SAN JOSE, Calif.—A new report from the Semiconductor Industry Association predicts semiconductor sales worldwide will grow 9.8 percent to nearly $250 billion this year, driven largely by the cell-phone market. The new forecast is an increase from November forecasts that projected an increase of...
WASHINGTON—The powerful House Rules Committee decided late Wednesday to allow Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), ranking member of the House telecommunications subcommittee, to take one last shot at amending the House telecom-reform bill to include a network-neutrality provision. If a member of Congress wants to...
TORONTO—Nortel Networks Ltd. put the brakes on its joint venture with Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. to develop high-speed broadband access gear. The Canadian vendor quietly filed a 10-Q statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission Tuesday detailing the break-up. The joint venture was announced...
DETROIT—Rapper Eminem settled a lawsuit with a Colorado-based content provider accused of illegally selling ringtones of the hip-hop star’s tunes. Michigan-based Eight Mile Style and Martin Affiliated said they struck an agreement with Cellus USA Inc., one of five direct-to-consumer content companies targeted by...
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 to create ringtones, publish songs and discover music from emerging acts. The site, www.mixxer.com,...
WASHINGTON—The telephone companies accused of allowing the National Security Agency access to customer calling patterns dodged a bullet Tuesday when the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee decided to defer issuing subpoenas to compel the telcos to testify. Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), chairman of...
WASHINGTON—Public-safety answering points serving more than 75 percent of the population are now able to receive location information from mobile-phone callers, according to statistics from the National Emergency Number Association. "The PSAP statistics translate to 88 percent receiving Phase I calls and 76 percent...
PALO ALTO, Calif.—Details on the Sidekick III emerged out of the Federal Communications Commission, in effect giving Palo Alto-based Danger Inc., a small handset software vendor, continued traction in the United States market. The device likely will be sold by T-Mobile USA Inc., which...
LOS ANGELES—UrbanWorld Wireless launched a new online store hawking ringtones, voice tones and mobile images from its roster of celebrities. The site, www.urbanwireless.com, features content from noted hip-hop acts and producers such as Clinton Sparks, DJ Drama and DJ Kay Slay. Other contributors include...
WASHINGTON—The Commerce Department today asked for public comment on the creation of a government-industry spectrum-sharing test bed, a key component of President Bush’s spectrum plan that has taken on greater weight as demands grow for the dwindling pool of usable frequencies. In a Federal...
SAN DIEGO—Qualcomm Inc. said it successfully demonstrated fully mobile Voice over Internet Protocol calls over its EV-DO Revision A technology. The announcement is notable as Sprint Nextel Corp. has announced plans to launch EV-DO Rev. A technology by next year. Industry watchers have previously...
SAN DIEGO—Leap Wireless International Inc. will officially kick off a service launch in three Texas cities tomorrow with promotional events over the next couple of weeks involving a cattle drive, an American flag give-away and a "Battle of the Mariachis." Leap is launching service...
WASHINGTON, D.C.—France Telecom and the Carlyle Group, a private equity firm, are reportedly in discussions to purchase Austrian operator One for more than $1.9 billion. Reuters reported the talks, citing a "source familiar with the matter" who added that any agreement is probably weeks...
DALLAS—Small businesses are becoming increasingly mobile, according to a survey conducted by the American Small Business Travelers Alliance. About 80 percent of respondents to the survey said they rely on a wireless device to stay connected to their business, and two-thirds said wireless technology...
BEIJING—Motorola Inc. responded to a statement made by a Chinese online retailer last week, saying it generally does not grant exclusive e-commerce rights. PacificNet Inc. issued a press release last week saying Motorola had selected its PacificNet iMobile subsidiary as the exclusive service provider...
BELLEVUE, Wash.—Sofitel hotels will be joining the ranks of businesses that offer T-Mobile USA Inc.’s Wi-Fi hotspots. Softitel, a brand of European Accor hotels, has 10 locations in the U.S. and 200 properties worldwide. T-Mobile USA will provide all of the U.S. hotels with...
CHICAGO—L.M. Ericsson launched a new end-to-end Internet Protocol TV offering, saying the solution is the first step in the company’s long-term plans for TV services. During a press conference at the Globalcomm trade show, the company laid out its IPTV vision, explaining that it...
NEW YORK—Lawyers for the Justice Department, Wall Street investor Mario Gabelli and Lynch Interactive Corp. told a federal judge they have settled a suit over spectrum auctions. The suit accuses Gabelli of defrauding the U.S. government of at least $85 million by hiding his...
WASHINGTON—Sprint Nextel Corp. urged the Federal Communications Commission Monday to reject the proposed $67 billion merger of AT&T Inc. and BellSouth Corp. because of the negative affect it will have on "special access"—dedicated lines used by wireless carriers to transmit calls from base stations...
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Cingular Wireless L.L.C. lost its chance to block several class-action lawsuits in California as the U.S. Supreme Court opted to allow the suits to proceed in state court. The Supreme Court on Monday denied Cingular’s request that it hear the case. The suits...
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...
LONDON—Telcogames Ltd. said it acquired Finnish publisher Fathammer in an effort to expand its portfolio of 3-D mobile games. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, although Fathammer investors 3i and Nexit Ventures each took a stake in Telcogames.Fathammer, which will operate as a...
NEW YORK—Nortel Networks Ltd. has finally caught up with its financial filings after a series of restatements and delays, but the figures for the first quarter of 2006 included larger quarterly losses—$167 million—than Wall Street had predicted. The number widens the company’s losses from...
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...
