WASHINGTON-Despite concern about the potential for collusion at the upcoming advanced wireless services auction and the need to head off any problems by limiting bidder information, federal officials admit they have pursued only a handful of cases where suspected abuse led to enforcement action....
SAN MATEO, Calif.-Mobile game publisher Kayak Interactive has rebranded as Blaze after consolidating with European subsidiary Synergenix Interactive. The move follows the integration of Chasma Interactive Publishing, which Kayak acquired last April. Blaze has offices in London and Stockholm, Sweden, and plans to retain...
SAN JOSE, Calif.-PayPal quietly launched a service allowing users to make purchases or send money to other users from a mobile phone. The world's largest supplier of online payment services is testing the offering, which allows users to send a text message indicating the...
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-MTN Group, which provides cellular service in 14 African countries, said it expects to launch service in Iran by the third quarter. MTN last year bought a 49 percent stake in Irancell for $350 million. Irancell is licensed to become Iran's second...
SAN FRANCISCO-Content providers will need to deliver compelling programming for mobile video to grow beyond the young, male demographic it currently attracts, two new reports indicate. Mobile TV is already drawing a key demographic for advertisers, according to Telephia. Wireless users between the ages...
RESTON, Va.-Sprint Nextel Corp. announced it is teaming with the Associated Press to allow reporters to file 60-second video clips from the 215 cities and 466 airports where the carrier offers high-speed wireless access. The service uses SNAPfeed, a "store and forward" video application...
WASHINGTON-The ground shifted under the telecommunications regulatory landscape March 19 when the Federal Communications Commission did nothing-or at least nothing official. By not acting, the FCC granted a forbearance request from Verizon Communications Inc. that its high-capacity broadband network not be subject to common-carrier...
AURORA, Ill.-The city of Aurora, Ill., a suburb about 40 miles west of Chicago, awarded two contracts this month as it prepares to launch a citywide Wi-Fi network that is scheduled to offer free public Internet access as well as public-works and public-safety services.SkyPilot...
TORONTO-Nortel Networks Ltd. said its insurers have agreed to put $228.5 million toward Nortel's settlements of a pair of class-action lawsuits that stemmed from an accounting scandal. In February, Nortel agreed to pay more than $2.4 billion in cash and stock to settle the...
BRISTOL, United Kingdom-Icera Inc., a wireless soft modem company based in the United Kingdom, announced it secured $40 million in a Series C round of venture funding. Amadeus Capital Partners led the round, with existing investors Accel Partners, Atlas Venture and Benchmark Capital also...
WASHINGTON-Online wireless retailer InPhonic Inc. unveiled a business unit targeting small business users. The company launched Wirefly.biz, an Internet storefront hawking products and rate plans designed for home office workers and small businesses. The site carries offerings from Cingular Wireless L.L.C., Sprint Nextel Corp.,...
Regional telecommunications operator Ntelos Holdings Corp. reported strong growth in the fourth quarter and full-year 2005, generating wireless operating revenues of $73 million during the final three months of 2005 and $280 million for the year. Ntelos Inc., the company's prior incarnation, was a...
Qualcomm Inc. and Chinese firm China TechFaith Wireless Communication Technology Ltd. announced they would form a new venture, TechFaith Software China Ltd. (TechSoft), to develop software applications for wireless devices. The deal is worth up to $35 million in cash and in-kind contributions from...
More reality-check news on embattled U.S. tech competitiveness and the eager evolution of offshoring as something a bit more than a passing industry trend. The competitiveness issue-currently getting big play at the White House and on Capitol Hill-actually is just a replay of the...
Verizon Wireless' full-page advertisement in The Denver Post's March 22 edition, prominently displayed on page 5 of the newspaper's front section, trumpets: "IT'S THE NETWORK" and "#1 in Customer Loyalty in Denver," both well-worn marketing phrases for the nation's second-largest carrier in the standard...
LAS VEGAS-BellSouth Corp. unveiled a pre-WiMAX wireless broadband back-up system for businesses' Internet connections. The carrier said the system allows customers to activate a Wi-Fi hot spot at a business location, with a WiMAX backhaul, in the event the wireline network goes down. The...
EarthLink Inc. has already invested about $121.5 million into its soon-to-launch mobile virtual network operator, Helio, according to the company's recently filed annual report. In addition, EarthLink stated that it has already provided Helio with 27,000 customers. EarthLink stated that its joint venture with...
SAN JOSE, Calif.-Nvidia Corp. said it plans to acquire Hybrid Graphics Ltd., a Finnish company that provides embedded 2-D and 3-D graphics software for handheld devices. Under the definitive agreement, Hybrid is to become a subsidiary of Nvidia, maintaining support functions for its existing...
WASHINGTON-The National Religious Broadcasters came out against Senate legislation aimed at allowing the TV white spaces to be used for unlicensed operations, charging that such devices are untested, the digital TV transition is not complete, and such devices could interfere with wireless microphones that...
FREMONT, Calif.-The Flo Forum ratified technical specifications for devices, transmitters and test applications based on Qualcomm Inc.'s Flo technology standard for mobile TV. The group said the new specifications are companion documents to the previously ratified Flo Air Interface Specification submitted to the TIA...
Cingular Wireless L.L.C. started out in 2001 as a company with a network that was more than two-thirds TDMA and analog technology. Now, the company has indicated that it is on track to turn off both its legacy TDMA and analog networks in 2008....
WASHINGTON-The Supreme Court and Congress are jumping into the powder-keg patent debate, one encompassing a morass of complex issues increasingly confronting wireless and high-tech sectors at a time when innovation in knowledge-based economies is driving significant growth in developed and emerging markets alike. The...
ISSY-LES-MOULINEAUX, France-Wavecom announced plans to acquire Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications L.P.'s machine-to-machine business, which specializes in automotive and industrial wireless solutions, in a deal valued at a maximum of $39.5 million. The deal is expected to close near the end of this month. Wavecom's...
PLEASANTON, Calif.-Verizon Wireless selected Xign Corp., a purveyor of on-demand, order-to-pay software, to streamline its order delivery, invoice processing and payment management. By moving to electronic billing and payment of vendor accounts, Verizon Wireless plans to save money through efficiencies and by garnering discounts...
