LONDON—Groove Mobile is hoping to take its wireless, full-track download service directly to European consumers. The mobile music technology developer said it will step up marketing and business development efforts in England, tapping Jason Binks as its new director of off-portal marketing. Binks’ resume...
LOS ANGELES—Forget about "Tokyo Drift," the latest sequel to "The Fast and the Furious" movie franchise. Now there’s the Helio Drift, a souped-up handset from mobile virtual network operator Helio L.L.C. The Drift, from Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., will be equipped with two new...
SAN DIEGO—Japanese authorities may be the next to look into Qualcomm Inc.’s business practices. The chipmaker said it has been notified by the Japan Fair Trade Commission that the agency may investigate its licensing and chip business practices in Japan. The JFTC didn’t disclose...
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 RCR Wireless News to rant and rave about whatever rubs us the...
PLAINFIELD, Ind.—Investors applauded Brightpoint Inc., sending the company’s stock up more than 15 percent, after the mobile phone distributor posted third-quarter profits and revenues that reached record levels. Brightpoint’s revenues were $633.7 million, an increase of 16 percent from revenues of $545 million during...
SCHAUMBURG, Ill.—IPCS Inc., a Sprint Nextel Corp. affiliate carrier, said its net loss narrowed during the third quarter. The company registered a net loss of $6.7 million, an improvement from net loss of $16.3 million during the same period last year.Revenues were $126.6 million...
MUNICH, Germany—Siemens AG recorded increasing overall sales and income, and scored improvements in its wireless infrastructure business. "We achieved a great deal in an eventful year, particularly in shaping Siemens for profitable growth," said Siemens chief Klaus Kleinfeld. "We executed a major part of...
COLD SPRING HARBOR, N.Y.—Janam Technologies L.L.C. said it licensed Access Systems Americas Inc.’s Palm OS Garnet platform until 2011. Janam Technologies provides rugged mobile computers, and the agreement allows Janam to develop and sell application-specific mobile computers based on the Palm OS Garnet platform....
WASHINGTON—Democrat gains in the midterm elections effectively ends prospects for passage of a telecom-reform bill with broader wireless federal pre-emption this year and possibly even in 2007, as the altered political landscape encourages political gridlock in a way that shifts greater spotlight to the...
BASINGSTOKE, England—The ringtone market will continue to expand thanks to strong growth in developing markets and the introduction of new personalization products, according to new figures from Juniper Research. The firm predicts a 22 percent rise in ringtone sales over the next three years...
WASHINGTON—Online mobile phone retailer InPhonic Inc. announced a $100 million debt financing agreement with Goldman Sachs and Citigroup. InPhonic, which operates the Wirefly.com storefront, said it will use the capital to repay debt under its existing operating line of credit, fund share repurchases and...
SAN DIEGO—Leap Wireless International Inc. continued to gain momentum during the third quarter, adding seven times as many customers as it did at this time last year and increasing its revenue by 25 percent over the same period. However, the company’s profits were affected...
BOSTON—American Tower Corp., the largest wireless network tower company in the nation, reported only partial results for the third quarter that showed rising revenues, but the company also disclosed troubling details of its investigation into its stock-option granting practices. The company found that most...
DALLAS—Titan Global Holdings Inc. announced it will expand its prepaid calling card business with the addition of an MVNO offering. The company targets the Spanish-speaking market with its products. Titan’s new Picante Movil, a mobile virtual network operator prepaid offering, expands on its Picante...
NEW YORK—Actor Robert Redford’s Sundance Institute is teaming with the GSM Association to promote made-for-mobile video shorts. The organizations unveiled a pilot project designed to "showcase and extend the reach" of independent short films for wireless phones. The "Global Short Film Project" has commissioned...
TAMPA, Fla.—Syniverse Holdings Inc. swung to a profit in the third quarter, but the news didn’t seem to satisfy the company’s investors, who sent Syniverse’s stock down more than 3 percent to $14.24 per share. Syniverse reported a net income of $17.6 million, a...
MIDDLETOWN, R.I.—Towerstream Corp., a fixed wireless Internet provider, said it launched a last mile T1-like solution in Boston using pre-WiMAX technology. The service, called High-Availability T1+, is available to business for $600 per month and includes a service-level agreement that covers service interruptions outside...
SUNNYVALE, Calif.—Yahoo Inc. stepped further into the white-hot mobile marketing arena, launching a "graphical advertising platform" for its wireless service. The company outlined a platform that supports interactive ads that users can click on to access more information or place a direct call to...
OKLAHOMA CITY—Dobson Communications Corp. reported a third consecutive quarter of profits and increases to its subscriber base, and the company said it hopes to maintain its momentum as it enters 2007. Dobson added 23,500 net customers during the third quarter, including 11,300 postpaid customers...
WASHINGTON—The U.S. Army said it will evaluate Nokia Corp.’s wireless technology for potential military and defense applications. Nokia said it has entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with the Army, agreeing to showcase technologies including W-CDMA, GSM and WiMAX. The five-year evaluation,...
ALEXANDRIA, Minn.—Rural Cellular Corp.’s financial losses widened during the third quarter, despite an improved churn rate and a $6 jump in average revenue per user due mostly to roaming revenue. The company’s operating income was down $6.2 million compared with the year-ago period. RCC’s...
CHICAGO—BridgePort Networks, which specializes in mobile Voice over Internet Protocol convergence, said it raised $13 million in venture-capital financing from existing investors TD Capital Ventures, Polaris Venture Partners, General Catalyst Partners and BCE Capital. The company said it has raised $51 million in total...
WASHINGTON—Online wireless retailer InPhonic Inc. said its third-quarter net loss widened despite an increase in revenues. The company also announced it reached a settlement "in principle" with the District of Columbia Attorney General over a consumer-protection lawsuit that revolved around InPhonic’s use of mail-in...
SAN DIEGO—Leap Wireless International Inc. said it signed an agreement to provide its users direct access to Google Inc.’s wireless products and services. The deal allows Leap customers to use Google’s Gmail e-mail service, Google maps and the company’s search engine features. In addition,...
