retail

Sprint Nextel Corp.’s Boost Mobile and wholesale channels did much of the carrier’s heavy lifting in the fourth quarter, helping propel the carrier to 2 million net customer additions. The numbers put Sprint Nextel, technically, on equal footing with Verizon …

Some of the biggest names from the early days of video games are looking to cash in on the latest platform in gaming-the mobile phone. The venerable publisher Namco Networks officially joined the stampede to mobile last month, launching a …

Integration is one of Sprint Nextel Corp.’s biggest challenges this year as the company continues to digest its multiple mergers-ranging from the former Nextel Communications Inc. to various PCS affiliates such as Nextel Partners and Alamosa Holdings Inc.-and gobbles its …

Wi-Fi news is never in short supply. Last week, EarthLink Inc. announced that it teamed with Google Inc. to submit a proposal for San Francisco’s Wi-Fi network contract. Instead of having to choose between free or paid options to get …

EDINBURG, VA.—Shenandoah Telecommunications postponed the release of its financial results for the fourth quarter and year 2005, citing a delay in completing its annual independent audit. The company did not provide any details about when the results would be available. …

SAN DIEGO—Investment-banking firm ThinkEquity Partners L.L.C. downgraded its opinion on Qualcomm Inc.’s stock based on what the firm said was an anticipated slowdown in first-quarter handset sales and lowered forecasts for chipset revenues in the second quarter. However, ThinkEquity said …

ALEXANDRIA, Minn.—Rural Cellular Corp. slowed its losses in the fourth quarter, although the company still posted a net loss of $64 million for 2005, or $5.62 per share. However, the company added customers for the first time in six quarters. …

BOSTON—Wireless marketing company MobileLime is using Near Field Communication technology to allow mobile users to pay for purchases and receive rewards over their cell phones. The company is pushing an enhanced “MobileLime wallet” centered on an NFC-compatible phone that can …

With the announcement of a joint CDMA handset venture between Sanyo Electronics Co. Ltd. and Nokia Corp., U.S. CDMA carriers could benefit from increased competition among vendors, and mobile virtual network operators might have a new option as they seek …

BARCELONA—Voice over Internet Protocol company Skype Ltd. declared 2006 the year that it would “go mobile,” and announced that international carrier Hutchison Whampoa’s 3 group operators in several countries are ready to offer Skype-enabled mobile devices. Skype said that mobile …

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill.-Motorola Inc. is hoping to kick-start the lagging mobile-commerce market with a system that allows users to purchase products, transfer funds or pay bills with their cell phones. The company unveiled M-Wallet, a downloadable application for both smart …

WASHINGTON-A new Department of Defense report says the military will depend on broadband and wireless technologies in future warfare, a policy direction that could create added business opportunities for telecom and high-tech industry sectors. The Quadrennial Defense Review Report, the …

SCHAUMBURG, Ill.-Regional wireless carrier and Sprint Nextel Corp. CDMA affiliate iPCS Inc. reported a net loss of $17.2 million, or $1.03 per share, although the operator’s churn rate was down and it had solid net customer additions of nearly 19,000 …

Mort Rosenthal sees a gaping whole in the wireless retail industry, and he’s hoping to fill it with IMO. An entrepreneur with a background in software distribution, Rosenthal founded IMO-short for `independent mobile”-in 2004 after growing frustrated shopping for a …

Postpaid customers may take for granted their ability to outfit their phones with jazzy ring tones, flashy wallpaper and nifty games, but prepaid customers historically haven’t been offered those luxuries. Increasingly, however, prepaid services are beginning to include a wider …

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill.-Motorola Inc. is hoping to kick-start the lagging mobile-commerce market with a system that allows users to purchase products, transfer funds or pay bills with their cell phones. The company unveiled M-Wallet, a downloadable application for both smart …

OKLAHOMA CITY-RadioShack Corp. customers in seven states will be able to purchase cellular phones and services from Dobson Communications Corp.’s wireless subsidiary, Dobson Cellular Systems, under the Cellular One brand. The new distribution agreement, announced by Dobson, involves 54 RadioShack …

Alltel Corp. is revamping its prepaid service to try to profit from recent trends. As the U.S. postpaid wireless market saturates, fourth-quarter results showed most carriers, including Alltel, registered a heavier prepaid and reseller mix among newly added customers. The …

Alltel Corp. officials emphasized plans to continue their conservative path during a company analyst day in New York last week, even though they said they remain optimistic going forward. “We’ve never been `let’s swing for the fences’ and bet everything …

New agreements, contract details from Philadelphia and a smidge of a slowdown in product certifications kept Wi-Fi circles buzzing last week. In Philadelphia, reports surfaced early last week that the city had worked out the terms of its contract with …

BENTONVILLE, Ark.-Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it plans to offer its own discount wireless service in Germany under the brand name MangoMobile. Wal-Mart Germany is partnering with telecommunications distributor Facey Retail Solutions GmbH for the mobile virtual network operator service, which …

WASHINGTON-Sprint Nextel Corp., already on record with other national wireless carriers as opposing mandated roaming for voice services, has been forced to also fight off calls for the company to strike roaming agreements for push-to-talk and possible services using its …

Kyocera Wireless Corp. announced it plans to build dual-mode CDMA/Wi-Fi handsets using chips from Marvell Technology Group Ltd. “The footprint and adoption of (wireless local area networks) is increasing exponentially and we have carrier customers who are viewing this technology …

CHICAGO-Prepaid wireless services provider DBS Communications Inc. launched its mobile virtual network enablement offering Versent Mobile, which the company said provides the tools necessary for companies to launch mobile virtual network operator-based services. DBS said Versent provides MVNOs with provisioning, …

BENTONVILLE, Ark.-Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it plans to offer its own discount wireless service in Germany under the brand name MangoMobile. Wal-Mart Germany is partnering with telecommunications distributor Facey Retail Solutions GmbH for the mobile virtual network operator service, which …