RESTON, Va.-Sprint Nextel Corp. has been given the green light from federal regulators for its acquisition of Nextel Partners Inc., with the purchase expected to close June 26.The authorization from the Federal Communications Commission completes all the regulatory approvals needed to complete the transaction.Nextel...
As consumers and businesses start to take wireless carriers up on their offers of data services, and the carriers themselves put up ever-faster networks to support the demand they're trying to create, backhaul capacity requirements are poised to increase dramatically-and backhaul providers are anticipating...
CHARLOTTE, N.C.-Regional carrier SunCom Wireless Holdings Inc. said it has started the final phase in upgrading its network from TDMA to GSM, and plans to give its remaining TDMA customers a free handset to help ease the transition.According to SunCom, about 64,000 of its...
SAN DIEGO-Leap Wireless International Inc. closed on $1.1 billion in loans that the company said would help finance the operator's bids in the upcoming Advanced Wireless Services spectrum auction scheduled for August. Leap detailed its plans for the money in a filing with the...
As the idea of a combined Alcatel Inc. and Lucent Technologies Inc. settles in, Nokia Corp. and Siemens AG skated into the wireless infrastructure marketplace with plans to combine Nokia's Networks Business Group with Siemens' fixed and mobile networks operations. The 50-50 joint venture...
While it's widely understood that developing technology standards is never an easy road to travel, the recent schism between Intel Corp. and Qualcomm Inc. over the IEEE's 802.20 Working Group's activities sets a new standard for companies looking to out-maneuver their competitors and shape...
WASHINGTON-A bill outlawing deceptive tactics by data brokers to acquire and sell cell phone records may soon get a vote on the House floor, after mysteriously being pulled from a scheduled vote in early May. The possible breakthrough follows a meeting last week between...
WASHINGTON-AT&T Inc. Chairman Edward Whitacre last week told the Senate Judiciary antitrust subcommittee he would not oppose conditions on special access lines as part of any regulatory approval of the company's proposed $67 billion purchase of BellSouth Corp. Whitacre told the Senate panel he...
WASHINGTON-States will no longer be able to regulate the wireless industry under language included in the latest draft of the Senate telecommunications-reform bill. The question now for the wireless industry is whether the decision will remain as the Senate Commerce Committee continues marking up...
LOS ANGELES-Paramount Pictures is using mobile phones to try to lure subscribers to its new film "Nacho Libre." The studio is teaming with digital marketing company Cellfish Media L.L.C. to market the new Jack Black comedy through a mobile search service from go2. Go2...
SAN DIEGO-Leap Wireless International Inc. and bidding partner Alaska Native Broadband 1 License L.L.C. continued their post-Auction 58 expansion by launching Leap's Cricket service in Cincinnati. The service is available to approximately 1.8 million potential customers in the area and expands Leap's Cricket service...
WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission last week raised the safe harbor percentage that the wireless industry can use to pay into the universal-service fund, but the agency will continue to allow mobile-phone carriers to also estimate their contribution amounts based on traffic studies. The 5-0...
PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y.-Text-savvy Southerners may help explain why all five "American Idol" winners hail from south of the Mason Dixon line, according to figures from The NPD Group. Cingular Wireless L.L.C., which sponsors Fox TV's hit reality show, is based in Atlanta and claims...
OVERLAND PARK, Kan.-Sprint Nextel Corp. reported a pair of international data roaming deals, opening up Canada and Mexico for its data customers as part of what the carrier called "an aggressive expansion by the U.S. wireless data leader throughout 2006 and beyond."Under the reciprocal...
LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill.-Motient Corp. said it is selling its legacy wireless data business, including its narrowband terrestrial DataTac wireless data network and its iMotient Solutions platform, to Geologic Solutions Inc.Geologic is a subsidiary of Logo Acquisition Corp. Logo agreed to assume most of the post-closing...
ALAMEDA, Calif.-UTStarcom Inc. reported a net loss for the first quarter of 2006 of $10.6 million, or 9 cents per share, a reversal from the net profit of $37 million the company reported during last year's first quarter.In addition, sales for the first quarter...
WASHINGTON-A California state appeals court upheld a record $12 million fine levied by the California Public Utilities Commission against Cingular Wireless L.L.C. in 2004, rejecting the mobile phone carrier's contention that the agency's action was pre-empted by federal law. "While the commission is preempted...
OVERLAND PARK, Kan.-Sprint Nextel Corp. continued to expand its music offerings, launching a series of made-for-mobile studio sessions featuring audio and video from nine artists. The Sprint Music Series is expected to include three or four songs and an interview with Interscope Records artists...
WASHINGTON-A trio of designated entities claim the Federal Communications Commission grossly mischaracterized to a federal appeals court the regulatory process leading to controversial changes to spectrum auction rules designed to prevent large mobile phone carriers from gaining benefits meant for small business bidders, but...
Virgin Mobile USA L.L.C. revamped its pricing and messaging plans and added options that look much more like postpaid offerings than its traditional prepaid route. The mobile virtual network operator has replaced its old Month2Month plans with five monthly, no-contract plans that range from...
Hats off to Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) for finally making telecom reform legislation truly meaningful, even if it is potentially at the expense of the bill itself. That is a real possibility and the paramount paradox in Stevens' atavistic attempt to...
BOSTON-Motorola Inc., Jabra and Plantronics Inc. continue to lead the Bluetooth headset market with a combined 57 percent share of total global sales last year, according to research from Strategy Analytics.Motorola alone controls 28 percent of the market, making it the segment leader. And...
WASHINGTON-The independent panel reviewing the communications disaster sparked by Hurricane Katrina told the Federal Communications Commission it should encourage various changes to help prevent similar communications problems in the future. However, the panel stopped short of giving specific, detailed requirements that could be turned...
WASHINGTON-Motient Corp.'s largest shareholder filed a new lawsuit against the wireless company, alleging in a Texas court that a recent transaction involving mobile satellite service ownership changes violates federal securities law. "Highland is certainly willing to consider strategic transactions that directly benefit shareholders, but...
