2007

AT&T Mobility could pay up to $76 million in back taxes and legal fees as part of a tax settlement with Missouri cities that won preliminary approval by a state judge in St. Louis. The proposed settlement between AT&T Mobility …

Leap Wireless International Inc. said that it plans to acquire Hargray Communications Group Inc.’s wireless operations for $30 million, expanding Leap’s Cricket service into Savannah, Ga. and Hilton Head, S.C.The deal includes Hargray’s 15 megahertz spectrum license, wireless network and …

The following list includes venture capital and other investments into wireless companies announced during the past week. The value of the investment is included when available.–E-Band: Reliance Technology Ventures Ltd. led a $10 million Series B funding round into E-Band …

Cartoon Network has inked a partnership with Smashing Ideas to develop and distribute a variety of Cartoon Network-branded mobile games, animated screensavers and wallpapers. Verizon Wireless is the first operator on board to carry the catalog, beginning today.Smashing Ideas will …

The following list includes ratings changes and financial information for wireless companies announced this week by investment-banking and financial-services firms.Handset and infrastructure vendors –RBC Capital Markets lowered its price target on Palm Inc. after the company warned its second-quarter results …

Comverse Inc. said it is teaming with Jamba to power an off-deck ringback tone service for T-Mobile Germany.The carrier will employ Comverse’s Fun Broker, an off-deck service that allows content providers to sell ringback tones directly through their portals. The …

Public-interest and consumer groups asked the Federal Communications Commission to forbid mobile-phone operators from discriminatory interference with text messaging.“For many people, texting has replaced calling as a way of keeping in touch,” said Gigi Sohn, president and co-founder of Public …

Mobile Complete launched an application that gives Web surfers the opportunity to try out various handsets before buying them. The interactive, consumer-focused Web program, called “TryPhone,” builds off the company’s DeviceAnywhere suite of products, which gives application developers and others …

The federal government estimates that one of every eight American homes uses only mobile phones for communications.The data comes from the National Health Interview Survey, which was conducted between January and June of this year by the Centers for Disease …

First comes the technology, then come the devices. Just eight months after Mobile-Pedestrian-Handheld Technology was announced to enable local broadcasters to deliver digital signals to portable TV screens, Kenwood USA Corp. has harnessed the technology to design a mobile TV …

For Apple Inc., it’s all about control and making money. Factor that into your reading of the tea leaves on the news that Apple has quietly raised the limit on iPhone purchases from two back to five.The blogosphere has cogitated …

The Federal Communications Commission’s relaxation of the small-business bidding rule for the commercial-public safety D-Block license in the upcoming 700 MHz auction has come under another attack, this time by the same parties that have entangled the agency in auction-related …

Sprint Nextel Corp. and broadcast groups told federal regulators that 2 GHz relocation challenges associated with the 800 MHz rebanding effort can be resolved five months sooner than expected.The Federal Communications Commission last month directed stakeholders-including Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile USA …

Virgin Mobile USA Inc. said it deployed a product from Telespree Communications that automates the mobile virtual network operator’s handset programming process via over-the-air technology.“With Telespree, we focused on the device programming process, eliminating manual entry and any associated errors, …

Editor’s Note: Welcome to On the Margins, a feature for RCR Wireless News’ weekly e-mail service, Mobile Content and Culture. Every week, the RCR Wireless News staff considers events in the wider business world and how they could affect the …

The worldwide mobile music market will ring up $11 billion in annual revenues by 2011, according to a study released last week by the U.K. firm Understanding & Solutions Ltd. Meanwhile, IDC predicts the global market for wireless devices will …

Smith Micro Software Inc. announced it will acquire PCTEL’s Mobility Solutions Group for $59.7 million, the company announced. PCTEL’s mobile division offers a range of software that allows users to roam among networks including 3G, Wi-Fi, WiMAX and VoIP. The …

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.CellularChina: China Mobile Group Beijing Ltd. …

Editor’s Note: Welcome to Yay or Nay, a feature for RCR Wireless News’ weekly e-mail service, Mobile Content and Culture. Every week we’ll review a new wireless application or service from the user’s point of view, with the goal of …

Editor’s Note: Welcome to Reality Check, a feature for RCR Wireless News’ new weekly e-mail service, Mobile Content and Culture. We’ve gathered a group of visionaries and veterans in the mobile content industry to give their insights into the marketplace. …

MetroPCS Communications Inc. inked a three-and-a-half year contract extension with Alcatel-Lucent, which covers the buildout of the flat-rate carrier’s AWS spectrum holdings in seven major metropolitan areas. Financial terms of the deal were not revealed.MetroPCS scored the new markets through …

CompUSA, a leading consumer electronics retailer and purveyor of unlocked mobile phones, is going out of business, the company announced. The announcement did not cite a reason for CompUSA’s sale. But the electronics retailer, founded in 1984 in Dallas, had …

T-Mobile USA Inc. continues to expand its lineup of handsets serving the carrier’s HotSpot @ Home service, with the new Katalyst from Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. The quad-band, EDGE slider handset is priced at $80 with a mail-in rebate and …

Microsoft Corp. has jumped into the mobile advertising fray. MSN Mobile customers in the United States will begin seeing banner and text advertisements as soon as today.Microsoft said the ads will all conform to the Mobile Marketing Association’s mobile advertising …

Editor’s Note: Welcome to our Monday feature, Analyst Angle. We’ve collected a group of the industry’s leading analysts to give their outlook on the hot topics in the wireless industry. In the coming weeks look for columns from Jupiter Research’s …