September 2006

MURRAY HILL, N.J.—The infrastructure industry’s merger of the season looks to be a done deal, as Lucent Technologies Inc. and Alcatel Inc. announced that their shareholders approved Alcatel’s $10.7 billion …

WASHINGTON—The federal government should lean on the wireless industry to make sure hackers can’t access personal information on used smart phones and personal digital assistants, the governor of Illinois told …

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.—Strong regional differences in call quality among carriers showed up in the latest J.D. Power and Associates consumer survey, with no carrier dominating nationally. The company also noted …

MENLO PARK, Calif.—Voice-recognition software developer Promptu said it closed an $11.6 million round of funding. Steelpoint Capital Partners led the round, and other current investors also participated. Promptu, which was …

   BELLEVUE, Wash.—T-Mobile USA Inc. and Research In Motion Ltd. announced the launch of RIM’s BlackBerry “Pearl” device, which combines productivity and multimedia features. The device stands as a bid …

Hello! And welcome to our Thursday column, Worst of the Week. There’s a lot of nutty stuff that goes on in this industry, so this column is a chance for …

SAN JOSE, Calif.—Free Wi-Fi is coming to 2.4 million Silicon Valley residents by way of Silicon Valley Metro Connect, a consortium that counts IBM Corp. and Cisco Systems Inc. as …

DUBLIN, Calif.—Software developer Sybase Inc. will acquire wireless messaging company Mobile 365 in a deal valued at $400 million. Sybase, which provides large-scale database software and other cross-platform business applications, …

LOS ANGELES—Amp’d Mobile Inc. is “fast approaching” 50,000 subscribers and is on track to have a customer base of between 100,000 to 150,000 customers by Christmas, according to Peter Adderton, …

WASHINGTON—U.S. officials in Michigan said their probe of large prepaid cell phone purchases will not end as a result of a federal magistrate’s decision to throw out conspiracy and money …

WASHINGTON—Verizon Wireless is pitching a plan to build a nationwide broadband public-safety network in the 700 MHz band, according to sources familiar with the plan. The spectrum has already been …

LONDON—JumpTap Inc. expanded on its mobile search product line with two new products for carriers and advertisers. The company unveiled an “advertising suite,” which is designed to allow mobile marketers …

SAN FRANCISCO—Mobileplay Inc. said it launched an advertising-supported service that provides free access to news, games, lifestyle content and location-based services on wireless devices. The service supports personal digital assistants, …

WASHINGTON—The Telecommunications Industry Association looked inside and chose Grant Seiffert to succeed Matthew Flanigan as president beginning Jan.1, 2007. Seiffert has worked his way up the TIA organization ladder after …

MELBOURNE, Fla.—Harris Corp. said it signed a definitive agreement to combine its Microwave Communications Division with Stratex Networks Inc. The new company will be called Harris Stratex Networks Inc. Terms …

KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa.—InterDigital Communications Corp. has been awarded $134 million in past royalties, plus interest, from Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. on Samsung’s sales of GSM and GPRS/EDGE phones from …

WASHINGTON—Dobson Communications Corp. dominated round 85 of the advanced wireless services spectrum auction, placing nearly half of the new bids in the round. Verizon Wireless also re-entered the fray after …

NEW YORK—Bango said it has partnered with MTV Networks U.K. & Ireland to provide its browse and buy technology for MTV’s new WAP Web site. The MTV WAP site is …

SANTA ANA, Calif.—Powerwave Technologies Inc. reworked its $336 million acquisition agreement with Filtronic plc, paring the deal down to $185 million in cash along with 17.7 million in shares of …

RESTON, Va.—Sprint Nextel Corp. said it won a government contract worth an estimated $679 million to continue providing telecommunications services for federal agencies. The General Services Administration awarded Sprint Nextel …

NEW YORK—Crisp Wireless unveiled a service from the Associated Press designed to deliver updates and results from the upcoming election to wireless users. AP Mobile Election Results will feature state-by-state …

ESPOO, Finland—Nokia Corp. this week announced the pending launch of three new handsets in its L’Amour Collection line of fashion phones aimed at the European market. The new handset models …

WASHINGTON—Dobson Communications Corp., T-Mobile USA Inc. and Leap Wireless International Inc. are among the bidders still jockeying for spectrum in the advanced wireless services auction. The auction continues to creep …

MINNEAPOLIS—Internet Service Provider US Internet won a contract to build and operate a 54-square-mile, citywide Wi-Fi network in Minneapolis using equipment from BelAir Networks. The agreement spells out that the …

   MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.—Google Inc. has joined the mobile marketing playground with a wireless version of its AdWords service. The Internet giant quietly launched the offering that allows AdWords customers …