2006

BOCA RATON, Fla.-Global Tower Partners may be the next tower company to get swallowed up as the industry’s giants fight over who will be king of the mountain. Global Tower Partners is owned by Blackstone Group LP, and, according to …

SAN DIEGO-An administrative law judge with the International Trade Commission handed down a split decision in the acrimonious patent dispute between chipmakers Qualcomm Inc. and Broadcom Corp., ruling that Qualcomm did infringe on one of Broadcom’s patents but not on …

Every time someone tries to fix interoperability problems for first responders, it seems the first response is to throw more spectrum at the problem. So Morgan O’Brien comes up with a company-Cyren Call Communications Inc.-and a plan-to use the 700 …

WASHINGTON-Nearly two years after President Bush authorized the creation of an advisory committee as part of spectrum policy initiative launched in 2003, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration has yet to disclose identities of members, whether any meetings have been …

NEW YORK-Outlining Walt Disney Co.’s strategy for tackling a consumer-driven TV future, Anne Sweeney, co-chair of Disney Media Networks and president of Disney-ABC TV, revealed some of the company’s numerous new-media initiatives around the globe at Mipcom, an international programming …

WASHINGTON—The Supreme Court today declined to review a federal appeals court ruling that voided a Minnesota wireless consumer protection law. Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch (D), who is running for governor, asked the Supreme Court to take the case after …

NEW YORK—Palm Inc. launched its quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE Treo 680 smart phone running on the Palm OS platform. The slim phone features e-mail, Web browsing, messaging, multimedia, calendar and contacts capabilities and includes a full keyboard and a color screen. The …

WASHINGTON—President George W. Bush Friday signed the port-security bill into law, a move that also creates the Warning, Alert and Response Network. The WARN legislation was attached to the port-security bill, and essentially updates the nation’s Cold War-era emergency-alert system …

WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission’s scheduled vote on the $69 billion merger of AT&T Inc. and BellSouth Corp. imploded today, with Chairman Kevin Martin delaying action on the deal until at least next month. The news follows revelations that AT&T has …

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 …

SAN JOSE, Calif.—Covad Communications Group Inc. said it signed an agreement to acquire the assets of Chicago-based broadband wireless operator DataFlo Communications L.L.C. for $1.4 million. The cash transaction is expected to close this month. The deal expands Covad’s broadband …

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 assigned its …

By Lorene Yue CHICAGO—Hello Moto Michigan Avenue, again. Motorola Inc. is reopening its so-called “pop-up” location at 666 N. Michigan Ave. at 10 a.m. Friday to tout its newest product, a red Razr V3m, after shuttering the store following a …

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.—ROK Entertainment Group U.S. expanded its mobile video offerings with 13 free channels of news, music and sports. The subsidiary of the U.K.-based wireless video company unveiled FreeBe TV, a WAP-based service for roughly two dozen 2.5G and …

LAGOS, Nigeria—A group of wireless players is experimenting with environmentally friendly biodiesel as a way to power cellular base stations in Africa. The GSM Association, L.M. Ericcson and telecom company MTN are partnering on a pilot project to set up …

BOSTON—Rapid product development among semiconductor players could pave the way for nearly 50 million ultra low cost handset shipments by the end of next year, according to a new report from research firm Strategy Analytics. “In addition to Texas Instruments …

ESPOO, Finland—Nokia Corp. will shutter a Fort Worth, Texas-based facility next spring that provides handset logistical and repair services for the American market and will outsource the service to a third party, the company announced. The closure will affect 450 …

SAN DIEGO—Skyriver Communications said it expanded its pre-WiMAX network in Los Angeles county to include Pasadena and surrounding communities. The expanded network covers Pasadena, Arcadia, Sierra Madre, Alhambra, San Gabriel, Rosemead and El Monte, said the company. Skyriver joins a …

NEW YORK—Internet search company Ask.com upgraded its mobile search offering, rolling out a free service featuring Internet sites, driving directions, maps and weather. The subsidiary of InterActive Corp. launched Ask Mobile, an ad-free, Internet-based service designed to minimize the number …

ALAMEDA, Calif.—UTStarcom Inc. said it is exploring “strategic alternatives” and has retained Merill Lynch & Co. as its financial adviser. The announcement could mean that UTStarcom is openly seeking to sell itself or merge with another company. “Our board of …

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands—Royal Philips Electronics is set to transfer its remaining mobile-phone business to China Electronics Corp. by the end of 2006. Philips said its mobile-phones unit produced around $501 million annually and employs about 240 people, mainly in Asia Pacific …

WASHINGTON—After sitting on the issue for almost two years, the Federal Communications Commission voted to allow Qualcomm Inc. to operate its MediaFLO mobile TV offering in markets where TV broadcasters are currently using the 700 MHz spectrum Qualcomm plans to …

CHICAGO—U.S. Cellular Corp. said it received $95.1 million from the sale of its stake in regional operator Midwest Wireless Holdings to Alltel Corp. U.S. Cellular said it also expects to receive an additional $10.5 million soon in connection with the …

BOCA RATON, Fla.—Global Tower Partners may be the next tower company to get swallowed up as the industry’s giants fight over who will be king of the mountain. Global Tower Partners is owned by Blackstone Group LP, and, according to …

BOSTON—Closely held Clearwire Corp. offered a closer look into its pre-WiMAX efforts in conjunction with the WiMAX World trade show with news that the carrier currently commands 162,000 customers and has plans to cover a total of 9 million potential …