October 2006

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 …

OVERLAND PARK, Kan.—Sprint Nextel Corp. announced it will soon begin selling three of Motorola Inc.’s popular slim phones, a move those in the industry had long expected. The announcement boosts …

PORTLAND, Ore.—Digital commerce software developer Vesta Corp. acquired Beijing-based mobile top-up company Unimobile in an effort to tap the Chinese prepaid wireless market. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. …

WASHINGTON—As Congress broke for midterm elections, the wireless industry won a few battles, but for the most part failed to get legislation it supported passed. It’s not clear how industry …

WOBURN, Mass.—Wireless semiconductor manufacturer Skyworks Solutions Inc. said it is ceasing its baseband operations and will lay off 425 employees. Skyworks’ baseband business developed reference designs, including digital signal processors …

WASHINGTON—Motient Corp. named a new management team, continuing moves to separate two affiliated mobile satellite service companies into two independent publicly traded entities and possibly to better position the Lincolnshire, …

CHICAGO—About two years after its acquisition of AT&T Wireless Services Inc., Cingular Wireless L.L.C. announced it has finished the work of integrating AWS’ GSM network. Cingular has invested heavily in …

SAN DIEGO—A U.S. District Court judge ruled yesterday that Broadcom Corp. can develop and sell third-generation chipsets. Rival Qualcomm Inc. had pushed for a preliminary injunction to stop Broadcom from …

BURBANK, Calif.—It will cost The Walt Disney Co. about $30 million to shut down its Mobile ESPN MVNO, but the company remains positive on the prospects for its Disney Mobile …

SAN DIEGO—Leap Wireless International Inc. launched its Cricket wireless service in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The company said customers in the Kansas City region will have a calling area …

WASHINGTON—Alltel Corp. received approval from the Federal Communications Commission for its $1 billion purchase of Midwest Wireless Holdings L.L.C. As part of the deal, Alltel must sell off operations in …

HELSINKI, Finland—Nokia Corp. introduced a new short-range radio technology called Wibree that the company said transfers data at speeds of 10 megabits per second and uses only a fraction of …

KANATA, Ontario—Wireless broadband service provider BelAir Networks hopes to build on its municipal Wi-Fi business after scoring $21.4 million in a Series D financing round. Ventures West Management Inc. led …

LONDON—Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications L.P. is the latest handset manufacturer to move onto the retail playground, announcing plans to build a branded store in London’s upscale Kensington High Street district. …

DUBLIN, Ireland-Those waiting anxiously for a .mobi domain needn’t wait any longer. The company behind the controversial, mobile-exclusive top-level domain opened registration, allowing the general public to register wireless Internet …

SAN DIEGO-Digital Orchid is looking to expand its portfolio and global footprint with the acquisition of mobile game publisher Blue Tech. Blue Tech is a 2-year-old vendor based in Madrid, …

SEOUL-South Korea’s Pantech & Curitel Communications Inc. will provide its portfolio of CDMA-based handsets to UTStarcom Inc. for sale in North America under a three-year agreement, the company announced. Terms …

WASHINGTON-Designated entities accounted for a historically low percentage of the government’s multibillion-dollar take in the recently completed advanced wireless services auction, even though they made up more than half of …

NEW YORK-A new mobile virtual network operator targeting Chinese-Americans officially launched, offering cheap international calls to Asia and a Razr phone with menus in Chinese. Red Pocket Mobile soft-launched about …

Michael Foley, executive director of the Bluetooth SIG, answered a few questions for RCR Wireless News via e-mail regarding the factory raid in China. RCR: To what degree is this …

The great Washington wireless mystery continues. Last week, the Federal Communications Commission officially launched its Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau. Kenneth Moran was named acting chief of a new …

OTTAWA, Ill.-B&B Electronics, which provides automation and communications products, said it acquired Advanced Embedded Systems, a Phoenix-based company that develops industrial-focused wireless products. AES is expected to become part of …

ESPOO, Finland-Nokia Corp. said it has developed an HSDPA connectivity module for notebook computers. The module will be included with Intel Corp.’s next-generation Centrino Duo mobile technology platform, said Nokia. …

Xero Mobile Inc. found a buyer, inking a deal to sell “substantially all of its assets and liabilities” to little-known Advanced Mobile Communications Inc. The mobile virtual network operator?which has …