Internet access service provider EarthLink Inc. announced a joint venture with South Korean wireless telecommunications provider SK Telecom to market wireless voice and data services in the United States using a mobile virtual network operator model. The venture, which will be dubbed SK-EarthLink, is...
WASHINGTON-Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, introduced a bill Tuesday that hopes to streamline homeland-security grants and ensure that rural states get sufficient funding."My bill guarantees that rural states will receive their fair share of federal homeland-security dollars. Every...
CHATEAUFORT, France-Nortel Networks Ltd. and Qualcomm Inc. announced they conducted end-to-end test calls of a W-CDMA/HSDPA system using commercial network and handset equipment. The companies said the calls demonstrate their capabilities to commercially deliver HSDPA products."Qualcomm is committed to helping the W-CDMA community extend...
SHREVEPORT, La.-Fixed-line prepaid phone service company Budget Phone Inc. will offer service from Boost Mobile, a prepaid mobile service owned by Nextel Communications Inc., under an agreement announced Tuesday.Budget said it has partnered with Precept, an authorized national master distributor of Boost Mobile, to...
WASHINGTON-The Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Postal Service announced plans to deploy radio frequency identification technology, an emerging wireless capability predicted to generate more than $1 billion in Western Europe alone by 2007.Asa Hutchinson, undersecretary for border and transportation security at Department...
Vodafone Group plc reported its strongest quarter since 2000, posting 5.4 million net customer additions to bring its worldwide subscriber base to 151.8 million. Vodafone's announcement also offered a glimpse into Verizon Wireless' fourth-quarter results to be announced Thursday. According to Vodafone's numbers, Verizon...
ALLENTOWN, Pa.-Agere Systems Inc. said its Sceptre HPU solution is now generally available.The chipset and software solution for dual-mode UMTS/EDGE multimedia mobile handsets enables seamless handovers between third-generation/UMTS and 2.5G/EDGE networks, said the company. The product delivers up to 384 kilobits per second downloads...
GALWAY, Ireland-Accendo Technologies said it secured $1.6 million in funding from Shannon Development Ireland and private investors. The company will use the funds to build its global sales and marketing presence beyond its current relationships in the United States and Asia-Pacific. Funds also will...
SAN RAMON, Calif.-Kodiak Networks reported that Montana-based rural wireless provider 3Rivers Wireless plans to deploy Kodiak's Real Time Exchange System and accompanying push-to-talk service. Kodiak noted its RTX System is network technology agnostic and is compatible with both digital and analog networks. Kodiak added...
WASHINGTON-Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh reportedly will ask the country's top health official to investigate whether cell phones pose health risks to consumers.According to news reports circulating in the Indian press, Congress Member of Parliament Murli Deora recently met Singh on the cell-phone health...
DALLAS-Subscribers of First Cellular of Southern Illinois can access a new ringback service featuring content from the film "Meet the Fockers." Preferred Voice Inc. (PVI) and Versaly Entertainment are teaming for the service, which the companies described as the first movie-themed ring-back offering in...
Verizon Wireless signed a definitive agreement to purchase Cellular 2000 of St. Cloud, Minn., from its owner St. Cloud Wireless Holdings L.L.C. Financial terms of the deal were not announced. The deal includes Cellular 2000's B-side cellular spectrum license, which covers 250,000 potential customers...
McDonald's restaurants in the Pacific Northwest will give away ringtones, wallpaper and coupons to wireless handsets during a Web-based promotional campaign, the fast-food chain said Wednesday. McDonald's will use the Web site www.mobilestr33t.com as a focal point for the campaign to offer ringtones from...
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina-Thanks to a deal between operator CoTeCal and ZTE Corp., the country will witness its first CDMA 450 MHz network, according to the Chinese vendor.ZTE said the carrier will provide services such as voice, G3 fax and high-ratio packed data through ZTE's...
TOKYO-Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. said it plans to cut its work force with a view to improving its profit margin. Press reports say the company may slash as many as 1,000 positions, or about 5 percent of its staff."This is not just an early...
DIC Entertainment said it has signed an agreement with SmartVideo Technologies inc. to create what it describes as the world's first animation channel for cell phones. Known as "DIC Kid's Network," the channel will enable up to 25 million children to access a vast...
Treo maker PalmOne Inc. announced chief Todd Bradley will resign his position at the end of the quarter. The news seemed to alarm investors, who sent the company's stock down more than 6 percent to about $24.98 per share.PalmOne's President Ed Colligan will take...
MILAN, Italy-Italian carrier Telecom Italia said it plans to sell its 54.76-percent equity stake in Entel S.A. to Almendral S.A., a holding company listed on the Santiago stock exchange in Chile and controlled by a consortium of entrepreneurs. Entel owns Entel PCS, a mobile...
SEOUL-LG Electronics Co. Ltd. said it posted solid earnings thanks to strong sales of its TVs and mobile phones. For the full year, LG posted sales up 22 percent from the previous year and a record operating margin of 5.1 percent.In the company's mobile-phone...
TAMPA, Fla.-Wireless retailer and Wi-Fi hot-spot provider FTS Wireless Inc. said it plans to begin marketing Alltel Corp.'s wireless products and services next month. The company currently distributes wireless products from Cingular Wireless L.L.C. and Sprint Corp. in select markets."Alltel has a solid footprint...
SAN FRANCISCO-Yet another mobile music label was launched Tuesday as digital record company INgrooves announced its effort to create music exclusively for wireless devices. INgrooves Mobile Music will produce custom ringtones and other content, distributing the tunes through mobile storefronts such as 9 Squared,...
WASHINGTON-Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) introduced legislation that could curb the kinds of consumer and health class-action suits brought against the wireless industry in recent years. "In the 109th Congress we once again have the opportunity to stop class-action lawyers from being able to snag...
The nation's three largest wireless operators have the highest percentage of customers under contract for more than 12 months, according to consumer data research compiled by Stax Inc. The research firm noted that 43.1 percent of Verizon Wireless customers, 42.9 percent of Cingular Wireless...
Rural telecommunications provider Ntelos Inc. said it has commenced a self-tender offer to repurchase up to 76 percent of its existing equity in relation to a previously announced agreement to be acquired by a pair of venture-capital firms.The self-tender offer calls for Ntelos to...
