RESTON, Va.—With the acquisition of CDMA affiliate Ubiquitel Inc., Sprint Nextel Corp. is another step closer to wrapping up the acquisition of all of its wireless affiliates. The third largest U.S. carrier has agreed to buy Ubiquitel for $1.3 billion, including about $300 million...
ESPOO, Finland—Nokia Corp. reported today that its net profit in the first quarter rose 21 percent to $1.3 billion over the year-ago quarter—exceeding analysts’ expectations—on the strength of more than 75 million handsets shipped. Like its next-largest rival, Motorola Inc., Nokia’s overall profits were...
WASHINGTON—A new government study examining actual driver habits when behind the wheel found cell phone use the most common distraction for operators of motor vehicles. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, which characterized as "landmark" research findings from...
SAN DIEGO—Qualcomm Inc. reported late yesterday that it earned $593 million in the company’s second fiscal quarter, an increase of 11 percent over the year-ago quarter, results that were in line with analysts’ expectations. The company attributed the solid growth to an increase in...
WASHINGTON—Qualcomm Inc. gained approval Wednesday for an agreement it reached with TV stations serving Chicago, Milwaukee and Gary, Ind. that will allow the company to move forward with its MediaFlo steaming content plans. MediaFlo is a one-way, high-speed network using spectrum Qualcomm obtained after...
WASHINGTON—Online wireless retailer InPhonic Inc. inked a "multi-year" deal to sell its products and services on Amazon.com. The announcement marks the first third-party wireless deal for Amazon, which sells phones and services from all four Tier 1 operators. InPhonic, which markets offerings under the...
AUSTIN, Texas—Freescale Semiconductor Inc. says strong sales of its wireless products as well as its networking and computing gear helped the company to more than double its first-quarter net income compared to the same period last year. Freescale reported first-quarter net income of $212...
FALLS CHURCH, Va.—Nokia Corp., Motorola Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. last year captured more than 60 percent of the $117 billion in worldwide handset revenue, according to a report by Telecom Trends International Inc. Sony Ericsson placed fourth in terms of revenue. The...
PUNE, India—Indian GSM operator Idea Cellular Ltd. deployed Kodiak Networks’ Real-Time Exchange System in the Maharashtra and Goa circle, according to the companies. The product allows for group-oriented voice applications as part of Idea’s Group Talk suite. Services include Voice Bridge instant group conferencing,...
OVERLAND PARK, Kan.—Sprint Nextel Corp. continued to expand its mobile video offerings, adding three channels to its Sprint TV service. The carrier added "Comedy Time," a made-for-mobile network that allows users to choose from a variety of stand-up comedy themes, as well as Blip...
CHARLOTTE, N.C.—SunCom Wireless Holdings Inc. said it has begun offering Research In Motion Ltd.’s Blackberry 8700g Wireless Handheld device at all of its retail stories. The BlackBerry 8700g operates on SunCom’s GSM/GPRS network. Features of the device include quad-band GSM/GPRS and EDGE support, Bluetooth...
LONDON—U.K.-based content provider Mobile Streams is hoping to expand its business across the English Channel with the $3.7 million acquisition of Cyoshi Mobile GmbH. German-based Cyoshi produces and distributes mobile video and other content across Europe. The company’s portfolio of licensed offerings includes FunkySexyCool,...
DALLAS, Texas—Regional service provider MetroPCS Communications Inc. announced that it has started offering a roaming service to its customers that allows them to use their MetroPCS phones outside of their home service areas. MetroPCS’ TravelTalk service provides roaming rates between 49 cents and 79...
DALLAS—Texas Instruments Inc. late yesterday reported first-quarter net income of $585 million, a 42-percent increase from the $411 million profit in the year-ago quarter, and it issued a bullish forecast for the current quarter, causing its stock price to rise in after-hours trading yesterday....
ATLANTA—Cingular Wireless L.L.C. kicked off 2006 with strong first quarter results, including driving its churn rate down to a company record low of 1.9 percent overall, with 1.6 percent postpaid churn. While Cingular’s postpaid average revenue per user showed growth, the carrier’s total ARPU...
SCHAUMBURG, Ill.—Motorola Inc. reported robust sales of its wireless handsets in the first quarter and a nearly 5-percent gain in global market share over the year-ago quarter to 21 percent. The company’s positive handset news confirmed that it had achieved its stated ambition to...
WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission late Tuesday proposed fining rural wireless provider Dobson Communications Corp. $750,000 for not providing enhanced 911 services in a timely manner. Dobson failed to deploy E-911 Phase I to nine public-safety answering points and Phase II to 41 PSAPs, according...
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.—Wireless customers are more satisfied with their cellular service this year than last, according to the latest subscriber survey by J.D. Power and Associates. T-Mobile USA Inc. continues to rank best in customer satisfaction across the country due to strong performance in...
SEATTLE—Anti-piracy software developer Widevine Technologies snared $16 million in a Series C round of funding. Cisco Systems Inc. and Canadian telecommunications provider Telus Corp. participated in the round, which also included existing investors VantagePoint, Bear Stearns Constellation Ventures, Pacesetter Capital and Phoenix Partners. Widevine,...
NEW YORK—Virgin Mobile USA L.L.C. and Virgin Records are teaming with EMI to offer four exclusive ringtones from hip-hop star Big Boi. The clips are based on four tracks from a compilation album from the Outkast member released last November. Four ringtones will be...
DALLAS—Wireless carriers will likely miss out on a key data-revenue opportunity at this summer’s World Cup tournament in Germany, according to SmartTrust. The mobile device management company estimates spectators will capture 4.5 million images on camera phones during the four-week event, but fewer than...
RESTON, Va.—Sprint Nextel Corp. announced plans to pay shareholders a 2.5 cents-per-share dividend beginning in the third quarter. The company said its second-quarter dividend payout is expected to total $75 million, the same amount as the quarterly dividend amount its soon-to-be spun-off local wireline...
SCHAUMBURG, Ill.—Financial analysts are awaiting Motorola Inc.’s first-quarter earnings report—scheduled for later today—which may exceed the company’s own projections and those of Wall Street made in the fourth quarter of 2005 when handset sales growth was expected to slow this year. Motorola’s industry-wide megahit...
NEW YORK—Wireless phones are poised to overtake notebook PCs as the dominant Internet platform in some markets, according to a new study from Ipsos Insight. The market research firm’s annual study of Internet trends found that 28 percent of mobile phone owners worldwide have...
