August 2006

WASHINGTON—A federal judge in Detroit Thursday issued a ruling to halt the National Security Agency’s warrantless-wiretapping program. However, Judge Anna Diggs Taylor said the American Civil Liberties Union could not sue to stop a separate program—the data mining of telecommunications …

RESTON, Va.—Sprint Nextel Corp. is launching a new advertising campaign focused on the quality and capabilities of its network. The new tagline for the carrier’s ads will be: “Sprint. Power Up.” The nation’s third-largest carrier is starting internal employee campaigns …

KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa.—InterDigital Communications Corp. issued guidance for the third quarter, saying it expects to record revenues of between $67 million and $68 million. The guidance is below average analyst estimates of $69.02 million for the quarter. The company’s …

SAN FRANCISCO—Mobileplay, a mobile content company that delivers free ad-supported content to wireless users, said it has added a variety of new content to its stable of offerings. Among the company’s new content partners are Fodor’s, which offers hotel and …

BAY CITY, Mich.—Terrorism-related charges have been dropped against three young men who purchased hundreds of phones in northern Michigan. However, the men now reportedly face charges of defrauding customers, Tracfone Wireless Inc. and Nokia Corp. The men—brothers Adham and Louai …

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 …

WASHINGTON—Verizon Wireless appears to be in a bidding war with T-Mobile USA Inc. over the valuable F-block licenses up for grabs in the advanced wireless services spectrum auction. Meanwhile, Sprint Nextel Corp.’s joint venture with four cable companies is focusing …

DALLAS—Moving advanced functionality from smart phones down to feature-rich phones is a goal on many minds, fueled by cost reductions in chipsets, among other things. Texas Instruments Inc. and LG Electronics Co. Ltd. took a step in that direction when …

SHERMAN OAKS, Calif.—FaithMobile will team with Crisp Wireless to deliver faith-based content to wireless users beginning next month. A subsidiary of Good News Holdings, FaithMobile said it will offer a subscription-based service hawking ringtones, images and video clips from content …

HELSINKI, Finland—Nokia Corp. is set to launch its fourth flagship store this week, taking the wraps off a multimedia retail outlet in its home country. The world’s largest handset maker plans to open the doors this weekend at the new …

SUNNYVALE, Calif.—Tropos Networks Inc. launched a new line of smart-routing, multi-band MetroMesh routers. The company’s first such product, the dual-band 5320 outdoor unit, sports 802.11a and 802.11b radios, and can create multi-band paths through a mesh network, Tropos said. Tropos …

CHICAGO—Boeing Co. grounded its money-losing, in-flight communications offering known as Connexion, saying it plans to “facilitate an orderly phase out” of the service. “Over the last six years, we have invested substantial time, resources and technology in Connexion by Boeing,” …

SANTA MONICA, Calif.—Boingo Wireless Inc., a wholesale network aggregator and operator of Wi-Fi networks, raised $65 million in Series C funding from new and existing investors. Boingo said the funds will provide long-term capital and underwrite its acquisition of Concourse …

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.—Google Inc. quietly snapped up mobile photo-recognition software developer Neven Vision for an undisclosed sum. Neven Vision’s technology automatically extracts information from photos, allowing users to categorize images or search for specific types of pictures. Google plans to …

SAN DIEGO—Qualcomm Inc. said its MediaFlo mobile TV network technology will be up and running in Japan sometime in 2008. According to a Reuters report, Qualcomm’s Jun Yamada, president of the company’s Japanese unit, said he expects Japanese regulators to …

WASHINGTON—Satellite television providers EchoStar Communications Corp. and DirecTV Group Inc. have pulled out of the advanced wireless service spectrum auction. Click here for the latest headlines from the AWS auction. Click here for full AWS auction coverage. Look below for …

PHILADELPHIA—The woman who steered Philadelphia’s municipal Wi-Fi project through city politics and battles with incumbent telcos is leaving her post as the city’s communications information officer next month to lead Georgia-based technology consulting firm Civitium’s international practice as a senior …

IRVINE, Calif.—Search company go2 plans to deliver sponsored listings from Yahoo Inc. through its mobile service. Go2 Directory Systems, which is offered on the decks of Cingular Wireless L.L.C., Sprint Nextel Corp. and Verizon Wireless, will deliver relevant links from …

   TORONTO—Pantech Group continued its march to establish a global brand identity by launching its first Pantech-branded handset—the PN-3200 for young consumers—in Canada. The handset is available through Telus Mobility, Canada’s second-largest CDMA operator, for $100 with a two-year contract. …

   ATLANTA—Everyone knows that pink is hot, at least when it comes to sales of Motorola Inc.’s Razr V3 handset. But what about the cachet of the recently released blue Razr, a Motorola exclusive for Cingular Wireless L.L.C.? After appearing …

BERWYN, Pa.—Michael Kalogris, chairman and chief executive officer of SunCom Wireless Holdings Inc., has resumed his official duties after taking a medical leave of absence due to injuries he sustained in a car accident. SunCom’s chief financial officer, Eric Haskell, …

PHOENIX—Corr Wireless L.L.C. said it has chosen Excell Services to provide directory assistance services to its customers. Corr Wireless, previously Oneonta Telephone Co., provides service in parts of Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia.

LONDON—Operators must make it easier for users to discover and download games if the mobile gaming market is going to move from niche-market to mass-market status, according to a new report from Informa Telecoms & Media. The market research firm …

CHICAGO, Ill.—Sprint Nextel Corp. CDMA affiliate iPCS Inc. has claimed victory in a lawsuit that could force Sprint Nextel to divest itself of its iDEN operations in the affiliate’s territory. Sprint Corp. took control of the iDEN network when it …

WASHINGTON—A group of federal and state regulators plan to re-examine the use of reverse auctions to determine which companies score universal-service funds to support telecommunications in high-cost rural areas. The Federal-State Join Board on Universal Service is seeking comment on …