PORTLAND, Ore.—Portland, Ore., city officials announced that MetroFi beat out Earthlink Inc. and VeriLAN to supply Wi-Fi networking across the city’s 135-square miles. In a press release, city officials said MetroFi won the contract "by submitting a proposal that excelled in demonstrated operational experience...
WASHINGTON—U.S.-China trade talks produced a sales framework agreement between Motorola Inc. and China National Postal and Telecommunications Appliances Corp., and a commitment from Beijing to be technology neutral on third-generation mobile-phone standards. Tuesday’s meeting of senior officials from both countries also led to the...
WASHINGTON—Federal regulators today agreed to an outside compromise plan giving wireless broadband carriers improved access to educational spectrum in the 2.5 GHz band. The Federal Communications Commission said it would allow educational broadband licensees to enter into excess-capacity leases for a maximum of 30...
WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission voted today to limit bidder information at the advanced wireless services auction that begins June 29, but regulators agreed to revert to full disclosure rules if they determine the auction is likely to be competitive. Many mobile-phone carriers—large and small—opposed...
SINGAPORE—Research In Motion Ltd. announced today that its talks with China Mobile, China’s leading wireless carrier, were "going well" for establishing wireless e-mail service in the world’s largest telecommunications market. According to RIM’s Asia Pacific Vice President Norm Lo, the company expects to close...
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.–Wireless location services for businesses could top 1 million subscribers by 2010, according to new figures from In-Stat. The technology market research firm said the location-based services business market is set to nearly double during the next five years from fewer than 600,000...
LOS ANGELES—Soon-to-launch mobile virtual network operator Xero Mobile Inc. said that it has completed a reverse merger with publicly traded Desi TV Inc. A reverse merger allows a private company to control a majority of shares of a publicly traded company (typically one with...
WASHINGTON—The Utility Reform Network and the Division of Ratepayer Advocates of the California Public Utilities Commission asked the agency to reconsider its recent decision overhauling the telecom consumer bill of rights and replacing it with a campaign emphasizing enforcement and education. "With this application...
SARASOTA, Fla.—Global Signal Inc. announced it has hired Jerry Elliott as its new president and chief executive officer, succeeding Wesley Edens, who will serve as chairman of the company’s board. Elliot recently served as president of Citizens Communications Co., a New York Stock Exchange-listed...
SAN DIEGO—Network design and engineering firm Wireless Facilities Inc. announced it signed a $10 million contract with a government contractor to develop software and provide integration services for the Global Combat Support System, which supplies military commanders with access to data about personnel and...
SAN FRANCISCO—Software developer Salesforce.com plans to spend $15 million to acquire privately held mobile software company Sendia Corp. Sendia’s technology supports Web-based applications across mobile devices, and the companies first partnered in 2004 to extend Salesforce.com’s offerings to wireless. Salesforce.com, which specializes in customer...
LONDON—Vodafone Group plc’s stock jumped as much as 3 percent in early trading Tuesday, amid fresh rumors that the European telco giant may sell its 45-percent stake in Verizon Wireless—or that several telecom companies, including Verizon Communications Inc., may band together to make an...
REDWOOD SHORES, Calif.—Software giant Oracle Corp. announced it’s spending about $220 million to buy Portal Software Inc., a firm that develops billing and revenue management solutions for the communications and media industries. "The combination of Oracle and Portal delivers the first end-to-end packaged enterprise...
WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission is set to vote Wednesday on new rules likely to dramatically curtail bidder information at the advanced wireless services auction scheduled to begin June 29. The FCC, backed by the Justice Department, Federal Trade Commission and some academics, support anonymous...
NEW YORK—Mobile software developer Comverse Technology Inc. said it will spend up to $180 million in cash to acquire privately held Netcentrex S.A. Paris-based Netcentrex makes software for Voice over Internet Protocol services as well as IP-based video and data offerings and fixed-mobile solutions...
KASANS CITY, Mo. —The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are finally going mobile. Wireless publisher uclick L.L.C. is teaming with 4Kids Entertainment Inc. and Mirage Licensing Inc. to produce mobile wallpapers, games, comic book readers and video from the cartoon superheroes. The content will be...
MILWAUKEE—Brady Corp., which makes die-cut components used by mobile handset manufacturers and electronics companies, announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Tradex Converting AB. Tradex, headquartered in Kungalv, Sweden, manufactures pressure sensitive, die-cut adhesive components for the mobile handset and electronics industries....
Espoo, Finland—Nokia Corp. announced that the average selling price for its mobile handsets in the first quarter was around $125, up from $120 in the previous quarter. The Finnish wireless behemoth had previously estimated that its ASPs in the first quarter would be flat...
Coppell, Texas—CellStar Corp., a wireless handset and accessory distributor, announced it made a profit of $2.2 million for the first quarter, ending Feb. 28, compared to a loss of $4.4 million in the year-ago quarter. A quarter-over-quarter revenue increase of $22.6 million in the...
OYSTER BAY, N.Y.—Though overall base station deployments are on the decline, ABI Research forecasts that the prospects for W-CDMA and CDMA2000 1x EV-DO base stations are trending upward worldwide. Lance Wilson, director of Mobile Wireless Research at ABI, explains that the improved deployment forecasts...
RESTON, Va.—Sprint Nextel Corp. has hinted that the first fruits of its joint venture with several cable companies will launch in seven markets later this year, and news of which markets those will be is starting to bubble up.The Wall Street Journal reported that...
ORLANDO, Fla.—Telzuit Medical Technologies Inc. today signed an agreement with Cingular Wireless L.L.C. that will allow Telzuit’s heart-monitoring Bio-Patch PDA to transfer data over the carrier’s network from individual customers to Telzuit’s data center in Orlando, Fla. The Bio-Patch system has yet to launch,...
MILPITAS, Calif.—Aperto Networks says it raised $26 million in its latest round of financing, bringing the base-station maker’s total funding to date to $120 million. The company says it plans to use the funds to roll out its fixed WiMAX product and for mobile...
STOCKHOLM, Sweden—L.M. Ericsson says it won a contract to boost mobile operator 3 Scandinavia’s wireless broadband offering by upgrading its W-CDMA network with HSDPA equipment, which is designed to deliver download speeds of up to 3.6 megabits per second."Our customers are driving the evolution...
