2006

WASHINGTON—Virginia’s Senate Finance Committee approved legislation creating a flat tax for mobile phone service and other communications offerings, moving closer to possible passage of a bill with national implications. The …

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich.—Wireless franchise Wireless Toyz said it nearly doubled the number of stores it operates last year and plans to double its footprint again this year. The company grew …

SAN FRANCISCO—Cell phone headset maker Phonebites Inc. said it raised $7 million in its second round of venture funding, which was led by Mayfield Fund. Mayfield Managing Director Janice Roberts …

SAN DIEGO—Speech-recognition search technology firm V-Enable announced that it raised $6 million during a funding round led by SoftBank Capital and Palisades Ventures. V-Enable says demand from carriers for its …

WASHINGTON—The New Jersey Senate overwhelming passed legislation to crack down on drivers already subject to a statewide ban on hand-held cell phone use by operators of motor vehicles. The state …

HOUSTON—Crown Castle International Corp. reported increased site rental revenue and improved net loss figures for the fourth quarter. The company noted that site rental revenue came in at $155.4 million, …

CHICAGO—U.S. Cellular Corp. and its parent company, Telephone and Data Systems Inc., said they received a fourth financial filing extension from the American Stock Exchange. The companies, which had been …

SUNNYVALE, Calif.—InnoPath Software Inc. reported that Japanese wireless operator Vodafone K.K. selected its firmware over-the-air device management solution to deliver upgraded features and services to its subscribers. “With the growing …

WASHINGTON—The Information Technology Council offered advance praise for a House GOP innovation initiative being unveiled on Capitol Hill this afternoon. “The Republican leadership’s competitiveness act will create jobs and keep …

NEW YORK—Ogo device vendor IXI Mobile Inc. said it is merging with Israel Technology Acquisition Corporation, the firms announced. IXI Mobile is expected to become a wholly owned subsidiary of ITAC …

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.—An Alltel Corp. subsidiary extended its agreement with T-Mobile Austria GmbH for the sale of Alltel’s Austrian business, tele.ring. Alltel acquired the international subsidiary, Western Wireless International Austria …

EDINBURG, Va.—Shenandoah Telecommunications Co. announced that it plans to restate its financial results for the years 2003 and 2004, plus the first three quarters of 2005, with a cumulative net …

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.—Google Inc. continued the expansion of its mobile applications portfolio with a wireless version of its Google News service. Google News for mobiles, which can be accessed via …

WASHINGTON—Spectrum being reclaimed from broadcasters as part of the digital TV transition should be auctioned in smaller chunks than is currently contemplated, Sen. Conrad Burns told Federal Communications Commission Chairman …

CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa.—UbiquiTel Inc. turned out positive numbers for 2005 including increased income and reduced churn—although its average revenue per user slipped and the company added 25-percent fewer customers than it …

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.—724 Solutions Inc. says its minority shareholder, Austin Ventures L.P., has offered to buy the company’s 5.5 million outstanding shares of common stock for about $17 million, or …

STOCKHOLM, Sweden—Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications L.P. presented six new handsets today including the K800, a new high-resolution camera phone that carries Sony Corp.’s CyberShot brand, an extension of the company’s …

NEW YORK—Motorola Inc.’s venture-capital unit, Motorola Ventures, made an investment in Netomat Inc., which has developed an Internet Protocol-based platform for mobile-PC convergence. Financial terms of the agreement were not …

BERWYN, Pa.—Regional operator SunCom Wireless Holdings Inc. pushed back its fourth quarter and full-year 2005 financial report by two weeks. The company had been slated to make its results public …

SUNNYVALE, Calif.—Yahoo Inc. filed suit against Mforma Group Inc., claiming the mobile game-maker is stealing company secrets as it hires seven former Yahoo employees. The Internet giant is suing both …

REDMOND, Wash—Microsoft Corp. announced that it’s backing Digital Video Broadcasting-Handheld technology as a “founding member” of the Mobile DTV Alliance. Although the group formed in January, Microsoft only today announced …

SAN DIEGO—Call it hedging it your bets. Qualcomm Inc. said it is developing chipsets based on a rival mobile television standard—Digital Video Broadcasting–Handheld, or DVB-H—even while it works to complete …

CHICAGO—U.S. Cellular Corp. and its parent company, Telephone and Data Systems Inc., delayed for a fourth time the reporting of their third quarter 2005 results and financial restatements dating back …

SAN JOSE, Calif.—Gawker Media, the company behind the pop culture and celebrity gossip Web blogs Gawker.com and Defamer.com, selected iLoop Mobile to develop a mobile subscription service for Gawker’s subscribers. …

HOLLYWOOD, Calif.—Fox Mobile Entertainment is joining the ranks of wireless aggregators, unveiling a Web site hawking music, games and images for mobile phones. The News Corp. subsidiary launched Mobizzo, an …