Sprint Nextel Corp. said the financial impact of Hurricane Katrina will be between $150 million and $200 million net of expected insurance recovery. The carrier said the estimates include capital and operating costs primarily associated with restoration of network infrastructure and retail operations, along...
Instant messaging continued to move into wireless Wednesday, as Virgin Mobile announced a deal to bring America Online Inc.'s Instant Messaging to subscribers who purchase Virgin Mobile's latest phone. The offering will include traditional IM features, including presence and buddy lists, and initially will...
SAN FRANCISCO-Cingular Wireless L.L.C. and Sendia Corp. teamed to provide real-time, on-demand wireless access to account information within Salesforce.com targeted at sales professionals.Cingular will resell Sendia's WorkSpace customer relationship management application on several of its devices. The offering, which is expected to be launched...
NEW YORK-Juice Wireless and Wildsight Productions are targeting bird lovers and wildlife enthusiasts with two new mobile content services.The companies launched Wildtones.com and Birdtones.com, which are designed to distribute entertaining and educational wildlife content to mobile-phone users. Customers can select from digitally recorded sounds...
WASHINGTON-Youth in rural America consider cell phones to be their most essential telecommunications service, according to a survey released Monday by the Foundation for Rural Service, the non-profit wing of the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association.One in 10 rural youth have cut the cord, while...
WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission and Congress may have differing opinions on upcoming auctions of third-generation and digital TV spectrum, warned the Rural Telecommunications Group late Monday. RTG said the FCC's idea of allowing combinatorial bidding could go against Congress' wishes that spectrum be made...
NEWARK, N.J.-IDT Corp. unveiled its TuYo Mobile prepaid wireless service targeting the rapidly growing-and increasingly targeted-Hispanic community. IDT said the TuYo Mobile service will offer a bilingual customer experience, international calling and text messaging, and "culturally relevant" music, ringtones, games and graphics.IDT said the...
OTTAWA-Canadian wireless carriers will join their peers to the south when they implement wireless number portability in September 2007.The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association said a 64-page report, completed by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP earlier this month, examined the hundreds of technical, inter-carrier and regulatory tasks and...
Alltel Corp. reported a deal with U.S. Cellular Corp. to swap 15 rural markets in Nebraska and Kansas that Alltel acquired when it purchased Western Wireless Corp. for two Rural Service Area markets in Idaho currently operated by U.S. Cellular and $50 million in...
Nokia Corp. released a new, low-priced wireless e-mail product that will work with almost any new mobile phone. The offering sets Nokia squarely in the wireless enterprise marketplace and pits the company directly against players like Research In Motion Ltd., Good Technology Inc., Visto...
Cingular Wireless L.L.C. has tapped SmartTrust AB's over-the-air technology to simplify Cingular's third-generation network rollout, the companies said Tuesday. The software developer will manage the activation process both on users' 3G Subscriber Identity Module cards and through the integration of Cingular's back-end billing and...
VALHALLA, N.Y.-Cingular Wireless L.L.C. and Fuji Photo Film U.S.A. Inc. are partnering for a service that allows subscribers to order photo prints from their handsets and pick them up at local retailers in as little as an hour.The carrier launched Get the Picture Mobile,...
KINGS PARK, N.Y.-WiMAX vendors and service providers shouldn't forego traditional fixed wireless markets as they target wireless opportunities, according to a report from Visant Strategies.The research firm said fixed wireless will represent the "bread and butter" for WiMAX technology through 2009, providing the bulk...
ESPOO, Finland-Nokia Corp. raised its revenue expectations due to what the company said were stronger-than-expected sales of mobile phones. Nokia's stock jumped almost 4 percent on the announcement to $16.71 per share.Nokia increased its revenue expectations by about $350 million to around $10.4 billion....
ATLANTA-Verizon Wireless announced an authorized agent location devoted specifically to the Spanish-speaking population in Atlanta.The company said the store, called ToDo Communications, is the first communication store in Georgia that is Hispanic owned and has a bilingual staff.
FRAMINGHAM, Mass.-NMS Communications, a mobile applications solution developer, reached a deal with Ericsson Inc. to supply its Vision Media Server. NMS said its carrier-grade servers allow enhanced capabilities to be deployed in converged infrastructure and in all-Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem network architecture and are...
ORLANDO, Fla.-Mobile entertainment services provider ClearSky Mobile Media Inc. and Viaero Wireless, which provides wireless service in Colorado and Nebraska, have launched a mobile entertainment offering called V-Edge. The service includes mobile Web browsing, downloadable content such as ringtones and games, and camera phone...
MORRISVILLE, N.C.-TapRoot Systems Inc., which provides software for smart phones, said it has secured a second round of venture financing.The round was led by Harbert Venture Partners and included participation from existing investors, including Intersouth Partners and Mid-Atlantic Venture Funds. Harbert's Wayne Hunter will...
BOCA RATON, Fla.-Marconi Corp. plc and Airspan Networks Inc. announced plans to work together to deploy WiMAX connectivity in Italy's Piedmont and Sicily regions.Marconi said it was selected to support a public trial of WiMAX in the regions by a working party consisting of...
PLAINFIELD, Ind.-Palm Inc. authorized two mobile-phone distributors to distribute its Treo smart phone in the United States.The company signed agreements with Brightpoint Inc.'s North American subsidiary and with CellStar Corp. to distribute the Treo. Both distributors will offer the smart phone to operators, mobile...
Wireless e-mail vendor Good Technology Inc. said it cut an unspecified number of jobs due to the company's transition from direct to indirect sales. The cuts were part of a restructuring at Good that resulted in a total workforce reduction from 500 positions to...
OKLAHOMA CITY-Dobson Communications Corp. subsidiary Dobson Cellular Systems launched its Signalink data packages. The services include wireless Internet, text messaging, picture messaging and downloadable content via the carrier's recently deployed GSM/GPRS/EDGE network. Dobson said the Signalink services range from $8 to $20 per month.
Alltel Corp. is taking a slow and steady approach to integrating its recently acquired Western Wireless Corp. assets. The company is expected only to make minor changes through the end of this year and wait on major initiatives until next year. Alltel has updated...
Most wireless communications towers were able to remain at least upright through Katrina's wrath. Power and telecommunications facilities sustained widespread damage from water in some of the hardest-hit areas, but for the most part, the towers themselves weathered the storm and are intact. "We...
