Hello!And welcome to our Thursday column, Worst of the Week. There's a lot of nutty stuff that goes on in this industry, so this column is a chance for us at RCR Wireless News to rant and rave about whatever rubs us the wrong...
OVERLAND PARK, Kan.-Sprint Nextel Corp. is offering a weekly rotation of about 10 free, full-track music downloads from independent artists in an effort to showcase its mobile music store.The carrier is teaming with the Independent Online Distribution Alliance, which boasts a song catalog culled...
RESTON, Va.-Sprint Nextel's former operations chief, Len Lauer, who was fired from the company earlier this year following Sprint Nextel's disastrous second-quarter financial performance, has landed at Sprint Nextel's technology partner Qualcomm Inc. Lauer will be Qualcomm's corporate executive vice president and group...
OVERLAND PARK, Kan.-With the launch of 10 CDMA2000 1x EV-DO Revision A markets today, Sprint Nextel Corp. has more than met its goal of covering 40 million people with the technology by the end of this year. The carrier said it now offers Rev....
T-Mobile USA Inc. grabbed attention among tier one U.S. carriers for the most price drops in early December, with four Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. handsets discounted-and one jumping in price.The Samsung t619 careened from $80 to free, the t319 dropped from $40 to $30,...
OVERLAND PARK, Kan.-Sprint Nextel Corp. is quietly sweetening service deals for a limited time during the holiday season by offering the public the same deals on service that it gives customers who are referred by its employees.Of course, it takes a bit of digging...
SCHAUMBERG, Ill.-Sprint Nextel Corp. CDMA affiliate iPCS Inc. is protesting new rates that the larger carrier is charging for back-office services, and has filed a claim that Sprint Nextel is violating the decision of a Delaware court regarding the sale and advertising of iDEN...
It's an increasingly awkward dance between U.S. wireless carriers and handset manufacturers as phone makers begin to assert their independence from operators.
Handsets don't work without the network and networks are useless without handsets. Neither can go solo.
Or can they?
It's no secret that in Europe,...
This was supposed to be the year of the music phone, but as the holiday season approaches the home stretch, on-the-go music lovers are still hoping to find dedicated MP3 players in their stockings.U.S. sales of portable digital music players is expected to slow...
WASHINGTON-The wireless broadband industry embraced the Federal Communications Commission's extension of construction deadlines for 2.3 GHz licensees, but remains angry over the agency's response thus far to terrestrial deployment of allegedly unauthorized satellite radio repeaters with the potential to undermine huge capital investment in...
Nortel Networks Ltd. landed a mobile WiMAX network supply deal in Taiwan, a trial in Japan, and a chip contract in Israel.
The company-which launched its WiMAX portfolio in October at the WiMAX World trade show and was hawking its new offering as 4G mobile...
Verizon Wireless earned another round of kudos from Consumer Reports' annual survey of wireless carriers, but Alltel Corp. outpaced other carriers in two new markets included in this year's results. The survey evaluated service in 20 markets around the country, based on nearly 43,000...
'Tis the season for gifting and Christmas lists a mile long. But what to do if someone's list includes a Tetris download for their cell phone, or a new ringer from Chingy? Some wireless carriers and mobile virtual network operators are seeking to make...
Sanyo Corp. has put its best foot forward at Sprint Nextel Corp. with a top-of-its-line multimedia phone, the M1, at a crucial time for Sanyo and amid a strong, overall portfolio expansion at Sprint Nextel. The M1 launch comes freighted with context-Sanyo's global handset...
Sprint Nextel Corp. expects to see substantial improvement in its churn performance in the second half of next year, and the focus on its core operations means that its previous fascination with rolling up its affiliates is now far from the top of the...
Crown Castle International Corp.'s plan to launch its Modeo mobile TV networks in major U.S. markets took an apparent blow as Modeo's President Michael Schueppert stepped down without any explanation from Crown Castle or Modeo.
Schueppert's resignation was disclosed in a Dec. 1 government filing...
Under the banner, "Simpler and Slimmer," Consumer Reports' January 2007 issue weighed in on a handset category that has even the experts scratching their heads. At CTIA I.T. in September, a panel of leading wireless industry analysts proffered a variety of multi-faceted explanations for...
'Tis the season to be jolly, especially if you're a consumer checking out online deals from independent retailers. For instance, Wirefly, the online retail face of InPhonic Inc., is offering handsets at prices that defy gravity. The Motorola Inc. Krzr, for instance, only hit...
Sprint Nextel Corp. expects to see substantial improvement in its churn performance in the second half of next year, and the focus on its core operations means that its previous fascination with rolling up its affiliates is now far from the top of the...
HOUSTON-The head of Crown Castle International Corp.'s mobile TV effort unexpectedly resigned, throwing a potential wrench into the company's plans to build mobile TV networks in the nation's top markets.Crown Castle disclosed the move in a government filing. The company said Michael Schueppert, president...
RESTON, Va.-Sprint Nextel Corp. introduced a new iteration of its Web site, including a new, content-focused "Digital Lounge" and some additional perks for customers who shop and upgrade through the carrier's Web site. The carrier's Digital Lounge allows customers to preview, purchase and manage...
SEATTLE-It's the holiday season and, naturally, there's a bug going around. Only the bug in the wireless world, at least in the United States, is one that compels carriers to dangle free phones like so many Christmas ornaments in front of consumers' faces, hoping...
YONKERS, N.Y.-Crappy New Year to all. Or, at least, to some. Consumer Reports has taken a look at mobile carriers and handsets in the United States in its January 2007 issue and, apart from a few companies that may do cartwheels after receiving the...
SCHAUMBURG, Ill.-Motorola Inc.'s investment arm led a second round of funding for California-based software developer Mobile Complete. Financial terms were not disclosed, although Mobile Compete reportedly raked in $10 million in the Series B round. Existing investor Innovacom VC also participated in the funding.Mobile...
