August 2006

CHARLOTTE, N.C.—SunCom Wireless Holdings Inc. became the latest carrier to step onto the full-track download playground, teaming with digital music provider Napster L.L.C. to offer a relatively vast library of 2 million tunes. SunCom subscribers can download songs to both …

WESTCHESTER, Ill.—Andrew Corp.’s merger-and-acquisition adventures skidded to a full stop as the company pumped its brakes on potential deals with both ADC Telecommunications Inc. and CommScope Inc.—preferring instead to go it alone. Andrew announced in May a merger with ADC, …

SAN DIEGO—Wireless handset distribution company InfoSonics Corp. saw its second-quarter profit fall due to stock-option charges. Net income for the quarter was $127,000, down significantly from net income of $408,000 during the same period last year. Excluding the stock-options charges, …

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.—XM Satellite Radio Corp. notched its first deal with a U.S. carrier, teaming with Alltel Corp. to offer 20 channels of commercial-free music. The service, which is available for $8 a month, offers several music genres including pop, …

DALLAS—The U.S. mobile video market can’t support all the multimedia networks scheduled to come online in the next 18 months, according to a new report from Parks Associates. The prospects appear bright for Sprint Nextel Corp.’s planned WiMAX network and …

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Without any fanfare, deservedly, Lucent Technologies Inc. filed a document with the Securities and Exchange Commission stating that once its acquisition by Alcatel Inc. closes, the combined company will be called Alcatel Lucent. The SEC filing contains a letter …

CHICAGO—U.S. Cellular Corp. released limited operating results for the second quarter, reporting a churn rate that ticked upward and net overall customer activations that were about half of what the carrier achieved during the same period last year—however, the company …

NEW YORK—Sprint Nextel Corp. subscribers will soon be able to tune in to live radio broadcasts of their favorite professional baseball teams straight from their handsets. The carrier unveiled a non-exclusive pact with Major League Baseball Advanced Media to deliver …

ALEXANDRIA, Minn.—Rural Cellular Corp. said it lost 7,385 customers during the second quarter, which was an improvement compared with the 9,992 customers the carrier lost during the second quarter of 2005. Postpaid customers made up most of the loss with …

SAN DIEGO—Wireless Facilities Inc., which designs and manages wireless networks, announced it entered a definitive agreement to acquire Madison Research Corp. WFI said the acquisition would advance its customer footprint within the U.S. Department of Defense, including with the U.S. …

PLAINFIELD, Ind.—Brightpoint Inc. said it has signed a three-year master services agreement with T-Mobile USA Inc., which calls for its Brightpoint Services L.L.C. business unit to provide all of the carrier’s handset logistics in the United States. Brightpoint said it …

NEW YORK—The broadening investigation into stock-option grants continues to plague wireless as federal prosecutors brought criminal charges against three former executives of Comverse Technology Inc. The criminal complaint, which was unsealed in federal court in Brooklyn, accuses founder and former …

WASHINGTON—T-Mobile USA Inc. led the first round of bidding in the Federal Communications Commission’s auction of advanced wireless services spectrum, placing bids for spectrum that would substantially expand its national footprint. The carrier bid for 20 megahertz of spectrum in …

EMERYVILLE, Calif.—WiMAX gained another backer as MobiTV Inc. said it will support the wireless broadband technology. The wireless video provider said it has been “investing heavily in research and technology development” for WiMAX, and committed to deploying multimedia services over …

SAN JOSE, Calif.—An e-mail Trojan targeting Research In Motion Ltd. BlackBerry users has been developed and, according to its inventor, will be released into “the wild”—that is, launched in public, not just circulated among hackers—next week. That news has led …

ESPOO, Finland—Nokia Corp. filed a complaint with the Delaware Court of Chancery over several matters relating to its disputes with Qualcomm Inc., the latest in a series of squabblings between the two companies. The Nokia statement, though brief, raised a …

RESTON, Va.—Sprint Nextel Corp. will use WiMAX technology for its 4G network and utilize its wealth of spectrum in the 2.5 GHz band for a rollout that is slated to begin in the fourth quarter of 2007. The carrier announced …

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.—Alltel Corp. and Melodeo Inc. announced they are working together to offer podcasts to Alltel subscribers. The Axcess Mobilcast service is expected to allow Alltel subscribers to search and listen to thousands of podcasts on their wireless phones …

SARASOTA, Fla.—For the fifth quarter in a row, Global Signal Inc. blamed its net losses on the company’s $1.2 billion cash purchase of 6,600 Sprint Nextel Corp. towers, which the company announced in May 2005. Global Signal said its second-quarter …

ESPOO, Finland—Nokia Corp. is buying its way onto the mobile music playground, agreeing to acquire distributor Loudeye Corp. for about $60 million. The handset manufacturer said it will pay $4.50 per share in cash to shareholders of Loudeye, which operates …

BOSTON—Research In Motion Ltd. has lost traction in the mobile e-mail market this year, but will likely continue to increase subscribers, according to a report from Strategy Analytics. The survey found the BlackBerry’s market share dipped five points to 59 …

LONDON—Shares of content aggregator MonsterMob Group plc received a much-needed boost after the company acknowledged it may be a target for acquisition. MonsterMob, which operates ringtone storefronts in the United States, Europe and Asia, said it had “received an indicative …

NEW YORK—While the full ramifications of Sprint Nextel Corp.’s plan to deploy a WiMAX network remain uncertain, it’s clear that the early winners are Intel Corp., Motorola Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.—while the biggest loser is Qualcomm Inc. and …

   SAN DIEGO—Hey, it’s all about my life, not your network. That’s the disruptive thinking that Sony Electronics—not Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications L.P., the wireless handset maker—is following in launching a Wi-Fi-only device (no monthly cellular service fees!) for Voice …

SARASOTA, Fl.—Verizon Wireless’ testing of its high-speed CDMA2000 1x EV-DO service has reportedly been draining the batteries of some customers’ phones. The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported that users were finding the batteries in their EV-DO handsets were being drained more quickly …