MediaFLO USA Inc. is locking up high-profile content deals and shifting into overdrive as it nears its service launch with AT&T Mobility. Meanwhile, its would-be competitors remain in idle as they work to lock up their first carrier customers.While the subsidiary of Qualcomm Inc....
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...
Dear Editor,Every now and then the Federal Communications Commission has to do something very important. In the next two weeks this FCC has a chance to protect the homeland and ensure billions of dollars of benefits to consumers. Or if spun into confusion by...
IMAGINE THIS made-for-TV moment:An outsized individual-a Sumo wrestler, say-is about to perform the much-revered cannonball maneuver into the deep end of a swimming pool. A traditional cast of bon vivants garbed in linen suits and straw hats, ladies in polka-dot dresses with matching broad-brim...
A partial ban on the importation of new handset models containing Qualcomm Inc.'s 3G chips will remain in effect as the chip vendor's appeal is heard in a federal court and considered by the Bush administration.The United States International Trade Commission ruled yesterday that...
GPS chipmaker SiRF Technology Holdings Inc. announced it purchased Centrality Communications Inc, which makes processors for "mobile navigation devices," in a deal worth $283 million in stock and cash.SiRF's stock bounced more than 3% on the news to around $22.18 per share. "World...
A partial ban on the importation of new handset models containing Qualcomm Inc.'s 3G chips will remain in effect as the chip vendor's appeal is heard in a federal court and considered by the Bush administration.The United States International Trade Commission ruled yesterday that...
Perhaps it is just as well that Allen Salmasi is still flying under the radar, given the tumult and upheaval that ensued when his last startup found it couldn't repay the federal government the nearly $5 billion it owed for scores of mobile-phone licenses...
Broadcom Corp. plans to acquire GPS know-how, products and software by purchasing Global Locate Inc., a privately held firm that currently supplies GPS solutions to handset vendors, the two companies announced.Broadcom will pay $146 million in cash, with up to another $80 million possible...
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...
Broadcom Corp. plans to acquire GPS know-how, products and software by purchasing Global Locate Inc., a privately held firm that currently supplies GPS solutions to handset vendors, the two companies announced.Broadcom will pay $146 million in cash, with up to another $80 million possible...
THE CLOCK IS TICKING as Qualcomm Inc. pursues legal remedies and technical alternatives to counter a decision last week by a federal agency banning future models of 3G handsets containing the vendor's chips from entering the United States. The U.S. International Trade Commission stunned...
To Broadcom Corp., a favorable federal jury verdict last week in a patent infringement lawsuit against arch-rival Qualcomm Inc. was "gratifying." That's understandable, as the decision vindicated Broadcom's position in the case-at least for now-and came with a $19.6 million award, which could...
Cellphone dodges bullet An Aurora, Colo., man may have his cellphone to thank for his life. Roger Baxter was shot in the chest during a burglary in his home, but the bullet was slowed by the cellphone he had tucked into his shirt pocket....
Broadcom Corp. is "pleased" and "gratified" that a federal jury in Santa Ana, Calif., found Qualcomm Inc. willfully infringed on three of its patents and awarded it $19.6 million in damages to cover past infringements.A June 18 hearing has been set to consider Broadcom's...
Nokia Corp. responded to Qualcomm Inc.'s April 2 lawsuit filed in Wisconsin, disputing the latter's allegation of patent infringement, and charging the chip vendor with violating six Nokia patents. Nokia's action capped six weeks of relative quiet in the closely watched tug-of-war between the...
Qualcomm Ventures will make $135 million available to innovative European companies working on W-CDMA advances.The San Diego-based chip vendor said its move into Europe is to foster development among small- and medium-sized companies focusing on applications, platform software, handset components and network infrastructure. Qualcomm...
Video-compression technology vendor On2 Technologies Inc. announced it acquired Finland-based Hantro Products Oy, a firm that sells video software to cellphone makers. On2 will pay around $58.5 million for the company, although the number is dependent on a variety of factors, including On2's stock...
In what might be billed as "The Natural History of a Startup," tiny, San Diego-based Sequoia Communications is making the rounds, hoping to lure W-CDMA baseband chip vendors into using its newly minted transceiver chip. Sequoia, with 50 employees today and funding through 2008,...
AT&TEd Whitacre announced that he will retire as CEO and chairman of the board at AT&T Inc. effective June 3. The 65-year-old executive is the longest-serving CEO in the telecommunications industry, having served as chairman and CEO of Southwestern Bell since 1990. When...
Motorola Inc. said it hired a platform technology guru for its mobile devices business, a pragmatic move that reflects the ailing handset giant's efforts to revive its fortunes-albeit one that will take precious time to be felt in the market.Whether that news actually reaches...
Qualcomm Inc. yesterday reported that revenue and profit in its fiscal second quarter were both up more than 20 percent over the year-ago quarter and raised its forecast for third-quarter revenue. The San Diego-based chipmaker and technology-licensing firm posted revenue of $2.22 billion, an...
Texas Instruments Inc. reported revenue of $3.2 billion and net profit of $516 million, down 4 percent and nearly 12 percent, respectively, over the year-ago quarter. The chip vendor said that revenue was impacted by an inventory correction in the market. "We believe the...
Rep. Chip Pickering (R-Miss.) plans to offer a bill mandating a federal standard for interoperable public-safety communications if one cannot be achieved voluntarily. But emerging technological solutions appear to be altering the broader debate over first-responder spectrum and interoperability and disrupting the competitive landscape...
