Mobile News – RCR Wireless News

Sun Microsystems Inc. is hoping to boost sagging revenues by making its Java programming language available as free open-source software. Jonathan Schwartz, who took over as Sun’s chief executive officer three weeks ago, told developers at last week’s JavaOne conference …

Mobile game-makers spent their time at the world’s largest video-game conference trying to reconcile two very different bills of health. A report issued by M:Metrics in advance of the Electronics Entertainment Expo earlier this month indicates mobile-gaming activity has been …

SCHAUMBURG, Ill.-Verizon Wireless plans to be the exclusive provider of Motorola Inc.’s Q smart phone. Although the carrier has not said when it plans to begin selling the phone, Motorola Chief Executive Officer Ed Zander recently said the device likely …

The CDMA camp is on a roll with a litany of recent successes, guaranteeing its place at a global wireless table still dominated by GSM technology, according to the CDMA Development Group. The expected network upgrades to CDMA2000 1x EV-DO …

Inmarsat plc may have raised the ante for mobile satellite services by launching land-based “broadband” voice and data service in the United States, close on the heels of launches in Europe and Asia. The London-based MSS provider’s BGAN service, enabled …

SAN DIEGO, Calif.-Leap Wireless International Inc. has begun touting the launches of several new markets on its Web site: Houston and College Station, Texas, and Cincinnati. The Texas markets are set to launch June 7, according to the site, and …

WASHINGTON, D.C.-NextWave Wireless Inc. filed a Form 10 with the Securities and Exchange Commission registering their existing shares of stock, but the company said it is not preparing for an initial public offering. “NextWave Wireless LLC has filed a Form …

WASHINGTON-Congress is moving toward developing a national strategy for interoperable first-responder communications, though it remains unclear whether lawmakers can drum up the considerable federal funding needed to enable firefighters, law enforcement, medics and others to talk to each other during …

NEW YORK-Broadcom Corp.’s share price popped up 3 percent while Qualcomm Inc.’s fell 2 percent after a UBS analyst reported that a staff attorney for the International Trade Commission advised an ITC judge that Qualcomm infringed on two Broadcom patents …

Ending years of communication frustration amongst Colorado’s first responders, M/A-COM Inc. announced that its public-safety portable radios have been deemed Project 25-compatible, meaning that the radios can now be used on the Motorola Inc.-based statewide Digital Trunked Radio system as …

WASHINGTON-A former wireless policy-maker has teamed with financial backers to seek spectrum for an advertising-supported national broadband wireless network that would provide service for free. M2Z Networks Inc., co-founded by former Federal Communications Commission wireless bureau chief John Muleta, has …

Verizon Wireless beat out the rest of the industry in serving business customers, landing at the top of J.D. Power and Associates’ second annual survey of business wireless satisfaction. Verizon Wireless had an index ranking of 711 on a 1,000-point …

BOSTON-In a head-to-head comparison, more customers preferred Sprint Nextel Corp.’s Music Store to Verizon Wireless’ Vcast service-but both were deemed too expensive, according to a new study by research firm Strategy Analytics. Strategy Analytics said Sprint Nextel’s Mobile Music Store …

MOUNT VERNON, Ill.-Southern Illinois Cellular Corp., which does business as First Cellular of Southern Illinois, said that it had sold its interests in the Illinois RSA 6 and 7 Partnership to Verizon Wireless and Alhambra-Grantfork Cellular Telephone Co. The two …

The once-noble joint venture between Cingular Wireless L.L.C. and T-Mobile USA Inc. that allowed each carrier to fill in a significant coverage hole-California and Nevada for T-Mobile USA, New York for Cingular-is nearing an end as both carriers are expected …

WASHINGTON-Even with carefully worded denials by two large telephone companies and outright denials by two national mobile-phone carriers, the Bush administration and the telecom industry last week failed to quell a mushrooming controversy over whether carriers supplied the National Security …

WAKEFIELD, N.H.-Prepaid reseller Freedom Phone Services introduced a new prepaid phone plan that starts at $10 per month. Customers must pay ahead of time and essentially have a month-to-month arrangement; they have a month to use their allotted minutes and …

Leap Wireless International Inc. reported plans to swap 10 megahertz of 1.9 GHz spectrum covering Grand Rapids, Mich., for 10 megahertz in Rochester, N.Y. currently held by Cingular Wireless L.L.C. The move plays into Leap’s market-cluster strategy, adding to its …

NASHVILLE, Tenn.-Mobile virtual network operator Mobile ESPN L.L.C. said it plans to offer roadside assistance services to its customers via insurance and warranty company Asurion. The service is expected to cost $3 per month and include 24-hour towing, lockout assistance, …

PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y.-The handset market in the United States continues to run hot, with new figures from The NPD Group reflecting an 11-percent growth in sales for the first quarter over the year-ago quarter. The biggest beneficiary in the United …

KIRKLAND, Wash.-Craig McCaw’s Clearwire Corp. filed for a $400 million initial public offering, a move that likely will help fund the company’s efforts to expand its wireless broadband operations in the United States and elsewhere. The company did not reveal …

PHILADELPHIA-The last political hurdle for Philadelphia’s citywide Wi-Fi project has been cleared, as Philadelphia’s city council gave its final approval to plans to provide low-cost Wi-Fi to all residents. The council voted unanimously in favor of a proposed 10-year contract …

HOUSTON-Dexa Wireless, a Mexican-owned mobile virtual network operator, threw its hat into the MVNO ring, announcing it launched commercial operations in Los Angeles. The company said it is targeting the Hispanic population with prepaid service under its Va Contigo commercial …

As the use of RFID technology increases, so do the concerns from consumer privacy advocates. A trade group recently unveiled a set of best practices that they say promotes respect for consumer privacy, but at least one group calls the …

The advocacy group assisting Maria Gonzalez in the health-related suit to delay the June 29 start of the advanced wireless services was incorrectly identified in the May 8 story. The correct name is the Vermont-based EMR Policy Institute.