February 2005

At long last, the tower deal causing months of speculation is etched on the record books. Global Signal Inc. has won the exclusive rights to lease or operate more than …

Nokia Corp.’s longtime stranglehold on the U.S. mobile-phone market appears to be broken-at least for now-by a major surge in sales from Motorola Inc. “Motorola products are really just more …

OVERLAND PARK, Kan.-Sprint Corp. reported a three-year, multimillion dollar agreement with integrated billing services provider Convergys to provide domestic wireless, global data networking and voice solutions. Sprint, which is one …

Rebuffing a more substantial offer from Qwest Communications International Inc., MCI Inc. agreed last week to be acquired by Verizon Communications Inc. for approximately $6.7 billion. Qwest, which initiated the …

CANNES, France-Alcatel Alsthom won a contract to supply T-Mobile USA with its core infrastructure. Alcatel will deploy its Alcatel 5020 Spatial Atrium Distributed MSC solution to upgrade and optimize T-Mobile’s …

SAN DIEGO-Publisher Random House said it has acquired a minority stake in a startup company called Vocel to offer educational content to mobile-phone subscribers for a monthly fee. To prop …

CANNES, France-Visto Corp. said it has embarked on a major expansion that has increased its customers to more than 500,000. The company, which provides corporate wireless e-mail and PIM solutions …

CHICAGO-U.S. Cellular Corp.’s parent company Telephone and Data Systems Inc. reported its board of directors has approved a distribution of a stock dividend for each outstanding common share and series …

SARASOTA, Fla.-Like other major tower operators, Global Signal Inc. said it plans to release its fourth-quarter and year-end 2004 financial results March 10. The decision followed a letter from the …

BELLEVUE, Wash.-Voice over Internet Protocol voice provider Ecuity Inc. reported an agreement with Boingo Wireless Inc. and TeleSym Inc. to jointly market a VoIP over Wi-Fi service. The companies said …

CANNES, France-An industry group of marketing executives announced an effort to drive consumer uptake of new mobile applications. The Chief Marketing Officer Council announced it formed the Forum to Advance …

Motorola Inc. leapt into the high-volume, low-cost mobile phone business-a space dominated by the likes of Nokia Corp. and Siemens-with plans to sell millions of new phones in emerging wireless …

CANNES, France-Intel Corp. announced three agreements to pursue its WiMAX technology and promote its XScale and mobile technologies. The chip bellwether said it has entered an alliance with Alcatel Corp. …

As evidenced by the vast popularity of gadgets like Apple’s iPod, the demand for portable digital music is as obvious as it is universal. But how-and how well-the wireless industry …

The battle for wireless supremacy heated up this week as current No. 2 operator Verizon Wireless unveiled a slew of rate plan and service offerings that could help the carrier …

In the juggling act between GSM and W-CDMA, dilemma is beautiful. But it is a terrible kind of beauty because both vendors and carriers must decide how much of their …

The hacker accused of breaking into T-Mobile USA Inc.’s computer systems and accessing customer information has pleaded guilty. Nicholas Lee Jacobsen, 22, pled guilty in U.S. district court in Los …

TORONTO-Redline Communications said it is working with Nomad Digital to offer high-speed Internet for Southern Trains. The project is a joint effort among Nomad, T-Mobile U.K. and Southern Trains and …

WASHINGTON-The stakes continue to rise in the telecom consumer bill-of-rights controversy, with the California legislature ready to write the new rule into law and the California Public Utilities Commission considering …

WASHINGTON-A key Democrat on the House telecommunications subcommittee Thursday put the brakes on setting a hard date for the digital TV transition. “I think it is impossible to say at …

The Federal Communications Commission this week lauded CTIA’s efforts to control mobile adult content and urged the association to step up its efforts in keeping inappropriate material out of the …

CANNES, France-Two global carriers announced contracts for content charging systems last week. Lucent Technologies Inc. and NetSpira Networks said they have provided Singapore’s MobileOne Ltd. with a content-based online charging …

Startup VKB Inc. is now selling a $200 mobile-phone accessory the company believes could significantly improve the way wireless users interact with their phones. About the size of a cigarette …

The news that Microsoft Corp. will join Nokia Corp. to deliver a mobile-music platform may have been among the more startling developments at last week’s 3GSM World Congress, but it …

Less than three weeks after it began, the Federal Communications Commission’s Auction 58 of 242 spectrum licenses in the 1.9 GHz band came to a quiet close last Tuesday, having …