WASHINGTON-Jim Balsillie, chairman of Research in Motion Ltd., last week urged the United States to take a leadership position in reforming its patent system and promoting protection of intellectual property rights on the world stage. "This is the most important competitiveness and innovation issue...
WASHINGTON-The wireless industry applauded the Bush administration's decision today to abandon the U.S. government's long-held support for the federal excise tax on wireless and long-distance services. The tax, incorporated in 1898 to fund the Spanish-American War, adds 3 percent to monthly bills of the...
OTTAWA, Canada-Mobile Voice over Internet Protocol software developer SIPquest said it picked up $7 million during its third round of funding, money that comes as the company works to rename itself FirstHand Technologies. FirstHand sells mobile client and server software through equipment vendors, systems...
ATLANTA-Boost Mobile L.L.C. users can exchange cash electronically for prepaid calling minutes at various locations, due to a recent arrangement with CheckFreePay. Boost is a subsidiary of Sprint Nextel Corp. CheckFreePay is a business unit of CheckFree Corp. and offers consumers the ability to...
LOMABARD, Ill.-Startup tower company Central States Tower Holdings L.L.C. said it picked up $30 million during its first round of equity financing through Sweetwater Capital and Merchants Capital Partners L.P. The company says it plans to use the funds to develop 150 towers in...
"News of my death has been greatly exaggerated," Mark Twain is said to have written in 1897, when he remained hale and hearty. Qualcomm Inc. has taken a page from Twain and added a biblical twist, as it hails its new incarnation of BREW...
WASHINGTON-XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. and WCS Wireless L.L.C. said they terminated an agreement that called for XM to buy WCS after the companies failed to secure government approval for the transaction. The companies announced the agreement last July. The deal called for XM...
Siemens AG is the latest in a series of vendors to announce new contracts in China, signs that the country continues to stand as a major opportunity for infrastructure makers. Siemens announced two deals with mobile operators for GSM equipment and an order for...
Sprint Nextel Corp. says it is testing so-called "4G" technologies for use on its expansive 2.5 GHz spectrum holdings and that it plans to choose one that has a "global reach and presence." The carrier said it was currently in talks with "other global...
All eyes will be on Germany next week as teams from 32 nations open play in the FIFA World Cup, a four-week, 64-game tournament to determine the planet's best soccer club. And the wireless industry is hoping many of those eyes will be watching...
CORAL SPRINGS, Fla.-Advertising agency PinPoint Interactive Media has launched a suite of mobile marketing solutions, including SMS marketing and mobile Web site development, appropriately dubbed PinPoint Mobile. The company said its new division will offer a single outlet for a range of mobile marketing...
Mobile-phone users in the United States are incrementally more satisfied with the operation of their handsets than in the past, suggesting that vendors in general are improving user interfaces, according to a study released by J.D. Power and Associates. Sanyo Electronics Co. Ltd. received...
SINGAPORE-Cellular subscribers in seven Asia-Pacific markets soon will be able to receive an international version of Mobile ESPN sports content. The Bridge Mobile Alliance plans to distribute ESPN Star Sports content and service applications; the move is part of Bridge Mobile's regional service strategy...
Virgin Mobile USA L.L.C. wants its users to have a sugar mama who will help them earn free airtime-and advertisers are stepping up to fill that parental role. The youth-oriented prepaid brand is forging ahead where other service providers thus far have feared to...
The nationwide investigation into executive stock-option grants seems to be widening daily. And some major players in wireless are coming under the microscope. At issue is the practice of retroactively changing dates stock-option grants become effective. Stock options-allowing employees to purchase shares of the...
In the May 22 issue, RCR Wireless news incorrectly reported a filing by NextWave Wireless L.L.C. with the Securities and Exchange Commission. NextWave filed a Form 10, registering its existing shares of stock, which the company said is not the same as preparing for...
The Bluetooth Special Interest Group announced a new drive to develop a medical device profile that could make medical, health and fitness devices interoperable with wireless consumer electronic products-namely cell phones, laptops and PDAs. The Bluetooth SIG said it expects its Medical Devices Working...
WASHINGTON-Public-safety agencies with a request for 800 MHz retuning planning funding that equals less than $55 per subscriber can take advantage of a new fast-track process announced last week by Sprint Nextel Corp., the 800 MHz Transition Administrator and public-safety representatives. The issue of...
SAN JOSE, Calif.-Various telecommunications firms including Covad Communications Group Inc., Korea Telecom Corp., TeleKom Malaysia Berhad, Japan's NTT Inc. and China's PCCW announced they formed the WiBro and mobile WiMAX Community, a new trade group seeking to further the deployment and interoperability of WiBro...
Last week, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin politely rebuffed Rep. Edward Markey's (D-Mass.) request to investigate possible privacy violations by large telecom carriers in connection with their alleged participation in the National Security Agency's post-9/11 warrant-less eavesdropping-surveillance program. The reason: the classified nature...
SAN FRANCISCO-The average U.S. mobile TV subscriber spends $40 a month more on wireless services than non-mobile TV users, according to new figures from Telephia. The research firm, which announced its first wireless TV user panel, said more than 2 million U.S. wireless users-1.4...
WASHINGTON—With a $31.3 million offer, AC BidCo L.L.C., an affiliate of AirCell Inc., looks to be the winner of a 3-megahertz license to offer air-to-ground services in the 800 MHz band. Bidding continues between Space Data Spectrum Holdings L.L.C. and JetBlue’s LiveTV L.L.C. for...
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa—Prepaid wireless provider Airlink Mobile is partnering with Brightstar Corp. for logistics and distribution support. Brightstar said it will provide Airlink with services including product procurement, inventory and warehouse management and handset and package customization.Airlink operates on Sprint Nextel Corp.’s CDMA network...
The following list includes ratings changes and financial information for wireless companies announced this week by investment-banking and financial-services firms. Click here for wireless ratings from past weeks from RCR Wireless News.CarrierMerrill Lynch initiated coverage on Dobson Communications Corp. with a buy rating and...
