Mobile News – RCR Wireless News

WASHINGTON-The long-awaited publication in the Federal Register of the Federal Communications Commission’s plan to solve public-safety interference in the 800 MHz band occurred Nov. 22. Publication starts the 75-day clock for Nextel Communications Inc. to say whether it will accept …

WASHINGTON-Congress failed to pass relocation trust fund and wireless enhanced 911 legislation, but House and Senate members plan to try again in early December when lawmakers return for a brief extension of the lame-duck session. The relocation bill is key …

WASHINGTON-Wireless and wireline carriers serving rural America hailed congressional passage of a measure that prohibits the Federal Communications Commission from restricting universal-service subsidies to primary lines. “Now that the primary-line restriction is off the table, we look forward to working …

Mobile instant messaging is expected to take another step forward this week with an announcement that Nokia Corp. will expand its offerings of IM-friendly handsets. The world’s largest handset manufacturer will build on a two-year relationship with Oz, a Canadian …

WASHINGTON-Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell (D) has yet to signal whether he will sign or veto a bill some critics fear will undermine Philadelphia’s planned Wi-Fi rollout. However, there is a possibility Rendell will direct city officials, telecom carriers and other …

BEDMINSTER, N.J.-Verizon Wireless said it was eliminating local number portability-related monthly regulatory charges for its customers beginning with upcoming customer billing cycles. The carrier said it has been charging 40 cents per customer per month since March to help defray …

When it comes to mobile music, few people have the perspective of Thomas Dolby Robertson. The singer/songwriter-turned-software developer used last week’s MobileMusiCon to launch his latest offering, a Web-based software application for ringtone creators and wireless carriers. RetroFolio 1.0 allows …

The Federal Communications Commission approved the nation’s first software-defined radio, marking the launch of a new era of smart wireless devices designed to make improved use of the crowded airwaves while avoiding interference. “This is the first step in what …

VANCOUVER, British Columbia-Wireless enterprise company Infowave Software Inc. announced a complicated business deal that will net the company $4.6 million in new money from an investor in the real-estate business. The deal will give executives from Canadian real-estate company Concord …

SAN DIEGO-Providence Equity Partners and Warburg Pincus have signed a deal to acquire Telcordia Technologies Inc. for $1.35 billion in cash, according to Science Applications International Corp., which owns Telcordia. Telcordia makes software that develops, maintains, monitors and fixes carrier …

SAN ANTONIO-SBC Communications Inc. and Yahoo! Inc. signed a multi-year extension of their current agreement to provide co-branded DSL and Dial services and announced plans to extend the alliance to wireless technology. In addition to offering services to personal computers, …

Wireless technology and service company InPhonic Inc. enjoyed a major initial public offering last week, raising a total of $108.9 million in net proceeds. The company initially expected to raise about $83.5 million. InPhonic’s stock began trading at around $19 …

WASHINGTON-Democratic Federal Communications Commission Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein won strong bipartisan support for a new term at a Senate confirmation hearing, with Senate Commerce Committee members venting anger at the Bush White House for delaying the reappointment for two years. Sen. …

Wi-Fi is quickly taking the place of integrated cameras and push-to-talk functions as the new hot technology for the handset market. As a result, chipmakers, carriers and handset suppliers are rushing to take advantage of the perceived demand for such …

WASHINGTON-The Food and Drug Administration launched a new initiative to study the use of radio frequency identification technology to improve the safety and security of drugs, an effort with major implications for high-tech vendors and systems integrators that parallels plans …

HONG KONG-Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. said it became the first Chinese vendor to make third-generation handsets with the launch of three new UMTS devices at the 3G World Congress & Exhibition. Huawei will add the 3G devices to batch production …

LONDON-A new study shows that the market for smart phones will continue to increase during the next several years, with global shipments growing from 14.6 million units last year to 125 million units in 2009. According to research firm ARC …

LONDON-MobVision launched its Arabian Nights Mobile Casino game, which includes age and identification verification systems to deter underage play and fraud. The first four games to be launched are slots, poker, blackjack and hi-lo. The company plans to add virtual …

Carriers and content providers descended on Miami for the Mobile Music Conference last week, but at least one company was conspicuous by its absence. MusiKube, a New York-based mobile music marketing company, had reason to stay home: it is possibly …

OYSTER BAY, N.Y.-The GSM technology community must include location-based services in its strategic plans by next year or it will be in a disadvantaged position, according to Alan Varghese, principal analyst of semiconductor research at ABI Research. Varghese said GSM …

Verizon Wireless became the first major U.S. carrier to offer ringback tones, launching a service analysts say-and carriers hope-may be even more profitable than ringtones. Ringbacks are clips of music a caller hears instead of a traditional ring before the …

WASHINGTON-More than a year after the Federal Communications Commission declared that there would be intermodal porting in addition to wireless local number portability, rural local exchange carriers are still upset. Thursday they took their grievances to court, but didn’t seem …

The United States may have stolen the text-messaging world record from the text-loving British thanks to a lightning-fast performance by Ben Cook, a 17-year-old high school student in Salt Lake City. Cook was competing in the “Fastest-Fingers Text Messaging Contest,” …

ROCHESTER, N.Y.-Citing low levels of customer satisfaction, a Harris Interactive Inc. study found that 13 percent of wireless customers have switched wireless providers during the past 12 months, an additional 13 percent are probably or definitely planning to switch carriers …

Boston Communications Group Inc. provided the technology for the sale of prepaid wireless minutes at 3,800 U.S. Bank ATMs in 24 states, the companies plan to announce today. The service, called Wireless Wallet, allows prepaid users to “top up,” adding …