Mobile News – RCR Wireless News

ALAMEDA, Calif.-UTStarcom Inc. reported a net loss for the first quarter of 2006 of $10.6 million, or 9 cents per share, a reversal from the net profit of $37 million the company reported during last year’s first quarter. In addition, …

WASHINGTON-A California state appeals court upheld a record $12 million fine levied by the California Public Utilities Commission against Cingular Wireless L.L.C. in 2004, rejecting the mobile phone carrier’s contention that the agency’s action was pre-empted by federal law. “While …

OVERLAND PARK, Kan.-Sprint Nextel Corp. continued to expand its music offerings, launching a series of made-for-mobile studio sessions featuring audio and video from nine artists. The Sprint Music Series is expected to include three or four songs and an interview …

WASHINGTON-A trio of designated entities claim the Federal Communications Commission grossly mischaracterized to a federal appeals court the regulatory process leading to controversial changes to spectrum auction rules designed to prevent large mobile phone carriers from gaining benefits meant for …

Virgin Mobile USA L.L.C. revamped its pricing and messaging plans and added options that look much more like postpaid offerings than its traditional prepaid route. The mobile virtual network operator has replaced its old Month2Month plans with five monthly, no-contract …

BOSTON-Motorola Inc., Jabra and Plantronics Inc. continue to lead the Bluetooth headset market with a combined 57 percent share of total global sales last year, according to research from Strategy Analytics. Motorola alone controls 28 percent of the market, making …

WASHINGTON-The independent panel reviewing the communications disaster sparked by Hurricane Katrina told the Federal Communications Commission it should encourage various changes to help prevent similar communications problems in the future. However, the panel stopped short of giving specific, detailed requirements …

WASHINGTON-Motient Corp.’s largest shareholder filed a new lawsuit against the wireless company, alleging in a Texas court that a recent transaction involving mobile satellite service ownership changes violates federal securities law. “Highland is certainly willing to consider strategic transactions that …

The satellite industry as a whole is rebounding, driven by new technologies and applications in the mobile satellite services space, plus consumer applications such as high definition television and satellite radio, according to the Satellite Industry Association, which recently reported …

The market for mobile phones’ onboard memory is undergoing transformation and commoditization, threatening incumbent companies and opening opportunities for small, nimble companies with a competitive differentiator to their product, according to Yankee Group analyst John Jackson. Carriers and handset vendors …

The good news is that about 80 percent of the world’s population is covered by wireless networks, and only about one-quarter of those actually subscribe to a wireless service, which means emerging markets offer opportunities for handset vendors to grow …

WASHINGTON-The 800 MHz Transition Administrator released details and a new electronic worksheet about its Planning Funding Fast Track Option, announced last month. Public-safety agencies’ requests must meet specific criteria to take advantage of the new process. The agencies’ requests must …

The news late last month that Qualcomm Inc. had initiated another lawsuit against Nokia Corp.-this time over GSM-related patents and before the United States’ International Trade Commission-produced mutual salvos and plenty of noise and smoke in the wireless industry. Both …

TOKYO-PacketVideo Corp. said it will work with NTT DoCoMo Inc. to bring mobile music to the Japanese market using Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Mobile Media technology. The companies are introducing Windows Media capabilities-including Microsoft’s digital rights management offering-into NTT DoCoMo handsets …

SAN MATEO, Calif. -Mobilitec Inc. is giving teens homework assignments. The company, which provides a platform for selling mobile content, has created a focus group of 11 teenage wireless users around the world. Mobilitec gives the kids monthly assignments and …

Cities across the United States are negotiating with wireless broadband companies to blanket themselves in Wi-Fi. How much consumers will have to pay for the service, though, is unclear. Wireless broadband provider MobilePro Corp. drew headlines last week after it …

CONSHOSHOCKEN, Pa.-An independent U.S. proxy advisory firm has recommended that shareholders of Sprint Nextel Corp. CDMA affiliate UbiquiTel Inc. vote in favor of the company’s proposed acquisition by Sprint Nextel. The recommendation was made by Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. UbiquiTel …

NEW YORK-Nielsen Media Research reiterated its intentions to move into mobile, outlining plans to track usage of multimedia services on wireless phones. The longtime television and Internet usage monitoring firm said it plans to integrate its efforts across platforms including …

Touting brand and pursuing differentiation is in vogue with nearly every original equipment manufacturer now chasing Nokia Corp. and Motorola Inc. over the rainbow, looking for the proverbial pot of gold. LG Electronics Co. Ltd. is no exception and its …

PARIS-French mobile operator SFR launched an HSDPA network in Paris and southern France, using network technology from Nokia Corp. SFR has about 17.3 million customers in France, about 1.5 million of which are 3G customers; the company is owned by …

ATLANTA-Cingular Wireless L.L.C. launched UMTS/HSDPA services for businesses and consumers in its home town of Atlanta. The high-speed wireless data and voice service is available on two handsets, the LG Electronics Co. Ltd. CU320 and the Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. …

SACRAMENTO, Calif.-A former Verizon Wireless employee has been sentenced to almost six years in prison for stealing access numbers for about $21 million in prepaid minutes and selling them to retailers at a discount. The Associated Press reported that Timothy …

LONDON-Shares of Monstermob Group plc plunged more than 21 percent after the ringtone provider ousted founder and Chief Executive Officer Martin Higginson. Monstermob, which has been on a worldwide spending spree in recent months, lowered forecasts for its U.K. business …

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, hundreds of thousands of people were scattered across the country. People’s homes were destroyed, their neighborhoods were flooded or left without power, and many had no way of calling for help or simply to …

SHENZEN, China-Chinese telecom manufacturer ZTE Corp. announced it signed a contract to build a CDMA2000 1x EV-DO Revision A network in Mongolia for Skytel, which is the largest CDMA wireless operator in that country. The company gave no details about …