdings Inc. reported third-quarter subscriber results, including 16,000 net customer additions during the third quarter of this year compared with 20,000 net additions reported during the third quarter of 2002. The carrier also reported customer churn dropped year-over-year …

DRAPER, Utah-Broadband Central’s assets and trademark Blue Zone 802.11 wide-area hot spots have been acquired by Broadband Central USA, a newly formed company owned by the parent company of FRC Component Products Inc. and Accelerated Communications Corp. “After entertaining multiple …

Alltel Corp. posted $1.2 billion in wireless revenues during the third quarter of this year, which was a 13-percent increase compared with the $1.1 billion in revenues the company reported during the third quarter of 2002. The strong wireless growth …

PORTLAND, Ore.-Enhanced directory assistance provider Metro One Telecommunications Inc. said its contract with AT&T Wireless Services Inc. is set to expire Dec. 1, and it was unable to sign a new contract with the wireless operator. “We have had a …

ALAMEDA, Calif.-UTStarcom Inc. said it earned a net income of $59.1 million, or 46 cents per share, compared with a net income of $30.8 million, or 27 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Its net sales rose 44 percent …

OKLAHOMA CITY-Dobson Communications Corp. said it added approximately 10,200 net subscribers during the third quarter of this year compared with 14,700 customer additions during the third quarter of 2002. Dobson noted the results were affected by a year-over-year drop in …

Western Wireless Corp. reported strong third-quarter year-over-year customer growth and improved total revenues for its domestic wireless operations bolstered by increases in average revenue per user and a decrease in customer churn that were offset by a drop in net …

AUSTIN, Texas-Motorola Inc. has entered into a partnership agreement with the Semiconductor International Corporation in China. Under the deal, Motorola will transfer its MOS-17 wafer fabrication facility in Tianjin to SMIC in exchange for SMIC shares. SMIC will build out …

Strong solar activity could affect Earth’s technological infrastructure, including electrical grids, satellites, pagers and cell phones, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Environment Center. The geomagnetic storm produced by a major flare from a giant sunspot is …

LONDON-UK-based mobile software company Vibelet.com is to extend support for a range of handsets with its Purring Kitty application. The company has also added a new global payment and delivery system for the product. The Purring Kitty Java Midlet developed …

In an announcement with possible implications for its job layoffs, plant closings and investors, Nortel Networks Ltd. said it is undertaking a comprehensive review of its financial profile for the past three and half fiscal years. Unlike the recent trend …

MORRISVILLE, N.C.-Tekelec said it was awarded a contract by France’s Cegetel Group for its fraud protection and equipment. Cegetel’s mobile subsidiary, SFR, will deploy Tekelec’s Equipment Identity Register and its flexible numbering solution, the G-Flex home location register manager, in …

WASHINGTON-Conventional wisdom in Washington is that spectrum is scarce, while in reality 60 percent to 80 percent of the prime spectrum in Washington is not being used, said Michael Calabrese, vice president and director of spectrum programs at the New …

CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa.-Sprint PCS affiliate UbiquiTel Inc. reported partial third-quarter results, including 13,200 net customer additions during the quarter compared with 18,800 net additions last year and a year-over-year drop in customer churn from 4.3 percent to 3.4 percent. The carrier …

LAS VEGAS-AT&T Wireless Services Inc. plans to relaunch its mMode wireless data offering in November, although details of the carrier’s plan are unclear. Andre Dahan, president of AT&T Wireless’ multimedia services, announced the carrier’s intent during the CTIA Wireless I.T. …

SEATTLE-Miniature wireless camera company X10 Wireless Technology, known for its pop-up Internet advertisements, filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this week. The bankruptcy filing comes two weeks after a jury ordered X10 to pay $4.3 million in damages to three brothers …