August 2006

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. Pacific Growth Equities initiated coverage on Texas Instruments …

SHERMAN OAKS, Calif.—Wireless video provider GoTV Networks said it will broadcast made-for-mobile news coverage of Sunday’s Primetime Emmy Awards. The company plans to conduct red-carpet interviews with celebrities and offer reports from pre- and post-ceremony events and receptions. The content …

LOS ANGELES—A new partnership between TV Guide Mobile Entertainment Inc. and 4INFO Inc. aims to deliver TV listings to cellular phones. Wireless subscribers will immediately be able to search for programs by title, time or channel. The offering will work …

PARIS—As Alcatel Inc.’s shareholders get set to vote on the issue Sept. 7, analyst opinions run the gamut on the infrastructure “merger of the season” between Alcatel and Lucent Technologies Inc. According to Joe Chaisson, analyst at Susquehanna Financial Group, “it …

TAPEI, Taiwan—BenQ Corp. announced it will spend an additional $400 million on its handset business BenQ Mobile—which ranks just below the world’s top five handset vendors—while spinning off other non-mobile businesses to strengthen the handset brand. The electronics firm has …

SAN FRANCISCO—The U.S. mobile gaming industry rang up $47 million in sales in the second quarter of 2006 as nearly 13.5 million wireless users downloaded at least one game, according to the latest figures from Telephia. The market research firm …

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.—The worldwide mobile infrastructure market grew 10 percent during the second quarter, but declined 3 percent compared with last year’s second quarter, according to a new study from market research firm Dell’Oro Group. The company said weak sales …

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 RCRNews.com to rant and rave about whatever rubs …

FREMONT, Calif.—The FLO Forum said it approved a specification for its mobile TV network technology, a move that will allow equipment makers to build gear that will work on any FLO-based network. Thus, operators will be able to choose products …

WASHINGTON—Some of the players who were squeezed out of regional spectrum licenses early in the auction seem to be making up the loss with dozens of smaller geographic licenses. Click here for the latest headlines from the AWS auction. Click …

TOKYO—Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo Inc. said it launched HSDPA service in Tokyo, and will cover all major Japanese cities with the technology by the end of October. The carrier is selling its new HSDPA-capable phone, the N902iX, to support the …

NEW YORK—Verizon Communications Inc. announced a deal to provide directory assistance to customers of Dobson Cellular Systems, a subsidiary of Dobson Communications Corp. Verizon’s LiveSource unit won a multi-year, multi-million-dollar contract with Dobson to provide directory services including call completion, …

WASHINGTON—The total amount raised by the advanced wireless services auction is creeping toward $13 billion, although each round is raising less money that the previous. However, bidding is still active on a number of licenses; the number of licenses with …

WASHINGTON—The National Emergency Number Association has added its voice to the chorus calling for a national debate on a proposal to set aside 30 megahertz of spectrum in the upper 700 MHz band for a next-generation public-safety network that the …

LONDON—Smart phone OS vendor Symbian Ltd. announced increasing shipments and rising revenues in the second quarter, and promised more of the same in the future. “Looking forward … I expect to see an acceleration of Symbian smart phones in the …

NEW YORK—Comverse Inc. said it will pay $19 million in cash for privately held Netonomy, a developer of customer self-service, bill analysis and point of sale software for wireless communications. Comverse said Netonomy’s self-service application suite enables subscribers, including consumers, …

NEW YORK—Virgin Mobile USA L.L.C. has tapped MX Telecom to support its off-deck content activity. The mobile virtual network operator said MX Telecom will deliver premium SMS support and provide short-code connectivity for third-party transactions. The London-based messaging company maintains …

PLAINFIELD, Ind.—Brightpoint Inc. inked a deal to supply wireless devices and accessories to online retailer Newegg Inc. Newegg operates a storefront for manufacturers of consumer electronics, communications equipment and hardware and software. The 5-year-old company claims nearly 6 million registered …

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands—Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. launched a handset equipped with Unlicensed Mobile Access technology in Italy. Samsung’s SGH-P200 phone runs on the Nexperia chip from Royal Philips’ Philips Semiconductor division. Philips’ Nexperia offering uses the company’s low-power wireless local area …

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.—Virgin Mobile USA L.L.C. topped a new prepaid wireless customer satisfaction survey from J.D. Power & Associates. The rankings covered mobile virtual network operators and traditional wireless operators. The survey examined responses from about 4,000 current prepaid wireless …

ATLANTA—PC maker Lenovo announced it is now selling a laptop computer that has built-in support for Cingular Wireless L.L.C.’s EDGE- and UMTS/HSDPA-based networks. The laptop is selling online for around $1,900. “ThinkPad users can now enjoy wireless broadband Internet access …

BOSTON—Mobile virtual network operators Virgin Mobile USA L.L.C. and Helio L.L.C. are more effective at using the Internet to drive brand awareness and sales relative to their peers, according to a new report from market research firm Compete Inc. The …

LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill.—Motient Corp. increased its ownership of TerreStar Networks Inc. from 54.3 percent to 55.1 percent, according to an 8-K filing the company made. The transaction involved Motient Ventures Holding Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Motient Corp., purchasing more …

SUNNYVALE, Calif.—Mobile technology startup SiBEAM said it snared $21 million in Series B venture funding. Foundation Capital led the round, which included follow-on investments from New Enterprise Associates and U.S. Venture Partners. SiBEAM, which designs chips for gigabit-speed wireless equipment, …

   REDWOOD SHORES, Calif.—Wherify Wireless Inc. will retail its Wherifone GPS Locator phones through Toys ‘R’ Us outlets nationwide starting Oct. 1, after a long delay during which the firm twice re-engineered the product. Wherify will sell the phone under …