Mobile and Wireless Industry Reports

Hello! And welcome to our 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 RCRWirelessNews.com to rant and rave about whatever rubs us …

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Late-night talk-show host Carson Daly offered an insider’s view of the future of television during a speech at the storied Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel here yesterday afternoon. The 34-year-old entertainer, who climbed the ladder from radio to TV, …

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Qualcomm Inc.’s push into the broadcast mobile TV space has been going slower than the company would like, CEO Paul Jacobs said in a keynote at the Tech Policy Summit here this morning.Qualcomm’s subsidiary MediaFLO USA Inc. …

Alltel Corp. has tapped mobile video startup Transpera Inc. to power a carrier-branded Internet video service.Alltel Social Video, which is available for $3 per month, allows subscribers to access, rate and share videos from popular Web destinations such as Break.com, …

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — “Internet circa 1996,” M:Metrics senior analyst Seamus McAteer said. “If I had to give it a score, it’s a C-minus at best,” said Steve Smith, managing director at Playboy TV International. “I think it’s a complete miss, …

Sprint Nextel Corp. and Clearwire Corp. are in discussions with the nation’s two largest cable providers — Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Cable Inc. — to fund a nationwide WiMAX venture, according to the Wall Street Journal. Intel Corp., Google …

Motorola Inc. will split into two publicly traded companies, if it has its way, the company said today. Under the plan announced this morning, shareholders will receive shares of both companies — one focused solely on mobile devices, the other …

The following list includes ratings changes and financial information for wireless companies announced this week by investment-banking and financial-services firms.Handset and infrastructure vendors–RBC Capital Markets lowered its price target on Palm to $5 from $6 after the company reported a …

A federal appeals court blocked the Federal Communications Commission’s new enhanced 911 location accuracy rule from going into effect, possibly setting the stage for the court to overturn the agency’s 2007 decision.The Rural Cellular Association and T-Mobile USA Inc. challenged …

A class-action suit filed against Verizon Wireless and third-party content providers in California federal court alleges the No. 2 mobile-phone operator enticed subscribers to engage in illegal gambling. The suit centers on 99-cent charges levied on wireless consumers who played …

The turbulence continued for Motricity Inc. as COO Steve Elfman said he will move to Sprint Nextel Corp.Elfman had overseen InfoSpace Inc.’s mobile business unit and was named COO in the wake of Motricity’s acquisition of the Seattle-area company. He …

Nortel Networks Corp. inked a five-year deal to deliver infrastructure kit for U.S. Cellular’s CDMA network.U.S. Cellular said it will purchase Nortel’s CDMA switching, base stations and software under terms of the deal, using the technology to deliver voice service …

CEOs tend to come and go accompanied by headlines of some sort, at least in the American press. Not so for the second-tier executives of multinational corporations, particularly those at Korean conglomerates such as Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and LG …

Editor’s Note: Welcome to On the Margins, a feature for RCR Wireless News’ 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 …

Editor’s Note: Welcome to Reality Check, a feature for RCR Wireless News’ weekly e-mail service, Mobile Content and Culture. We’ve gathered a group of visionaries and veterans in the mobile content industry to give their insights into the marketplace. In …

The mobile TV market will probably be a big topic in the coming weeks following news that EchoStar plunked down $711 million for 168 E-Block licenses in the recently completed 700 MHz auction. EchoStar is still under a gag order …

Editor’s Note: Welcome to Yay or Nay, a feature for RCR Wireless News’ 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 …

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–Greece: L.M. Ericsson said it upgraded …

Google Inc., a major force in prying open the 700 MHz band for third-party applications and devices, could also become the pivotal deal-maker in the equally controversial and politicized debate over whether federal regulators should make vacant TV channels — …

Activist investor Carl Icahn announced, through a fiery press release, that he is suing Motorola Inc. in order to obtain documents outlining the handset maker’s business strategy, financial performance and use of the company’s aircraft by Moto executives “for personal …

Nickelodeon/MTVN’s Kids and Family group is launching three mobile Web sites designed for wireless and personal video devices, one for each of its target demographics. Nickelodeon Mobile (wap.nick.com) will feature content aimed toward young children, with The N (wap.the-n.com) angling …

Editor’s Note: Welcome to our weekly 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 Current Analysis’ …

Virgin Mobile USA Inc. is to unroll a set of new pricing plans that streamlines some of its pay-as-you-go offerings and enhances features included in monthly plans.The move comes less than two weeks after the company’s stock was hammered for …

Research and Markets has announced the addition of World GPS Market Forecast to 2012 to their offering.

Our week o’ Dell scoops continues with what Dell calls its “mainstream” and “essential” series of Latitude E-series laptops.