Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin said the agency will consider revising special-access pricing rules by early September, a development that could lead to lower costs for mobile phone carriers and others.Sprint Nextel Corp. has been the most vocal of the four national carriers...
Sprint Nextel Corp. is determined to push WiMAX into existence and then ubiquity, and the company may explore a range of financial and strategic options in order to make that happen, CEO Gary Forsee told an industry conference earlier this week. Forsee said that...
CellAntenna Corp. asked the Federal Communications Commission to permit first responders to use jamming equipment to prevent terrorists from using cellphones to detonate bombs known as improvised explosive devices.The Coral Sprints, Fla., firm said it decided to petition the agency for the rule change...
SANTA MONICA, Calif.-It's not the cash cow most in the wireless industry hope it will be, but mobile television is already producing some steady revenue streams and showing signs of growth, Levi Shapiro, director of audiences at Telephia, said in opening remarks at a...
The GSM Association said it is re-branding two of its trade shows by removing references to 3GSM.The 3GSM World Congress Asia is becoming Mobile Asia Congress and the 3GSM World Congress will be re-branded as the Mobile World Congress. Mobile Asia Congress is scheduled...
Clearwire Corp. announced agreements with satellite television providers DirecTV Group Inc. and EchoStar Communications Corp. that expand Clearwire's distribution channels, and also could open the door for the wireless high-speed Internet company to offer triple-play services.Clearwire said that the agreements "are expected to lead...
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 to rant and rave about whatever rubs us the wrong way....
If you're a manly man and you've stubbed out your cigar long enough to buy a manly vehicle, you may well settle on the Hummer.Your next logical move then is to acquire a Hummer mobile phone, designed and distributed by ModeLabs Group, a customized...
The guys who founded Atlas Mobile are back with a community-based contest offering for mobile phones and PCs.Isaac Babbs, Andy Riedel and Ken Scott unveiled Tapatap Inc., a San Mateo, Calif.-based startup that allows members to create and play "photo contests" for prizes. The...
Frontline Wireless is hoping to add some more lobbying muscle with the addition of former Federal Communications Commission chief Mark Fowler. The Greensboro, N.C.-based firm has called for the FCC to license a bock of 700 MHz commercial spectrum for an open-access broadband network...
Sony Ericsson has tapped Gracenote to power a sideloading-enabled mobile music platform.The new platform includes features such as search and discovery, song identification and playlisting, and is designed to allow the easy transfer of tunes between home music libraries, online music stores and mobile...
Federal courts have given federal regulators until June 27 to justify a ban on new models of 3G phones powered by Qualcomm Inc.'s chips, while the chip vendor appeals the ban. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has given the United...
SANTA MONICA, Calif.-Like a train caught in a labyrinth of tracks, each with unknown destinations, the entertainment industry is hurtling across the DRM space with no clear direction or destination.So was the theme of this morning's panel at the Digital Hollywood conference on copyrights...
Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) said the Federal Communications Commission should write 700 MHz rules that foster innovative wireless broadband services and improved first-responder communications.Kerry, decrying the declining stature of United States in broadband penetration compared with other countries, said the upcoming 700 MHz auction...
Vodafone U.K. has tapped Novarra to transcode Internet content for mobile phones.Novarra will provide a hosted service that automatically transforms Web content to fit specific handset capabilities such as screen size and memory. The technology also optimizes the speed and usability of the Internet...
Mobile multimedia technology company Aylus Networks Inc. said it snared $15 million in a second round of fundraising from existing investors Matrix Partners and North Bridge Venture Partners.Aylus provides software designed to enhance voice calls with shared video clips and images. The Westford, Mass.-based...
Alcatel-Lucent unveiled a content platform designed to allow operators to customize the mobile shopping experience for their users.The Paris-based corporation said its 5965 Mobile Content Platform offers tools to help carriers create a simplified one-stop shop for mobile content, minimizing the number of click-throughs...
The following list includes venture capital and other investments into wireless companies announced during the past week. The value of the investment is included when available.--Adaptive Mobile: Doughty Hanson, an early-stage venture-capital fund, led AdaptiveMobile's $14 million second-round financing. Other investors included Noor Financial...
The following list includes ratings changes and financial information for wireless companies announced this week by investment-banking and financial-services firms.Carrier --Standard & Poor's Ratings Services raised its issue rating on Qwest Corp.'s senior unsecured debt to BBB- from BB+.--Lehman Bros. raised its price target...
Peter Adderton, founder and CEO of mobile virtual network operator Amp'd Mobile Inc., has left the company he founded and subsequently guided into bankruptcy.An Amp'd representative confirmed that Adderton and the MVNO have parted ways, although Adderton is currently still on the company's governing...
It was loud and frequent complaints-"I'd rather make a trip to the dentist than shop for a wireless phone"-that ultimately led to the creation of Best Buy Mobile, a joint venture between the mammoth U.S. electronics retailer and European cellphone vendor Carphone Warehouse. In...
When customers call, marketers aren't doing a very good job addressing their concerns. That's the conclusion of a new call-center-satisfaction study, which found one-fifth of callers hang up with unresolved issues.Callers to personal-computer companies were most unhappy, with a satisfaction score of 64 out...
After a temporary break from acquiring affiliates, Sprint Nextel Corp. is going forward with the purchase of a small Minnesota affiliate for $312.5 million, a number that includes the assumption of the rural carrier's debt.Northern PCS Services L.L.C. has more than 167,000 direct subscribers...
The Wizard of Oz can change his mind, it seems. Apple Inc. said that its forthcoming iPhone product will run applications created with Web 2.0 standards, opening the device to extended capabilities from third-party suppliers-a change in direction from the company's initial product announcement...
