Softbank

The following list includes venture capital and other investments into wireless companies announced during the fourth quarter. This list comprises the amounts that were invested into wireless companies, as well as the companies that led the investment. RCR Wireless News …

Research indicates that 2010 will be the year that femtocell technology will boom, and the major carriers are positioning themselves to take advantage by selling a product that boosts wireless signals in homes and offices that have spotty coverage.Sprint Nextel …

A new forecast of the near-field communications market predicts 700 million mobile subscribers worldwide will have phones with NFC contactless technology by 2013.The report, from Juniper Research, said there is a significant opportunity for NFC mobile payment services, chips, phones …

As analysts and pundits scoured the tea leaves in the wake of Apple Inc.’s 3G iPhone launch, a few issues emerged.Who, besides Apple, will get a boost from iPhone mania? Who gets hurt? Will a rising iPhone-tide lift all boats …

The following list details this week’s infrastructure awards for the cellular, Wi-Fi, and WiMAX industries. The contracts are broken down by transmission technology, country and vendor. The value of the contract is included when available.Cellular–Bulgaria: Bulgarian Telecommunications Co. chose Alcatel-Lucent …

Vodafone Group plc will say goodbye to its fearless leader. After five years as CEO, Arun Sarin announced last week that he is retiring as head of one of the wireless industry’s largest operators, and minority-interest holder in Verizon Wireless, …

The following list includes venture capital and other investments into wireless companies announced during the past week. The value of the investment is included when available. —Ad Infuse: Softbank Capital led a $12 million round of funding into mobile advertising …

Ringing insultThe King of Spain’s recent tongue-lashing of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez has become a popular ringtone in Spain. King Juan Carlos asked Chavez, “Why don’t you just shut up?” at a summit earlier this month. The comment was turned …

After shutting down two mobile virtual network operations in the United States, Walt Disney Co. is hoping the third time is the charm; the company is restarting its “Disney Mobile” offering, this time in Japan.The company said it will work …

The following list includes venture capital and other investments into wireless companies announced during the past week. The value of the investment is included when available.–BiTMICRO: Woodside Investments L.P. led a $9.3 million Series F funding round into BiTMICRO Networks. …

The following list includes venture capital and other investments into wireless companies announced during the past week. The value of the investment is included when available.–KickApps: SoftBank Capital led an $11 million Series B funding round into KickApps Corp., a …

Femtocells, or access point base stations, are making some big waves in the wireless industry this month. Shortly after ABI Research released a positive report on the outlook for femtocells, Alcatel-Lucent and Nokia Siemens Networks each announced new partnerships and …

Wireless e-mail company Visto Corp. announced it raised another $35 million in venture-capital funding, this time scoring money from Altitude Capital Partners L.L.C. The news means that Visto has now raised close to $300 million in VC financing over the …

Two newly publicized health studies on cellphone and base-station radiation have produced mixed results, likely keeping alive the long-running scientific debate over whether handsets and cell-site transmissions can cause cancer and other illnesses. Japanese mobile-phone operators NTT DoCoMo Inc., KDDI …

Two newly publicized health studies on mobile phone and base station radiation have produced mixed results, likely keeping alive the long-running scientific debate over whether handsets and cell site transmissions can cause cancer and other illnesses. Japanese mobile-phone operators NTT …

The following list details this week’s infrastructure awards for the cellular, Wi-Fi and WiMAX industries. The contracts are broken down by transmission technology, country and vendor. The value of the contract is included when available. Cellular Japan: L.M. Ericsson and …

Financiers continue to flood the white-hot-and increasingly litigious-mobile e-mail space. Specifically, white-label wireless e-mail provider Seven Networks Inc. snared $42 million in an oversubscribed round of funding. The company said undisclosed new investors joined existing backers, which include Amadeus Capital …

For mobile content players, these are either the best of times or the worst of times. Or, in some cases, both. Investment money continues to flow into wireless content and marketing. Thumbplay Inc., a direct-to-consumer aggregator, hauled in $10 million …

NEW YORK—Mobile content retailer Thumbplay Inc. added to its bank account with a new funding round and line of credit. The distributor of ringtones and other content hauled in $10 million in a third round of financing round led by …

IRVINE, Calif.—Chip-maker Broadcom Corp. is crowing that its W-CDMA baseband chip is shipping in Panasonic’s new 3G handset for Japanese operator SoftBank Mobile Corp. Broadcom has already secured W-CDMA chip business with Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., the third-largest handset vendor …

Qualcomm Inc.’s highly anticipated MediaFLO mobile TV service is gaining momentum as Sprint Nextel Corp. confirmed it was conducting trials using the network technology and could soon join initial launch carrier Verizon Wireless in offering the service to consumers. The …

SUNNYVALE, Calif.—Following Google Inc.’s lead, Yahoo Inc. said it expanded its sponsored-search offering to wireless phones in the United States and United Kingdom. The Internet giant announced the beta launch of a service that returns sponsored, clickable links with search …

Visto Corp. will have no trouble paying its lawyer fees. The mobile e-mail service provider raked in another $51 million this week in a funding round led by Oak Investment Partners. The haul follows a $70 million round that closed …

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.—Visto Corp. will have no trouble paying its lawyer fees. The mobile e-mail service provider raked in another $51 million this week in a funding round led by Oak Investment Partners. The haul follows a $70 million round …

NTT DoCoMo NTT DoCoMo Inc. named Seiji Kawamura as the head of the Japanese telecommunications operator’s Washington, D.C., office. Kawamura previously served as treasurer and head of the finance office at DoCoMo’s headquarters in Tokyo, and also served in the …