Editor’s Note: RCR Wireless News goes all in for “Throwback Thursdays,” tapping into our archives to resuscitate the top headlines from the past. Fire up the time machine, put on the sepia-tinted shades, set the date for #TBT and enjoy the memories!
Sprint and Nextel announce their $35 billion merger
Following months of speculation that increased in intensity during the past several days, Sprint Corp. and Nextel Communications Inc. reported a deal this morning to combine their operations into what the two telecom providers call a $35 billion “merger of equals.” The newly formed Sprint Nextel operations will serve more than 35 million customers, including Sprint PCS’ 2.8 million resale customers, and strengthen Sprint’s current position as the nation’s third-largest wireless operator behind Cingular Wireless L.L.C. and Verizon Wireless. The carriers also said the new company would operate networks covering approximately 262 million potential customers, with analysts estimating an average of 59 megahertz of spectrum in most of the nation’s top markets. The merger, which is expected to close during the second half of next year, calls for Sprint and Nextel shareholders to each own half of the new operation. Each current Sprint share will be exchanged for a new share in Sprint Nextel and each current Nextel share would be exchanged for a cash/stock combination equal to 1.3 shares of Sprint Nextel. Sprint Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Gary Forsee will become president and CEO of Sprint Nextel, while Nextel President and CEO Tim Donahue will be chairman of the new operation. Other executive appointments include Sprint President and Chief Operating Officer Len Lauer serving as COO of Sprint Nextel; Nextel Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Paul Saleh serving as CFO of Sprint Nextel; Nextel Executive VP and COO Tom Kelly will be Sprint Nextel’s chief strategy officer; and current Nextel executive VP and Chief Technology Officer Barry West will be CTO of the new operation. … Read more
Verizon releases its first EV-DO phone, and more ’04 handsets
Industry witnessed the release of three unique, advanced handsets from the likes of Verizon Wireless, NTT DoCoMo Inc. and startup Mobiado, a division of Bonac Innovation Corp., which today released a $1,200 GSM camera phone built from aircraft aluminum. First up is Verizon Wireless, which released its first CDMA EV-DO device. The carrier’s new XV6600 wireless personal digital assistant features Microsoft Corp.’s operating system, 64 MB ROM and 128 MB RAM, Bluetooth and a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. UTStarcom Personal Communications, formerly Audiovox Communications Corp., built the device, which uses Intel Corp.’s XScale and Qualcomm Inc.’s MSM5500 chipset. Verizon is selling the phone through its national account sales team for $550 with a two-year service plan. Separately, DoCoMo released its new N900iG FOMA 3G handset, which can roam across more than 100 countries, such as the United States. DoCoMo said the advanced, clamshell-style phone can work on either W-CDMA or GSM networks from the likes of Cingular Wireless L.L.C., Orange plc, Hutchison, Telecom Italia Mobile and others. Users can access standard DoCoMo applications like i-mode information and i-appli Java applications when they roam. … Read more
Swedish survey of handset hazards includes … tight jeans?
MOLNLYCKE, Sweden-According to a recent retailer survey in Sweden, the second-leading cause of broken mobile phones is squeezing them too hard in a pair of tight pants. The survey, conducted by phone case vendor Krusell International AB, found the leading cause of broken phones is dropping the phones on the ground, followed by tight pants. The company surveyed 300 Swedish mobile-phone retail outlets to determine the most common ways people break their mobile phones. Aside from dropping the phone and squeezing it in a pair of tight pants, the survey found other most common accidents included … Read more
Encyclopaedia Britannica comes to your phone!
BURLINGTON, Vt.-SkyZone Entertainment and Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc. have partnered to launch Britannica Mobile, which makes 28,000 entries available to mobile-phone users. The service will be available next year on all major North American carriers, said the company. The service will also include Britannica’s This Day in History feature. “We’re always looking for new ways to get information to people wherever they need it,” said Patti Ginnis, senior vice president with Encyclopaedia Britannica. … Read more
Mobile phone calls on a plane?
WASHINGTON-Airplanes soon could lose their distinction as being one of the few places where a person cannot be reached by a wireless device due to decisions last week to re-auction 800 MHz band air-to-ground spectrum and a proposal to allow cell-phone use in airplanes. In a split decision, the Federal Communications Commission changed its air-to-ground service rules accepting a plan put forward by SpaceData Corp. “The FCC’s decision ensures that competition will finally be introduced into this service and correctly left to the market the decision as to which competing technologies will be offered to consumers,” said Gerald Knoblach, SpaceData chairman and chief executive officer. “The commission’s plan is flexible and anticipates the inevitable improvements in technology that will be made in the near term and will make possible even more efficient use of limited amounts of spectrum.” SpaceData uses balloons in much the same way antennas are used in the terrestrial world. Under a developmental contract, the Air Force has used SpaceData’s balloons to make voice calls. … Read more
Sprint adds to content options with video clips, streaming audio
Sprint PCS launched two new content services Monday, continuing its lead in the advanced content arena. The carrier announced a radio-like service that will deliver short video clips and six channels of streaming audio to subscribers via their handsets. Music Choice Today, which is available to the carrier’s Vision subscribers for $6 a month, includes a line-up of channels offering pop, country, R&B/hip-hop and rock. The service also features daily video offerings, such as artist interviews and performance clips, as well as a music news service. Music Choice, a Horsham, Pa.-based digital music provider, is teaming with Sprint to deliver Music Choice Today. “Broadcast music is a critical piece of the overall mobile-music puzzle, and in our consumer research is one of the most popular multimedia content categories,” said Clint Wheelock, director of wireless research at consultancy In-Stat MDR. “The launch of the Music Choice service is a significant milestone for Sprint as the company continues its track record of leadership in deploying a broad range of wireless multimedia services.” … Read more
‘Pervasive networking’ is coming
BOONTON, N.J.-Pervasive networking is poised to take the concept of cellular mobility to the next level, according to a new report by Insight Research Corp. Although carriers do not currently offer this type of continuous communication as a service, the parts are already in place, or will be soon, according to Insight’s report “Pervasive Networks: Mobility, Wireless and Wireline Connectivity for Residential and Enterprise Applications, 2005-2009.” Pervasive networks will allow continuous “on” connectivity via a variety of landline and wireless systems, said the report. “This is a big concept to grasp, since it is the logical culmination of the last twenty years of innovations in communications technology,” said Robert Rosenberg, president of Insight Research. … Read more
Check out the RCR Wireless News Archives for more stories from the past.
