January 2007

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 Kuwait: Motorola Inc. said …

Buongiorno S.p.A., one of the leading multinational conglomerates in the mobile content market, announced it entered the Chinese market by way of its acquisition of eDongAsia. The acquisition occurred through Buongiorno Hong Kong Ltd., the company’s joint venture with Mitsui …

Amp’d Mobile has tapped Amdocs’ Qpass digital commerce platform to handle its off-deck content business.The mobile virtual network operator said it will use Amdocs’ centralized digital commerce platform to support third-party offerings such as text messaging, chat, voting, personalization content …

The New York State Racing and Wagering Board adopted a regulation that will allow horse race wagering via the Internet and mobile phones, according to Sona Mobile Holdings Corp., which plans to launch an online wagering platform by the end …

In an attempt to turn around its performance by increasing customers satisfaction, Sprint Nextel Corp. has named a new senior vice president for customer care. Bryan DiGiorgio will “manage all of Sprint Nextel’s business and consumer customer service activities, as …

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. handset shipments in the fourth quarter of last year reflected a nearly 18 percent increase over the year-ago quarter, which the electronics conglomerate credited to sales of its Ultra Edition handsets, particularly the Blackjack smartphone, and …

So long, Cingular. The wireless carrier’s parent company announced that it will begin dismantling the Cingular Wireless L.L.C. brand next week with a series of broadcast TV and print ads proclaiming to consumers that “Cingular is now the new AT&T.”“AT&T …

RBC Capital Markets, a corporate investment bank, completed its acquisition of Daniels & Associates, L.P. today. The merged companies will now operate under the name RBC Daniels.Daniels & Associates is one of the nation’s most active mergers and acquisitions advisors …

Hello!And welcome to our Thursday column, Worst of the Week. There’s a lot of nutty stuff that goes on in this industry, so this column is a chance for us at RCR Wireless News to rant and rave about whatever …

A Global Positioning System service offered by Sprint Nextel Corp. will allow school districts to track the locations of their school bus fleets. The service will also show administrators which pupils are aboard the buses and the stops where they …

It didn’t take Cisco Systems Inc. long to lay its claim to the iPhone brand.Just one day after Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs garnered headlines by showcasing Apple’s upcoming multimedia handset, Cisco filed suit over the iPhone trademark, which it …

Sprint Nextel Corp. plans to revamp its pricing plans, emphasizing its early night-and-weekend off-peak calling and mobile-to-mobile calling among either iDEN or CDMA users. The company said it will launch its new “Power Pack” individual and family plans on Jan. …

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. has become the latest handset vendor to snuggle up with Internet search company Google Inc. with plans to provide Google search, mapping and e-mail applications on its handsets. Samsung made the announcement at the Consumer Electronics …

XE Mobile announced it is introducing Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications L.P.’s Walkman phone for the pay-as-you-go market. The mobile virtual network operator is offering the Sony Ericsson W300 Walkman for $100.The handset supports both MP3 and AAC music files, has …

Handset prices at the major carriers continue to gyrate, week-by-week, suggesting that carriers-like retailers changing their window displays-are perennially in search of the right combination of brand, features and price to lure in new subscribers or retain current subs with …

WASHINGTON-The new Democratic-controlled Congress is already pushing a pair of bills intended to improve public-safety communications interoperability.One initiative, included in a comprehensive bill to implement recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, would create a distinct grant program within the Department of …

The biggest news at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Tuesday morning was the news occurring simultaneously in San Francisco at MacWorld, where the long-awaited Apple Inc. iPhone was announced. Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications executives in Las Vegas, …

Sprint Nextel Corp. plans to target the growing prepaid/sub-prime wireless market by launching an unlimited local calling service through its Boost Mobile L.L.C. sub-brand, CEO Gary Forsee told analysts at a conference hosted by Citigroup. Although Boost has run on …

MTV Networks is partnering with Amp’d Mobile Inc. to produce a made-for-mobile comedy series.The yet-to-be-named program, which is slated to come to market later this year, will be co-produced by Amp’d, MTV franchise Comedy Central and comedy writer and producer …

Embedded security developer Discretix pocketed $20 million in a third round of financing.New investor Sequoia Capital participated in the round, joining backers Accel Partners, Pitango Venture Capital, Genesis Partners, SFK, Poalim Ventures and Eurocom Group. The 7-year-old company said it …

Ringback tones continue to gain traction even as the U.S. ringtone market plateaus, according to new figures from M:Metrics.The market research firm found that the popularity of ringback tones-music clips that a caller hears instead of a traditional ring before …

WASHINGTON-Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) introduced a bill aimed at increasing broadband access by unlocking unused TV spectrum-called white spaces-for Wi-Fi.“At a time when the U.S. is lagging behind much of the world in broadband penetration-and more than 60 percent of …

Mobile virtual network operator XE Mobile has worked out a distribution deal with Office Depot stores, aiming to land college-age customers as they shop for school supplies. “We’re already seeing an increase in sales, proof positive that we have the …

SunCom Wireless Holdings Inc. said it named Bernstein-Rein as its new advertising agency.The regional wireless opertor also appointed Jane Passantino executive director of advertising and brand management. Passantino’s marketing experience includes positions with Gore-Tex, AT&T Corp. and Lucent Technologies Inc.SunCom …

Warner Music Group struck its second mobile deal in as many days, announcing an agreement to distribute videos through MobiTV Inc.The music company said it will offer made-for-mobile videos including artist-created clips from Linkin Park and other Warner acts. The …