MetroPCS Communications Inc. has proposed a merger with its flat-rate rival Leap Wireless International Inc.Metro said it sent Leap a letter detailing its offer, which involves a "stock-for-stock, tax-free merger that will create a fifth national wireless carrier." Each outstanding share of Leap's stock...
Editor's Note: Welcome to our Monday feature, Analyst Angle. We've collected a group of the industry's leading analysts to give their outlook on the hot topics in the wireless industry. In the coming weeks look for columns from Jupiter Research's Julie Ask, iGR's Iain...
Perhaps banking on a sense that only someone over 65 would know what a "coupe" is, Verizon Wireless launched a handset by that name along with a rate plan aimed at the older crowd's yearning for simplicity, safety and economy.The Coupe handset will sell...
THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS Commission appeared poised to reject M2Z Networks Inc.'s plan to offer free nationwide broadband service on the 2155-2175 MHz band, a move likely to prompt a court challenge and refocus the campaign to integrate open-access wholesale requirements in the wireless space.Once...
Nokia Corp. is hoping to build a doorway directly to mobile consumers. Again.But whether carriers will tolerate the move is far from clear.The manufacturer-cum-mobile-media company last week outlined a surprisingly broad cross-platform play, introducing Ovi-which means "door" in the Finnish company's native tongue-at its...
MUNICIPAL WI-FI TOOK SOME MAJOR HITS last week. Once considered by many cities and towns to be the roadmap to offer high-speed Internet access for all, wide-spread use of the unlicensed technology is now less certain. In a week that saw Google Inc. boasting...
THE CONVENTIONAL WISDOM-promoted by the WiMAX Forum and confirmed to a degree by at least two independent market research firms-is that no one company owns a potentially disabling amount of intellectual property in WiMAX technology. The implication is that the road ahead for the...
By now you've probably read about the "teen whiz" who unlocked his Apple Inc. iPhone using software commands and a soldering iron. (George Hotz, unlocker from New Jersey, got a free car, three iPhones and a consulting contract from an admiring Terry Daidone, co-founder...
After years of demurring on its marketshare ambitions, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications L.P. has shifted from declarations of "profits first" to emphasize its "credible aspiration" of overtaking one if not two of its three larger rivals.The asterisked caveat: no timeframe provided. A wise distinction,...
LG Electronics Co. has seen its rivals steal a march in recent quarters, dropping the South Korean vendor to the No. 5 slot globally, though it remains neck-and-neck for the No. 2 spot in the United States.The Korean vendor has not had the success...
As IMS makes its way from hype to reality, one of the crucial steps along the way for the technology involves testing various parts of the architecture, as well as the applications and services that are to run over the Internet Multimedia Subsystem networks.Since...
Grounded squirrelsMobile Streams plc said its animated series "Suicidal Squirrels" will be available through Ad Infuse's video podcast advertising insertion service. The series was developed as a direct-to-mobile offering and tells the story of 100 squirrels that have decided they want to die. The...
James Baldinger, a partner at Carlton Fields PA, has successfully litigated cases on behalf of Tracfone Wireless Inc. against individuals and groups that have purchased discounted Tracfone handsets, unlocked them and resold them for profit.Based on his experience with such litigation and his familiarity...
Less than six months after its commercial launch, mobile TV vendor MediaFLO USA Inc. is in the midst of an executive shuffle.Dan Novak, who has been the public face of MediaFLO at trade shows and other industry events, is now playing a key role...
These appear to be dark days for municipal Wi-Fi. The oncepromising way to bring wireless broadband to the masses has hit that hard wall separating hype from reality.Chicago just added itself to a growing list of cities with second thoughts about deploying a publicly...
What a tome: 312 pages, including appendices. Why, already the number of printed copies of the Federal Communications Commission's 700 MHz decision would keep Dunder-Mifflin afloat a little longer.But what would you expect? The Martin FCC-eagerly egged on by Cyren Call, Frontline Wireless, Google...
Dear Editor:We would like to raise an issue about the methodology and claims cited in the Aug. 13 article, "The MMS disconnect" by Colin Gibbs.The article used assertions of two third parties, 4INFO Inc. and RealNetworks Inc., along with Mr. Gibbs' own tests of...
WPP Group's Ogilvy & Mather has helped build some of the world's highest-profile brands during its 60-year history, and subsidiary Ogilvy Interactive is known as one of the leading advertisers in new media. Maria Mandel, executive director of digital innovation for Ogilvy New York,...
Mobile users in Australia and the United Kingdom can get Jason Bourne on the phone just by pressing a few buttons.Universal Pictures International is running print ads pushing "The Bourne Ultimatum" in both markets, encouraging fans to snap a photo of the ad and...
While Congress and the Federal Communications Commission will have a full plate of wireless and high-tech issues this fall, policymakers are unlikely to move on any sweeping measures for the remainder of the year.Nonetheless, telecom/high-tech policy matters before Congress and the FCC are significant....
A couple weeks back content provider Exclaim unveiled its MyFaith mobile application that offers "spiritual well-being and enlightenment from six major religions and philosophies." Those lucky six include Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism. The application also includes a customizable avatar character styled...
Who says you can't buy influence? Or at least attempt to.During the first six months of this year, the communications-electronics sector spent big money attempting to curry favor from elected officials on topics ranging from trade disputes to the upcoming 700 MHz spectrum auction.According...
Carriers abroad increasingly are looking at managed service contracts as a way to reduce their network operating expenses, and large equipment vendors could reap the benefits over time, according to a new report by ABI Research.Although the trend hasn't yet caught on in the...
