February 2005

WASHINGTON-The Telecommunications Industry Association is supporting a Dec. 31, 2006, date for the transition to digital TV. “Converting to DTV will clear valuable spectrum for other important uses, such as …

ANCHORAGE, Alaska-Alaska Communications Systems Group Inc. reported a record 5,128 net wireless subscriber additions during the fourth quarter of last year, ending 2004 with 100,600 total wireless subscribers. The strong …

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.-Google Inc. has rolled out a movie-search service for wireless subscribers, allowing users to access show times and theater locations and phone numbers through their handsets. The offering …

WASHINGTON-Broadband over Power Lines is a reality but it won’t be much better than current high-speed offerings, experts told reporters Thursday. “BPL is moving beyond the theoretical stage,” said Joseph …

Proving wrong rumors of an imminent shutdown of its handset business, Siemens released three new low-end phones in an effort to trump low-cost vendors like Nokia Corp. and Motorola Inc. …

WASHINGTON-K. Dane Snowden, chief of the FCC’s Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau, is leaving the Federal Communications Commission to become vice president of strategic relations at CTIA. Snowden’s first day …

NEW YORK-Deutsche Bank raised its rating on Infineon from “sell” to “buy” Thursday following news that the company plans to restructure its chip manufacturing organization, including phasing out manufacturing at …

REDWOOD SHORES, Calif.-Most U.S. telecom companies are not tracking and assessing their competitors around the world, according to a new study. Two-thirds of more than 300 North American executives surveyed …

Qwest Communications International Inc. submitted a revised proposal to acquire MCI Inc. that included a collar on its stock price and accelerating the timing of cash payments. The collar fixes …

WASHINGTON-Rural wireline carriers can no longer file tariffs with state commissions that charge wireless carriers to terminate calls, said the Federal Communications Commission Thursday, but did not say the termination …

LONDON-Skype is testing a free service that allows users to send text messages to any GSM handset, the Voice over Internet Protocol provider said Thursday. The new offering lets users …

Jamdat Mobile Inc. may have finally climbed off the roller coaster. The mobile game maker posted a solid fourth quarter of 2004, reporting revenues of $11.6 million and a net …

RICHARDSON, Texas-Australian high-speed wireless provider Unwired Australia Pty Ltd. said it is seeing strong customer up-take of its wireless broadband service in Sydney, Australia, using non-line-of-sight technology from Navini Networks …

Cingular Wireless L.L.C. said it has changed its accounting for operating leases related to cell sites to conform to generally accepted accounting principals resulting in restated financial results for fiscal …

WAKEFIELD, Mass.-The Near Field Communications Forum, an industry association launched last year to promote NFC technology, announced 20 new additions to its organization. New sponsor members are MasterCard International, Matsushita …

NEW YORK-Interactive marketing company 24/7 Real Media Inc. and wireless content vendor Vindigo announced an innovative teaming that will add advertisements to Vindigo’s WAP pages. “As the leading provider of …

MELBOURNE, Fla.-AirNet Communications Corp. said it has received about $1 million in expansion orders from Tecore Wireless Systems to deploy its base station products to GuineTel of Portugal. The product, …

LONDON-The worldwide equipment business for Wi-Fi enjoyed traction last year in revenue and unit sales, according to a new report from Infonetics Research. Global revenue stood at $2.8 billion for …

SUWON, Korea-Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. jumped into the push-to-do-everything arena with the company’s demonstration of what it calls its PTA (push-to-all) solution. Samsung said the technology combines existing push-to-talk one-to-multi-user …

EDINBURG, Va.-Rural telecommunications provider and Sprint PCS affiliate Shenandoah Telecommunications Co. said it added 4,560 direct wireless subscribers during the fourth quarter of last year, ending 2004 with 102,600 direct …

TORONTO-The Virgin Mobile Group is reportedly set to launch a mobile virtual network operator-based wireless service in Canada March 1 using Bell Canada’s CDMA network. The service is expected to …

DENVER-Following on a government filing last week, regional telecommunications provider Qwest Communications International Inc. is reportedly set to submit a revised bid for MCI Inc. that will include a greater …

Motorola Inc. has thrown its weight behind one of two main standard proposals being developed for 802.11n technology. The World Wide Spectrum Efficiency consortium said it has harmonized its technical …

BOSTON-The deafening buzz surrounding mobile TV may be unwarranted, according to a report from Strategy Analytics. In the new study, “Mobile TV: Hype not Justified by Demand!,” the consultancy argues …

ALISO VIEJO, Calif.-Smith Micro Software Inc. said Alltel will use its wireless data connectivity solution to support its high-speed data customers. Smith Micro will customize its QuickLink Mobile and QuickLink …