January 2007

Mitec Telecom, a Canadian firm that designs and sells radio-frequency products for the telecom industry, is closing its U.S. operations in an attempt to return to profitability. The company also announced a strategic alliance with Reno, Nev.-based Broadband Wireless L.L.C. …

Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications L.P., the world’s fastest-growing mobile handset maker, announced it will work with Flextronics International Ltd. and Foxconn to make 10 million handsets in India within two years.The news of Sony Ericsson’s ardent pursuit of market share-in …

Comverse Technology Inc. and its spinoff Verint said they will be delisted from the Nasdaq exchange after failing to meet financial reporting requirements.Comverse, which develops voicemail software and other communications technology, has become delinquent in its filings as it investigates …

W-CDMA technology will enjoy “exceptional” growth over the next several years, according to research firm Dell’Oro Group, expansion that will come at the expense of CDMA technology.“While growth in W-CDMA remains tepid in the short term, we remain confident in …

Direct-to-consumer content provider Thumbplay Inc. expanded its music portfolio through a new pact with EMI Music.Thumbplay sells ringtones, games and text-based services from its online storefront through both a la carte and subscription models. The company said the deal includes …

Sprint Nextel Corp. announced it will use technology from mFormation Technologies Inc. to remotely provision, configure, diagnose and manage its cellphones. The deal is notable for mFormation, one of a number of companies competing in the market for firmware over …

Headset maker Jabra will move its offices from Lombard, Ill., to Nashua, N.H., as part of a consolidation of the company’s operations with those of its parent company GN Netcom.The company could cut up to 20 jobs as part of …

Mobile payment company Obopay announced it bought BillMonk, a company that provides “social money” services. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.The companies said social money includes transactions that encompass shared consumer experiences, such as splitting a check at dinner, …

The telematics sector could be on the brink of worldwide growth thanks to better wireless networks, devices and operating systems, according to new research from Visant Strategies.The study predicts the use of telematics services and applications will increase sharply into …

Cingular Wireless L.L.C. customers who have push-to-talk phones now have the ability to use the service on an a la carte basis for 15 cents per minute. The carrier said nine of its PTT handsets can immediately begin accessing the …

Mobile content and community were the hot topics during the opening day of Demo, a semi-annual conference designed to highlight emerging technologies and new products.GoWare Inc., an Arizona-based developer, used Demo 07 to launch a service that allows users to …

Wireless broadband service provider Clearwire Corp. named Scott Richardson its new chief strategy officer.Richardson joins Clearwire from Intel Corp. where he was vice president of the company’s Mobility Group and general manager of its Service Provider Business Group. In those …

MyxerT announced the launch of its MyxerMagicT, a free Internet browser extension that lets users send any online image to their mobile phone directly from their desktop computer.The extension, which is available at www.myxermagic.com, eliminates the need for file downloads, …

Mobile content behemoth Buongiorno Vitaminic is expanding its video offerings with the $1.3 million acquisition of Inventa, a London-based mobile video production agency.Buongiorno, which operates a host of direct-to-consumer storefronts around the world under the Blinko brand, hopes to target …

Cingular Wireless L.L.C. is one of three companies that has settled disputes surrounding online advertising practices in the state of New York. The wireless carrier agreed to pay $35,000 under terms of the settlement, according to media reports.New York Attorney …

Regional telecommunications provider Ntelos Holdings Corp. said it added 9,773 wireless customers in the fourth quarter of 2006, an increase of 18 percent from the same period in 2005 and up 35 percent sequentially.The company, which provides wireless, wireline telephone …

Sprint Nextel Corp. increased its estimates for the speed of its CDMA2000 1x EV-DO Revision A network, and expanded coverage in several markets including Miami, Fla.; Portland, Ore.; and Puerto Rico.The carrier said that it has been monitoring the network …

On the heels of a phone launch it declared a “linchpin” in its efforts to maintain high-value iDEN subscribers while migrating them to its CDMA network, Sprint Nextel Corp. cut the online price of one of its CDMA/iDEN dual-mode phones …

Carl Icahn wants a seat on the board of directors at Motorola Inc., the company acknowledged in a statement.Icahn and business interests he controls own more than 33 million shares of Motorola stock, about 1.4 percent of the company’s outstanding …

A U.S. District Court jury on Friday found that Broadcom Corp. did not infringe on two Qualcomm Inc. patents for digital video compression used in high-definition set-top cable and satellite television boxes, as the latter had claimed. The jury also …

Virgin Mobile USA L.L.C. is sweetening the deal for its young consumers who are looking to trade their spare time for airtime by adding several new names to its list of mobile advertisers looking to be Sugar Mamas.Virgin Mobile USA’s …

The art of the “announcement” appears to couple specific news with vague hints at future products. Announcements can reassure investors and analysts and seek to intimidate competitors while keeping one’s own product plans under wraps.Thus Motorola Inc. and Texas Instruments …

The Hyperfactory is expanding its mobile advertising offerings with an ad-buying network designed to generate marketing messages across wireless applications.The New Zealand-based outfit hopes to offer a one-stop shop for companies looking to tout their brands on the wireless Web, …

T-Mobile USA Inc. didn’t do as well during 2006’s fourth quarter as it did in 2005, seeing a substantial drop in the number of net new customers that it brought in during the industry’s biggest-selling quarter.T-Mobile USA said it added …

Nokia Corp. and Siemens AG announced they are moving forward on their network equipment joint venture after an investigation into financial irregularities at Siemens’ telecom unit delayed the closing of the deal.The companies will start sharing the proposed product portfolio …