March 2006

ANTIGUA & BARBUDA, Caribbean—Regional operator Digicel Group has launched wireless service on the Caribbean islands of Antigua and Barbuda. The company acquired Caribbean and Bermuda assets from Cingular Wireless L.L.C. and is in the process of investing $6 million to …

NEW ORLEANS—The Big Easy’s municipal Wi-Fi network may go private to sidestep growing legal pressures from BellSouth Corp. and the Louisiana state government. Though the company and the city have not confirmed the reports, EarthLink Inc. is rumored to be …

COPPELL, Texas—CellStar Corp., a wireless handset and accessory distributor, announced it has lost a portion of its business with Lock/line L.L.C., its largest customer in North America. CellStar’s stock dropped nearly 22 percent to $2.15 per share on the news. …

BRISTOL, Conn.—With Major League Baseball’s spring training winding down, two wireless players are gearing up to bring baseball content to their subscribers in time for opening day. Mobile virtual network operator Mobile ESPN announced a suite of content focused on …

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.—Alltel Corp. has made a free mobile Web content filter available to parents to help them keep their children from accessing inappropriate content through wireless phones. The content filter can be added to any Alltel wireless account by …

WASHINGTON—Cutting wireless out of the universal-service system seems to be gaining traction with the introduction of legislation in the House of Representatives that would make it much more difficult for mobile-phone carriers to qualify for universal-service support. Further, the chairman …

NEW YORK—Mobile software developer Flytxt Inc. shuffled its front office in an effort to focus on its wireless marketing platform. The London-based company named board director David Harper as its new executive chairman, and installed co-founder Carsten Boers as president. …

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 and vendor. The value of the contract is included when available. Click here for additional infrastructure …

PARIS—Nortel Networks Ltd. and Qualcomm Inc. say they’ve completed HSDPA test calls that reached data speeds of 7.2 Mbps. The calls used Qualcomm’s Mobile Station Modem 6280 terminals and Nortel’s HSDPA network equipment. Nortel said the calls covered frequencies in …

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 ratings from past weeks from RCR Wireless News. Carrier Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services raised its …

FRAMINGHAM, Mass.—This year could mark the beginning of important changes for the U.S. wireless industry, according to new research from IDC. Last year was a stellar year for the industry, with about 21.8 million new subscribers activating service, propelling the …

LAS VEGAS—Mobile virtual network operator XE Mobile said it plans to launch its pay-as-you-go cellular service targeted at students during an event in Las Vegas next week. The company said it will launch the service at a party April 6 …

WASHINGTON—The Senate Commerce Committee Thursday morning passed the Protecting Consumer Phone Records Act of 2006 but only after adding an amendment that the chairman of the committee believes will doom the bill to failure. By voice vote, the Senate Commerce …

OVERLAND PARK, Kan.—Even as Sprint Nextel Corp. continues to build out its CDMA2000 1x EV-DO network, the carrier has announced a plan to make its network even faster using EV-DO Revision A. According to Sprint Nextel, the company will concurrently …

PARIS—Alcatel Inc.’s board of directors is meeting in Paris today to review its “merger of equals” with longtime rival telecom equipment vendor Lucent Technologies Inc. Though the French company said it’s not likely to reach a final decision about the …

SAN FRANCISCO—An Apple Computer Inc.-branded mobile phone could hit the market this spring, predicts research and consulting firm Visiongain. The “iPhone” product, which has long been a popular rumor topic, is likely to launch in tandem with mobile virtual network …

PALO ALTO, Calif.—Obopay officially came out of stealth mode, unveiling a mobile payment service that will allow users to make purchases and send and receive funds on their handsets. The startup outlined a downloadable application that offers real-time purchases and …

ROCHESTER, N.Y.—About two in five adult cellular phone subscribers currently are on a family plan, and another one in five is considering a multi-line plan when their current service contracts expire, according to a recent survey by Harris Interactive. The …

HELSINKI, Finland—Nokia Corp. sent ripples through the mobile device industry by raising its estimate of global handset sales for this year from 10 percent to 15 percent “or more” over last year. The statement was delivered by Jorma Olilla, Nokia’s …

PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y.—Wireless operators are doing well at retaining customers, and only 7 percent of cellular customers say they plan to switch providers when their contracts are up, according to a survey by consumer and retail information company NPD Group. …

WASHINGTON—Network Neutrality has emerged as a key sticking point in the debate regarding a scaled-backed communications draft bill released by the House Commerce Committee Monday. Network neutrality generally refers to the ability to run any lawful application or connect any …

SARASOTA, Fla.—XG Technology L.L.C. said its first consumer product, a Voice over Internet Protocol handset, will be available by the end of this year and that the device will work with low-cost xMAX-enabled base stations. The handsets are expected to …

PLAINFIELD, Ind.—Brightpoint Inc. will supply Motorola Inc.’s handsets and accessories to some of its customers in the United States, Brightpoint announced. The agreement between the two companies is something of a coup for Brightpoint, as Motorola is the No. 1 …

RALEIGH, N.C.—Oasys Mobile Inc.’s makeover has been expensive. The company formerly known as Summus Inc. reported a net loss of $1.82 million in the quarter ended Dec. 31, up more than threefold from its net loss during the final quarter …

SAN DIEGO—Qualcomm Inc. announced it filed a patent infringement suit against chipmaker Broadcom Corp., the third in a running dispute over what Qualcomm alleges is misuse of its intellectual property. The latest suit focuses on what Qualcomm charges is Broadcom’s …