WASHINGTON-Mandatory negotiations between Sprint Nextel Corp. and the 800 MHz licensees it must pay to move as part of the Federal Communications Commission's rebanding process began last week for Wave 1 licensees in Chicago, the northeastern United States, Northern California, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and...
WASHINGTON, D.C.-The GSM Association signed an agreement with NeuStar Inc. to offer Root Domain System services to more than 680 global GSM mobile operators. NeuStar's Root DNS will manage a global common directory, enabling GSM networks to interoperate, which will give wireless operators, across...
Deals were announced and applications launched last week as the large wireless vendors fanned the flames of the hot and getting-hotter mobile content market. L.M. Ericsson said it will distribute ring-back tones from EMI Music's catalog of music as part of Ericsson's hosted ring-back...
WASHINGTON-A settlement of a radio frequency identification patent lawsuit involving two leaders in the automated data capture business could remove a major obstacle to success in the emerging wireless space, but privacy, security and other issues remain. In addition to agreeing to settle a...
WASHINGTON-Mobile-phone carriers last week made significant progress restoring wireless service knocked out along the Texas-Louisiana coastline by Hurricane Rita, restoration efforts that added to those already under way in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The Federal Communications Commission extended for 30 days certain regulatory...
Nokia Corp. responded to rival Motorola Inc.'s recently launched Rokr iTunes-capable device with a music-driven tri-band GSM handset. The Nokia 3250 twists to transform its keypad into music keys and stores up to 1 gigabyte of music, which equates to about 750 songs. Motorola's...
Sprint Nextel Corp.'s youth-oriented prepaid service Boost Mobile L.L.C. unveiled its Boost Premium Plan hybrid plan that combines the no-contract or credit check features of its traditional prepaid service with the reduced per-minute pricing and unlimited extras of contract calling plans.Boost said the new...
WASHINGTON-Living up to a warning it made in 2004, Sprint Nextel Corp. asked for a waiver for its iDEN network of the enhanced 911 rules requiring some carriers to have 95 percent of their in-use handsets capable of locating 911 callers by the end...
SAN FRANCISCO-Several highly anticipated mobile virtual network operators last week revealed plans to begin rolling out services in time for the upcoming holiday shopping season. One of the biggest names in the burgeoning space, ESPN Inc., said it plans to begin offering its sports-themed...
WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission said wireless complaints dropped in the second quarter, a shift the agency attributed to a reduction in consumer gripes about billing and rates. At the same time, the FCC said wireless consumer complaints increased in other categories, including carrier marketing...
During the past 10 years, more than 400 million mobile-phone users have become intimately familiar with Christian Lindholm's designs. In his new job with Yahoo! Inc., Lindholm hopes to reach far more people. "The Internet is now at the dawn of version two," he...
The high-flying mobile content industry is experiencing some turbulence as two leading content providers issued sobering announcements. Disappointing earnings from its content business led VeriSign Inc. to lower its third-quarter revenue forecast late Thursday. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company expects total revenue for the...
WASHINGTON-U.K.-based Inmarsat Ltd. applied to the Federal Communications Commission for a 2 GHz mobile satellite service license that would allow it to offer interoperable communications to first responders and homeland defense officials, adding a new twist to current efforts by satellite companies to regain...
Wireless carriers certainly take their fair share of abuse from consumers and lawmakers. Consumer and other complaints range from billing to early termination fees to coverage issues.But carriers should receive notice for the positive too, and the nation's operators should be commended for outstanding...
DALLAS, Texas-Mobile virtual network operator Oblio Telecom Inc. announced it shipped its first batch of Bravo-branded prepaid mobile phones. The carrier is selling its wares nationwide through more than 60,000 retail locations."As one of the nation's largest distributors of international prepaid calling cards, completing...
WASHINGTON-Federal regulators approved Japanese browser vendor Access Co. Ltd.'s acquisition of Sunnyvale, Calif.-based PalmSource Inc. Access announced earlier this month its plans to buy PalmSource for $324.3 million in cash.The Federal Trade Commission gave its go-ahead to the deal.Access sells Internet browsers for electronic...
Nortel Networks Ltd. announced its is reorganizing, forming two new product groups and four regional teams to strengthen its enterprise focus, drive product efficiencies and deliver global services. Nortel said the new alignment includes two product groups each led by its own president-Enterprise Solutions...
CALGARY, Alberta-CSI Wireless Inc. saw its stock take a 20-percent plunge on the Toronto Stock Exchange Thursday after the designer and manufacturer of wireless global positioning systems products announced that third-quarter results will include a loss of more than $4.7 million.In 2004, CSI's third-quarter...
The battle between BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. and patent-holding company NTP Inc. took another strange turn as the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office rejected the last of NTP's patents under re-examination. The patents form the basis for the current legal battle between...
PORTLAND, Ore.-Enhanced directory assistance provider Metro One Telecommunications Inc. signed a multi-year contract extension to little-known T-Mobile USA Inc. affiliate I Wireless. I Wireless is a partnership between T-Mobile USA and Iowa Network Services Inc. and provides GSM-based services in parts of Iowa.Financial terms...
WASHINGTON-Living up to a warning it made in 2004, Sprint Nextel Corp. asked for a waiver for its iDEN network of the enhanced 911 rules requiring some carriers to have 95 percent of their in-use handsets capable of locating 911 callers by the end...
The following list includes ratings changes and financial information for wireless companies announced this week by investment-banking and financial-services firms.
TAMPA, Fla.-Regional wireless operator MetroPCS Communications Inc. said it has launched its flat-rate, unlimited calling service in Tampa and Sarasota, Fla. The carrier noted the new markets join its current offering in the Miami area, and subscribers in the Tampa and Sarasota markets can...
PLAINFIELD, Ind.-Brightpoint Inc. announced two deals this week.The company's Brightpoint North America L.P. subsidiary entered an agreement with Samsung Telecommunications America L.P. that calls for Brightpoint to distribute a range of Samsung CDMA and GSM devices and accessories to operators and retail customers in...
