Vodafone

LONDON-Vodafone Group plc said it has joined the Java Verified Program, which provides a process for testing and certifying Java-based mobile handset applications. The carrier said it is a Platinum member in the initiative, which was launched in early 2004 …

TAMPA, Fla.-Nearly a dozen major players from the wireless and technology industries unveiled a joint venture that will offer a registry service for the “.mobi” Internet domain. The suffix was approved early this month by the Internet Corporation for Assigned …

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.-724 Solutions said Vodafone Group plc has deployed its X-treme Mobility Gateway in the United Kingdom for the carrier’s Vodafone live! entertainment and information service. The two companies signed an agreement regarding the deployment in September 2004.

The wireless enterprise market-long a scene of sedate players and leisurely sales cycles-has cracked open with finger pointing, name calling, innuendo and otherwise rabid competition. “It really is a great indicator that it (the market) is starting to blossom,” said …

As wireless consumers begin to wholeheartedly embrace data applications, be they ringtones, wallpapers, video apps or games, industry needs to step up its plans to implement parental controls to ensure that end users have the proper experiences. And it’s better …

LONDON-Erotic mobile content will explode into a $2.3 billion market by 2010 if carriers, content providers and regulators can figure out how to manage it, according to a study from Informa Telecoms and Media released Wednesday. The report commends Vodafone …

STOCKHOLM, Sweden-Vodafone Sweden said it plans to launch commercial push-to-talk service in September targeted at both corporate customers and consumers. The carrier has been in joint evaluations of the service with Nokia for about a year, according to Vodafone Sweden, …

Dutch telecom carrier KPN has reached an agreement to acquire rival Dutch mobile operator Telfort for $1.2 billion on a debt and cash-free basis, eliminating a player in the highly competitive Dutch wireless market. Depending on specific performance criteria, the …

An effort to provide a pan-European mobile payment service was aborted just weeks before it was slated to launch. Simpay, a joint venture established two years ago by Orange plc, Telefonica Moviles, T-Mobile and Vodafone plc, pulled the plug after …

Sun Microsystems Inc.’s Java technology is 10 years old this year, a milestone the company is using to highlight Java’s widespread influence throughout the electronics and computer industries. When Sun introduced the technology, the company promoted Java as the “write …

REDMOND, Wash.-Vodafone Group plc and MSN will launch an instant messaging service between mobile phones and PCs, the companies said Thursday. The offering will allow users to exchange messages between the PC-based MSN Messenger and the carrier’s mobile IM service, …

Dutch telecom carrier KPN has reached an agreement to acquire rival Dutch mobile operator Telfort for $1.2 billion on a debt and cash-free basis, eliminating a player in the highly competitive Dutch wireless market. Depending on specific performance criteria, the …

The Government of Finland granted a wireless operating license in the 450 MHz spectrum band to Digita Oy, which plans to deploy a wireless data network using Flarion Technologies Inc.’s Flash-OFDM technology. The license requires Digita Oy to to lease …

Verizon Wireless is moving forward with a plan to install a proprietary Verizon-branded user interface across all of its new feature phones-a maneuver that has sparked widespread discontent among the carrier’s handset suppliers and could mark the start of a …

The Government of Finland granted a wireless operating license in the 450 MHz spectrum band to Digita Oy, which plans to deploy a wireless data network using Flarion Technologies Inc.’s Flash-OFDM technology. The license requires Digita Oy to act only …

An alliance of wireless carriers in Asia, which first formed last year, launched services at the Com- municAsia show this week in Singapore. Bridge Mobile Alliance launched a suite of regional mobile services-roaming, prepaid, enterprise and concierge services-across eight countries …

Following are wireless company and industry ratings changes made by financial services and investment banking firms this week. In a telecom services report, Merrill Lynch said it expects Verizon Wireless will gain share during the second quarter, while Cingular’s growth …

LONDON-British Telecom plc launched its BT Fusion fixed-mobile convergence service offering, which uses Bluetooth technology to switch seamlessly between the company’s wide-area wireless network and its in-home BT Broadband service. The service, which was originally knows as Bluephone, relies on …

SINGAPORE-An alliance of wireless carriers in Asia, which first formed last year, launched services at the CommunicAsia show this week in Singapore. Bridge Mobile Alliance launched a suite of regional mobile services-roaming, prepaid, enterprise and concierge services-across eight countries and …

Red Bend Software Udi Dagan joined Red Bend Software as chief financial officer. Dagan joined the company from IBM where he was business consulting services country manager in Israel. Before that he was CFO of IBM Israel, vice president of …

In the backdrop of everything innovative and exciting going on at the BREW conference in San Diego last week, there was one overriding idea that kept popping up in the newsroom: simple. As industry pursues its continuing mission of driving …

WASHINGTON-The Japanese Embassy today confirmed the government plans to add three competitors to the mobile-phone market, a move that comes after months of prodding by the U.S. trade representative and an aborted lawsuit against the telecom ministry by hard-charging wireless …

LONDON-Vodafone Group plc announced that its wholly owned subsidiary Vodafone International Holdings B.V. has completed the acquisition of two mobile holdings from Telesystem International Wireless first announced earlier this year. Vodafone purchased about 79 percent of the share capital of …

CANADA Canada’s Minister of Industry, David Emerson, announced a full review of Industry Canada’s spectrum policy framework. The initiative aims to bring Canadian policy and regulatory regimes overseeing telecom and radio communications systems up to date to accommodate demand for …

TEL AVIV, Israel-Nortel Networks Ltd. said it completed a trial of High-Speed Downlink Packet Access technology with Israeli wireless carrier Partner Communications Company Ltd. over its live cellular network in Tel Aviv. Partner is joining a limited number of cellular …