Mobile and Wireless Industry Reports

Regional carrier Pocket Communications said its customer base in south Texas reached 170,000 subscribers, 17 months after the company began offering a flat-rate wireless service that competes with larger carriers such as Leap Wireless International Inc. Pocket, which serves the …

The Federal Communications Commission agreed to divide mobile satellite service L-band spectrum between CDMA operator Globalstar Inc. and TDMA operator Iridium Satellite L.L.C., while soliciting public comment on a plan to give Globalstar ancillary terrestrial component authority on most of …

Microsoft Inc. announced it has acquired the right to buy Musiwave SA from Openwave Systems Inc., which has struggled with management changes in light of stock-option backdating woes and proxy battles with shareholders. No terms of the proposed deal were …

Yet another set of mobile advertising guidelines will be released this week as the dotMobi Advisory Group (MAG) unveils a 44-page document for companies looking to target wireless users.The group, a nonprofit offshoot of mTLD Top Level Domain Ltd., hopes …

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 …

The Bush administration’s top telecom advisor John Kneuer is stepping down later this month, ending a rocky tenure characterized by the Democratic-led Congress’ intense oversight of major public-safety, spectrum-reform and digital TV programs.Kneuer has headed the National Telecommunications and Information …

Leap Wireless International Inc.’s stock took a major hit this morning. The flat-rate wireless carrier, which until recently had been courted by MetroPCS Communications Inc. with an unsolicited $5.1 billion merger bid, released preliminary financial results for the third quarter …

Wireless broadband service provider Clearwire Corp.’s losses widened substantially during the third quarter, with higher revenues more than offset by a $159 million charge related to the refinancing of some of Clearwire’s debt.The company reported a net loss of nearly …

Shares of InPhonic Inc. continued their free-fall as the online wireless retailer filed for Chapter 11 protection and said it will sell “substantially all” of its assets to Versa Capital Management, a Philadelphia-based private-equity firm.InPhonic operates white-label customer service sites …

Qualcomm Inc.’s earnings in the fiscal fourth quarter and full year showed year-on-year improvements, but a modest outlook for the fiscal first quarter sent its shares down around 6% in after-hours trading. The stock was down around 3% this morning.The …

With the launch of WiMAX trial markets just weeks away, Sprint Nextel Corp. says it is re-examining its WiMAX business plans and has abandoned a partnership with Clearwire Corp. intended to promote a faster, cheaper deployment of the technology by …

T-Mobile USA Inc. added 857,000 net subscribers to its network during the third quarter, numbers primarily driven by the carrier’s prepaid offering. The carrier had added 802,000 net subscribers during the third quarter of last year, but a higher percentage …

Sprint Nextel Corp. announced it will pro-rate its early termination fees for customers, the last of the four national wireless carriers to do so.Sprint Nextel’s move comes on the heels of T-Mobile USA Inc.’s announcement yesterday that it will begin …

Tellabs Inc. announced that Krish Prabhu plans to resign as president and CEO by March 1, 2008. Prabhu, 53, has served in the positions at Tellabs since 2004. Tellabs’ stock fell more than 4% to $7.69 following the news.“The Tellabs …

Towerstream Corp.’s stock slipped a little more than 4% to $2.50 per share after the company reported a net loss of $1.75 million for the third quarter. Revenues for the quarter just barely surpassed the overall loss the company suffered. …

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 RCRNews.com to rant and rave about whatever rubs …

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. awarded its $600 million media-buying account to Publicis Groupe’s Starcom, according to executives familiar with the situation. Starcom prevailed in a review that also included WPP Group’s MindShare, which handled media duties in about 60 markets, …

Nortel Networks Corp. stock jumped 18% to $19.40 yesterday when the infrastructure vendor reported earnings of $27 million during the third quarter, up from the $63 million it lost in the year-ago period. The stock leveled off this morning at …

As the pace of convergence quickens, Nokia Corp. cut a deal with wireless telecom giant Vodafone Group plc to integrate mutual service offerings designed to grab eyes, ears and wallets-as competitors from within and without the wireless industry rapidly move …

Like rival Nokia Corp., Sony Ericsson is stepping up its direct-to-consumer content business.The London-based handset manufacturer said it will expand its PlayNow business, adding a song-identification application and “millions of music tracks and thousands of mastertones from both major and …

T-Mobile USA Inc. jumped on the bandwagon for a more consumer-friendly wireless service contract, announcing plans to begin pro-rating early termination fees in the first half of 2008. The changes will affect new customers and current customers who renew their …

American Tower Corp. brought in $59.6 million in profits during the third quarter thanks to a 10% increase in total revenue from the year-ago period, the company announced.The company also raised its guidance for 2007 based on increased revenues. American …

TomTom NV fired the latest salvo in the bidding war for Tele Atlas, offering to acquire the Dutch digital mapping company for $4.25 billion.The Amsterdam, Netherlands-based maker of car navigation equipment outbid rival Garmin Ltd., which last week offered $3.3 …

The following list includes ratings changes and financial information for wireless companies announced this week by investment-banking and financial-services firms.Carrier–RBC Capital Markets lowered its price target on Embarq to $60 from $67 after the company reported in-line third-quarter results.–R.W. Baird …

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. –4INFO: Peacock Equity, a joint venture of GE Commercial Finance’s Media, Communications & Entertainment …