WiMAX technology could become a backhaul solution for metropolitan Wi-Fi networks, according to a new report from IMS Research.WiMAX technology offers a lower cost solution that provides point-to-multipoint capability, said the report. The technology presents several challenges as a backhaul solution especially in macro-cellular...
Conventional wisdom suggests a presidential-level veto of an International Trade Commission ruling is a long shot, especially compared to pardons or, say, commutations of prison sentences.But maybe not in this case. There's the ITC patent infringement/import ban ruling against Qualcomm Inc. Then there...
Powered by brand equity and brilliant media manipulation, Apple Inc. has parachuted into the handset business. Look out below!The company's first foray into mobile handsets has captured so much attention-the proverbial "mind share" in tech-speak-that incumbent handset vendors must respond to the challenge, according...
NextWave Wireless Inc. completed the purchase of a controlling interest in a Swiss WiMAX company with significant spectrum holdings in Austria, Slovakia and Croatia. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but NextWave subsidiary Inquam Broadband GmbH closed on the purchase of a 65%...
Sprint Nextel Corp. is cutting loose subscribers who eat up its customer service resources, despite several quarters of struggling to hold onto users. However, the carrier is adamant that "the vast majority of our customer base is not affected" and that only a "very...
Apple Inc. provided information on how the iPhone's battery replacement will take place and how much it will cost. The iPhone vendor's choice of a sealed-in battery-the same approach used in the iPod-has generated some criticism. The battery is estimated by Apple to handle...
Birdview Technologies unveiled a WAP-based application that allows real estate agents to access details about properties on the market from their cellphones.The offering delivers information such as price and square footage to users who log on and type in an MLS number of a...
Women are more inclined to click on text-based mobile ads while men are more likely to be lured by video marketing messages, according to a study of U.K. users from Tickbox, a London-based market research firm.The survey, which was commissioned by mobile media publisher...
Handset manufacturers and wireless carriers have quickly warmed up to the idea of global positioning system services as a means to offset declining ARPU in China, according to a new report from iSuppli Corp. Handset manufacturers are increasingly developing devices that support GPS while...
Stanford University is teaming with L.M. Ericsson to offer classes via cellphones in Africa.The school unveiled a pilot project called Dunia Moja, or "one world," that allows students at three partnering universities in South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda to attend lectures and interact with...
Regional carrier SunCom Wireless Holdings Inc. announced a new program that allows customers to accumulate rewards that can be used toward the purchase of a new wireless phone. The SunCom Anytime Phone Rewards program applies $5 per month to the customer's "phone rewards bank,"...
Clearwire Corp. secured the first portion of a fully committed $1 billion term loan that the wireless broadband service provider said would be used to refinance its debt and effectively extend all of its debts to a five-year maturity. The transaction was led by...
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...
More than a dozen House Commerce Committee lawmakers urged Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin to reject Frontline Wireless L.L.C.'s push to have the agency create a national 700 MHz commercial-public safety broadband license with an open-access component."We believe that it is worth considering...
Tessco Technologies Inc. acquired NetForce Solutions Inc., a provider of technical and sales training to the wireless, telecommunications and networking industries. Although Tessco declined to disclose the purchase price, it did report that the deal includes all non-cash business assets for an initial cash...
Unlicensed Mobile Access subscribers are due to reach 65 million by 2012, according to a new report from ABI Research. Although many believed UMA had lived out its role as a bridge between cellular and Wi-Fi networks, delays in the growth and development of...
Initial research into the guts of Apple Inc.'s iPhone shows Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and Infineon Technologies AG as two of the major component suppliers for the much-hyped device. But figures from tear-down firm iSuppli Corp. reveal that Apple itself is the true victor,...
Buongiorno S.p.A. stepped up its spending spree, agreeing to acquire U.K.-based content provider iTouch plc for $192 million.The Italian mobile content and advertising behemoth said it will pay $176 million to iTouch shareholders and absorb $16 million of the company's net debt. The combined...
Four days after launching the data-centric Apple Inc. iPhone, AT&T Mobility struggled with a regional crash of its EDGE network for several hours on Monday-but the carrier said the problem was with a data center in Texas, and had nothing to do with the...
The following list details this week's infrastructure awards for the cellular, Wi-Fi and WiMAX industries. The contracts are broken down by transmission technology, country and vendor. The value of the contract is included when available.Cellular--Mexico: Berkeley Varitronics Systems Inc. said it won a contract...
Nokia Corp. named Wieden & Kennedy as the lead strategic and creative agency for its estimated $300 million mobile phones advertising account, following a review. Wieden's first ads for Nokia's cellphones are expected to air early next year. Wieden, working through its London office,...
Editor's Note: Welcome to On the Margins, a feature for RCR Wireless News' new weekly e-mail service, Mobile Content and Culture. Every week, the RCR Wireless News staff considers events in the wider business world and how they could affect the wireless industry.--New numbers...
Editor's Note: Welcome to Yay or Nay, a feature for RCR Wireless News' new weekly e-mail service, Mobile Content and Culture. Every week we'll review a new wireless application or service from the user's point of view, with the goal of highlighting what works...
Perhaps no scenario has been more closely tied to mobile marketing than the story about customers walking by a Starbucks only to be pinged on their cellphones with an SMS coupon for 20% off a Raspberry Mocha Frappuccino. Over the years, this scenario has...
