WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission said it believes fixed-low-power devices can operate in the vacant TV spectrum after the transition to digital TV is completed, set for 2009. The vacant TV channels are set aside to protect TV broadcasters from interference, and are known as...
It's not a good sign when your name starts popping up in the press with the kind of foreboding and frequency otherwise reserved for Mark Foley, Dennis Hastert, Kim Jong ll and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.Well, OK, it's not that bad. Still, Sprint Nextel Corp. President...
WASHINGTON-The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia affirmed a lower court ruling dismissing a lawsuit by a former T-Mobile USA Inc. national sales manager, who claimed the No. 4 cell-phone carrier fired him to avoid paying more than $320,000 in commissions...
WASHINGTON-Cingular Wireless L.L.C. said it has filed three lawsuits in the federal court in Atlanta to stop telemarketers from making unsolicited and illegal calls to its wireless customers. In one lawsuit, Cingular alleges that Sebell Telecommunications L.L.C. of Miami, Fla. made unsolicited marketing calls...
Freedom Wireless Inc. scored another licensing agreement as Virgin Mobile USA L.L.C. agreed to use the patent holding company's prepaid wireless billing technology. The agreement resolves Freedom's claims of patent infringement against the mobile virtual network operator-a joint venture between Richard Branson's Virgin Group...
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.-ROK Entertainment Group U.S. expanded its mobile video offerings with 13 free channels of news, music and sports. The subsidiary of the U.K.-based wireless video company unveiled FreeBe TV, a WAP-based service for roughly two dozen 2.5G and 3G phone models. Channels...
WASHINGTON-President George W. Bush signed the port-security bill into law, a move that also creates the Warning, Alert and Response Network. The WARN legislation was attached to the port-security bill, and essentially updates the nation's Cold War-era emergency-alert system to use newer technologies, including...
Mobile porn is slowly finding an audience among U.S. mobile users. And network operators are trying to figure out how to cash in. Adult wireless content is gaining substantial traction around the world as content providers find a market for everything from titillating mobile...
The WiMAX ecosystem went from skinny to fat last week as Nortel Networks Ltd. and Nokia Corp. launched their WiMAX portfolios at the WiMAX World trade show in Boston. To date, Alcatel Inc., Fujitsu Network Communications, Motorola Inc., Nortel and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd....
DEL MAR, Calif.-Great Call Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. announced the launch of a new mobile virtual network operator called Jitterbug, named after the dance craze that originated in the 1930s and popularized by band leader Cab Calloway. The MVNO will sell phones...
BOSTON-Thin is in, except in the case of mobile phones. A new report from research firm Strategy Analytics says phones have to be more than just slim to catch consumers' eyes these days. Ultra-thin phones were a unique item not all that long ago,...
Having helped triple his company's year-on-year profits in the third quarter, Najmi Jarwala, Sony Ericsson's chief executive officer for North America, can afford to wax philosophical about his company's future. "Innovation is our differentiator," he said last week. "If we continue to innovate-and execute...
Under pressure to assure the market that it can expand its traditional, enterprise customer base, Palm Inc. made a high-profile announcement last week in New York at the DigitalLife 2006 conference that it would launch a Treo 680 model for consumers in the United...
ALAMEDA, Calif.-UTStarcom Inc. said it is exploring "strategic alternatives" and has retained Merrill Lynch & Co. as its financial adviser. The announcement could mean that UTStarcom is openly seeking to sell itself or merge with another company. "Our board of directors and management team...
SAN JOSE, Calif.-Adobe Systems Inc. said it acquired vector graphics technology developed by Actimagine, a company that provides software solutions for video and interactive vector graphics. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.Adobe said the acquisition allows it to extend the reach of its...
Research In Motion Ltd.'s co-chief executive officer, Jim Balsillie, is dabbling in the world of professional sports. Balsillie reportedly has signed an agreement to buy the Pittsburgh Penguins National Hockey League franchise for about $175 million. The team's current owner, Mario Lemieux, put the...
Internet search company Ask.com upgraded its mobile search offering, rolling out a free service featuring Internet sites, driving directions, maps and weather. The subsidiary of InterActive Corp. launched Ask Mobile, an ad-free, Internet-based service designed to minimize the number of keystrokes needed to find...
NEW YORK-Content provider Mobile Streams said it built an off-deck WAP portal to provide content from Showtime Networks Inc. The company said it will offer video clips from various Showtime programs. The portal initially will offer video clips and wallpapers from the new series...
SAN FRANCISCO-Following the lead of rivals Yahoo Inc. and Google Inc., Microsoft Corp. announced it will add sponsored results to its new mobile search service. Through a new partnership with voice-commerce vendor Ingenio Inc., mobile Windows Live Search users will be able to make...
WASHINGTON—The Supreme Court today declined to review a federal appeals court ruling that voided a Minnesota wireless consumer protection law. Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch (D), who is running for governor, asked the Supreme Court to take the case after the 8th U.S. Circuit...
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina—On the heels of closing its German-based handset business, BenQ has also decided to shutter operations in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, according to El Cronista, an Argentinian newspaper. The closures may also extend to the company’s operations in Brazil, according to El Cronista....
NEW YORK—Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. increased its shipment volume in the third quarter to 30.7 million, a 17-percent increase from the previous, disappointing quarter, according to CIBC World Markets. The South Korean vendor’s shipments beat its own guidance and CIBC’s earlier estimates of 28.8...
BOSTON—Mayor Thomas Menino of Boston unleashed the city’s wireless initiative today, announcing that a square-mile Wi-Fi network is being built in Roxbury’s Gove Hall and Dudley Square neighborhoods. Menino also unveiled two public hot spots, one in the city’s Quincy Market neighborhood, the other...
NEW YORK—FremantleMedia has teamed with Mobliss to power a new, made-for-mobile video offering from Sprint Nextel Corp. The companies launched Atomic Wedgie, an offering of eight categories of short-form content targeted at the coveted 18- to 34-year-old male demographic. The offering includes footage of...
