January 2006

BELLEVUE, Wash.-Kristin Rinne, chief technology officer for Cingular Wireless L.L.C., will serve a second term as chairwoman of 3G Americas after being re-elected by the GSM technology organization’s board of …

WASHINGTON-A federal judge in Kentucky temporarily blocked enforcement of a new law prohibiting telecom operators from passing through to subscribers a targeted 1.3-percent gross receipts tax, pending the outcome of …

Lucent Technologies Inc. cut its earnings predictions for both the first quarter and the full year, primarily due to lower equipment sales in the United States and Canada. The telecommunications …

Digital security and mobile content provider VeriSign Inc. said it plans to spend $30 million in cash to acquire software developer CallVision Inc. Seattle-based CallVision provides Web-based billing and data …

FORT WORTH, Texas-Shares of RadioShack Corp. slid after the company reported disappointing fourth-quarter sales and confirmed it will fall short of projected 2005 earnings-due largely to lagging wireless sales. The …

Verizon Wireless made headlines at the Consumer Electronics Show when it unveiled a new full-track mobile music download service. But the carrier was busy last week defending the offering’s lack …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission set a May 10 date to auction 800 MHz air-to-ground licenses. The FCC is auctioning the four megahertz of spectrum in the 800 MHz ATG band …

Abortion has been-and probably will continue to be for a long while-the political fault line dividing Republicans and Democrats. In those infrequent instances when openings arise on Supreme Court-which has …

WASHINGTON-News stories late last week highlighted the tightrope wireless carriers must walk as they try to help law enforcement and protect their customers’ privacy at the same time. On one …

GLEN BURNIE, Md.-American Financial Holdings Inc. completed its merger with Pelican Mobile Computers Inc., which provides rugged mobile hardware and software for law enforcement agencies and emergency workers. The combined …

The wireline parent companies of Cingular Wireless L.L.C. are dangling discounts, converged bills and the potential of cross-platform services as they try to convince customers to bundle Cingular wireless services …

As the wireless industry expands its array of data applications for the mass market, it might consider borrowing a few tricks from the gaming world. Indeed, gaming companies seem to …

LONDON-Vodafone Group plc is partnering with Sony Corp. on an interactive streaming radio service for mobile phones and PCs. The companies unveiled Vodafone Radio DJ, which offers custom content based …

OSLO, Norway-The Mobile Media Co. said it has acquired Dutch game-maker Overloaded Pocket Media from Endemol N.V. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Overloaded develops and publishes wireless games …

WASHINGTON-Cingular Wireless L.L.C. obtained a temporary restraining order against two companies it believes have sold mobile-phone records online. The Federal court in Atlanta granted the order against Data Find Solutions …

NEW YORK-Credit ratings firm Standard & Poor’s is turning a sharp eye on wireline companies and their wireless offspring, citing concerns about wireline businesses’ ability to compete with Voice over …

Wireless is getting Googled. And, well, Yahoo’d. The Internet giants have made numerous headlines in recent weeks as they rush to become the premier destination on the wireless Web. And …

ALEXANDRIA, Va.-Apple Computer Inc. fueled speculation about its intentions in wireless as the company’s efforts to trademark the phrase “Mobile Me” came to light. Apple has filed a series of …

MIAMI-Strax Holdings Inc., which sells mobile phones, phone accessories and data services, announced it acquired European accessory makers more…Mobilfunkzubehor GmbH and more…International Ltd. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. …

Investors gave tower companies a thumbs up last week as plans for augmenting or expanding their facilities were greeted with a slew of new financing options. SBA Communications Corp., the …

WASHINGTON-Calling the territory of Guam from a wireless phone can be expensive, and the delegate that represents the island doesn’t think it should be-especially since wireline carriers can’t charge more …

WASHINGTON-Jack Abramoff ordered the wireless firm that won the House in-building wireless infrastructure contract to make payments totaling $50,000 to a tax-exempt group created by the fallen lobbyist instead of …

DENVER-The line in the sand between Airgo Networks Inc. and backers of the Enhanced Wireless Consortium may be washed away if the IEEE adopts the Joint Proposal Team’s first draft …

The first public airing of Qualcomm Inc.’s proprietary MediaFlo technology for mobile TV is taking place as the Flo Forum submitted its specification proposal for the Flo air interface between …

The very mention of Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem puts a whir in many propeller hats. The whirring is justified to a certain degree, but wireless carriers have approached investment in …