July 2005

A group of consumer and children’s advocates sent letters to key members of Congress Tuesday, urging the legislators to look into the marketing of wireless phones to children. Citing recent …

KINGSTON, JAMAICA-Digicel Group, a wireless carrier in the Caribbean, raised $300 million in capital through a corporate bond offering. The bond financing was raised through investment banks Citigroup and J.P. …

Nextel Communications Inc. said it has sent a letter to affiliate Nextel Partners Inc. asking for revisions to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing by Nextel Partners in late June …

LONDON-Vodafone Group plc said it has joined the Java Verified Program, which provides a process for testing and certifying Java-based mobile handset applications. The carrier said it is a Platinum …

WASHINGTON-The Secretary for Homeland Security danced around whether the House or Senate formula for divvying up first-responder and terrorism grants is better. The House would allocate grants at .025 percent …

CARROLLTON, Texas-Cell-phone distributor CellStar Corp. said it fired Lawrence P. King, its president and chief operating officer of the subsidiary that oversees its Asian operations. Terry S. Parker, the chairman …

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.-FiberTower Corp., which provides backhaul services for wireless carriers, said it closed a $150 million financing round led by Crown Castle International Corp. Other investors included Oak Investment …

OKLAHOMA CITY-Dobson Communications Corp. customers have access to wireless weather forecasts and information from Weathernews. The service is available via a downloadable application that customers can install on their cell …

Cingular Wireless L.L.C. continued to dismantle its garden walls Tuesday, announcing its first deal with a WAP-based, off-deck content aggregator. The No. 1 U.S. carrier inked an agreement with Bango, …

OVERLAND PARK, Kan.-Sprint Corp. and Nextel Communications Inc. named Judith Muhlberg senior vice president of corporate communications for Sprint Nextel Corp. following Sprint’s pending acquisition of Nextel, which is expected …

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.-GlobeTel Communications Corp. has signed a letter of intent to acquire the assets and operations of Altvater GmbH of Germany. Altvater supplies wireless hot spots in Europe, with …

SAN DIEGO-Leap Wireless International Inc. reported that its Cricket Communications Inc. subsidiary amended its credit agreement to increase its senior secured credit facility by $100 million and has amended the …

REDWOOD SHORES, Calif.-IQ Biometrix Inc. and Wherify Wireless Inc. said they closed their merger, making Wherify a wholly owned subsidiary of IQB. As part of the merger, IQB has changed …

WASHINGTON-The Communications for Coordinated Assistance and Response to Emergencies (ComCARE) Alliance is asking the Federal Communications Commission to maintain its deadline for location-capable handsets. ComCARE requested that the FCC deny …

To the Editor, I enjoy Tracy Ford’s editorial columns, as I do Jeffrey Silva’s. Your July 11, 2005, comments about the 2.5 GHz band are right on including, “The potential …

OVERLAND PARK, Kan.-An Illinois judge will not issue a temporary restraining order to block Sprint Corp.’s acquisition of Nextel Communications Inc. Sprint affiliate iPCS Inc. requested the restraining order in …

WASHINGTON-The Progress & Freedom Foundation said Thursday that state agencies should be given greater latitude on telecommunications social policy, but less on economic regulation. “The advent of digital technologies in …

EDINBURG, Va.-Sprint PCS affiliate Shenandoah Telecommunications Co., which offers various telecom services in the Mid-Atlantic and southeastern United States, posted increasing revenues and wireless subscribers. The carrier’s Sprint retail wireless …

NEW YORK-Teens and young adults continue to transform the wireless marketplace in the United States, according to two studies released last week. Devices such as cell phones, handheld computers and …

Cell phones are operating again in busy New York City tunnels, after being turned off July 7 following terrorist attacks in subways in London. Service in the Lincoln and Holland …

Third-generation wireless buildouts propelled earnings for L.M. Ericsson and Lucent Technologies Inc. during the quarter ended June 30. Ericsson reported net profits of $744 million during its second quarter, a …

WASHINGTON-Broadband in the United States is increasing at the same time the percentage of those using wireless for broadband is decreasing, according to a recent report released by the Federal …

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.-Alltel Corp. is teaming with Fujifilm on an offering allowing users to create and send personal postcards from their handsets. With the BREW-based application, users can create a …

WASHINGTON-Congressmen last week formed a new caucus that aims to set aside a portion of the 700 MHz spectrum band for unlicensed use once those channels are available with the …

The article titled “3G buildouts should boost network vendors’ Q2 financials” on page 6 of the July 18, 2005 issue included incorrect forecast figures for Lucent Technologies Inc. The company …