October 2006

BURLINGTON, Mass.—Lightbridge Inc. said it will quit its Telecom Decisioning Services business after losing Sprint Nextel Corp.’s business. The nation’s No. 3 carrier was Lightbridge’s largest TDS customer. Sprint Nextel’s …

SAN DIEGO, Calif.—Leap Wireless International Inc. offered insight into its plans for the spectrum it won in the FCC’s advanced wireless services auction, outlining a buildout that should start next …

WASHINGTON—The wireless broadband industry lashed out at XM Radio Inc. over the satellite radio operator’s admission that 221 land-based repeaters were operating above authorized power levels and 19 repeaters were …

OKLAHOMA CITY—Dobson Communications Corp. said its subscriber additions improved significantly during the third quarter. In a preliminary quarterly report, the company said it added about 23,500 net subscribers, including 11,300 …

WASHINGTON—AT&T Inc. and BellSouth Corp. urged the Federal Communications Commission not to give in to congressional pressure by requiring them to divest their 2.3 GHz and 2.5 GHz wireless broadband …

PURCHASE, N.Y.—MasterCard Worldwide customers can find nearby ATMs with their mobile phones thanks to a new application from Mobile 365. Under the new service, Mobile users can dial an 800 …

MENLO PARK, Calif.—Zannel Inc., which sells a mobile media platform, said it raised $6 million in its first round of financing. US Venture Partners and Palomar Ventures led the round. …

WASHINGTON—The Telecommunications Industry Association and the United States Telecom Association announced plans for a new industry conference that will replace Globalcomm and TelecomNext next year. The conference, called NXTcomm, is …

LONDON—It looks like Florida-based xG Technology Inc. is ramping up for a $56.9 million IPO on the London stock exchange. Though the company wouldn’t confirm reports about its initial public …

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 …

WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission tapped cell-phone association CTIA and wireless infrastructure trade group PCIA as clearinghouses for moving existing 2.1 GHz licensees to new frequencies to make room for new …

BOSTON—Boston University said it is adding an experimental course in its College of Communications that teaches students esthetics and production methods for making films designed specifically for mobile phones and …

ALEXANDRA, Va.—Hook Mobile emerged from stealth mode with a cross-carrier multimedia messaging service (MMS) application that allows players to collect and trade “cards” of contestants from the CBS reality hit …

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.—Openwave Systems Inc. announced the acquisition of SoloMio Corp., a Texas-based provider of integrated subscriber call management services. Terms of the all-cash deal were not disclosed. Key to …

SANTA MONICA, Calif.—Mobile virtual network operator Helio L.L.C. is moving beyond the phone to offer a CDMA2000 1x EV-DO laptop card that will allow users to “switch between a nationwide …

WASHINGTON—ADT Security Services Inc. is expected to ask the Federal Communications Commission later today to extend the end of cellular analog service requirements until 2010. The company said that equipment …

WASHINGTON—Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) vetoed legislation to allow California wireless and wireline telecom subscribers to contest unauthorized billing charges, including those arising from the theft or loss of mobile phones. …

SUNNYVALE, Calif.—Following Google Inc.’s lead, Yahoo Inc. said it expanded its sponsored-search offering to wireless phones in the United States and United Kingdom. The Internet giant announced the beta launch …

WASHINGTON—In the ongoing battle over whether national carriers should have to provide automatic roaming access to smaller operators, SouthernLINC Wireless is pleading its case as an iDEN operator with only …

VANCOUVER, British Columbia—Canadian operator Telus Mobility launched two handset-based Global Positioning System services developed by Networks In Motion. Telus said its new Navigator and Kid Find services are now available …

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—Mobile search startup JumpTap Inc. snared $22 million in a financing round as it welcomed new investor Valhalla Partners. Valhalla led the round, and existing investors General Catalyst Partners, …

BOSTON—Wireless enterprise data services in North America will generate more than $10 billion each year by 2010, according to a new study from research firm Strategy Analytics Inc. The company …

NAPLES, Fla.—Neighborhood America is looking to take its success building online communities to wireless. The company announced the acquisition of Movo Mobile, a fellow Florida-based developer that provides mobile marketing …

SAN DIEGO—A squabble over documents in the heated legal battle between chipmakers Qualcomm Inc. and Broadcom Corp. serves to highlight the contentious nature of the companies’ fight, as both players …

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.—Customer spending on wireless services continues to increase, according to the latest survey by J.D. Power and Associates—and consumers’ expectations of their wireless carriers will continue to rise …