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.<!--> Administrator Normal 1 0 2006-06-22T18:10:00Z 1...
MUNICH—Nokia Corp. and Siemens AG named the future executive team of their recently announced joint venture, which will combine Nokia’s Networks Business Group with Siemens’ Communications division. The companies previously said that Simon Beresford-Wylie, executive vice president and general manager of Nokia Networks, is...
ANNAPOLIS, Md.—TeleCommunication Systems Inc. said it extended its satellite coverage over several countries in the Asia-Pacific region. The company said its SwiftLink Global Satellite Service, launched last August, now covers North and South America, Africa, Europe, the Middle East and West Asia. TCS targets...
SAN JOSE, Calif.—Sprint Nextel Corp.’s former gaming guru Jason Ford has joined Namco Networks as vice president of strategy and planning. Ford, who most recently was general manager of games for Sprint Nextel, will be responsible for strategic planning related to future products, technologies...
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...
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 to rant and rave about whatever rubs us the wrong way....
ESPOO, Finland—What a difference four months can make, especially in the hyper-competitive pursuit of global domination in a burgeoning business. Nokia Corp. and Sanyo Electronics Co. Ltd. announced they will not proceed with the joint venture for CDMA phones they announced in February. In...
WASHINGTON—The chairman of the House Commerce Committee, never a fan of the universal-service system, took aim Wednesday afternoon at the one area that both the wireless industry and rural telephone companies agree: whether support should be available for one or more lines. "This is...
SAN DIEGO—Leap Wireless International Inc.’s selected Via One Technologies Inc. as a new distributor for its Jump Mobile prepaid wireless service. Via One will distribute Jump Mobile services through its Prepay Point retail merchant network.Leap also offers service through its Cricket brand.
FORT WORTH, Texas—Teletouch Communications Inc. said it signed an exclusive three-year master distributor agreement covering North America with ROK Entertainment US Inc. The agreement gives Teletouch exclusive rights to distribute ROK’s ROK Player, related intellectual property, products and licensed content directly to retailers, third-party...
WASHINGTON—Eleven data-broker executives invoked their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, refusing to answer questions of the House Commerce oversight and investigations subcommittee about deceptive practices for acquiring and selling mobile phone records and other customer information to banks, major corporations, law enforcement, news outlets...
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...
TORONTO—Nortel Networks Ltd. said it reached a $1.89 billion settlement agreement for a pair of shareholder class-action lawsuits pending in the Southern district of New York. The company noted that it has also reached an agreement with the plaintiffs in Canadian shareholder class-action lawsuits,...
NEW YORK—BlueAnt Wireless, an Australian supplier of Bluetooth peripheral devices, announced its entry into the U.S. market and opened up its headquarters in New York. Among BlueAnt’s product offerings are wireless headsets and speakerphones, both of which are now available across the United States...
BASKING RIDGE, N.J.—Verizon Wireless and LG Electronics MobileComm USA Inc. announced availability of LG’s VX8300 phone, which supports Verizon Wireless’ V Cast music service. The handset, which builds on LG’s VX 8100 model, features a slimmer form factor, OLED external screen and microSD external...
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...
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 will include three or four songs and an interview with Interscope Records artists from several...
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...
OYSTER BAY, N.Y.—Consumers will flock to mobile television services in the next few years, with most subscribers tuning into wireless broadcast offerings, according to two new studies. More than half a billion users are expected to subscribe to mobile TV services by 2011, up...
WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission Wednesday morning raised the amount that the wireless industry pays into the universal-service fund, but will continue to allow mobile-phone carriers to estimate their contribution amounts based on traffic studies. The 5-0 decision to raise the safe harbor to 37.1...
HONG KONG—SK Telecom Co. Ltd. said it plans to buy up to $1 billion in China Unicom Ltd.’s bonds in an effort to tap the world’s largest mobile market. South Korea’s largest wireless operator said it will acquire a 6.7 percent stake in China...
RICHARDSON, Texas—Intel Capital stepped up its WiMAX investments, pouring an additional $17.5 million into WiMAX gear-maker Navini Networks Inc. The funding underscores Intel’s strong commitment to WiMAX and places the company in a market-share dominant position as sales of pre-WiMAX-certified technology takes off. "It...
SINGAPORE—Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. took its turn at CommunicAsia 2006 with an announcement that it plans to produce three slim phones in a new product line the company dubbed the "Ultra Edition," destined for Southeast Asian markets and, possibly, elsewhere. Billing the entire lineup...
SAN DIEGO—Qualcomm Inc. said it has signed an agreement with Longcheer Technology Ltd. for the latter to develop, manufacture and sell W-CDMA modem cards. The worldwide agreement ensures that Qualcomm receives royalties at the company’s "standard worldwide rates," according to Qualcomm. Longcheer Technology, based...
