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Sprint Nextel to slow MVNO adds

LAS VEGAS—Sprint Nextel Corp. doesn’t expect to add many new mobile virtual network operators to its network, and plans to take time to digest the ones it already has and see how they do, company officials said during a roundtable Monday afternoon. Len Lauer,...

Yahoo expands BlackBerry plans

SUNNYVALE, Calif.—Yahoo Inc. said it will expand its partnership with BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. by offering its Yahoo Go for Mobile products and services to BlackBerry users. "Our Yahoo users want to access our services from all of their connected devices. Together...

Alcatel acquires voice-recognition vendor VoiceGenie

PARIS—Alcatel announced its Genesys subsidiary acquired privately held voice recognition company VoiceGenie in an undisclosed cash transaction. Founded in 2000, VoiceGenie develops self-service applications using Voice XML. The technology can be used by carriers for directory assistance, navigation direction and virtual receptionists. VoiceGenie is...

Equipment vendors gear up for FCC’s upcoming auction

LAS VEGAS—Wireless vendors are prepping products and services to take advantage of the Federal Communications Commission’s auction of Advanced Wireless Services spectrum in the 1700 MHz/2100 MHz and 700 MHz bands scheduled to begin in two months. Click here to see all of RCR...

Global Wireless Entertainment acquires SkinIt

LAS VEGAS—Global Wireless Entertainment Inc. said it acquired SkinIt Inc., which provides on-demand and custom physical personalization of mobile devices. GWE, which manages celebrities and brands in the mobile media environment, said SkinIt has merged with its Cellfan.com business. Together the businesses will provide...

Panasonic acquires wireless chip-maker Tropian

SECAUCUS, N.J.—Panasonic Corp. announced it acquired wireless chip-maker Tropian Inc., a Cupertino, Calif.-based company that develops polar modulation techniques for use in wireless transmitter applications. Panasonic is the North American arm of Osaka, Japan-based electronics company Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. Terms of the...

South Korean officials question Qualcomm, others

SAN DIEGO—Qualcomm Inc. said officials from the Korean Fair Trade Commission visited its offices in Korea, as well as the offices of its chip customers Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., LG Electronics Co. Ltd. and Pantech Curitel. Qualcomm said the KFTC "declined to provide an...

Centennial adds subscribers but records $6.1M loss

WALL, N.J.—Centennial Communications Corp. posted a widening loss in its third quarter but reported its best prepaid wireless growth in five years. The company’s stock was up slightly on the news to around $7.16 per share. Centennial reported a loss of $6.1 million for...

BlackBerry: Source of freedom, or crack for the work addict?

By Gail KachadourianRobert Lutz's boss and wife both complain about the amount of time he spends on his BlackBerry. But the General Motors product czar insists he wouldn't be without the wireless communications device."It's an intimate part of my life," Lutz says. "I use...

Go Networks jumps into muni Wi-Fi with new base stations

LAS VEGAS—Go Networks introduced its Metro Broadband Wireless system, which is a Wi-Fi system designed for metropolitan deployments. The announcement highlights the growing demand for municipal Wi-Fi networks, which are being launched across the country. Go Networks is the latest in a series of...

Alltel teams with MobiTV for streaming radio

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.—Alltel Corp. said it will offer some of its customers commercial-free music streaming over its CDMA network. MobiTV Inc. developed the carrier’s new Axcess Radio service. The service initially will be available to customers with Motorola Inc. Razr V3c and Kyocera Wireless...

Qualcomm to coat Las Vegas with MediaFlo’s mobile TV

LAS VEGAS—Qualcomm Inc. said it would blanket Las Vegas with its MediaFlo mobile TV technology in conjunction with the CTIA Wireless 2006 trade show, which starts tomorrow. Qualcomm said the citywide demonstration network will use two transmitters and will allow CTIA attendees to view...

Zingy, VH1 debut made-for-mobile videos

LAS VEGAS—The made-for-mobile content scene expanded by two today: content vendor Zingy Inc. and cable channel VH1 both announced plans to develop video content exclusively for wireless users. The announcements highlight both the tech advancements in wireless—most phones sold today can support video—and the...

Motorola intros new music-capable Razr

LAS VEGAS—Motorola Inc. made a range of announcements ahead of the CTIA Wireless 2006 show, unveiling a new version of its super-slim Razr phone as well as a variety of other products and services. Motorola said its new Razr V3m is built for CDMA...

China Mobile among world’s most powerful brands

By Carol KrolLONDON—China Mobile is among the world’s most powerful global brands, according to a ranking released Monday by marketing research firm Millward Brown.The BRANDZ Top 100 Most Powerful Brands study, developed by Millward Brown Optimor, the company's financial and ROI arm, looked at...

Dobson expands in Alaska with $2M in new spectrum

OKLAHOMA CITY—Dobson Cellular Systems Inc. announced it purchased 25 megahertz of spectrum in the 850 MHz band in Kodiak and Nome, Alaska, for $2 million. The carrier’s stock was up slightly on the news to around $8 per share. Dobson said it bought the...

NTL to acquire Virgin Mobile UK for $1.68B

LONDON—United Kingdom cable operator NTL said it reached a deal to acquire Virgin Mobile Holdings (UK) plc for $1.68 billion. The news ends months-long negotiations between the two companies. Virgin initially turned down an offer from NTL in early December, saying that the offer...

Sprint Nextel calls into Vegas Monorail, Luxor

RESTON, Va.—Sprint Nextel Corp. announced new services in Las Vegas that allow customers to use their mobile phone to buy tickets, register at hotels and receive mobile coupons. The company introduced a new service that allows wireless customers to purchase tickets for the Las...

Flying J launches MVNO for transportation industry

PISCATAWAY, N.J.—Oil company Flying J Inc. announced it will launch a mobile virtual network operator service aimed at the nation’s transportation industry. Flying J said it teamed with Telcordia to launch the MVNO service, which will be commercially available later this month. "Flying J...

Glu acquires wireless gaming company iFone

SAN MATEO, Calif.—Wireless game-maker Glu Mobile announced it acquired iFone, a wireless entertainment publisher based in Manchester, United Kingdom. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.The transaction is just the latest in a long string of merger-and-acquisition activity in the wireless gaming market....

Wireless: Tomorrow’s emergency-alert system

The global war on terrorism and natural disasters here and abroad are forcing policymakers to rethink-and redesign-public warning systems that take advantage of wireless and other technologies used by billions of people around the world today. The undertaking involves a mix of technological, legal...

Congress wades into digital copyrights fray

WASHINGTON-Technology may be the only way to solve the centuries-old battle between copyright owners and consumers who want authorization to make copies of protected works. "We don't have a political solution, but if we could come up with a technological solution maybe we could...

Wireless services making progress in Iraq despite myriad of internal issues

WASHINGTON-Siyamend Zaid Othman is helping lay the foundation for a new Iraq where information flows freer than it did under the oppressive regime of Saddam Hussein and where ordinary people can chat on cell phones like billions of others do around the world everyday....

Mercora offers music ‘placeshifting’ with streaming broadcast service

Mercora Inc. plans to bring more attention to the hot topic of placeshifting this week with the launch of a second version of its Radio 2.0. The offering, billed as "MySpace for music lovers," allows members to become digital DJs, creating their own Internet-based...