Wireless devices have the capability to transform the advertising industry. Marketers have long wanted to be able to touch their target audiences on a one-to-one basis-and get those consumers to respond back to them in the same personal fashion. Today, though, most marketing is...
PARIS-French mobile operator SFR launched an HSDPA network in Paris and southern France, using network technology from Nokia Corp. SFR has about 17.3 million customers in France, about 1.5 million of which are 3G customers; the company is owned by Vivendi and Vodafone Group...
ATLANTA-Cingular Wireless L.L.C. launched UMTS/HSDPA services for businesses and consumers in its home town of Atlanta. The high-speed wireless data and voice service is available on two handsets, the LG Electronics Co. Ltd. CU320 and the Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. SGH-ZX10; Cingular says it...
SACRAMENTO, Calif.-A former Verizon Wireless employee has been sentenced to almost six years in prison for stealing access numbers for about $21 million in prepaid minutes and selling them to retailers at a discount. The Associated Press reported that Timothy Charles Mattos, 34, of...
LONDON-Shares of Monstermob Group plc plunged more than 21 percent after the ringtone provider ousted founder and Chief Executive Officer Martin Higginson. Monstermob, which has been on a worldwide spending spree in recent months, lowered forecasts for its U.K. business by $2.8 million as...
Television has been called the "75-year-old killer application" and, indeed, one of the hurdles to-and possibly a shaper of-the mobile television experience is the recent trend toward giant, flat-screen TVs with surround sound in the home. Accustomed to zoning out in front of a...
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, hundreds of thousands of people were scattered across the country. People's homes were destroyed, their neighborhoods were flooded or left without power, and many had no way of calling for help or simply to let loved ones know...
SHENZEN, China-Chinese telecom manufacturer ZTE Corp. announced it signed a contract to build a CDMA2000 1x EV-DO Revision A network in Mongolia for Skytel, which is the largest CDMA wireless operator in that country. The company gave no details about when the network would...
NEW YORK-Despite prepaid and reseller additions driving much of the growth within the wireless industry, Fitch Ratings concludes in a new report that the industry will continue to be profitable. The first quarter showed trends from 2005 continuing, Fitch analyst Bill Densmore noted, with...
PORTLAND, Ore.-Metro One Telecommunications Inc. announced the renewal of a multi-year contract to provide enhanced directory assistance for Midwest Wireless subscribers. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Metro One's 411 service provides movie listings and driving directions in addition to connecting customers with...
NETANYA, Israel-Intel Corp. has selected Siano Mobile Silicon's multi-band, multi-standard receiver chipset for Intel's mobile TV reference platform in its Xscale product line. The collaboration comes at a time when mobile TV component makers are matching up with chipset and handset vendors. The news...
WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission urged a U.S. appeals court in Philadelphia to reject a lawsuit seeking to delay the Aug. 9 advanced wireless services auction and to re-examine news rules designed to close a loophole enabling large wireless carriers to gain access to valuable...
WASHINGTON-Could a small wireless deal in an age of blockbuster mobile-phone mergers be a threat to national security? The Federal Communications Commissions will make the call as it considers Japan's NTT DoCoMo Inc.'s proposed $72 million purchase of Guam Cellular & Paging Inc. and...
With a flurry of launches last week, the wireless industry appears to have re-discovered-and is falling head over heels in love with-The Family. Both Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile USA Inc. announced new family-focused services on the day that Disney Mobile began selling its highly...
LONDON-Warner Music continued to expand its digital distribution operations, acquiring a minority stake in Japanese mobile broadcasting FrontMedia. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.Warner Music Japan said it is making a capital investment in the year-old firm, which operates an Internet-based audio and...
NEW YORK-The Recording Industry Association of America formally launched a Master Ringtone Sales Award, updating its 47-year-old Gold and Platinum program to recognize the growing popularity of ringtones on cellular phones. In the inaugural group, RIAA awarded 84 Gold, 40 Platinum and four Multi-Platinum...
Telephia Inc., a consulting firm that provides measurement information on the mobile industry, said it filed a lawsuit against fellow research company M:Metrics Inc. on claims the company violated Telephia's intellectual property. The lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the...
Cellular association CTIA may yet get language introduced-perhaps even added-to telecom reform legislation that would expand federal pre-emption beyond that approved by Congress in 1993. Whether an amendment further curtailing state wireless jurisdiction would have enough staying power to survive a House-Senate conference is...
WASHINGTON-The Supreme Court asked the Bush administration for guidance on Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch's appeal of an 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision striking down the state's wireless consumer law, a development that could make prospects for a high court review even...
SEATTLE-Direct-to-consumer mobile content provider 3GUpload is the latest to join the user-generated content rush. The company rebranded as Mixxer and launched a package of Web-to-mobile features designed to help members create ringtones, publish songs and discover music from emerging acts. The site, www.mixxer.com, offers...
WASHINGTON-The wireless industry continued to press for pre-emption as telecom reform plods along in the Senate. But the industry could be making some headway on universal service provisions that are more favorable to wireless carriers. At a Senate Commerce Committee hearing, CTIA President Steve...
WASHINGTON-Wireless industry trade association CTIA continued to press the Federal Communications Commission to allow its members to use studies to determine long-distance vs. local traffic to figure how much they owe in universal-service fund contributions. The commission expects to consider the issue at its...
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...
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...
