2007

Verizon Wireless and NBC Universal have expanded on their already far-reaching relationship to offer customers access to the network’s entire suite of channels on Verizon’s Vcast video. Starting today, Verizon customers with Vcast-enabled devices will have on-demand access to NBC …

SunCom Wireless Inc. posted shaky results for the second quarter. The rural carrier showed improvements in its average revenue per user, but its churn rate was up, its losses increased and it suffered from troubles in its customer base due …

Alcatel-Lucent reported $5.93 billion in revenues for the second quarter of 2007, marking a 4% decline from the year-ago quarter. The company’s stock slid more than 11% on news that it reported a net loss of almost $803 million.“2007 is …

AT&T Mobility is teaming with independent distributor eMusic to add over-the-air downloads to its mobile music offering.The carrier introduced a $7.50 monthly subscription service that includes five over-the-air, DRM-free tunes and duplicate copies for PC downloads. Subscribers can buy additional …

As a service shut-off deadline looms, Amp’d Mobile Inc. customers now have an out: Prexar Mobile, a small mobile virtual network operator managed by a nationwide CLEC, signed a deal to acquire Amp’d Mobile’s customers. Prexar is hoping the boost …

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–Serbia: Telekom Srbija has chosen Nokia …

Mobile phone service Buzzwire launched its beta service, the company announced. The company lets users create a lineup of video and audio feeds from local, national, international news, traffic, weather, sports and entertainment to play on their mobile phones.Buzzwire is …

It’s been a tough couple of weeks in the mobile content space.Crown Castle International Corp. fled the nascent mobile TV market last week, absorbing a $10 million hit as it shut down its Modeo business and agreeing to lease the …

Editor’s Note: Welcome to On the Margins, a feature for RCR Wireless News’ new 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 …

Editor’s Note: Welcome to Yay or Nay, a feature for RCR Wireless News’ new 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 …

T-Mobile USA Inc. pared down the number of business plans offered on its Web site, eliminating price points of $40 and $50 a month. The two axed plans offered 600 and 1,000 minutes, respectively, and were at the low end …

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. …

Congress approved legislation that frees up $43.5 million for upgrades to 911 call centers. The measure, included in the 9/11 Commission Recommendations bill and funded by proceeds from the upcoming 700 MHz auction, is now headed to the White House.Under …

Whether Jose Trujillo of Melrose Park, Ill., will find support among fellow iPhone owners-or a court of law in Cook County, Ill.-for his just-launched lawsuit against Apple Inc. and AT&T Inc. over the need to have the unit’s rechargeable battery …

Despite the widely recognized success of Amp’d Mobile Inc.’s large portfolio of original content, a source at the company has told RCR Wireless News that less than 1% of the company’s $360 million total budget was spent on such endeavors.This …

T-Mobile USA Inc. ran into temporary trouble with prepaid top-up service late last week, but said that most of the problems were resolved by Sunday. According to carrier spokesman Peter Dobrow, the company discovered an issue on Thursday “stemming from …

In the Byzantine world of handset pricing, intrigue is the name of the game. What to read into the latest handset price gyrations? Our guess: largely price cuts to pique consumer interest during the coming dog days of summer. AT&T …

On-device portal developer Action Engine Corp. picked up $20 million in a funding round led by Baker Capital. On-device portals, or ODPs, are middleware applications that can store a limited amount of cached information on a handset. The technology allows …

Dear Editor,After Hurricane Katrina devastated southern Mississippi in 2005, more than $110 billion in federal assistance poured into the region, spurring reconstruction. Yet most funds needed for this rebuilding-which remains ongoing-are coming from private sources.Gulf Coast reconstruction efforts underscore the …

Verizon Wireless announced a $2.67 billion deal to acquire Rural Cellular Corp., one of the nation’s largest rural carriers. The agreement will add RCC’s 700,000 customers to Verizon Wireless’ base-which currently stands at 62.1 million-and will expand the No. 2 …

Cellphone users in the United States access weather content more than any other news and information data, while European users prefer sports content, said M:Metrics.News content ranked second among subscribers in both the United States and Europe. Among other categories, …

Cellular backhaul is one area cable network operators are examining as an alternative revenue stream, according to ABI Research.In order to supplement their income from residential video services, cable operators are looking for opportunities in voice telephony, broadband data services, …

Investors and analysts punished AOL L.L.C. for being late to the party when it scrapped its subscription model last year in favor of online advertising. When it comes to mobile, though, the Time Warner subsidiary may arrive in the nick …

Embarq Corp., the spinoff company encompassing Sprint Nextel Corp.’s wireline operations, continued to see a decline in access lines but added 18,000 new wireless subscribers during the quarter to reach a customer base of almost 90,000 subscribers.The company reported that …

In the “Apple set to invade Europe” story on page 14 of this week’s issue, it should read that Apple will unveil a European partner for the iPhone as well as hit its goal of 1 million devices during the …