2006

LONDON-Operating system vendor Symbian Ltd. announced it will cut its licensing fees in half in a bid to counter encroaching competition from Windows Mobile and Linux. Symbian currently charges handset …

TEMPE, Ariz.-Motorola Inc. named Interphase Corp. its preferred provider for I/O Advanced Mezzanine Cards, according to a strategic alliance announced by the companies. The cards will be part of Motorola’s …

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill.-Motorola Inc. is hoping to kick-start the lagging mobile-commerce market with a system that allows users to purchase products, transfer funds or pay bills with their cell phones. …

WASHINGTON-The FBI and Department of Homeland Security have advised state and local law enforcement officials to be alert for large purchases of prepaid cell phones, an FBI spokesman said. The …

MEXICO CITY-Leading wireless prepaid provider Tracfone Wireless Inc., which is a subsidiary of America Movil, said it gained 1 million new subscribers in the fourth quarter of 2005, bringing its …

SAN DIEGO-Qualcomm Inc. scored a minor victory in its legal wrangle with chipmaker Broadcom Inc., managing to move part of the case to its home base of San Diego. The …

TORONTO-Nortel Networks Ltd. said it may pay more than $2.4 billion in cash and stock to settle two shareholder lawsuits filed as a result of the company’s accounting fraud scandal. …

SANTA CLARA, Calif.-Lucent Technologies Inc. said it agreed to purchase Ethernet developer Riverstone Networks’ assets for $170 million in cash. Most of Riverstone’s employees are expected to join Lucent as …

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill.-Motorola Inc. introduced a super-slim sliding-style phone in South Korea, dubbed the Z, which is the latest wafer-thin handset from the maker of the wildly popular Razr. However, …

EMERYVILLE, Calif.-MobiTV Inc. and IPWireless Inc. announced they plan to jointly develop mobile TV delivery solutions for mobile operators, combining unicast technologies with TDtv multicasting. The companies said TDtv is …

ATLANTA, Ga.-Cingular Wireless L.L.C. said it completed network enhancements in Connecticut and Mississippi. In Connecticut, the carrier completed $45 million of work last year, including integrating its network with that …

PHOENIX-Software developer EQO Communications announced a new Java application for mobile phones that the company said allows Skype users to place and receive Skype calls from their mobile phone. EQO …

OKLAHOMA CITY-RadioShack Corp. customers in seven states will be able to purchase cellular phones and services from Dobson Communications Corp.’s wireless subsidiary, Dobson Cellular Systems, under the Cellular One brand. …

PEMBROKE, Bermuda-Qualcomm Inc.’s mobile TV subsidiary, MediaFlo USA Inc., signed an agreement with Intelsat to use capacity on the satellite operator’s Intelsat Americas-8 satellite. The IA-8 satellite, launched last summer, …

SCHAUMBURG, Ill.-Motorola Inc. named Hamid Ahmadi its first chief architect. Ahmadi will be responsible for developing a unified architectural framework and leading strategic hardware and software architecture planning across all …

SUNNYVALE, Calif.-Plans for an Island-wide Wi-Fi network is coming to the Bahamas thanks to an agreement between Meru Networks, a wireless Voice over Internet Protocol infrastructure developer, and Sawtel Inc., …

SAN DIEGO-Mobile messaging company SMS.ac had a cease-and-desist order issued against a blogger who called the company a “total scam.” The law firm of McDermott, Will & Emery served blogger …

SCHAUMBURG, Ill.-Regional carrier and Sprint Nextel Corp. CDMA affiliate iPCS Inc. reported a net loss of $17.2 million, or $1.03 per share, although the operator’s churn rate was down and …

WASHINGTON-The Senate Commerce Committee seemed cool to the idea that broadband-pipe owners should be able to require some bandwidth hogs like Voice over Internet Protocol providers Google Inc. and Yahoo …

LONDON-Next-generation wireless networks are driving multimedia offerings in the United Kingdom and Germany, according to the latest figures from M:Metrics. The Seattle-based mobile measurement firm found that while 3G users …

PHOENIX-Just in case subscribers need a virtual coach on the go, Sprint Nextel Corp. and Bones in Motion launched a mobile fitness application for GPS-enabled CDMA and iDEN phones. BiMActive …

BEDMINSTER, N.J.-Verizon Wireless’ Vcast subscribers can access concert footage and audio recordings from last night’s concert by The Fugees in Los Angeles. The carrier sponsored the free open-air show from …

WASHINGTON-The White House today clarified that a new budget proposal to set user fees on un-auctioned spectrum would not lead to taxes on frequencies designated for Wi-Fi. But the White …

TORONTO-Mobile security company Diversinet Corp. said its newest authentication offering is ready for commercial use via cell phones and other mobile devices. The company explained that security tokens, sometimes called …

By Jamie LaReau DETROIT-General Motors’ OnStar division will offer new technology on some 2006 models and nearly all 2007 models that gives subscribers automated turn-by-turn navigation in their vehicles. GM …