February 2009

The GSM Association said the worldwide wireless industry has reached the 4 billionth connection mark on its way to a predicted 6 billion connections by 2013. The association said growth is being driven by the integration of mobile into previously …

New app stores and smartphone platforms are dominating the news out of Mobile World Congress this week, but it’s a quiet little mobile marketing initiative U.S. carriers will be monitoring closely in coming weeks.Europe’s GSM Association is leading a group …

BARCELONA, Spain – The world’s handset makers pulled out all the stops this year in their attempts to grab attention and generate interest in their products. At this year’s Mobile World Congress trade show, Nokia Corp., LG Electronics Co. Ltd., …

Femtocells are just starting to hit the wireless market, but considerable momentum is building for the technology to play a key role when carriers start to deploy LTE networks.More than 18 wireless providers said they are planning to deploy LTE …

With Sprint Nextel Corp. continuing to struggle, rumors have been flying regarding possible extreme measures the industry’s No. 3 carrier might have to take to right the ship. One that popped up in the Kansas Business Journal had the carrier …

After years of treading water and failing to live up to outlandish hype, mobile games finally may be starting to make progress. And it’s the Apple’s iPhone – and, to a lesser extent, other multimedia-friendly smartphones – that’s moving the …

BARCELONA, Spain – Verizon Wireless fleshed out its LTE plans by naming its network suppliers and setting a commercial launch date of 2010. The company, which plans to initially use its 700 MHz spectrum for the buildout, did not say …

The GSM Association announced the winners of its 14th Annual Global Mobile Awards at a gala dinner this week in Barcelona.Comedian Michael McIntyre hosted the event at the National Palace.Among the winners were Gameloft for best mobile game with its …

Gemalto, NXP and Infineon are demonstrating a mobile contactless solution that will allow customers to use their mobile phone for a variety of services, including payment and access, across various locations.The companies are showcasing the solution this week at Mobile …

Microsoft Corp. and Gemalto have paired up to offer Windows Live Messenger services to consumers through a new client application that will come pre-installed on SIM cards.The SIMessenger application from Gemalto is certified by Microsoft.Gemalto said users will have a …

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–Lehman Bros. raised its 2010 EPS estimate on Research In Motion to $3.48 from $3.45 after the company …

The Securities and Exchange Commission today settled charges alleging that Research in Motion Ltd. Co-CEO James Balsillie and other senior executives backdated millions of stock options from 1998 through 2006.“As alleged in our complaint, RIM and its highest level executives …

With the purchase of a new mobile phone comes a new charger, leaving a consumer left with an old charger that has little use.The GSM Association and a group of leading wireless providers and manufacturers are aiming to change that …

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has donated $12.5 million to back an effort to bring cheap mobile financial services to people in developing markets.The Mobile Money for the Unbanked (MMU) program seeks to work with carriers, banks, microfinance institutions, …

Since the settlement last year that ended the industry’s highest-profile cross-licensing battle, Nokia Corp. and Qualcomm Inc. have been expected to cozy up. Now it’s official. Nokia, the world’s largest handset maker, and Qualcomm, the world’s leading wireless chip maker, …

Cisco Systems said it is extending its WebEx client software to a host of smartphones.The online conferencing service is now available on BlackBerry models the Bold, Storm and Curve 8900, the company said, as well as the Samsung Blackjack II …

Cricket Communications Inc. continues its nationwide rollout with its Chicago launch today, bringing its total covered pops to 77.5 million. The carrier, parented by Leap Wireless International Inc., is scheduled to double its covered pops this year. Cricket recently launched …

Sprint Nextel Corp., which continues to wedge itself in as the cheaper wireless solution, has put two of its popular plans together and taken $10 off the total price.The carrier announced its new offering, Simply Everything + Mobile Broadband, which …

The GSM Association and five European carriers are hoping to spur mobile marketing with a common system for measuring activity on the wireless Web.Orange, T-Mobile International, Telefonica, Vodafone and 3 are behind an effort to share “anonymized” user data with …

MySpace said it is overhauling its mobile site in an effort to grow its base of 20 million wireless users.The popular social networking destination will launch an updated version of its wireless site later this week, adding new user interface …

Yahoo Inc. unveiled an overhauled mobile portal that it hopes will become “your starting point to the Internet.”The company launched a beta version of Yahoo Mobile, a wireless Web destination that combines existing Yahoo offerings oneSearch, oneConnect and onePlace as …

BARCELONA, Spain – AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega used his Mobile World Congress keynote speech here to plead industry leaders for a common set of applications and application programming interfaces. De la Vega’s comments were notable in that …

BARCELONA, Spain – Vodafone and HTC Corp. announced they will sell the world

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–Indonesia: Telkomsel chose Nokia Siemens Networks …

Editor’s Note: Welcome to our weekly Reality Check column. We’ve gathered a group of visionaries and veterans in the mobile industry to give their insights into the marketplace. Ever since the huge turn out last Fall in Chicago for the …