2003

MINNEAPOLIS-Retail outlet Best Buy Co. Inc. reported net earnings for the fourth quarter of $311 million, or $0.96 per diluted share. The company said sales of wireless devices, as well …

ATLANTA-Messaging service company Glenayre Technologies Inc. has been ordered to pay $12 million in damages in a patent infringement lawsuit, a verdict the company said it plans to appeal. A …

TOKYO-Japanese carriers J-Phone and NTT DoCoMo will begin selling camera phones in May with resolution four times that of current camera phones, according to Reuters. The move would put mobile …

WASHINGTON-Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.), chairman of the Senate communications subcommittee, called for a universal-service summit to determine whether legislation is necessary to save the universal-service fund from going bankrupt. Burns …

WARREN, N.J.-Mobile virtual network operator Virgin Mobile USA is looking to tap into the hype surrounding the Fox TV show “American Idol” with its own text messaging campaign. The move …

CHILLICOTHE, Ohio-Sprint PCS affiliate Horizon PCS Inc. said it has hired investment banking firm Berenson & Company to assist it in renegotiating and restructuring its equity, debt and other contractual …

WASHINGTON-House Commerce Committee Chairman Billy Tauzin (R-La.) today said federal agencies and the private sector-including the telecom and high-tech sectors-must to do more to protect their facilities from future attacks. …

BEIJING-China Unicom launched its cdma2000 1x service nationwide, according to a Qualcomm statement. “With cdma2000 1x, China Unicom can offer its customers cost-effective, advanced voice and data wireless services, delivered …

SAN DIEGO, United States-Centennial Dominicana has launched cdma2000 1x services in the Dominican Republic, according to a statement released by Qualcomm. The company, owned by U.S.-based Centennial Wireless, is one …

PARIS-Alcatel has announced a much-needed third-generation contract win with Austria’s Tele.ring for a turnkey UMTS network. The deployment will begin in May, with the first phase covering mainly Vienna, Graz …

EDINBURGH, Scotland-Orange announced it is using voice service solutions from Rhetorical for an upgrade to its text-to-speech service. The new system will use two voices from Rhetorical’s rVoice text-to-speech technology …

HOUSTON-Crown Castle International Corp. earlier this week filed an 8K announcing it has deferred a portion of the $78 million site access payment it was scheduled to pay British Telecom …

SAN DIEGO-Leap Wireless International Inc. filed an extension with the Securities and Exchange Commission noting its 10-K report filing would be delayed until the middle of April. The company noted …

SAN DIEGO-Qualcomm Inc. has declared IBM Corp. supplier of the year as a key contributor in making the CDMA proprietor exceed its business objectives for the calendar year. “This award …

Arabic news network Al Jazeera said it will offer a breaking news service to mobile phone users. The text messaging service, operated through content company PervasiveEdge, will feature around 60 …

NEW YORK-Vernier Networks, Mountainview, Calif., will make commercially available in late April two new 6500p products, Access Manager and Integrated System, which are based on a draft wireless local area …

STOCKHOLM, Sweden-Ericsson said Reliance Telecommunications awarded it a 1x contract worth US$145 million for a nationwide network in Nigeria. The operator is expected to launch 1x wireless local loop (WLL) …

LONDON-Iceland has been reprimanded by the European Free Trade Association’s Surveillance Authority for not putting in place a regulatory and legal framework for issuing third-generation (3G) licenses. Iceland has delayed …

LONDON-E-Plus and MmO2 have reportedly made bids to acquire MobilCom’s third-generation (3G) assets in Germany, according to international press reports. The bids are reported to be less than 30 million …

MUNICH, Germany-Siemens has said it will provide cdma2000 as part of its core network offering, although it will not involve the backhaul or radio access network. The company said the …

KIEV, Ukraine-Two leading Ukrainian carriers continue to expand in the country, while some outsiders had to quit the market, opening a way for acquisitions and takeovers. The Ukrainian Mobile Communications …

SOMERSET, N.J.-Independent retail agent American Cellular reported that its multimillion dollar lawsuit against Cingular Wireless L.L.C. and its former group of operating companies is scheduled to go to trial next …

BELLEVUE, Wash.-T-Mobile USA Inc. and Cingular Wireless customers can sign up to receive up-to-the-minute news updates on the Iraq war through text message alerts. The service works through technology from …

ARLINGTON, Va.-Spending on all transport services will increase by 6.1 percent this year, to $345.3 billion, with the greatest growth in wireless and high-speed Internet access, the Telecommunications Industry Association …

CHICAGO-In what market watchers describe as one of the largest class-action settlements ever, Lucent Technologies Inc. has resolved all outstanding shareholder lawsuits for more than US$600 million. The settlement, which …