Mobile News – RCR Wireless News

CUPERTINO, Calif.-Founded in 1996, chip startup Tropian Inc. today released its first product, an RF transceiver for mobile phones that combines the transmissions of GSM and EDGE technologies. The company said the product will lead to smaller, more powerful and …

WASHINGTON-The pesky tax on talking may finally be headed for the door-more than a century after it was established to pay for the Spanish-American War. It is not the legislative process that is finally killing it, but rather the judiciary, …

STOCKHOLM, Sweden-Tele2 AB has given up on the Finnish market, where it has operated a mobile virtual network operator service since 2003, due to competitive and regulatory challenges. The carrier, which holds a third-generation license in the country, also will …

WASHINGTON-Continuing its crackdown on companies that it says are delinquent in paying universal-service and other regulatory fees, the Federal Communications Commission proposed $1.5 million in fines against two companies that resell long-distance service. The FCC wants to fine OCMC Inc. …

PARIS-Alcatel Corp. and Datang Mobile, a telecom equipment developer, said they are ready to deliver end-to-end TD-SCDMA products after completing the industrialization phase and jointly demonstrating a live end-to-end TD-SCDMA solution in April during the TD-SCDMA International Summit in Beijing. …

WASHINGTON-InPhonic Inc.’s board of directors authorized a stock repurchase of up to $30 million of common stock during the next year. The company said it can make repurchases under Rule 10b5-1, which permits shares to be repurchased when the company …

BERWYN, Pa.-SunCom Wireless Holdings Inc. said it has terminated its planned $113 million acquisition of wireless spectrum holder Urban Comm-North Carolina Inc. The deal was originally announced last October. SunCom-then called Triton PCS-said it planned to purchase all of Urban …

WASHINGTON-The Bush administration approved a $4.4 million loan to construct a wireless broadband network on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Bay Broadband Communications plans to deploy 92 distribution sites serving 5,000 homes and more than 3,000 businesses in 14 communities in four …

WASHINGTON-The National Emergency Number Association asked the Federal Communications Commission to establish an interim, then permanent, Routing Number Administrator, a move that would benefit Voice over Internet Protocol providers facing difficulties routing enhanced 911 calls as they race to deploy …

SAN RAMON, Calif.-The WiMedia Alliance announced it is working with Ecma International, a nonprofit association of technology developers, vendors and users, to establish a global ultra-wideband standard. The alliance said that with the help of Ecma, it aims to establish …

BOSTON-American Tower Corp. completed its merger with SpectraSite Inc., creating a combined company with more than 21,500 wireless towers, more than 400 broadcast towers and nearly 100 in-building sites. Stockholders of both companies approved the merger in separate meetings Aug. …

LAUREL, Md.-Verizon Wireless said it will hire more than 300 customer service representatives to help staff a new $22 million Maryland call center about 12 miles from the company’s regional headquarters in Laurel. The carrier plans to build a 139,000-square-foot …

COPENHAGEN, Denmark-Anritsu Corp. signed an agreement with Axcel, the Danish investment firm that owns NetTest, to acquire NetTest, a global network monitoring systems and field use test products provider. In the deal, Anritsu is set to receive 100 percent of …

America Online Inc. is stepping up its move into the wireless industry with the acquisition of privately held software developer Wildseed Ltd., the Internet giant announced last week. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Wildseed pursued the highly coveted …

WASHINGTON-Continental Airlines Inc. is fighting an order from the Massachusetts Port Authority that Continental discontinue its free Wi-Fi service inside its Presidents Club at Boston’s Logan International Airport, saying the Massport order violates federal law. The Federal Communications Commission is …

TORONTO-Shares of software developer 724 Solutions Inc. tumbled Wednesday after the company hinted it could lose a key contract with Sprint PCS. In a press release regarding the company’s second-quarter results, 724 said that while it was still providing technology …

WASHINGTON-A group of 14 Democratic House members led by Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) asked the Federal Communications Commission to reject a wireless-industry petition that would prohibit state regulation of early-termination fees. “Consumers win when they have choices. Early-termination fees take …

MIAMI-Hispanic-targeted prepaid service Movida said it will launch a suite of information services next month. The 6-month-old service said it will offer regional news programming, Latin American soccer scores, celebrity news and Hispanic daytime TV plot summaries beginning in September. …

The battle for wireless customers between the industry’s No. 1 operator Cingular Wireless L.L.C. and No. 2 Verizon Wireless is set to move into the rapidly expanding hybrid-plan market segment. Hybrid plans generally merge calling-minute buckets associated with lucrative postpaid …

ORLAND PARK, Ill.-Andrew Corp. signed an agreement to provide its location technology to Nokia Corp.’s GSM network base station subsystem customers and to license certain Nokia technologies that will be used in the supplied location systems. The agreement allows operators …

SK-Earthlink’s plans to launch a mobile virtual network operator service have been pushed back until at least early next year, but despite the delay, the company is not scaling back its roadmap to sign up 3 million customers by 2009. …

WASHINGTON-Within hours of telling reporters that he expected to fill “current open positions” during the month of August, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin named Bruce Franca chief of the FCC’s Office of Engineering & Technology. However, the FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau …

PLAINFIELD, Ind.-Brightpoint Inc. released its second-quarter earnings, reporting net income of $4.9 million, or 27 cents per share, which is a 35-percent increase from the second quarter of 2004. Brightpoint reported revenues of $524 million, a 13-percent increase from the …

WASHINGTON-Wireless customers are still complaining with their feet. Three million customers switched mobile-phone providers from December 2004 to the end of April, and the figure does not include customers who may have switched carriers more than once during that period, …

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla.-Payless Communication Holdings Inc. said it has filed an application for a 214 license with the Federal Communications Commission. Any company that sells retail and wholesale service with international and U.S. terminations, including prepaid calling cards, prepaid wireless …