2008

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – Calling mobile the most personal platform to date and one that advertisers need to capitalize on soon to keep pace with the rapidly evolving convergence of mobile and advertising, Brian Cowley, president and CEO of Ad …

Virgin Mobile USA Inc. expanded its Sugar Mama program with a new application for Facebook users.The mobile virtual network operator unveiled “Fund My Phone,” a feature that allows users to earn up to 75 minutes of calling time per month …

Leap Wireless International Inc. tweaked the calling plans for its Cricket service, adding some once-optional features and rolling out once-geographically limited plans to more markets. The company said it has added unlimited text messaging to Mexico for some of its …

Embarq Holding Co. L.L.C.’s CFO Gene Betts confirmed the company’s plans to wind down its wireless offering that currently runs on former parent Sprint Nextel Corp.’s network. Betts, speaking at a Morgan Stanley investor conference yesterday, noted the company is …

Alltel Corp. has committed to LTE as its technological choice for a 4G network, but any significant network upgrades are still three to five years out, the company said on a conference call with investors after releasing financial results from …

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group; the GSM Association; the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor; and the UK’s Department for International Development are organizing the first mobile money summit in Cairo.

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 RCRWirelessNews.com to rant and rave about whatever rubs …

Now that online banking has been around for more than a decade, and widely accepted by customers, banks are turning their attention to taking the show on the road.

Enterprises are starting to use the BlackBerry in a new way: as a means of taking their desk phones mobile.

New government data suggests wireless substitution continues to rise, a trend that could become a bigger factor in telecom policymaking. The preliminary results of the National Health Interview Survey, conducted under the auspices of the Centers for Disease Control and …

The Federal Communications Commission today launched a wide-ranging proceeding to revamp D-Block rules, an effort that will not only examine changes to the national public safety/commercial license left stranded in the 700 MHz auction but also consider whether the public-private …

Whenever two fierce competitors talk collaboration, people listen.That’s the case with today’s announcement that Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and LG Electronics Co. Ltd. will jointly pursue a mobile/handheld, digital TV standard for North America’s broadcast TV industry. The two companies …

Google Inc.’s Open Handset Alliance has attracted plenty of attention in the mobile Linux space, but the LiMo Foundation is assembling an impressive coalition of its own.Verizon Wireless has thrown its weight behind the open-source community, filling the final seat …

Following much speculation, Virgin Mobile USA Inc. confirmed today that it is in “preliminary discussions” with SK Telecom to “explore possible strategic opportunities.” Those opportunities are expected to include a possible merging of Virgin Mobile USA and SK Telecom-controlled mobile …

Trango Broadband Wireless said it won a five-year contract with the U.S. General Services Administration. Being awarded a GSA contract streamlines the process for various government agencies that use Trango products.The value of the contract was not announced.Specifically, Trango will …

Qualcomm Inc. said it demonstrated the capability to support the MediaFLO and ISDB-T mobile TV standards on a multimode handset.The demonstration was powered by Qualcomm’s Universal Broadcast Modem chipset.Qualcomm said the demonstration illustrates that its MediaFLO technology can complement ISDB-T …

The worldwide service provider switching and routing equipment market grew 25% during the first quarter to $3.1 billion, according to analyst firm Ovum RHK.“There were no significant market share movements in 1Q08,” said Mark Seery, VP at Ovum. “Alcatel-Lucent returned …

Wireless gaming company Mpowerplayer and mobile-content transaction company Movaya said they have paired their products to drive mobile game sales.The agreement calls for Mpowerplayer to integrate Movaya’s PlugNPlay purchasing solution into its desktop arcade offering. Aces Texas Hold’em Limit and …

Verizon Business has captured one of the largest federal network deals of 2008: a 10-year contract to provide managed network and security services to the US Department of Homeland Security that is valued at $678.5 million.

Sixteen percent of workers across the world are “hyperconnected” – using a minimum of seven devices for work and personal access plus at least nine applications like IM, text messaging , Web conferencing and social networks, according to a recent …

DUBAI — The cost of making mobile phone calls across the Middle East is expected to drop soon as service providers using the infrastructure of licensed operators are beginning to enter the region.

The following list includes ratings changes and financial information for wireless companies announced this week by investment-banking and financial-services firms.Carrier–Lehman Brothers lowered its EPS estimates on Sprint Nextel to break even from 42 cents for 2008 and to 18 cents …

With an aging population there’s going to be bundles more cash to splash on health care in years to come, if you believe UK regulator Ofcom and this year’s edition of its future technology report, the Wireless World of Tomorrow.

EarthLink Inc. announced it will be shutting down its municipal Wi-Fi network in Philadelphia in 30 days, handing yet another black mark to the once-burgeoning market for muni Wi-Fi.After months of negotiations, Earthlink said the parties involved couldn’t even reach …

Fresh off a seven-party deal to form a new, and much larger company under its name, Clearwire Corp. reported more than $176 million in losses during the first quarter of the year as it expanded its fixed high-speed wireless network …