March 2006

WASHINGTON-The mobile-phone industry said the Federal Communications Commission is misguided in proposing to limit small-business bidding benefits to top carriers at this June’s advanced wireless services auction. CTIA, the mobile-phone carrier association, said the FCC proposal discriminates against large in-region …

Fox Mobile Entertainment is joining the ranks of wireless aggregators, unveiling a Web site that hawks music, games and images for mobile phones. But analysts say the News Corp. subsidiary may be lumbering onto a shrinking playground. Fox last week …

WASHINGTON-A federal court in New York erred and abused its discretion in rejecting a class-action suit alleging Cingular Wireless L.L.C., Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel Corp. and T-Mobile USA Inc. violated antitrust laws by agreeing to tie cell phone sales to …

BERWYN, Pa.-Regional operator SunCom Wireless Holdings Inc. pushed back its fourth-quarter and full-year 2005 financial report by two weeks. The company had been slated to make its results public on March 2, but now says it plans to make its …

Sony Corp. revealed new details about a digital photo program that is expected to allow users to view, upload and share pictures via various devices, including their televisions, computers and Web-enabled camera phones. The Share Everywhere product is scheduled to …

WASHINGTON-A federal court has ordered a Florida firm to immediately halt “unlocking” TracFone Wireless Inc. prepaid cell phones. Unlocked phones can be used on cellular networks other than those affiliated with the prepaid wireless provider. TracFone, the nation’s largest prepaid …

NORTH HOLLYWOOD, Calif.—Walt Disney Internet Group is making more noise in advance of the launch of its planned mobile virtual network operator service this summer. In February, the company launched a registration Web site for its Disney Mobile service. The …

ATLANTA—AT&T Inc. announced Sunday that it will merge with Baby Bell BellSouth Corp. in a $67.1 billion, all-stock transaction that, if approved by regulators, would give Cingular Wireless L.L.C. a single parent company. The transaction also would replace the Cingular …

WATERLOO, Ontario—Research In Motion Ltd. unveiled its push into the wireless local area network space with the launch of its BlackBerry WLAN Solution. The service includes a WLAN Solution platform and a Wi-Fi enabled handset, the BlackBerry 7270. The company’s …

ALPHARETTA, Ga.—Verizon Wireless inked a two-year deal to provide wireless voice and data services for Chick-fil-A Inc. The Georgia-based fast-food chain has purchased 1,000 handsets, Verizon Wireless said, including Treos and PDAs. Verizon Wireless also is providing wireless broadband access …

WASHINGTON-The Virginia state legislature last week passed a bill creating what is believed to be the first statewide communications flat tax in the nation, but Gov. Tim Kaine (D ) did not immediately indicate whether he would sign the measure. …

ESPOO, Finland-Frank Nuovo, the designer who helped Nokia Corp. attain the world’s largest market share of the mobile handset business, will turn over his primary duties to a new design team, the company announced today. Nuovo has worked for Nokia …

SARASOTA, Fla.-Global Signal Inc. blames its fourth-quarter net losses of $18.8 million on costs from integrating and financing the sites it acquired from Sprint Corp. in May 2005. In 2004, the company posted fourth-quarter net losses of $4.1 million. “2005 …

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.-724 Solutions Inc. says its minority shareholder, Austin Ventures L.P., has offered to buy the company’s 5.5 million outstanding shares of common stock for about $17 million, or $3.07 per share. News of the proposal came after the …

Call it hedging your bets. Qualcomm Inc. said it is developing chipsets based on a rival mobile television standard-Digital Video Broadcasting-Handheld, or DVB-H-even while it works to complete its own MediaFlo network in the United States. Qualcomm is spending about …

James Baldinger should have been identified as the TracFone Wireless Inc. lawyer quoted in the Feb. 27 issue story “TracFone, Nokia sue two Fla. Firms, charging they ‘unlock’ handsets.”

LOS ANGELES—Movie ticketing service Fandango said it plans to team with Sprint Nextel Corp. to allow the carrier’s subscribers to browse showtimes, receive alerts and buy tickets over the phone. The service, which Fandango developed with Crisp Wireless, provides updated, …

SEATTLE—Consumption of mobile games has stagnated as carriers have steadily increased prices during the last six months, according to figures from M:Metrics. The research firm said the number of subscribers who downloaded at least one mobile game a month has …

WASHINGTON—Consumer advocates asked the Justice Department to block AT&T Inc.’s proposed $67 billion acquisition of fellow Baby Bell BellSouth Corp., while organized labor described the deal as a “critical opportunity.” AT&T and BellSouth also control the country’s largest wireless operator …

TOKYO—As handset vendors and network operators worldwide spend untold resources to provide advanced functionalities and services to capture end users’ imagination with 3G services, NTT DoCoMo Inc. announced it will sell a new line of basic, compact handsets for customers …

Tower circles are buzzing with speculation as to who will walk off with AAT Communications Corp. and its 1,900 or so towers, in effect pushing aside fourth-quarter results from Crown Castle International Corp. and American Tower Corp. that provided few …

Yahoo Inc. filed a lawsuit against Mforma Group Inc., claiming the mobile game-maker is stealing company secrets as it hires seven former Yahoo employees. The Internet giant is suing both Mforma and the former workers, saying it will seek an …

GOLDEN, Colo.-RCR Wireless News is pleased to announce it has hired Phil Carson as a reporter covering the wireless handset beat, including the chipset industry. Carson has worked as a reporter and editor since 1986, including stints in the wireless …

WASHINGTON-California state Sen. Martha Escutia (D) last Friday vowed to pursue a law creating a bill of rights for telecom consumers similar to the one utility regulators approved in 2004, but that was overhauled last week. “Six years of effort …

ATLANTA—Cingular Wireless L.L.C. and Qpass extended an agreement for Qpass to provide its mobile-commerce platform to the carrier, according to the companies. Qpass is a mobile-commerce solutions company that sells technology that enables the downloading and billing of content. Essentially, …