Mobile News – RCR Wireless News

Four years after it was founded, MacroPort is finally coming to market. The Mountain View, Calif.-based startup unveiled its first offerings this week, launching a suite of wireless software designed to allow users to access and transfer content and applications …

OVERLAND PARK, Kan.-Sprint Nextel Corp. said it will install Qualcomm Inc.’s uiOne technology in its new phones. The carrier also unveiled its first phone running the technology, Sanyo Corp.’s CDMA2000 1x EV-DO-capable MM-7500, which Sprint Nextel will sell for $380. …

Free, municipally run Wi-Fi Internet access will become a permanent fixture in New Orleans, according to Mayor Ray Nagin, who announced plans to cover the entire city with a Wi-Fi mesh network within a year. “We are among the first …

WASHINGTON-The Senate Commerce Committee is giving the communications industry a chance to come up with a voluntary system to help parents control content over all media platforms-including mobile phones-or lawmakers warned they may legislate a solution. After conducting a daylong …

STOCKHOLM, Sweden-L.M. Ericsson said it won a contract to provide regional wireless operator SunCom Wireless Inc. with a next-generation core network throughout the operator’s southeastern U.S. coverage area. Ericsson explained that SunCom is deploying Ericsson’s Mobile Softswitch solution to carry …

WASHINGTON-Top wireless carriers asked a federal court to block the state of Kentucky from enforcing a new law set for Jan. 1 that would prohibit operators from passing to subscribers a 1.3-percent gross receipts telecom tax. Cingular Wireless L.L.C., Verizon …

The BlackBerry-maker suffered yet another black eye last week in its legal scrap with NTP Inc. A Virginia judge rejected a request from Research In Motion Ltd. to enforce a $450 million settlement with NTP Inc., which claims patents to …

WASHINGTON-The California regulator behind the campaign to overhaul the state’s bill of rights for telecom consumers has been tapped as chief of staff to GOP Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The appointment adds an unexpected twist to the politically charged proceeding at …

WASHINGTON-Another deadline for offering enhanced 911 services has come and gone. This time, however, the Voice over Internet Protocol industry is the market begging for relief. In June, the Federal Communications Commission gave VoIP service providers a Nov. 28 deadline …

WASHINGTON-Federal Communications Commission officials last week refused to discuss whether they were prodded by cellular lobbyists to get involved in brain-cancer lawsuits, the first time to date the agency is believed to have weighed in on civil health litigation. On …

LOS ANGELES-Brightpoint Inc. announced an agreement to distribute products for mobile virtual network operator Amp’d Mobile Inc. The Indiana-based distributor of phones and accessories will perform inventory management, product fulfillment and distribution, returns management and credit services for Amp’d, which …

TAMPA, Fla.-Syniverse Technologies Inc. said it has won the contract to provide GSM clearinghouse services for Vodafone Group plc. Syniverse recently announced plans to establish a clearinghouse data center in Europe by the end of first-quarter 2006. It opened its …

NEW YORK-Wireless Venture Partners Inc., a national wireless retailer based in Las Vegas, said it has closed $10 million in series A financing. The round was led by The Greenspun Corp. and Catalyst Investors L.P. The company said it plans …

BOSTON, Mass.-MobileSphere said it is offering CarrierILD, an international long-distance solution for mobile virtual network operators and wireless carriers. The service uses MobileSphere’s patent-pending softswitch technology and global Tier 1 network. “MVNOs and wireless carriers are grappling with how to …

WASHINGTON-Sprint Nextel Corp. asked the Federal Communications Commission to delay the retuning process for the 800 MHz band, claiming that the slow start reported by the 800 MHz Transition Administrator is due to a steep learning curve exacerbated by things …

RCR Wireless News is pleased to announce that Kelly Hill has been hired as a reporter covering the cellular beat for the newspaper. Hill recently received her Masters of Journalism degree from the University of California, Berkeley, Graduate School of …

SAN JOSE, Calif.-Worldwide sales of semiconductors surged past $20 billion in October, driven by strong customer demand for consumer electronics such as cellular phones. Sales increased by 6.75 percent compared with the same time last year, according to the Semiconductor …

HOUSTON-Crown Castle International Corp. announced plans to redeem $200 million in convertible preferred stock held by an affiliate of General Electric Co. Under terms of the agreement, CCI’s revolving credit facility has been bolstered to $325 million from $275 million. …

SAN FRANCISCO-Mobile game-maker Mforma Group Inc. unveiled its latest licensed title from Marvel, launching Ultimate Spider-Man in the United States and Europe. The two-dimensional platform game is based on Activision Inc.’s console game of the same name, and allows gamers …

Just two weeks after Mike Zafirovski took the reins as Nortel Networks Ltd.’s new chief executive, two longtime employees have been shown the door. Nortel confirmed that Brian McFadden, chief research officer, and Sue Spradley, president of global services and …

WASHINGTON-Colorado authorities last week were expected to limit charges to a misdemeanor against a teenage driver who investigators said was text messaging on his cell phone when he crossed over into a bicycle lane, where his car struck a cyclist …

OKLAHOMA CITY-Dobson Communications Corp., the primary licensee of the Cellular One brand, said it plans to purchase the brand from Alltel Corp. for $1.3 million. Alltel acquired the Cellular One brand when it purchased Western Wireless Corp. in August. Raymond …

WOBURN, Mass.-Verizon Wireless said it expanded its network coverage in four states, increasing capacity and the availability of its CDMA2000 1x EV-DO network. In Georgia, the company added seven cell sites and expanded the availability of EV-DO services in the …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission named Nancy Victory to head an independent panel to examine the effects of Hurricane Katrina on communications networks. “The destruction of Hurricane Katrina caused to communications facilities, and therefore the services upon which first responders and …

Cingular Wireless L.L.C. is testing a rate plan in select markets that allows customers to place unlimited calls to AT&T Inc. wireline customers for a flat monthly fee. AT&T, which recently changed its name from SBC Communications Inc. following SBC’s …