August 2006

As is often the case, confidence comes with success. Enter Cingular Wireless L.L.C. After a couple of quarters of robust customer growth befitting the nation’s largest wireless operator, Cingular has decided to start charging its legacy TDMA and analog customers …

BOSTON-MobileLime, which focuses on using mobile phones for marketing and loyalty programs, said it is working with a dozen Subway sandwich shop franchises in Buffalo, N.Y., to offer alerts and coupons t to mobile-phone users. The program is part of …

The videogame industry’s annual extravaganza of booth babes, deafening sound effects and eye-popping displays is lowering its profile. And mobile game makers aren’t complaining. The Electronic Entertainment Expo, which has exploded into a 60,000-person tech-fest, is going to be dramatically …

SHENZHEN, China-Chinese telecom equipment manufacturer ZTE Corp. launched a dual-mode TD-SCDMA/GSM handset. The U350 model features dual standby capability, which allows users to put a call in one mode on hold to take a separate call in the other mode. …

Polar opposite pictures of the second quarter emerged last week from Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel Corp. as the industry’s No. 2 and No. 3 operators reported financial results. Verizon Wireless’ parent company, Verizon Communications Inc., encountered what its executives …

ATLANTA-T-Mobile USA Inc. has tweaked its pricing options with a promotional “back to school” plan for families that includes 1,000 anytime minutes for $50 per month. The plan does not include free weeknight or weekend calling, but does include unlimited …

DENVER-Qwest Communications International Inc. has quietly launched Sprint Nextel Corp.’s full-track music download service for Qwest wireless customers. The mobile virtual network operator is carrying the Sprint Music Store, which allows users to download songs to a mobile phone or …

Dear Editor, I was compelled to respond to Mike Dano’s article, “Worst of the Week: Push-To-Silence-PTT,” on RCRNews.com July 27, in which he writes “the thing about walkie-talkie cell phones: THEY ARE UNNECESSARY. And, more importantly, annoying.” His conclusions certainly …

CHICAGO-Online travel company Orbitz launched a service allowing customers to find hotel rooms, view travel itineraries and check the status of flights from mobile phones. The off-deck offering is free aside from carrier data charges, and can be accessed from …

HICKORY, N.C.—CommScope Inc. has shaken up ADC Telecommunications Inc.’s bid to buy Andrew Corp. with a $9.50 per share proposal valued at about $1.7 billion in cash, including the assumption of $186 million in debt. Based on Friday’s closing stock …

WASHINGTON—A federal appeals court may be reconsidering its ruling that Congress’ digital-wiretap act applies to Voice over Internet Protocol and broadband Internet services. The court has asked the Federal Communications Commission to explain why the court should not reconsider its …

   LOS ANGELES—Helio L.L.C. is appealing to its 102,600 MySpace friends by offering to drop its standard two-year contract requirement. However, the carrier is not offering discounts on its phones. According to Helio’s MySpace page, the site’s members can get …

   SAN DIEGO—Can a magazine brand help sell mobile phones and, presumably, vice versa? That question could be answered soon as the Elle Magazine partnership with Alcatel to produce the GlamPhone Elle—a dual-band GSM phone with features designed to appeal …

WASHINGTON-While the network-neutrality issue holds up telecommunications reform, fissures in the telecom industry between big and little carriers are forming. Generally large carriers-both wireline and wireless-oppose any attempts to legislate or regulate network neutrality. Wireless trade association CTIA in June …

The Symbian operating system, championed by Nokia Corp. in its smart phones, currently has a majority of OS market share, a state of affairs likely to continue for the foreseeable future, according to projections from market research firm IDC. This …

Operators around the world are rolling out sexy new services like mobile TV and full-track downloads in an effort to compensate for razor-thin margins for voice service and see a return on investments in 3G technology. But carriers looking to …

HAMPSHIRE, U.K.-The mobile music market may be on the cusp of shifting away from ringtones to over-the-air full-track music services, according to research from Juniper Research. The shift is being driven by new technologies like third-generation networks and music-centered handsets, …

Commercial telematics, in particular mobile research management, is driving location-based services today, according to ABI Research. But the next big battleground will be to add Web portals to vehicle navigation devices. Following is a roundup of trends to watch in …

New competitors will threaten the established portable navigation device vendors, said ABI Research.    The enormous market expansion and related price war in the consumer navigation market is no longer new. What has changed is that the resulting attempts at …

BERN, Switzerland—Swisscom Mobile subsidiary Sicap, which provides mobile applications and network products for GSM operators, said it acquired Swapcom in a deal Sicap said strengthens its position in the mobile device management, SMS/MMS Hub management and content management spaces. Swapcom, …

MILAN, Italy—Two European content firms are buying their way into the U.S. market. Italy’s Dada Mobile Inc. said it will spend $7 million to acquire Upoc Networks Inc., a New York-based provider of community-based messaging services. Upoc reported a net …

SEATTLE—Increasing ownership of camera phones is fueling uptake of photo-messaging in the United States and Europe, according to the latest figures from M:Metrics. The survey found that photo-messaging among U.S. users has increased nearly one-third since February; the application saw …

CHICAGO—U.S. Cellular Corp. turned on network coverage in underground portions of the Chicago Transit Authority’s train system, and is the only carrier to currently offer service in the 11.4-mile subway system. CTA installed infrastructure designed to improve communications among emergency …

SAN DIEGO—Qualcomm Inc. announced a joint venture with Vietnamese handset vendor IQLinks to produce CDMA450 handsets in the Southeast Asian nation. The JV, to be known as IQLinks Joint Venture Co., will be the first CDMA450 handset maker in the …

RESTON, Va.—Both Sprint Nextel Corp. and its affiliates Horizon Personal Communications Inc. and Bright Personal Communications Services L.L.C. are claiming victory in a lawsuit that pitted them against one another following Sprint Corp.’s acquisition of Nextel Communications Inc. last year. …