WASHINGTON-California Public Utilities Service Commissioner Susan Kennedy could be forced to strengthen her proposal to overhaul the telecom consumer bill of rights before a scheduled vote next month, according to one of her fellow commissioners, Geoffrey Brown. Brown, a Democrat, whose bill of rights...
WASHINGTON-Since customers must be at least 18 years old to have their own mobile-phone account, the wireless industry last week said it would begin classifying carrier-controlled content and restrict access to inappropriate content to non-primary account phone users. CTIA last week released the details...
When it comes to using their phones to vote, U.S. wireless subscribers are generally limited to American Idol contestants like Ruben Studdard or Clay Aiken. But that may be changing. SMS has become a vital campaign tool for grass-roots organizations, political parties and candidates...
ATLANTA & MURRAY HILL, N.J.-Lucent Technologies Inc. said it reached a multi-year agreement to lay the foundation for BellSouth Corp.'s Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem architecture. Lucent said its next generation solution will enable BellSouth to offer a range of advanced consumer IP services, including...
European operator O2 UK plc said it will use Qualcomm Inc.'s uiOne user interface technology in its high-end, "X range" devices. Although somewhat limited in scope, the deal signals a notable turning point in the worldwide wireless industry. "Our X range devices are a...
WASHINGTON-Since the digital TV transition issue put universal-service reform on the back burner, lawmakers recently agreed to extend for another year efforts by the Federal Communications Commission to limit telephone subsidies to a person's primary line. This means wireless carriers, which often stand as...
REDWOOD CITY, Calif.-Visto Corp. hopes a whopping $70 million financing round can propel it to the forefront of the white-hot wireless e-mail space. The developer added to its already-fat wallet with the latest round, which was led by DFJ ePlanet Ventures. Current investors Draper...
Verizon Wireless said it obtained an immediate injunction against Florida-based private investigative agency Global Information Group, which the carrier said had attempted to obtain confidential information about its subscribers. In its lawsuit against the agency, filed Nov. 2 in Hillsborough County, Fla., Verizon claims...
SCHAUMBURG, Ill.-Motorola Inc. and The Michigan Department of Transportation announced plans to establish a roadside network aimed at reducing accidents and congestion by wirelessly connecting vehicles to each other and to roadside transmitters. The plans center on Motorola's Motodrive wireless network architecture, which supports...
SAN DIEGO, Calif.-InfoSonics Corp., a wireless handset distributor, said it extended its distribution agreement with Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. through December 2006. The deal calls for InfoSonics to continue selling Samsung handsets and accessories to carriers in Central America, the Caribbean, Ecuador and Venezuela.
WASHINGTON-The long-running legal battle between former Illinois wireless dealer Kempner Mobile Electronics Inc. and Cingular Wireless L.L.C. has taken a new turn as a federal appeals court reversed a lower court ruling, essentially finding that the nation's top mobile-phone operator did not interfere with...
The wireless industry should be applauded for implementing a content classification system well before data applications take off. (Clap. Clap. Atta boy! Way to go big guy!!)Remember all the brouhaha two decades ago when a parents' group led by Tipper Gore wanted ratings labels...
SAN DIEGO-Wireless Facilities Inc. is coming back strong, posting a fiscal third-quarter net income of $5.8 million, or 8 cents per share, after posting a $14.9 million net loss, or 22 cents per share, during the same period a year ago. But the company...
DENVER-Amy DeVita has rejoined RCR Wireless News as Northeastern/International Sales Manager. DeVita spent six years representing RCR Wireless News from 1998 to 2004, before deciding to take some time off to spend with her family. Prior to that, she worked at Thompson Financial Services...
STOCKHOLM, Sweden-European telecommunications provider Tele2 AB added to its Russian mobile holdings with the acquisition of Russian mobile operator Lipetsk Mobile. Lipetsk operates an AMPS/D-AMPS and limited GSM network in central Russia. Tele2 noted that 42 percent of the 1.24 million people in the...
BEDMINSTER, N.J.-The Tier 1 carriers continued to move to universal multimedia messaging service interoperability this week as Verizon Wireless quietly became MMS-interoperable with Sprint Nextel Corp.'s iDEN network and T-Mobile USA Inc.Verizon Wireless subscribers can now exchange picture and video messages with users of...
NEW YORK-Fitch Ratings placed U.S. Cellular Corp. and its parent company Telephone and Data Systems Inc. on Rating Watch Negative following TDS' announcement that it plans to restate financial results for fiscal years 2000 through 2004 and the first two quarters of 2005. Fitch...
ST. GEORGE, Utah-Wilson Electronics Inc. is targeting carriers with a bi-directional signal amplifier that is designed to expand network coverage areas, enabling operators to offer their customers a better signal without having to build out new cell sites.Optimized for in-car use, the offering uses...
The world's No. 2 handset maker Motorola Inc. continued to dominate the fractured U.S. mobile-phone market in the third quarter, while the world's largest handset supplier, Nokia Corp., sits at a distant fourth place.According to numbers from research and consulting firm Strategy Analytics, Motorola...
CHICAGO-MobileIgnite declared its autonomy as an independent industry association, announcing that its top priority is to accelerate the adoption of fixed-mobile convergence interoperability. The new trade group said 16 industry players are set to join as members and that it has granted "affiliate" status...
BOONTON, N.J.-The global wireless operations support systems market is expected to grow to more than $13 billion this year, according a new study by Insight Research.OSS is the IT infrastructure that performs customer care, provisioning and management functions in wireless networks.The report said wireless...
FREMONT, Calif.-Insignia Solutions, which offers mobile device management products, said it expects to report about $800,000 in revenues for the third quarter, up significantly from revenues of $107,000 during the same quarter last year.Total revenues for the first nine months are expected to be...
The following list includes ratings changes and financial information for wireless companies announced this week by investment-banking and financial-services firms.CarriersFitch Ratings placed Telephone and Data Systems Inc. and United States Cellular on Ratings Watch Negative following the announcement that TDS intends to restate its...
WASHINGTON-Preferred Communications Systems Inc. is not giving up. Earlier this week the non-Nextel economic area 800 MHz licensee asked the Federal Communications Commission to stop the retuning of the 800 MHz band."The FCC's authority for its rebanding process is premised upon its ability to...
