SAN DIEGO—Investment-banking firm ThinkEquity Partners L.L.C. downgraded its opinion on Qualcomm Inc.’s stock based on what the firm said was an anticipated slowdown in first-quarter handset sales and lowered forecasts for chipset revenues in the second quarter.However, ThinkEquity said the forecasts won’t change its...
ATLANTA—San Franciscans may have Wi-Fi both ways—free and paid for—now that EarthLink Inc. announced that it’s teaming with Google Inc. to submit a proposal for San Francisco’s Wi-Fi network contract.In August and September, the companies submitted separate proposals during the city’s RFP period. Google...
CALABASAS, Calif.—Strix Systems announced it is working with international carrier Accatel Inc. to cover Chittagong, Bangladesh, with wireless mesh networking infrastructure for voice, data and video services.Accatel said it’s partnering with Nextel Telecom, a local carrier in Bangladesh, to build a turnkey solution that...
ALEXANDRIA, Minn.—Rural Cellular Corp. slowed its losses in the fourth quarter, although the company still posted a net loss of $64 million for 2005, or $5.62 per share. However, the company added customers for the first time in six quarters.The carrier continued to lose...
SAN JOSE, Calif.—DSL provider Covad Communications Group Inc. said it completed its acquisition of broadband wireless carrier NextWeb Inc.The $3.9 million cash-and-stock deal was announced in October.Fremont, Calif.-based NextWeb serves about 3,000 business customers in California and Nevada with its pre-WiMAX network. The company...
WASHINGTON—The Department of Transportation is embarking on a two-year, $11-million pilot project to develop a next-generation 911 system as the agency explores various technology advances.Jenny Hansen, project coordinator and a DoT consultant on the Next Generation 911 Initiative, told the Congressional Enhanced 911 Caucus...
SAN FRANCISCO—Mitch Lasky, EA Mobile’s senior vice president, is scheduled to give the keynote address at the GDC Mobile 2006 game developers’ conference next month in San Jose, Calif.Lasky previously was chief executive officer of Jamdat Mobile Inc. before the company was acquired by...
WASHINGTON—Shares of InPhonic Inc. continued their yearlong slide after the online retailer of mobile phones and services reported a nearly $25 million fourth-quarter loss despite increased sales.The company reported $85.2 million in revenue during the quarter, nearly doubling the $48.7 million in revenue during...
RESTON, Va.—Sprint Nextel Corp.’s earnings took a hit from merger-related expenses, but the company’s wireless segment stepped into the limelight with 2 million net additional customers, tying a record performance by Verizon Wireless and outshining Cingular Wireless L.L.C.’s 1.8 million net adds.The top three...
ATLANTA, Ga.—Cingular Wireless L.L.C. introduced a product the company said integrates mobile and office communications. Cingular’s OfficeReach, a voice-based Virtual Private Network, offers such perks as the ability to establish a one-number service that allows an employee to be reached at a desk phone,...
BOSTON—Wireless marketing company MobileLime is using Near Field Communication technology to allow mobile users to pay for purchases and receive rewards over their cell phones.The company is pushing an enhanced "MobileLime wallet" centered on an NFC-compatible phone that can be waved over a contactless...
IRVINE, Calif.—Mobile search provider go2 said it delivered more than 24 million unique user sessions in 2005, marking a 51-percent increase from its 2004 usage figures.Wireless users viewed more than 210 million pages of local information from go2 last year, the company said; popular...
SAN ANTONIO, Texas—Cingular Wireless L.L.C. subscribers can use their phones to access photos, e-mail, instant messaging and address books from their Yahoo Inc. accounts.Yahoo’s latest effort to expand into wireless uses a Nokia 6682 handset that can also receive custom news, weather and sports....
WASHINGTON—Complaints filed by mobile-phone subscribers at the Federal Communications Commission dropped in the fourth quarter of 2005 compared with the previous quarter, the agency said.The FCC said wireless complaints decreased from 6,873 in the third quarter to 4,956 in the fourth quarter, with fewer...
WALL, N.J.—Centennial Communications Corp. cut its earnings guidance for the 2006 fiscal year, which ends May 31. Instead of a consolidated adjusted operating income of $370 million to $390 million, Centennial dropped its operating income prediction to between $350 million and $370 million.The company...
FORT WORTH, Texas—Shares of RadioShack Corp. lost ground after spiking on news of Chief Executive Officer David Edmondson’s resignation.Edmondson, who last week admitted to embellishing educational accomplishments on his resume, stepped down following what the company described as "a series of mutual discussions about...
AUSTIN, Texas—Chipmaker Wintegra Inc. announced plans for an initial public offering in which it hopes to raise as much as $86 million. The company makes silicon for a variety of infrastructure products, including those for wireline and wireless networks. L.M. Ericsson, Fujitsu Ltd., Lucent...
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.—Alltel Corp. said it has agreed to buy cellular operator First Cellular of Southern Illinois, which covers a population of 485,000. First Cellular covers several major transportation conduits that connect St. Louis, Chicago, Indianapolis and Evansville, Ind., and Louisville, Ky.The terms of...
FORT MYERS, Fla.—Continuing its recent flurry of acquisitions, NeoMedia Technologies Inc. signed a letter of intent to acquire HipCricket Inc., which provides custom mobile marketing solutions for broadcasters and brand marketers.HipCricket, based in Essex, Conn., licenses software to radio stations and broadcast networks that...
KIRKLAND, Wash.—Nextel Partners Inc. added 105,400 net customers in the fourth quarter of 2005 and bumped up its average venue per user by $1, while maintaining its churn rate at about 1.4 percent, the company reported.The largest Sprint PCS affiliate is in the process...
SAN DIEGO—Wireless Facilities Inc. announced that it will sell much of its Mexican holdings for $18 million in cash. The company also said it postponed the release of its fourth-quarter 2005 earnings report from Feb. 21 to March 14.The transfer of WFI’s Mexican holdings...
TORONTO—Nortel Networks Ltd. announced it has hired George Riedel to serve as the company’s chief strategy officer.Riedel has worked as Juniper Networks’ vice president of strategy and corporate development since 2003. Prior to joining Juniper, Riedel spent 15 years at consulting firm McKinsey and...
CINCINNATI—Cincinnati Bell Inc. has closed on its purchase of Cingular Wireless L.L.C.’s remaining 19.9-percent stake in the regional Bell operator’s wireless subsidiary.Cincinnati Bell Wireless provides cellular service in Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio. Cincinnati Bell bought the stake for $83 million; Cingular had exercised a...
European operator Vodafone Group plc announced a new agreement with Chinese equipment manufacturer Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. that calls for Huawei to build 3G phones that Vodafone plans to sell under its own brand. The move highlights a significant, growing trend in the worldwide...
