2007

In the early days of wireless, rate plans were an a la carte-style hodgepodge of offerings at a host of price points. Like new cars, basic calling plans could be packaged with premium options such as voicemail and caller ID, …

Television just isn’t the same these days. The writers’ strike in Hollywood, now in its ninth week, has given millions another reason to turn off the tube. Unless reruns and reality TV are your thing, the TV set has essentially …

The wireless broadband industry hailed a new Federal Communications Commission effort to write rules to prevent satellite radio terrestrial repeaters from interfering with WiMAX services planned in the 2.3 GHz spectrum band.The FCC recently decided to update the public record …

Full data on how various handsets and carriers fared during the holiday shopping season awaits collection and analysis. Various firms will report their definitive views in late January, early February.Based on Compete Inc.’s measure of online shopping in November, as …

It’s hard to imagine, but people are more connected to their television than ever before. Countless TV shows have adopted participation characteristics that make fans interaction with their favorite shows all the more possible – if they so desire.Premium SMS …

NOKIA CORP.’S DIRECT-TO-CONSUMER EFFORT suffered yet another growing pain as the company again pushed back the launch of its mobile gaming service. The world’s No. 1 handset maker postponed the release of the highly touted N-Gage platform until early 2008. …

SPRINT NEXTEL CORP. HAS TAKEN THE HEAD of its wireline spinoff back into the wireless fold, tapping Embarq Corp. Chairman, President and CEO Dan Hesse to become the wireless operator’s new president and CEO.Hesse, 54, has served as the leader …

Palm Inc. almost looks like two companies these days, depending on which way the light strikes.Palm is focused on keeping the productivity-based Treo line from slipping into irrelevance, while it experiments with form factors and features for a future in …

Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. announced it will provide handsets to MetroPCS Communications Inc., making it the second Chinese handset vendor this month to do so.Huawei’s M318 handset, a clamshell model, is the first in what is expected to be an …

Read all about it!A Swedish newspaper is offering its daily edition via mobile phone. Dagens Nyheter subscribers can purchase a Nokia Corp. 6120 phone through the newspaper’s Web site, sign up for a $31-per-month service plan and then surf the …

Editor’s Note: The following are the stories that had the biggest impact on the wireless industry in 2007, as chosen by the RCR Wireless News editorial staff. 1. Jan. 15 issueApple Inc. introduces the iPhone. 2. Feb. 19 issueAT&T Mobility …

America has fallen in love with text messaging. More than 28.8 billion text messages are sent per month, according to figures from CTIA. And nearly everyone knows someone who knows someone who sends 15,000 texts a month. (Usually that someone …

The Federal Communications Commission should be a big hit again in 2008, provoking lots of colorfully caustic cacophony rivaling only that gushing from the presidential campaign and the deepening fallout of the mortgage-credit crisis.It will be not so much what …

The pieces continue to fall in and out of place in the ever-evolving wireless world, but it now appears the many changes – from the subtle to the spectacular emergence of Apple Inc.’s iPhone, Google Inc. and open access – …

Many of the sexiest offerings in mobile content will continue to struggle to take flight in 2008. Wireless video will slowly gain steam in the United States, thanks largely to Qualcomm Inc.’s MediaFLO service, but carriers still must find the …

While we won’t know for a couple of weeks how specific wireless carriers did during the holiday season, it is safe to assume as a whole they did pretty well. It was rare to pass a carrier-branded wireless store and …

The WiMAX Forum has opened its first, and lead, lab to formally test and evaluate mobile WiMAX products for certification. With the lab now open for submissions, certified mobile WiMAX products are projected to hit the commercial market in the …

In the Dec. 17 issue of the newspaper in a speculation piece on why Clearwire stock was increasing (page 20), it should have been noted that Raymond James and Associates did not think American Tower was a likely buyer of …

In the Dec. 17 issue of RCR Wireless News, Leap Wireless International Inc.’s new rate plans were incorrectly characterized in a page 7 story. The plans are postpaid rate plans.

The ultra-wideband silicon market began to take off in 2007, despite regulatory hurdles that persist worldwide, according to In-Stat.The firm noted the first UWB-enabled notebook computers shipped this year from several major manufacturers. PC peripherals are expected to hit the …

A new report from Visant Strategies predicts the next generation of WiMAX devices will spur both fixed and mobile growth for the 802.16 industry.The report said WiMAX vendors are promoting Wave 2 device advantages, which include multiple-in/multiple-out antenna technology and …

More than 100 million recycled handsets are expected to be shipped in 2012, generating more than $3 billion in revenue, according to a study from ABI Research.Demand for recycled handsets is being driven by shorter handset replacement periods, growing demand …

Below are RCR Wireless News’ 10 biggest stories of the year. These are the stories that rocked the industry in 2007, and set the groundwork for the future of wireless. 1. iCANDY iPhone looks tempting, but users have to wait …

Chip maker Broadcom Corp. confirmed it complained last month to the U.S. International Trade Commission, alleging that Qualcomm Inc. is violating the ITC’s ban on importing, testing or marketing chips using Broadcom’s “983” patent.Qualcomm has endeavored to find a “workaround” …