Steve Jobs may have just taken one step closer to wireless. The head of Apple Computer Inc. landed a spot on the board of The Walt Disney Co. last week under the terms of Disney's $7.4 billion buyout of computer animation studio Pixar. While...
Opera Software unveiled what it called a "WAP killer" last week, going global with its Web browser for Java-enabled mobile phones. Opera Mini uses a proxy server to format traditional Internet content for small screens-thereby bypassing the need for WAP technology and allowing users...
SCHAUMBURG, Ill.-Sprint Nextel Corp. CDMA affiliate iPCS Inc. said it added 18,900 net wireless customers during its first fiscal quarter ended Dec. 31, and closed out the year with around 495,300 subscribers. The regional carrier reported an average monthly churn rate for the quarter...
Wireless carriers ultimately are responsible for keeping information about their customers private and should address the matter with internal controls instead of waiting for a government mandate. In light of recent news that online data brokers can obtain and sell subscribers' personal information, that...
KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa.-Investors sent shares of InterDigital Communications Corp. skyward after the technology firm announced a $285 million deal with South Korean manufacturer LG Electronics Co. Ltd. In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, InterDigital unveiled a five-year, non-exclusive patent...
SAN MATEO, Calif.-Wireless trailblazer Craig McCaw and other high-tech heavyweights are backing a new company looking to let business users reach colleagues through mobile phones, e-mail or instant messaging. The firm, Tello Corp., emerged last week after operating for more than a year in...
The worldwide mobile-phone market roared to another record finish in the fourth quarter as unit shipments reached a staggering 245 million, according to research and consulting firm IDC. For the full year, the handset industry shipped a total of 825.5 million phones. "2005 was...
The legal options for Research In Motion Ltd. continued to dwindle last week as the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear its case against patent holder NTP Inc. The high court rejected a request from the Waterloo, Ontario-based BlackBerry-maker to review whether U.S. patent...
BROOMFIELD, Colo.-Level 3 Communications Inc. said it will spend $137 million to acquire Progress Telecom L.L.C., a regional wholesale network services company. Level 3 said it intends to pay for the company with equal amounts of cash and stock. Progress operates 29 metropolitan networks...
WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission authorized Globalstar L.L.C. to operate land-based cell phone networks to augment its existing mobile satellite services, a significant enhancement that should allow the company to reduce the size of its satellite phones. Globalstar is the second MSS operator to win...
TAOYUAN, Taiwan-In a surprising turnaround, Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo Inc. announced it will sell phones running Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Mobile operating system. DoCoMo previously had allowed only phones running either the Linux or Symbian OS. In a brief announcement, DoCoMo said it reached an...
The U.S. wireless industry is on track to chronicle its best-ever quarterly customer growth, with more than 5.4 million net adds already reported by four of the largest carriers. In a record-smashing quarter, Verizon Wireless clocked 2 million net customer additions to pull past...
The evolution of the wireless industry has had a profound effect on the players involved. Within all levels of the market, companies have had to scramble to adapt to changing demands and conditions. And the rollercoaster isn't likely to slow down-for anyone. From carriers...
BOSTON-German wireless users are unimpressed with mobile TV, according to a report from Strategy Analytics. Poor network performance, a lack of compelling content and inadequate devices are resulting in disappointing user experiences, the research firm said after examining two services. While users said T-Mobile's...
WASHINGTON-Proposals and counter proposals for how best to ensure access to telecommunications services in rural America are under way as rural local exchange carriers and their champions in Congress argue for the status quo, while the wireless industry calls for wholesale reform of the...
WASHINGTON-The bill-of-rights brawl in California took yet another turn last week, with Public Utilities Commission member Dian Grueneich offering a new telecom consumer-protection plan less onerous than the existing regime, but more regulatory than another proposal backed by CPUC President Michael Peevey. Votes on...
CHICAGO-U.S. Cellular Corp. and its parent company, Telephone and Data Systems Inc., again delayed the release of their financial results for the third quarter of 2005. The two companies have until Feb. 28 to file their results for last year's third quarter, as well...
You'd think Chuck Schumer, the Democratic New York senator actually from New York, would have been so busy trying to pin down Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito on issues near and dear to liberals that he couldn't possibly have had the time to tackle...
Big brands and high-powered advertising agencies are stampeding to wireless in an effort to snuggle up next to consumers. But they're finding that effective mobile marketing usually means more than just placing their company name on the display. Recent weeks have seen a flurry...
WASHINGTON-Morgan O'Brien, the industry pioneer who built Nextel Communications Inc. into a multibillion-dollar national wireless force, is joining a start-up firm seeking to leverage a patented geographic location-based technology for targeted emergency alerts and commercial mobile marketing. O'Brien will be chairman of the advisory...
WASHINGTON-Both the House and Senate said they plan to hold hearings on the ever-burgeoning privacy scandal regarding the disclosure and sale of customers' telecommunications records. The House Commerce Committee is expected to start the process with a hearing Wednesday afternoon. The Senate Commerce consumer-affairs...
Three Christmases ago, Sue Nokes received a call from a T-Mobile USA Inc. customer who had been bumped up through the customer care system until he reached her. The man, Nokes recalled, told her that though he liked the carrier's customer service reps, he...
LONDON-Vodafone Group plc reported solid numbers for the quarter ended Dec. 31, and the company said its guidance for the full year of 2005 and outlook for 2006 remain unchanged. Vodafone posted 7.1 million organic net customer additions during the final three months of...
PORTLAND, Ore.-Directory assistance provider Metro One Telecommunications Inc. said it received notice that its stock is in danger of being de-listed from the Nasdaq Stock Exchange. The company said it plans to appeal the decision. Metro One's stock, which trades on the Nasdaq under...
