Competitive pressures are leading American companies to adopt mobility for the obvious reasons: increasing productivity, decreasing costs and distinguishing themselves among their competitors.The top three carriers in the United States - AT&T Mobility, Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel Corp. - are attempting to secure...
Verizon Communications Inc. sued Sprint Nextel Corp. in Delaware federal court, accusing the No. 3 mobile-phone operator of failing to pay nearly $10 million in interconnection charges. A lot of money, but the Verizon-Sprint Nextel spat actually pales in comparison to bigger interconnection controversy...
LAS VEGAS - EVER SINCE television was invented in 1926, the industry has seen over-the-air broadcasts reach more screens as the medium exploded in popularity. The industry's first push was to get a single TV set into as many living rooms as possible, then...
SO WHAT WILL IT BE for the sequestered 700 MHz D Block? A few tweaks here and there, an approach one lawmaker dismissively coined 'D Block lite'? A complete overhaul? Or something in between?That's the predicament facing the Federal Communications Commission in the aftermath...
Sprint Nextel Corp. hopes to clean up the direct-to-consumer content business by hitting wayward partners where it hurts.The carrier last month told off-deck content aggregators that it will be "strictly enforcing" new revenue-share penalties for vendors who violate Mobile Marketing Association guidelines. Partners who...
The market for Long Term Evolution technology took another step forward last week as seven infrastructure heavyweights announced a framework for licensing the rights to the next-generation wireless standard.Alcatel-Lucent, L.M. Ericsson, NEC Corp., NextWave Wireless Inc., Nokia Corp., Nokia Siemens Networks and Sony Ericsson...
One of the hot topics leading into the CTIA Wireless 2008 event earlier this month was the recent move by carriers to offer unlimited, flat-rate calling plans. While I didn't have much time to discuss the move with industry analysts prior to the show,...
MobiTV Inc. has spent the past 18 months developing new technologies that will speed up the time between channel changes to less than a second and optimize cellular network backhaul by automatically switching video streams from unicast to multicast depending on usage in a...
The global Broadband Wireless Access/WiMAX subscriber base reached nearly 1.8 million during the fourth quarter, according to figures from research firm Maravedis in its WiMAX Counts Quarterly Report."Even with an increase of more than 20% in WiMAX subscribers in the last quarter of 2007,...
Our favorite country to the North, Canada, is going to have its own spectrum auction next month. We can't wait! Will Google play? Will bidders shell out billions to build 3G networks and then find uptake is slow and beg the government for relief?...
OK, Mark Twain's "mysterious stranger" was actually Satan's nephew, and we're certainly not deriding the devilish Steve Jobs or his wonderful company - but the theme of unwanted intrusion is apt.That is, if you consider the perspective of incumbent handset vendors and all network...
To hear Cyriac Roeding tell it, CBS Mobile started in 2005 as a "department of one." Just two suitcases and three boxes in tow, Roeding left his home in Europe after convincing top executives to let him build a new mobile business out of...
One hesitates returning to the blame-game that engulfed and sullied the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and other sinister storms of 2005, because - despite failures under former director Michael Brown and others in the Bush administration - the...
With so many smart people in the wireless industry, how can there be so many problems with mobile content?At CTIA Wireless 2008, I had the privilege of moderating a panel on mobile content sales, and had the luxury of interviewing six wireless gurus,...
It seems there's no shortage of players looking to help carriers compile all the customer information that can be gleaned from their networks. But it appears network operators are still at a loss at what to do with the stuff.VeriSign Inc. last week spun...
NTT to test mobile aroma services Mobile music is floundering and wireless TV is struggling to gain traction. So NTT Communications is targeting users through their noses.The Japanese telecom announced plans to test a service that would allow subscribers to select and share scents...
Mark Louison's unassuming manner dovetails well with Nokia Corp.'s efforts to project a kinder, gentler approach to the North American device market, an effort he has led for the past year."Alignment" with carrier needs is a term oft-repeated by handset vendors in discussing the...
The Federal Communications Commission said the nation's top prepaid wireless company, TracFone Wireless Inc., is now eligible for universal service subsidies in ten states and the District of Columbia, a move aimed at addressing modern-day communications needs of low-income citizens."For quite some time the...
THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION approved technical guidelines for a voluntary mobile phone emergency alert system, but the new public warning regime still lacks a federal coordinator.Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel Corp. initially indicated they plan to participate in the program, whose technical requirements are...
MOTOROLA INC. MADE two major moves last week to put its house in order as it works to revive its flagging mobile device business.First, the company and investor Carl Icahn agreed to seat one of Icahn's allies on the 13-member board and place that...
SENS. BYRON DORGAN (D-N.D.) and Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) introduced a bill to give the Federal Trade Commission authority to crack down on fraudulent and anti-competitive behavior in the mobile phone industry and other telecom sectors. The bill adds a new twist to ongoing legislative...
Attendees heard plenty at the recent CTIA Wireless 2008 event about all the sexy things in the mobile space including music, video and, of course, mobile advertising. But the quiet world of wireless donations may be about to make some noise.Nonprofit agencies have long...
You might be surprised at how much mutual strategy a carrier and handset vendor can pack into a single device. Consider the Z750a by Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications for AT&T Mobility.For Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications' GSM-only posture, the narrow path to most American consumers...
ICO Global Communications Holdings' half billion-dollar gamble leaves the launching pad this week.The Reston, Va.-based firm is slated to launch its $500 million satellite into space Monday, setting the stage for the nation's first space-to-mobile multimedia service. The three-pronged offering is expected to deliver...
