2006

SCHAUMBERG, Ill.-Sprint Nextel Corp. CDMA affiliate iPCS Inc. is protesting new rates that the larger carrier is charging for back-office services, and has filed a claim that Sprint Nextel is violating the decision of a Delaware court regarding the sale …

LOS ANGELES-Napster’s mobile offering will make its European debut later this month.The digital music service said O2 Ireland will offer Napster’s catalog of 3 million full-length songs, artist images and ringtones to its 1.6 million subscribers. The application includes search, …

FORT MYERS, Fla.-Shares of NeoMedia Technologies Inc. continued to slide after the company’s President and Chief Executive Officer Charles Jensen stepped down.Jensen, 63, joined NeoMedia as CFO at the company’s 1995 inception, and succeeded founder Charles Fritz as CEO nine …

WASHINGTON-The United States International Trade Commission has ruled that Qualcomm Inc. has infringed on one of three patents held by rival Broadcom Corp., upholding the initial determination of an administrative law judge in Broadcom’s complaint against Qualcomm.The ITC will decide …

SUNNYVALE, Calif.-Shares of @Road Inc. jumped after Trimble Navigation Ltd. said it will acquire its fellow California-based mobile resource management developer for nearly $500 million.Trimble, which targets businesses and government agencies with location-aware applications, said it was attracted to @Road’s …

ASHBURN, Va.-WiMAX provider DigitalBridge Communications Corp. announced new financing, news that coincided with the company’s acquisition of two regional providers of wireless cable and Internet services. The company said it raised more than $11 million in its first round of …

SAN FRANCISCO-Telephia is teaming with place-shifting software developer Roundbox Inc. to deploy on-device measurement technology for wireless video and other mobile broadcast applications.The companies said they are building an interface between Rondbox’s mobile broadcast software and Telephia’s metering platform that …

FRAMINGHAM, Mass.-Steep prices are keeping U.S. mobile consumers from buying wireless entertainment offerings, according to a study from IDC.The market research group found that 47 percent of the coveted 18- to 24-year-old market complained that mobile data services are “too …

WASHINGTON-Congress before adjourning for the year passed legislation criminalizing the use of fraudulent means-such as impersonating wireless and wireline telecom subscribers-to obtain their phone records, a practice made infamous in the Hewlett-Packard Co. “pre-texting” scandal. The Senate agreed to the …

BURBANK, Calif.-The Walt Disney Co. appears ready and willing to work with Apple Computer Inc. across a number of media devices, if a recently filed patent is any indication.In a patent application filed last month, Disney specifically cites the iPod-among …

SAN DIEGO-Qualcomm Inc. is joining the white-hot location-based services (LBS) bandwagon with a new assisted-GPS offering.The chipmaker is targeting carriers with its new BREW Locate Signature Solution, a location-aware platform and hosted content delivery service that works with A-GPS enabled …

YAKUM, Israel-Silicon developer Metalink Ltd. unveiled its updated draft-compliant 802.11n dual-band chipset for wireless home entertainment networks.The company said its WLANPlus chip features Multiple-Input, Multiple-Output technology and operates in both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. The chipset enables multi-room …

Editor’s Note: Welcome our Monday feature, Analyst Angle. We’ve collected a group of the industry’s leading analysts to give their outlook on the hot topics in the wireless industry. In the coming weeks look for columns from Strategy Analytics’ Chris …

Mobile marketers are looking to avoid the “pay-per-click” problems that continue to plague online advertising. And many of them are hoping simple phone calls provide the solution.Google Inc., Yahoo Inc. and other ad-supported online search engines charge advertisers a set …

Sprint Nextel Corp. expects to see substantial improvement in its churn performance in the second half of next year, and the focus on its core operations means that its previous fascination with rolling up its affiliates is now far from …

‘Tis the season for gifting and Christmas lists a mile long. But what to do if someone’s list includes a Tetris download for their cell phone, or a new ringer from Chingy? Some wireless carriers and mobile virtual network operators …

First OFDMA and now MIMO. Qualcomm Inc.’s acquisition of Airgo Networks and its Multiple-Input, Multiple-Out technology, as well as the company’s previous purchase of Flarion Technologies Inc., position Qualcomm to play big in future wireless broadband.The behemoth San Diego-based chipmaker …

This was supposed to be the year of the music phone, but as the holiday season approaches the home stretch, on-the-go music lovers are still hoping to find dedicated MP3 players in their stockings.U.S. sales of portable digital music players …

Mobile production service provider Mobile Streams said it signed an exclusive worldwide mobile content deal with the famous Mexican wrestler El Hijo Del Santo. He and his late father, El Santo, have appeared in a variety of movies as well …

Verizon Wireless earned another round of kudos from Consumer Reports’ annual survey of wireless carriers, but Alltel Corp. outpaced other carriers in two new markets included in this year’s results. The survey evaluated service in 20 markets around the country, …

Sanyo Corp. has put its best foot forward at Sprint Nextel Corp. with a top-of-its-line multimedia phone, the M1, at a crucial time for Sanyo and amid a strong, overall portfolio expansion at Sprint Nextel. The M1 launch comes freighted …

Crown Castle International Corp.’s plan to launch its Modeo mobile TV networks in major U.S. markets took an apparent blow as Modeo’s President Michael Schueppert stepped down without any explanation from Crown Castle or Modeo. Schueppert’s resignation was disclosed in …

There’s always something happening in the wireless industry that makes the RCR Wireless News editorial staff stop working on our stories to comment, clap or kvetch about issues affecting the industry. We suspect that you all are as obsessed with …

Nortel Networks Ltd. landed a mobile WiMAX network supply deal in Taiwan, a trial in Japan, and a chip contract in Israel. The company-which launched its WiMAX portfolio in October at the WiMAX World trade show and was hawking its …