If you've been reading the tea leaves for signs of Nokia Corp.'s resurgence in the United States, a more tangible sign could be sitting on the shelves at you local AT&T Mobility store.The Nokia 6555, a mid-tier clamshell priced at $50 with a mail-in...
The next big thing in mobile virtual network operators may not look much like the MVNOs that have been launching-and sometimes crashing-in the past couple of years. With the hype around the space settling into caution, observers see a new kind of MVNO-like partnership...
MetroPCS Communications Inc. urged the Federal Communications Commission to address alleged efforts to run up local termination fees levied by incumbent and competitive wireline carriers within the scope of an upcoming rulemaking on a related practice regarded as access-charge traffic pumping."Potential traffic-pumping abuses are...
Nokia Corp., two handset rivals and semiconductor companies active in the memory space are pursuing an open standard dubbed universal flash storage that could smooth the uptake path for a variety of converged mobile and consumer electronics devices.The standard is expected to be finished...
Patent reform is often billed as a battle between high-tech and pharmaceutical heavyweights, but in reality sharp divisions exist such that Motorola Inc., Qualcomm Inc., InterDigital Communications Corp., Texas Instruments Inc. and others are fighting largely Democratic-crafted legislation backed by Microsoft Corp., Intel Corp....
Wireless carriers should be expected to speak highly of their networks-it's arguably their greatest asset alongside spectrum holdings-but the No. 3 and No. 4 carriers are now enabling customers to build their own micro networks of sorts. Are they giving up some of the...
Record labels and carriers are looking for creative ways to keep the lucrative ringtone party alive. But a handful of startups have taken a cue from music group REM, asking, "Why don't we give it away?"Ringtones for years have been the most popular type...
AT&T Mobility announced earlier this month that it has expanded its W-CDMA/HSDPA service to McAllen, Texas (population: just over 125,000). That's great news for McAllen, but a stark reminder that the nation's No. 1 carrier has yet to launch its much-hyped "3G" network in...
The Apple Inc. iPhone was expected to cause a shift in the industry on services, and its visual voicemail component may very well be initiating new ways for consumers to retrieve and review their audio messages.In recent weeks, applications developer Acision announced its own...
WiMAX equipment providerTelsima Corp. announced two tier-one operator deals in the fastgrowing Indian market, reflecting a WiMAX opportunity in emerging markets that has often been obscured in the United States by the prominence of Sprint Nextel Corp. and Clearwire Corp.'s plans for advanced services...
Solis Energy recently launched a line of products specifically targeting power needs within the wireless space, from providing power for wireless security cameras to powering Wi-Fi and WiMAX network equipment.The company's products rely on solar energy to provide power for low-wattage electronic infrastructure and...
Welcome to our Friday feature, Week in Review. Every Friday, RCR Wireless News runs through the major events of the past week, outlining what happened and speculating on what to look for in the coming weeks, months and years. Check below for news about...
Mobile virtual network operator Helio L.L.C. has received a fresh commitment of funds from South Korean co-parent SK Telecom, to the tune of $270 million. The funding does not include a matching commitment from Helio's other owner, EarthLink Inc.EarthLink said it is in discussions...
Telecom vendor GCI announced it acquired four-year-old Alaska Wireless Communications L.L.C. for an undisclosed sum.Alaska Wireless, a GSM cellular provider that launched in 2003 as a locally owned and operated alternative for wireless, has service offerings in the Dutch Harbor area of Alaska. As...
Like any European vacation, by the time you reach your third historic capital, you're running out of steam. At least the kind of steam that fuels international media coverage of the iPhone.With rumors no doubt carefully planted-speculation in the European business press over the...
Nokia Corp. introduced a beta version of a downloadable application that groups text conversations by contact.Conversations, as the offering is dubbed, enables threaded SMS messages similar to offerings available on the Apple Inc. iPhone, Palm Inc. Treos and Windows Mobile-enabled handsets. The application is...
New York City Transit is one step closer to building a cellphone network in its 277 subway stations, but it remains to be seen if mobile phone providers such as Verizon Wireless are going to pay to offer the service to their customers.Next week,...
The Federal Communications Commission launched a rulemaking on the highly-sought 2155 MHz-2175 MHz spectrum band, setting the stage for a resumption of a wireless open-access debate that gained strength during in the agency's 700 MHz proceeding.Late last month, the FCC tossed out applications of...
Todd Achilles, the face of HTC Americas in the United States and throughout the Americas, resigned about a month ago, Achilles confirmed today. The smartphone vendor is actively pursuing candidates to replace Achilles, said Jason Gordon, an HTC spokesman. Achilles said today that...
In a move that signals the intensifying competition among handset vendors in the United States market, Samsung Telecommunications America today named a chief marketing officer, Bill Ogle, to a newly created position. Ogle's background-he comes from Pizza Hut, where he served as CMO-reflects the...
Verizon Wireless and Vodafone Group plc are planning to move to Long Term Evolution technology as the 4G evolution path for their respective networks, according to remarks by company executives this week. Arun Sarin, CEO of Vodafone, and Verizon Communications Inc. chairman and CEO...
Actix, a wireless network technology provider, has completed its merger of Actix Ltd. and Radioplan GmbH, an automated network optimization software provider.Radioplan was first acquired by Actix in February 2006, but the complete merging of operations is now finalized, Actix reported. Germany-based Radioplan will...
Mobile virtual network operator Disney Mobile has been well-received by parents, but lacks scale and may see some changes to its business model, according to remarks by Walt Disney Co.'s senior executive VP and CFO Tom Stagg at a Merrill Lynch conference this week....
Hello! And welcome to our Thursday column, Worst of the Week. There's a lot of nutty stuff that goes on in this industry, so this column is a chance for us at RCR Wireless News to rant and rave about whatever rubs us the...
