Wireless Services

Walking through Fort Lauderdale Airport recently, I heard the oft-repeated warning that the public-safety threat has been raised to orange. I think its time to change the phrasing: When was the last time the threat level at an airport has …

Demand for enterprise mobility should continue to ramp slowly this year, as companies move cautiously on well-thought-out strategies, according to two analysts who study the space.Coincidentally, both analysts – Kitty Weldon at Current Analysis and Bill Hughes at In-Stat – …

MetroPCS Communications Inc. plans to begin offering service in Jacksonville, Fla., following the acquisition of 10 megahertz of Personal Communications Service (PCS) spectrum.The company said it will pay an undisclosed sum for the spectrum from PTA Communications Inc.; MetroPCS also …

LAS VEGAS — Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin talked about his commitment to deregulation, removing barriers and increasing competition in a chat with Consumer Electronics Association President and CEO Gary Shapiro that ranged from wireless services to the nonstop …

The mobile-phone industry, criticized for stifling competition and innovation said to be on display in European and Asian markets and fearing a regulatory backlash in the United States, filed with the Federal Communications Commission an analysis showing the American wireless …

The future of Frontline Wireless L.L.C., the Silicon Valley-backed and politically connected startup that spent months positioning itself to bid big in the upcoming 700 MHz auction, has suddenly become shrouded in mystery.“Frontline is closed for business at this time. …

In the early days of wireless, rate plans were an a la carte-style hodgepodge of offerings at a host of price points. Like new cars, basic calling plans could be packaged with premium options such as voicemail and caller ID, …

SPRINT NEXTEL CORP. HAS TAKEN THE HEAD of its wireline spinoff back into the wireless fold, tapping Embarq Corp. Chairman, President and CEO Dan Hesse to become the wireless operator’s new president and CEO.Hesse, 54, has served as the leader …

The pieces continue to fall in and out of place in the ever-evolving wireless world, but it now appears the many changes – from the subtle to the spectacular emergence of Apple Inc.’s iPhone, Google Inc. and open access – …

Sprint Nextel Corp. has taken the head of its wireline spin-off back into the wireless fold, tapping Embarq Corp. Chairman, President and CEO Dan Hesse to become the wireless operator’s new president and CEO, effective immediately. Hesse, 54, has served …

GW Equity said it sold South Texas Cellular Inc. to Capstar Wireless Services Inc. for an undisclosed sum. South Texas Cellular, a cellular tower maintenance and infrastructure company, maintains more than 600 cellular towers for Verizon Wireless, AT&T Mobility and …

More than a dozen small- and medium-sized cellphone carriers raised concerns with key Senate lawmakers about a federal-state panel’s recommendation on federal subsidies. The suggestions, made last month, were to temporarily cap federal subsidies for rural wireless deployment as part …

The Federal Communications Commission’s relaxation of the small-business bidding rule for the commercial-public safety D-Block license in the upcoming 700 MHz auction has come under another attack, this time by the same parties that have entangled the agency in auction-related …

MetroPCS Communications Inc. inked a three-and-a-half year contract extension with Alcatel-Lucent, which covers the buildout of the flat-rate carrier’s AWS spectrum holdings in seven major metropolitan areas. Financial terms of the deal were not revealed.MetroPCS scored the new markets through …

It is beginning to look increasingly unlikely that satellite operators will participate in the upcoming 700 MHz auction, partially due to rules guaranteeing the satellite industry a role in the deployment of a nationwide commercial-public safety broadband network in the …

Cox Communications Inc. said it will bid on wireless licenses when the 700 MHz auction kicks off Jan. 24, but two other cable TV giants in a wireless joint venture with Cox and others indicated they would sit this one …

It was no coincidence that Verizon Wireless chose to make two major announcements last week-each one laid out a separate step toward a 4G future driven by connectivity for consumer-electronics devices.Dick Lynch, Verizon Wireless’ CTO, said that the two announcements …

VERIZON WIRELESS LAST WEEK confirmed what executives from its parent companies have been hinting at for some time: the carrier will move away from CDMA technology for its next-generation network, and embrace the OFDM-based Long Term Evolution technology. In essence, …

The mobile-phone industry suddenly finds itself on opposite sides of Bush administration wiretapping efforts, as the White House attempts to overcome congressional opposition to immunizing telecom companies from post-9/11 eavesdropping suits and wireless carriers battle the Department of Justice over …

A federal-state panel recommended that the Federal Communications Commission cap government subsidies for rural wireless deployment as part of a broader effort to reform the swelling universal service fund, an action that if upheld could cost mobile-phone carriers billions of …

Shares of satellite provider EchoStar Communications Corp. surged more than 25% yesterday, prompted by speculation that the company may be purchased by AT&T Inc. TheStreet.com reported that AT&T is close to a deal with EchoStar for a $29.5 billion buyout, …

THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION relaxed the small-business bidding rule for the 700 MHz national commercial/public-safety block, but the agency cannot seem to shake lingering legal challenges that have the potential to disrupt the upcoming auction-as well as last year’s sale …

The Bush administration’s top telecom advisor John Kneuer is stepping down later this month, ending a rocky tenure characterized by the Democratic-led Congress’ intense oversight of major public-safety, spectrum-reform and digital TV programs.Kneuer has headed the National Telecommunications and Information …

The Federal Communications Commission’s revised roaming rules may have exacerbated an already divisive industry issue, with warring carriers challenging new guidelines and feuding over the possibility of their extension to wireless broadband service providers. The FCC’s Aug. 7 decision concluded …

Editor’s Note: Welcome to our Monday feature, Analyst Angle. We’ve collected a group of the industry’s leading analysts to give their outlook on the hot topics in the wireless industry. In the coming weeks look for columns from Current Analysis’ …