March 2006

Vodafone Group plc last week signaled its retreat from the Japanese mobile market amid turmoil in its boardroom, and Verizon Communications Inc. reportedly upped its pressure on Vodafone by making an informal offer to buy the European operator’s 45-percent stake …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission is seeking comment on whether broadband services can be used in the 700 MHz public-safety band. Twenty-four megahertz of spectrum is becoming available with the transition to digital TV. When the 700 MHz band plan was …

BERWYN, Pa.-Wireless location technology developer TruePosition Inc. said it is moving forward with its lawsuit against Andrew Corp., alleging the company’s products infringe on its patents for dealing with the location of cell phones using the wireless network control channel. …

WASHINGTON-Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to review a federal appeals court decision striking down a state law that would have required cell-phone carriers to notify subscribers of-and sometimes get permission for-changes to wireless contracts. …

MONTEREY, Calif.—AirPlay Networks Inc. announced plans to launch a series of mobile games based on live TV broadcasts. The San Francisco startup said it will allow subscribers to predict plays during sporting events, compete against contestants in game shows, and …

You can almost smell the blood. It’s pre-auction season. And this year, with some decent spectrum up for grabs in the AWS auction set for June, the battle should be intense. As such, a number of interests are pressuring the …

WASHINGTON-Congressional auditors said the deployment of wireless enhanced 911 services continues to progress, but that some states could take five more years and others may not ever fully implement the emergency location service. “Significant progress has been made toward implementing …

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.-Alltel Corp. announced it purchased the remaining 50-percent interests in 10 partnerships with Palmetto MobileNet L.P. that it did not already own. The partnerships cover about 2 million potential customers in North and South Carolina. Alltel did not …

It was a week of mixed results for regional carriers, as numbers trickled in from a handful of operators-some of which had delayed their reporting or had to restate prior earnings. Leap Wireless International Inc. had a slightly weaker-than-expected fourth …

What does $67 billion buy these days? Convergence nirvana, for one thing. If AT&T Inc.’s offer for BellSouth Corp. gets approved, as it’s expected, big-time convergence could finally start happening in real-world terms. Bundled communications services from a range of …

SANTA CLARA, Calif.—L.M. Ericsson and Lucent Technologies Inc. could find themselves in a bidding war today for Ethernet developer Riverstone Networks Inc. Ericsson submitted a competing offer for Riverstone just over a month after Lucent and Riverstone agreed to a …

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.—VeriSign Inc. continued its spending spree, inking an agreement to shell out $250 million in cash for mobile messaging and content services provider m-Qube Inc. M-Qube powers mobile storefronts and marketing campaigns for media companies and major brands …

SAN JOSE, Calif.—GPS chipset provider SiRF Technology Holdings Inc. said it acquired TrueSpan, a two-year-old company that is developing chips for mobile TV. The acquisition is part of SiRF’s plans to develop chips for a variety of wireless technologies. TrueSpan’s …

Mobile virtual network operator Cool Mobile has big plans for this year, starting off today by expanding its cool.Prepaid handset lineup to six Motorola Inc. devices and aiming to offer hybrid and postpaid service plans by the end of the …

By Bradley Johnson A majority—57 percent—of teens age 13-17 now have a cell phone, but that’s far below the 80 percent of adults 18-plus who own a phone. Still, for a glimpse of the future, look no further than Generation …

IRVINE, Calif.-More people preferred comedies and adventure movies over Academy Award-winning best picture “Crash” when searching for movie information over mobile devices. Go2 Movies announced the top most-searched movies in 2005. “Wedding Crashers” came in at No. 1, while “Crash” …

Mobile virtual network operator Cool Mobile has big plans for this year, starting off today by expanding its cool.Prepaid handset lineup to six Motorola Inc. devices and aiming to offer hybrid and postpaid service plans by the end of the …

SBA Communications Corp., the nation’s fifth-largest tower company, is offering $1 billion to acquire AAT Communications Corp., the nation’s sixth-largest tower company. SBA said it will pick up AAT’s 1,855 owned tower sites along with an additional 250 revenue-producing managed …

Cingular Wireless L.L.C. rolled out a new pricing plan-without its signature Rollover feature-in a move to counter a similar plan offered by T-Mobile USA Inc. Cingular’s Nation 1000 plan for $40 per month includes nationwide long distance and roaming, but …

The emerging iconic headset, the gadget plaintiffs’ lawyers claim is key to minimizing health risks from mobile phones and that state lawmakers champion as the silver-bullet cure for cell-phone-yakking drivers, is suddenly the suspected culprit behind hearing troubles of teenagers …

WASHINGTON-Six senators are asking the Bush administration to develop guidelines for a new public-safety interoperable communications grant program to allow for the use of Internet Protocol-based technologies instead of the wholesale replacement of current equipment. “The administration should seriously consider …

Verizon Wireless ranked at the top of a dozen North American mobile operators in a survey that examined value metrics such as subscriber growth, average revenue per user, churn and subscriber acquisition costs. Meanwhile, Cingular Wireless L.L.C. accounted for more …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission picked up support from the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission to employ blind bidding at June’s advanced wireless services auction. But outside of government the proposal has set off a storm of controversy that has …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission Friday created its long anticipated Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, which is set to take over various functions and issues from seven other entities within the commission. “Many of the problems we saw during Hurricane …

MUNICH, Germany-BenQ Corp. reported a larger-than-expected net loss of $185.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2005, which the company attributed to revamping its product portfolio. The company also recorded a $30.8 million write-off of low-end Siemens handsets it inherited …