2006

Wireless broadband service provider Clearwire Corp. racked up a deal to build its first municipal WiMAX network in Grand Rapids, Mich., after the city council unanimously approved the company’s bid to connect the city’s 45 square miles with WiMAX coverage.The …

Qualcomm Inc. plans to profit from in-house Bluetooth intellectual property to drive down the cost, power consumption and footprint of chip-based functionality in mobile handsets and consumer electronic devices, the company said last week in the wake of its acquisition …

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, …

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 …

Wireless entrepreneurs looking to scrape up venture capital would do well to recall a college radio hit from a few years ago: it’s all about chemistry.There’s been no shortage of investment cash in wireless lately. More than 40 mobile players …

WASHINGTON-The wireless broadband industry embraced the Federal Communications Commission’s extension of construction deadlines for 2.3 GHz licensees, but remains angry over the agency’s response thus far to terrestrial deployment of allegedly unauthorized satellite radio repeaters with the potential to undermine …

It’s an increasingly awkward dance between U.S. wireless carriers and handset manufacturers as phone makers begin to assert their independence from operators. Handsets don’t work without the network and networks are useless without handsets. Neither can go solo. Or can …

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 …

WASHINGTON-The wireless industry is quietly reassessing long-held resistance to a cell-broadcast technology that’s getting a serious look by the Department of Homeland Security and increasingly embraced in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Indeed, according to sources, representatives of several …

Leap Wireless International Inc. is poised to make a large push into East Coast and Gulf Coast markets with the spectrum it acquired in the most recent federal spectrum auction. The carrier is also considering an affiliate program to build …

The Federal Communications Commission’s general counsel late Friday authorized Republican Commissioner Robert McDowell to participate in the stalled $79 billion merger of AT&T Inc. and BellSouth Corp., an action apt to ignite a political firestorm on Capitol Hill.FCC General Counsel …

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. Cellular Italy: Nokia Corp. said …

HONG KONG-Several companies have joined forces to form the Pan Asian Mobile TV consortium, which aims to enable multimedia broadcasting for mobile operators in the region.SK Telecom, Toshiba, Glocal Media and International Mobile Broadcasting Pte. Ltd. are participating in the …

The following list includes ratings changes and financial information for wireless companies announced this week by investment-banking and financial-services firms. Carrier Credit Suisse First Boston lowered its estimates on Sprint Nextel Corp. based on expectations of lower postpaid net adds …

SANTA CLARA, Calif.-Intel Corp. is showing off its first mobile WiMAX baseband chip. When paired with the company’s previously announced multi-band WiMAX/Wi-Fi radio chip, the offering forms the Intel WiMAX Connection 2300 chipset for laptops as well as other types …

STOCKHOLM, Sweden-A Stockholm court has acquitted L.M. Ericsson’s employees of tax evasion charges filed last year by Sweden’s National Economic Crimes Bureau.The employees were accused of stashing money in Swiss banks during 1998 and 1999 with the intent to avoid …

‘Tis the season to be jolly, especially if you’re a consumer checking out online deals from independent retailers. For instance, Wirefly, the online retail face of InPhonic Inc., is offering handsets at prices that defy gravity. The Motorola Inc. Krzr, …

KRALENDIJK, Bonaire-Caribbean telecom company Digicel has acquired the wireless segment of Telbo, a Bonaire telecom provider. The deal includes Telbo’s mobile subscriber base, spectrum and network equipment. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. “We are confident that our …

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 …

BEDMINSTER, N.J.-AT&T Inc. expanded services for its BusinessDirect business, launching a mobile portal for its network manager customers.The offering is designed to allow network administrators to monitor corporate networks from any Web-enabled wireless phone. Users can request network maintenance and …

SAN DIEGO-NextWave Wireless L.L.C. plans to redeem $148.5 million of non-recourse secured notes that were issued in April 2005 by former equity holders NextWave Telecom Inc. as part of NextWave’s reorganization.The notes will be redeemed at more than 103.5 percent …

SAN DIEGO-Now that Qualcomm Inc.’s acquisition of Airgo Networks Inc. is out of the bag, the companies announced the availability of an 802.11n Draft 2.0 Wi-Fi chipset featuring Airgo’s TrueMIMO Gen-N Technology.The companies said the AGN400 is Airgo’s fourth-generation 802.11n-compliant …

BURLINGTON, Mass.-ParkMagic is partnering with Verizon’s SkyTel to allow users to pay municipal parking fees with their phones.The Ireland-based company announced the U.S. debut of its mobile parking service, which uses an in-car display to alert city officials that the …

CAMPBELL, Calif.-Mobile software developer Atrua Technologies Inc. snared $9 million in its fourth round of funding.BlueRun Ventures led the round, and Atrua welcomed new backers including Chian’s Hua Hong Group and Korea’s Mosen Company Ltd. Existing investors Ericsson Venture Partners, …

HOUSTON-The head of Crown Castle International Corp.’s mobile TV effort unexpectedly resigned, throwing a potential wrench into the company’s plans to build mobile TV networks in the nation’s top markets.Crown Castle disclosed the move in a government filing. The company …