August 2006

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 …

MARLBOROUGH, Mass.—Another company joined the mobile payment playground as Cyphermint Inc. unveiled an Internet-based system for completing transactions using a cell phone. The firm launched PayCash Mobile, a cross-platform offering that allows users to manage stand-alone accounts from a mobile …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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, …

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 …

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 cut …

WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission is re-examining the service and licensing rules for the 700 MHz spectrum it plans to auction in 2008, and will consider changing how the spectrum is divvied up as well as when the spectrum licenses will …

BOCA RATON, Fla.—SBA Communications Corp., the nation’s fourth-largest tower owner, posted second-quarter losses of $75.6 million despite increased revenues of $87.4 million. Last year in the same quarter the company recorded $63.2 million in revenues and a loss of $26.2 …

VANCOUVER, British Columbia—Canadian telecommunications company Telus has announced a partnership with mobile virtual network operator Amp’d Mobile Inc. in which Telus subscribers will have access to Amp’d services and content and Telus will manage most of the business operations. Meanwhile, …

HOUSTON—Following Crown Castle International Corp.’s good news—the company’s shrinking net loss in the second quarter—the company released some not-so-good news that the Securities and Exchange Commission has launched an informal inquiry into the company’s stock-option practices. Crown said it will …

WASHINGTON—CTIA is asking the Federal Communications Commission to clarify recent universal-service rules that have sparked a puzzling situation where the FCC has accused the industry of not fully reporting its “toll” revenues—and by implication not paying its full share of …

MILAN, Italy—Content aggregator Buongiorno USA Inc. is looking to expand its presence in North America with plans to spend as much as $27 million to acquire application developer Rocket Mobile. The subsidiary of Buongiorno SpA Group agreed to a $17 …

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.—Openwave Systems Inc. reported substantially improved net loss figures during its fourth quarter, but revenues declined. For the quarter, Openwave reported revenues of $91.1 million, down 9 percent from revenues of $100.3 million during the same period a …

OKLAHOMA CITY—Dobson Cellular Systems Inc. has completed its purchase of assets from four wireless companies in Kodiak and Nome, Alaska. Dobson Cellular Systems is a subsidiary of Dobson Communications Corp. The company purchased for $2 million the assets of New …

AMSTERDAM—Royal Philips Electronics announced plans to sell a majority stake in its semiconductor business as the company transitions away from cyclical activities to focus on developing itself into a healthcare- and lifestyle-focused company. Philips is selling an 80.1-percent stake in …

SAN DIEGO—Leap Wireless International Inc. reported increasing profits and higher revenues during the second quarter. The carrier also scored 58,000 net customers during the quarter, a huge increase from net customer additions of about 2,700 during the second quarter of …

MINNETONKA, Minn.—Digi International Inc. said it will buy MaxStream Inc. a privately held firm based in Lindon, Utah, that works in the wireless device networking space. The acquisition is characterized as a merger transaction for $38.5 million in cash and …

WASHINGTON—Online cell phone retailer InPhonic Inc. reported its net loss from continuing operations grew during the second quarter despite an increase in revenues. The company reported revenues of $95.8 million for the quarter, up from $75.2 million during the same …

NEW YORK—On the heels of a disappointing performance in the second quarter, Sprint Nextel Corp. plans to add Motorola Inc.’s Q and Slvr handsets to its portfolio in the critical fourth quarter to attract and retain subscribers and boost earnings, …

WHEAT RIDGE, Colo.—ARC Wireless Solutions Inc. said it plans to sell its Winncom Technologies Corp. subsidiary to an unnamed Irish company for $17 million in cash. Winncom is a wholly owned subsidiary of ARC and contributed 82 percent of ARC’s …

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 new research from Juniper Research. The shift is being driven by new technologies like third-generation networks and music-centered …

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 …

Hello! And welcome to our Thursday column, Worst of the Week. There’s a lot of nutty stuff that goes on in this industry, so this column is a chance for us at RCR Wireless News to rant and rave about …