If you spend any time speaking with national carriers or multinational device vendors, you know that they exist only to meet consumer demand. It's all about the consumer, etc.A plausible and ubiquitous talking point, to be sure. Of course, how the carrier and device...
The Federal Communications Commission is coming under increasing pressure from the wireless industry to put on hold new enhanced 911 location accuracy guidelines, with court appeals virtually guaranteed.On the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the FCC clarified that wireless service...
Don't drop your cellphone in the water THQ Wireless Inc. said it signed a worldwide agreement with Playboy Enterprises to be the exclusive developer of Playboy-branded mobile games. The multi-year agreement gives THQ development and publishing rights to a variety of Playboy-branded, lifestyle-themed...
I'm not sure what it is about auctions that causes me to lose all sense of time and space, but the ongoing 700 MHz spectrum free-for-all has me bouncing off my cubicle walls and searching for a calculator that can display more than the...
In the Digital Age, when you hear about theft and how to combat/punish it, the common nomenclature for such activities include cybercrime, hacking, piracy, IPR infringement, illegal music downloads, identity theft and the like. Then there are those willing to climb several hundred feet...
Anyone who has traveled abroad and decided to use their cellphone to call home or check e-mail knows how shocking the total on your subsequent wireless bill can be. Short of owning an unlocked GSM device and carrying multiple SIM cards - each serving...
An arbitrator certified a class-action lawsuit against Verizon Wireless that potentially could cost the No. 2 cellphone carrier close to $1 billion in refunds of early termination fees."I find the claimants have complied with the criteria for class certification," wrote Eugene I. Farber, a...
If Google does manage to exit the 700 MHz spectrum auction with a substantial chunk of airwaves, it will be interesting to see what it plans to do with it. Most observers said they would be surprised if Google were to win spectrum; most...
LAS VEGAS - It is no doubt a tumultuous time for the television industry - writers' strike not withstanding - and NBC Universal President and CEO Jeff Zucker didn't mince words during his keynote address at the NATPE++ Mobile event when he described the...
The answer to that old "WAP or app" debate? It might be, both.Ever since the early days of WAP - which, yes, was often crap - media companies and advertisers have struggled with how to approach users on their phones. While wireless Web sites...
Call it "the anatomy of an industry dustup" or, if you're feeling dramatic, call in Sherlock Holmes.After all, over the past week or so, the issue has been dubbed "the case of the missing iPhones."Well, are they missing? And, if so, where did they...
Mobile television is all over the place, yet going nowhere fast all at the same time. Consumer choice for TV and video on cellphones is pretty robust, but that's only if users know it exists.Sure, mobile TV and video usage is growing month over...
Research firm TNS said that Verizon Wireless is the clear leader when comparing brand power on an emotional level with customers. Verizon Wireless' dominance is seen across metrics including usage, ratings on key features, commitment among its users, and momentum - a sensitive indicator...
Asia will account for more than half of all mobile WiMAX 802.16e subscribers by 2013, predicts a new study from Juniper Research.The firm expects Asia to support more than 40 million mobile WiMAX subscribers by that date. Juniper said it believes countries like India,...
Sprint Nextel Corp. is continuing its battle to right a listing ship. The nation's No. 3 carrier announced it would cut 4,000 jobs and close 8% of its stores after losing 683,000 postpaid subscribers and 202,000 prepaid users during the fourth quarter of last...
THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION launched a rulemaking to determine whether mobile text messages and short codes are covered by non-discrimination provisions of the telecom act.Public-interest and consumer groups asked the FCC in December to rule that the law forbids wireless providers from blocking the...
IT'S GAME TIME.The wireless industry's version of March Madness is set to tip off Jan. 24, with 214 applicants vying for 1,099 spectrum licenses in the 700 MHz band being auctioned by the Federal Communications Commission.But, it will be like getting periodic scoring updates...
AFTER NUMEROUS DELAYS, AT&T Mobility is preparing to launch broadcast mobile TV service from MediaFLO USA Inc. in early February, according to sources close to the situation.Leaked internal documents and sources indicate that AT&T Mobility is planning to launch the service with two exclusive...
Having sent Apple Inc.'s stock steadily skyward in recent months, Wall Street turned on the company like a wounded hyena last week after CEO Steve Jobs issued a handful of product announcements at the MacWorld 2008 conference that apparently failed to sustain the momentum.After...
Few mobile offerings have a longer - or more uninspiring - history in the United States than barcodes. But the odd-looking little images may finally be going somewhere.One of the first consumer-facing mobile barcode applications in the United States came to market about 10...
It would be perilous to deduce overly broad implications from the release of a single handset - even if it is an iDEN handset made by struggling Motorola Inc. on sale at ailing Sprint Nextel Corp. - but it would be foolish under the...
Sun Microsystems Inc. raised eyebrows and garnered splashy headlines when it announced plans to acquire MySQL Inc. for $1 billion. But what the deal means in mobile - or just about anywhere else, for that matter - is far from clear.A Swedish outfit with...
The Federal Communications Commission's attempt to craft rules for the 2155-2175 MHz band has been met with the kind of mixed industry feedback expected in such a proceeding, with a notable exception that could provide a window into what could become a bigger policy...
Globalstar Inc.'s bid to secure additional mobile satellite service spectrum for land-based networks - including a possible WiMAX system covering hundreds of rural communities - is drawing criticism based on fears of interference to wireless broadband licensees. Competitive concerns could be at work as...
