2006

LOS ANGELES—Mobile Entertainment company WAAT Media and mobile games developer Charismatix formed a parent company, Twistbox Entertainment Inc., which the companies said will represent the operating unit and brand for all their general entertainment activities. Within 90 days, Charismatix will …

WASHINGTON—Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin confirmed the agency is investigating AT&T Corp. in connection with deceptive means used to obtain the phone records of Hewlett-Packard Co. board members and journalists covering the company. The mushrooming scandal prompted HP Chairman …

LOS ANGELES—New York City handed Northrop Grumman a five-year $500 million contract to build and maintain a wireless broadband public-safety network that will add high-speed data and video capabilities to the city’s first responders and transportation personnel. The network will …

LOS ANGELES—Verizon Wireless extended Motorola Inc.’s deal to supply the carrier with CDMA equipment, announcing that Motorola will supply it with EV-DO Revision A gear. RCR @ CTIA Click here for complete coverage of the CTIA Wireless I.T. show. Click …

Hello! And welcome to a special CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment 2006 edition of our column, Worst of the Week. There’s a lot of nutty stuff that goes on in this industry—especially at trade shows—so this column is a chance …

MURRAY HILL, N.J.—Lucent Technologies Inc. announced it agreed to acquire Mobilitec, a privately-held provider of content management software for wireless service providers. Lucent said Mobilitec’s solutions will strengthen its voice, video, data and multimedia applications platforms, thus enabling more service …

LOS ANGELES—News Corp. and VeriSign announced plans to form a mobile entertainment joint venture in which News Corp. will have a controlling interest in VeriSign’s Jamba subsidiary. News Corp. said it plans to pay $188 million for the ability to …

PLAINFIELD, Ind.—Wireless device distributor Brightpoint Inc. announced that its subsidiary, Wireless Fulfillment Services LLC, has agreed to buy all of Texas-based Trio Industries Inc.’s outstanding shares. Trio distributes data products from original equipment manufacturers. Brightpoint’s president, J. Mark Howell, pointed …

Money is flowing again and major corporations often respond to sales pitches when choosing mobile technologies—great news for the wireless industry, according to Tuesday’s speakers at the keynote CIO Roundtable. RCR @ CTIA Click here for complete coverage of the …

Two forces are creating a market for speaker-independent voice services on the handset, according to a player that believes it is poised to dominate the market. RCR @ CTIA Click here for complete coverage of the CTIA Wireless I.T. show. …

WASINGTON—Nokia Corp. today announced deals to expand gaming and content offerings on its mobile phones, while also reaching an agreement to supply $580 million worth of GSM/GPRS network for expansion of wireless systems operated by China Mobile Communications Corp. RCR …

Nokia Corp. knows how to get the buzz going. RCR @ CTIA Click here for complete coverage of the CTIA Wireless I.T. show. Click here for the latest headlines from the show. Today it launched a new productivity and multimedia …

In the heart of the world’s entertainment capital, Paul Reddick told content providers it was time to show him the money. RCR @ CTIA Click here for complete coverage of the CTIA Wireless I.T. show. Click here for the latest …

RealNetworks Inc. is buying itself a bigger space on the wireless entertainment playground with a $350 million acquisition of South Korean-based developer WiderThan Co. Ltd. The Seattle-based digital media company said it will spend $17.05 per share to acquire WiderThan, …

LOS ANGELES—Aeris, which provides machine-to-machine services, said it expanded its strategic agreement with U.S. Cellular Corp. RCR @ CTIA Click here for complete coverage of the CTIA Wireless I.T. show. Click here for the latest headlines from the show. The …

WASHINGTON—Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin agreed to delay a decision on new emergency alert system rules expected to apply for the first time to mobile phone and other communications services. But Martin was silent when confronted by criticism about …

OVERLAND PARK, Kan.—Sprint Nextel Corp. launched a branded, pay-per-view movie service that offers nearly four dozen classic films and recent releases. Sprint Movies, which is powered by mSpot, allows users to watch films in their entirety or view chapters that …

NEW YORK—Bango announced it has partnered with MTV Networks U.K. & Ireland to provide its browse-and-buy technology for MTV’s new WAP site. The MTV WAP site is designed to promote and sell digital content to users. Bango’s technology streamlines the …

WASHINGTON—The Telecommunications Industry Association looked inside and chose Grant Seiffert to succeed Matthew Flanigan as president beginning Jan.1. Seiffert has worked his way up the TIA organization ladder after leaving Capitol Hill in 1996. He is currently executive vice president …

ESPOO, Finland—Nokia Corp. this week announced the pending launch of three new handsets in its L’Amour Collection line of fashion phones aimed at the European market. The new handset models are 7390, 7373 and 7360; they are expected in European …

SAN FRANCISCO—Mobileplay Inc. said it launched an advertising-supported service that provides free access to news, games, lifestyle content and location-based services on wireless devices. The service supports personal digital assistants, smart phones, wireless e-mail devices and Java-enabled cell phones, said …

The infrastructure industry’s merger of the season looks to be a done deal, as Lucent Technologies Inc. and Alcatel Inc. announced that their shareholders approved Alcatel’s $10.7 billion proposal to acquire Lucent in the midst of fierce global competition for …

Minnetonka, Minn.-based US Internet beat out more than 80 other companies for the city of Minneapolis’ contract to build a 54-square-mile citywide Wi-Fi network, beating out notable EarthLink Inc. and its suppliers Tropos Networks Inc. and Motorola Inc. Some Wi-Fi …

Shipments of machine-to-machine modules are projected to more than triple by the end of the decade, particularly those modules that connect to a network of nodes via short-range wireless technologies such as Wi-Fi or Zigbee, according to ABI Research. And …

Navteq Navteq, which provides digital map data and vehicle navigation solutions, said it has partnered with ACSI to provide campsite information for Navteq’s digital maps. ACSI provides international camping guide information. The deal calls for the companies to add camping …