Mobile News – RCR Wireless News

WASHINGTON-Since the digital TV transition issue put universal-service reform on the back burner, lawmakers recently agreed to extend for another year efforts by the Federal Communications Commission to limit telephone subsidies to a person’s primary line. This means wireless carriers, …

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.-Visto Corp. hopes a whopping $70 million financing round can propel it to the forefront of the white-hot wireless e-mail space. The developer added to its already-fat wallet with the latest round, which was led by DFJ ePlanet …

Verizon Wireless said it obtained an immediate injunction against Florida-based private investigative agency Global Information Group, which the carrier said had attempted to obtain confidential information about its subscribers. In its lawsuit against the agency, filed Nov. 2 in Hillsborough …

SCHAUMBURG, Ill.-Motorola Inc. and The Michigan Department of Transportation announced plans to establish a roadside network aimed at reducing accidents and congestion by wirelessly connecting vehicles to each other and to roadside transmitters. The plans center on Motorola’s Motodrive wireless …

SAN DIEGO, Calif.-InfoSonics Corp., a wireless handset distributor, said it extended its distribution agreement with Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. through December 2006. The deal calls for InfoSonics to continue selling Samsung handsets and accessories to carriers in Central America, the …

WASHINGTON-The long-running legal battle between former Illinois wireless dealer Kempner Mobile Electronics Inc. and Cingular Wireless L.L.C. has taken a new turn as a federal appeals court reversed a lower court ruling, essentially finding that the nation’s top mobile-phone operator …

SAN DIEGO-Wireless Facilities Inc. is coming back strong, posting a fiscal third-quarter net income of $5.8 million, or 8 cents per share, after posting a $14.9 million net loss, or 22 cents per share, during the same period a year …

DENVER-Amy DeVita has rejoined RCR Wireless News as Northeastern/International Sales Manager. DeVita spent six years representing RCR Wireless News from 1998 to 2004, before deciding to take some time off to spend with her family. Prior to that, she worked …

Global Tower Partners said it is bought Mesa Communications Group, a tower company that had about 250 towers in the Northeast, New England and Mid-Atlantic states. GTP now owns, manages and master leases some 7,200 sites, including 1,800 owned towers. …

As the 2005 hurricane season draws to a close, it leaves behind a Gulf Coast region with a changed state of communications. First and foremost, gone are the days of landline dominance. Networks are not being re-built as they were, …

CHICAGO-More than half of the world’s mobile phone users with multimedia handsets use their phones to access the Internet or check e-mail at least once a month, according to a report from Mobinet. The survey, initiated by consulting firm A.T. …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission extended emergency alert rules to digital media technologies, while soliciting additional comment on how the government can integrate wireless technologies into a next-generation public warning network. The FCC said it also is examining how a modern …

IRVINE, Calif.-Boost Mobile L.L.C. launched a downloadable client that allows AOL, MSN and Yahoo instant-messaging users to access the services from their handset. Montreal-based mobile IM developer Oz is powering the service, which is designed to duplicate the PC messaging …

ANNAPOLIS, Md.-Does the military use its spectrum resources efficiently and effectively? The question was debated in a week-long conference. At one end of the argument stands the Department of Defense, which says it measures spectrum efficiency based on the ability …

WASHINGTON-The IRS lost another round in its quest to keep collecting a 3-percent tax on talking. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit agreed with the 11th Circuit that the tax cannot be collected on calls that are …

Regional carriers continued to bleed customers during the third quarter as more competition and evolving networks drove up churn for a number of operators Dobson Communications Corp., SunCom Wireless Holdings Inc. and Rural Cellular Corp. all posted significant customer losses …

COSTA MESA, Calif.-Diversified telecommunications provider GTC Telecom Corp. said it planned to stop offering local services in select states and focus instead on offering wireless services using a mobile virtual network operator model. GTC’s management cited increased costs resulting from …

Two months after it began selling the phone, Cingular Wireless L.L.C. has cut the price of Motorola Inc.’s iTunes-capable Rokr by $100. The carrier is now selling the device for $150 with a service agreement, down from an unsubsidized price …

SAN JOSE, Calif.-Sprint Nextel Corp. joined the Global UMTS TDD Alliance, which is spearheaded by IPWireless Inc. Other companies joining the UMTS TDD Alliance include T-Mobile Czech Republic, which launched a UMTS TDD network in parts of the Czech Republic …

Sprint Nextel Corp. became the first U.S. operator to offer full-track music downloads, launching a dual-delivery service last week using phones from Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and Sanyo Electric Co. The carrier introduced a mobile music store that allows users …

LONDON-The worldwide public Wi-Fi market is expected to reach 100,000 hot spots by the end of this year, according to Informa Telecoms & Media’s Wireless Broadband Analyst report. There were 84,283 hot spots worldwide at the end of the second …

WASHINGTON-The Senate late Thursday agreed to set the date to complete the digital TV transition at April 7, 2009, after a failed attempt to move the date to April 2008. “We have picked this date based upon the recommendations of …

Reston, Va.-Mobile Satellite Ventures continues to push its terrestrial-satellite wireless offering, announcing a Capitol Hill demonstration of its technology as well as plans to focus on patent licensing and enforcement efforts. “MSV’s vision is to launch the most advanced system …

BELLEVUE, Wash.-T-Mobile USA Inc. got a jump on the holiday shopping season by rolling out a promotional rate plan that includes 1,500 anytime calling minutes for $40 per month. Customers can add unlimited night and weekend calling to the plan …

WASHINGTON-Recognizing that sometimes the local wireline carrier is the impediment to new communications technologies gaining access to enhanced 911 services, the Senate Commerce Committee passed legislation requiring the Federal Communications Commission to mandate access. The wireless industry has found it …