August 2006

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 …

BELLEVUE, Wash.—InfoSpace Inc. reported a profit for the second quarter, surprising analysts who expected the company to log a loss on the quarter. Net income for the quarter came in at $1 million, down from net income of $16.3 million …

   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 …

OVERLAND PARK, Kan.—Sprint Nextel Corp. shares were down sharply after the company reported a scant 708,000 net subscriber additions in the second quarter, most of which were prepaid customers. Sprint Nextel added just 210,000 postpaid subscribers in the quarter. The …

AUSTIN, Texas—StarCore L.L.C. is closing up shop due to a lack of success in licensing its early digital signal processor family of chips. The company had hoped to eventually challenge Texas Instruments Inc.’s leadership position in the DSP market. The …

TORONTO—Nortel Networks Ltd. posted second-quarter profits of $366 million from $2.74 billion in revenues, up from last year’s $33 million net loss based on revenues of $2.62 billion. “Our second quarter performance underscores both the challenges and good progress we …

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.—Alltel Corp. posted strong second quarter results with plusses and minuses in all the right places. The industry’s No. 5 carrier improved its average revenue per user, substantially cut its overall and postpaid churn rate, and increased revenue …

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 …

WASHINGTON—A federal appeals court ruled Monday the Federal Communications Commission overreached when it said states could not prohibit wireless carriers from putting certain line items on their bills. Only Congress can overturn the court’s decision. Wireless trade association CTIA bemoaned …

ATLANTA—EarthLink Inc. snagged a contract to build, own and operate a 23-square mile citywide Wi-Fi municipal network for commercial and government use in Pasadena, Calif. EarthLink said it is working with city officials to develop a digital inclusion program for …

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. …

SAN JOSE, Calif.—Nomad Digital Ltd. and train operator Caltrain said they completed proof of concept trials of a WiMAX technology that can deliver continuous high-speed Internet access to train passengers. The trial was conducted along 16 miles of track between …

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.—Shares of Electronic Arts Inc. surged after the publisher posted strong first-quarter sales of its Microsoft Corp. Xbox and mobile phone offerings. The videogame giant reported mobile revenues of $33 million in its first quarter of 2007, the …

PLANO, Texas—L.M. Ericsson named Robert Pajos to head its Cingular Wireless L.L.C. North American market account, saying his years of experience managing several key accounts in Latin America, Eastern Europe and Central Asia will help him strengthen Ericsson’s relationship with …

KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa.—InterDigital Communications Corp. announced a substantial boost in second quarter revenue from $38.6 million in the year-ago quarter to $296.6 million this year. The difference was primarily related to the resolution of InterDigital’s patent disputes with Nokia …

ANCHORAGE, Alaska—Alaska Communications Group Inc. is offering its digital subscriber line customers a free wireless PC card when they sign up for a mobile data plan that costs $30 a month. The wireless data plan offers CDMA2000 1x EV-DO coverage …

By Willow Duttge NEW YORK—Regional wireless operator SunCom Wireless Holdings Inc. has put its advertising account up for review, executives familiar with the company said. SunCom provides service to more than 1 million subscribers in southeastern states and the Caribbean. …

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 …

MARSHALL, Texas—L.M. Ericsson, the Swedish wireless telecommunications firm, has sued South Korea-based Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. for allegedly infringing on 11 of Ericsson’s patents, according to a complaint filed July 28 in a U.S. district court in Texas. Both companies …

BOSTON—The Khronos Group continued to gain steam as high-profile players including Apple Computer Inc., Dell Computer Corp. and Google Inc. joined the association’s effort to develop open standards for mobile phones and computers. Khronos aims to define open standards for …

TOKYO—Japanese wireless carrier SoftBank announced it will study the feasibility of using Qualcomm Inc.’s MediaFlo technology to offer mobile TV services. Qualcomm said SoftBank joins a growing list of carriers looking into its MediaFlo offering, a list that includes KDDI …

WASHINGTON—The videogame industry’s annual extravaganza of booth babes, deafening sound effects and eye-popping displays is lowering its profile. The Electronic Entertainment Expo, which drew more than 60,000 industry professionals to Los Angeles this year, will be dramatically scaled back beginning …

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.—Cellular and Wi-Fi convergence technology developer, DiVitas Networks, announced it raked in $15 million during a second round of funding, bringing the company’s total funding to $23 million. Menlo Ventures led the round, joined by existing investor Clearstone …