Mobile News – RCR Wireless News

WASHINGTON-The mobile-phone industry proposed a national framework for wireless billing based on its voluntary code of conduct for service, while consumer groups and states are urging the Federal Communications Commission to strengthen billing rules and to refrain from pre-empting state …

Verizon Wireless continued to turn the screws on its competitors with further expansion of its CDMA2000 1x EV-DO network, which the carrier claims now covers 119 million potential customers in more than 50 major metropolitan areas and is available in …

Nextel Communications Inc., which is in the process of being acquired by Sprint Corp., reported in a government filing that the appraisal process associated with affiliate Nextel Partners Inc.’s put option that will be triggered following the acquisition could take …

KINGS PARK, N.Y.-Wireless backhaul will become increasingly important as carriers seek to reduce operating expenses and subscribers use more voice and data minutes, according to a study from Visant Strategies. Wireless backhaul accounts for one-fifth of all backhaul capacity in …

TORONTO-Nortel Networks Corp. announced a share dividend and a new chairman of the board, but it offered little in the way of strategic guidance during its annual shareholders meeting. Nortel investors-those who suffered through the company’s accounting woes-used the meeting …

Telecommunications clearinghouse company NeuStar Inc. earned a solid debut on Wall Street June 29 as its share price rose from its initial pricing of $22 per share to as high as $26.50 per share. The company scored about $600 million …

Sprint PCS continued to court pint-sized wireless users this week, unveiling a new mobile video channel featuring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tweety and other animated Warner Bros. characters. “Looney Tunes and Friends,” which Sprint added to its portfolio of Vision …

SANTA MONICA, Calif.-Boingo Wireless and SBC Communications Inc. signed a Wi-Fi roaming agreement that gives Boingo customers access to 3,400 Wi-Fi hot spots in SBC’s FreedomLink network. Boingo said its subscribers now have access to 18,000 Wi-Fi hot spots worldwide. …

ATLANTA-Cingular Wireless L.L.C. will be the first wireless carrier to offer the updated version of Motorola Inc.’s most popular phone, the RAZR. Dubbed RAZR Black, the camera phone leverages Cingular multimedia services like Picture Messaging and Cingular Sounds, enabling users …

Financials from smart-phone makers Research In Motion Ltd. and PalmOne Inc. indicate users are warming up to the expensive, high-end gadgets. However, sluggish results from Palm OS vendor PalmSource Inc. suggest that the rising tide is not lifting all boats. …

The United States is expected to lead the world in the adoption of fixed-mobile convergence through the end of the decade, with 7 percent of voice telephony consumers using an FMC product by 2010, according to a report released last …

Motorola Inc. purchased the research-and-development operations and patent portfolio of European mobile-phone startup Sendo. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The announcement ends weeks of speculation on the fate of Sendo, which has been nearing corporate collapse. Indeed, with …

The Federal Communications Commission recently approved BenQ’s high-end P50 smart phone for sale in the United States, an indication that the company is hoping to break into the U.S. market after its acquisition of Siemens AG’s mobile phone business. Designed …

WASHINGTON-Auction revenues from the sale of licenses for 700 MHz spectrum made available with the transition to digital TV first should be used to provide set-top boxes for all of the TVs in America that rely on over-the-air broadcasting, said …

WASHINGTON-The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last week in two key high-tech cases that now may move across the street to the U.S. Capitol. In March, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the cases, which both potentially could impact the …

CTIA and the Rural Cellular Association said their members that have chosen handset solutions to meet the wireless enhanced 911 rules will not be able to meet the Dec. 31 deadline to have 95 percent of the handsets in use …

AT&T Corp. is reportedly set to begin testing a wireless broadband network in the Atlanta area using an early version of WIMAX technology. AT&T, which is in the process of being acquired by SBC Communications Inc., will use four towers …

GLENDALE, Calif.-Warner Bros. Online released a trailer for its new mobile adventure game, Batman Begins. The game, which is based on the Warner Bros. movie with the same name, puts mobile gamers on a mission to root out and destroy …

SAN FRANCISCO-The Liberty Alliance standard group said it plans to develop specifications that would withhold users’ phone numbers from wireless content providers. The group said its new interface specifications would protect mobile-phone users’ privacy. “This business represents a large source …

WASHINGTON-If a proposal to convert the Federal Communications Commission into a regulator focused on competition is accepted, the new FCC should make more entrenched players prove they are not being anti-competitive rather than make the startups prove they are, said …

LOS ANGELES-SK-EarthLink, which is a joint venture between Korean telecom provider SK Telecom and U.S.-based EarthLink Inc., announced its senior executive team and said it will be headquartered in Westwood, Calif. The recently announced venture currently offers a mix of …

WASHINGTON-A newly published study says talking on a cell phone while driving is risky business because the brain simultaneously cannot give complete attention to both the visual requirements of driving and the auditory task of listening, a finding consistent with …

Bar-code scanning will be a common camera-phone feature in the near future, promises Olivier Attia, chief executive officer of Scanbuy Inc. Attia said that in the next 12 months he expects 50 million to 60 million camera phones to hit …

WASHINGTON-A study published in the June issue of the journal Neuroepidemilogy found an increased risk for acoustic neuroma-a type of benign brain tumor-associated with analog mobile phones. The research was conducted by Lennart Hardell of the Department of Oncology at …

WASHINGTON-Tensions continued to escalate last week over relations with China and a pending U.S.-Central American trade pact backed by telecom and tech sectors. The developments could lead to disruptions in commercial ties with the world’s largest mobile-phone market and further …