2007

With substantial growth expected to come from the prepaid wireless market, national carriers are beginning to pay more attention to the one-time red-headed stepchild of the coveted postpaid customer. Analyst Fedor Smith of Atlantic-ACM said that as wireless has become …

The Bush administration’s top telecom advisor John Kneuer is stepping down later this month, ending a rocky tenure characterized by the Democratic-led Congress’ intense oversight of major public-safety, spectrum-reform and digital TV programs.Kneuer has headed the National Telecommunications and Information …

Leap Wireless International Inc.’s stock took a major hit this morning. The flat-rate wireless carrier, which until recently had been courted by MetroPCS Communications Inc. with an unsolicited $5.1 billion merger bid, released preliminary financial results for the third quarter …

Wireless broadband service provider Clearwire Corp.’s losses widened substantially during the third quarter, with higher revenues more than offset by a $159 million charge related to the refinancing of some of Clearwire’s debt.The company reported a net loss of nearly …

Shares of InPhonic Inc. continued their free-fall as the online wireless retailer filed for Chapter 11 protection and said it will sell “substantially all” of its assets to Versa Capital Management, a Philadelphia-based private-equity firm.InPhonic operates white-label customer service sites …

Qualcomm Inc.’s earnings in the fiscal fourth quarter and full year showed year-on-year improvements, but a modest outlook for the fiscal first quarter sent its shares down around 6% in after-hours trading. The stock was down around 3% this morning.The …

The best part of Google’s “Android” announcement last week? Why, the name of course. How awesome is it that a giant company like Google used the term android for its wireless phone plans? Very awesome. Though some of us on …

CinemaElectric Inc. is quickly finding its groove in the mobile video space. With more than half of its content produced in-house, the company has inked deals with 90 carriers in more than 50 countries to bring its programming to the …

Embattled Pakistani President-General-Censor-in-Chief Pervez Musharraf has his hands full these days with all those loud, disagreeable lawyers and that headstrong, trouble-making female politician. Kind of reminds you of the domestic pre-2008 presidential election scene. It’s uncertain just how long President …

So let me start out with a caveat: I only understand open access from the “regular person” point of view. I’m not an engineer or a Washington insider, I’m just some guy who has a cellphone and is relatively knowledgeable …

The Federal Communications Commission’s revised roaming rules may have exacerbated an already divisive industry issue, with warring carriers challenging new guidelines and feuding over the possibility of their extension to wireless broadband service providers. The FCC’s Aug. 7 decision concluded …

You’ve undoubtedly noticed, with pleasure, that the telescoping, whip antenna of yore has long ago disappeared inside the increasingly sleek device you slip into your pocket. Technology is supposed to be invisible. Out-of-sight, out-of-mind is fine for the consumer, blissfully …

Federal regulators appear poised to take actions that could enable Globalstar Inc. to integrate terrestrial wireless facilities in most of its mobile satellite service frequencies and allow Iridium Satellite L.L.C. to share more of Globalstar’s MSS frequencies, possible outcomes that …

With the launch of WiMAX trial markets just weeks away, Sprint Nextel Corp. says it is re-examining its WiMAX business plans and has abandoned a partnership with Clearwire Corp. intended to promote a faster, cheaper deployment of the technology by …

T-Mobile USA Inc. added 857,000 net subscribers to its network during the third quarter, numbers primarily driven by the carrier’s prepaid offering. The carrier had added 802,000 net subscribers during the third quarter of last year, but a higher percentage …

Sprint Nextel Corp. announced it will pro-rate its early termination fees for customers, the last of the four national wireless carriers to do so.Sprint Nextel’s move comes on the heels of T-Mobile USA Inc.’s announcement yesterday that it will begin …

Tellabs Inc. announced that Krish Prabhu plans to resign as president and CEO by March 1, 2008. Prabhu, 53, has served in the positions at Tellabs since 2004. Tellabs’ stock fell more than 4% to $7.69 following the news.“The Tellabs …

Towerstream Corp.’s stock slipped a little more than 4% to $2.50 per share after the company reported a net loss of $1.75 million for the third quarter. Revenues for the quarter just barely surpassed the overall loss the company suffered. …

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 RCRNews.com to rant and rave about whatever rubs …

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. awarded its $600 million media-buying account to Publicis Groupe’s Starcom, according to executives familiar with the situation. Starcom prevailed in a review that also included WPP Group’s MindShare, which handled media duties in about 60 markets, …

Nortel Networks Corp. stock jumped 18% to $19.40 yesterday when the infrastructure vendor reported earnings of $27 million during the third quarter, up from the $63 million it lost in the year-ago period. The stock leveled off this morning at …

As the pace of convergence quickens, Nokia Corp. cut a deal with wireless telecom giant Vodafone Group plc to integrate mutual service offerings designed to grab eyes, ears and wallets-as competitors from within and without the wireless industry rapidly move …

Like rival Nokia Corp., Sony Ericsson is stepping up its direct-to-consumer content business.The London-based handset manufacturer said it will expand its PlayNow business, adding a song-identification application and “millions of music tracks and thousands of mastertones from both major and …

T-Mobile USA Inc. jumped on the bandwagon for a more consumer-friendly wireless service contract, announcing plans to begin pro-rating early termination fees in the first half of 2008. The changes will affect new customers and current customers who renew their …

American Tower Corp. brought in $59.6 million in profits during the third quarter thanks to a 10% increase in total revenue from the year-ago period, the company announced.The company also raised its guidance for 2007 based on increased revenues. American …