OKLAHOMA CITY-RadioShack Corp. customers in seven states will be able to purchase cellular phones and services from Dobson Communications Corp.'s wireless subsidiary, Dobson Cellular Systems, under the Cellular One brand. The new distribution agreement, announced by Dobson, involves 54 RadioShack stores in markets primarily...
Research In Motion Ltd. may have found some leverage in its fight against NTP Inc., unveiling a software "workaround" it says would prevent a shutdown of its service to U.S. BlackBerry users. The Canadian developer said it has developed and tested technology it plans...
TORONTO-Mobile security company Diversinet Corp. said its newest authentication offering is ready for commercial use via cell phones and other mobile devices. The company explained that security tokens, sometimes called hardware tokens, authentication tokens or cryptographic tokens, are small devices people can use to...
NEW YORK-Comverse Technology Inc. hopes to boost already booming text messaging usage with a series of new personalized services and short cuts. The company said the services include an offering that allows members to insert a predetermined signature at the end of text messages,...
PLAINFIELD, Ind.-Investors sent shares of Brightpoint Inc. skyward after the company reported a 33-percent increase in fourth-quarter sales. The mobile-phone distributor reported quarterly net income of $8.9 million, or 21 cents per share, up from $7.5 million, or 18 cents per share, in the...
Nortel Networks Ltd. said it may pay more than $2.4 billion in cash and stock to settle a pair of shareholder lawsuits filed as a result of the company's accounting fraud scandal. The company said it agreed in principle to pay $575 million in...
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.-Sprint Nextel Corp. is continuing the former Nextel Communications Corp.'s support of NASCAR, as it introduces a new handheld scanner that is expected to be available for rent at all NASCAR Nextel Cup Series events this year. The scanner, called the NASCAR...
The Federal Communications Commission's planned auction of so-called "advanced wireless services" spectrum scheduled for June could spell a windfall for government coffers, though analysts are mixed on the amount of said windfall. The government has said it expects to generate $25 billion during the...
WASHINGTON-Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.), often an advocate for rural America and former chairman of the Senate communications subcommittee, celebrated the tenth anniversary of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 last week by introducing a universal-service reform bill that basically leaves wireless out in the cold....
WASHINGTON-Wireless, telecom and high-tech sectors that spend an estimated $300 million a year to change the hearts and minds of congressmen, federal regulators and White House officials are unlikely to lose prized access to policymakers, with efforts to pass lobbying reform legislation showing signs...
The mobile TV ecosystem was filled with TDtv news last week as IPWireless Inc. announced two new partnerships and upcoming trials. The network technology company says it's teaming up with mobile streaming providers Vidiator and MobiTV Inc. to develop mobile TV solutions based on...
Cincinnati Bell Inc. reported that it added 15,000 postpaid wireless customers in the fourth quarter of 2005-the company's best wireless performance since the fourth quarter of 2001. However, the company's overall earnings slipped from $18.3 million, or 7 cents per share, a year ago...
WASHINGTON-The Bush administration last week proposed setting user fees on un-auctioned spectrum regulated by the Federal Communications Commission, but the agency refused to disclose which wireless services would be subject to new government taxes. The user fee proposal, included in a new White House...
BARCELONA, Spain-As the 3GSM World Congress conference kicks off, music-related announcements from the industry are humming right along. Here are some of the highlights: Motorola Inc. announced a deal to use Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Media platform in a new series of music phones. The...
READING, England-Software company Tao Group launched a mobile version of its intent multimedia software platform for handset vendors. Tao Group said the intent Mobile solution supports several different operating systems-including Linux and Microsoft Corp.'s Windows CE-and features a middleware suite and an application suite...
LONDON-Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications L.P. released a new high-end 3G device and also laid out its plans for wireless e-mail. The company apparently has decided to forgo choosing sides in the hotly contested wireless e-mail market by supporting virtually every major wireless e-mail program...
MotorolaMotorola Inc. named Hamid Ahmadi its first chief architect, with responsibility for developing a unified architectural framework and leading strategic hardware and software architecture planning across all business units. Ahmadi will report to Padmasree Warrior, the company's executive vice president and chief technology officer....
AndrewAndrew Corp. launched a compact tower-mounted amplifier for third-generation networks. The company said its OneBase Compact TMA product, at 1.5 liters, is the smallest and lightest tower-mounted amplifier available in the industry. The product complies with Antenna Interface Standards Group requirements. In addition, it...
PLANO, Texas-Alcatel Corp. picked Netrake's nCite Security Gateway technology to support the launch of its Unlicensed Mobile Access-based wireless local area network solution. Netrake said its gateway gives UMA providers secure access to GSM and GPRS mobile services using Bluetooth and Wi-Fi unlicensed spectrum...
South KoreaMotorola Inc. introduced a super-slim sliding-style phone in South Korea, dubbed the Z, which is the latest wafer-thin handset from the maker of the wildly popular Razr. However, the company said the CDMA phone is only intended for the Asian market. Introduced more...
WASHINGTON-The Senate Commerce Committee seemed cool to the idea that broadband-pipe owners should be able to require some bandwidth hogs-like Voice over Internet Protocol providers, Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc.-to pay to access their broadband pipes. "I think the refrain of this committee ought...
Imagine this: a company's chief financial officer uses his smart phone to download a game while waiting at an airport-but the game contains a virus that sends all the data on the phone to a Web site, and the company's financial results get posted...
There are two interesting discussions in progress in the United States and abroad, each legitimate, timely and blindly interrelated. In the United States, the Bush administration, industry leaders, governors and august academic institutions are growing increasingly anxious about an all-too-obvious trend that has other...
President Bush's 2007 budget released last week proposes a tax on un-auctioned spectrum licenses, which immediately caused an uproar in the telecom industry with news that Wi-Fi devices could be taxed. Later, the Office of Management and Budget clarified (backtracked?) that radio channels for...
