2006

WASHINGTON—After sitting on the issue for almost two years, the Federal Communications Commission voted to allow Qualcomm Inc. to operate its MediaFLO mobile TV offering in markets where TV broadcasters …

WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission postponed until Friday a vote on AT&T Inc.’s $69 billion acquisition of BellSouth Corp., but harsh criticism by the agency’s two Democrats, consumer groups and a …

CHICAGO—U.S. Cellular Corp. said it received $95.1 million from the sale of its stake in regional operator Midwest Wireless Holdings to Alltel Corp. U.S. Cellular said it also expects to …

BEDFORD, Mass.—Two top executives at Boston Communications Group Inc. have bowed out of their positions in connection with an internal review of stock-option grants, as has the company’s general counsel. …

ALAMEDA, Calif.—UTStarcom Inc. said it is exploring “strategic alternatives” and has retained Merill Lynch & Co. as its financial adviser. The announcement could mean that UTStarcom is openly seeking to …

BOCA RATON, Fla.—Global Tower Partners may be the next tower company to get swallowed up as the industry’s giants fight over who will be king of the mountain. Global Tower …

BOSTON—The WiMAX ecosystem is getting fatter by the day, as Nokia Corp. joined the list of tier-one vendors launching WiMAX portfolios at the WiMAX World trade show in Boston. Nokia …

PARIS—Alcatel Inc. snapped up a global framework agreement to supply Vodafone Group plc with network equipment and services worldwide. Though Alcatel didn’t divulge how much the agreement means in terms …

WASHINGTON—The Justice Department’s unconditional approval of the $67 billion merger of AT&T Inc. and BellSouth Corp. ignited a firestorm of protest from consumer groups and the Federal Communications Commission’s two …

LOS ANGELES—Mobile virtual network operator Amp’d Mobile Inc. continued to expand its offerings with the introduction of several family plans, which the MVNO is selling as “shared” plans. Interestingly, the …

STOCKHOLM, Sweden—Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications L.P., at five years old, is pursuing two trends in the rapidly changing mobile handset market—a worldwide thirst for music and imaging—and is profiting handsomely …

DEL MAR, Calif.—Great Call Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. announced the launch of a new mobile virtual network operator called Jitterbug, named after the dance craze that originated in …

BELLEVUE, Wash.—InfoSpace Inc. said it plans to lay off about 250 employees as part of a restructuring plan. The move follows news late last month that Cingular Wireless L.L.C. plans …

WASHINGTON—The Federal Trade Commission issued a guide of sorts for municipalities considering wireless broadband, offering city planners and policymakers a list of the pros and cons of various approaches to …

SAN DIEGO—An administrative law judge with the International Trade Commission handed down a split decision in the acrimonious patent dispute between chipmakers Qualcomm Inc. and Broadcom Corp., ruling that Qualcomm …

OVERLAND PARK, Kan.—Qualcomm Inc.’s highly anticipated MediaFLO mobile TV service is gaining momentum as Sprint Nextel Corp. confirmed it is conducting trials using the network technology and could soon join …

CHICAGO—U.S. Cellular Corp. announced improved service revenues and operating income, as well as a jump in its customer base. Although the numbers were mostly positive, investors seemed somewhat ambivalent as …

NEW YORK—Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services assigned its B- corporate credit rating to MetroPCS Communications Inc. and its CCC rating to MetroPCS Wireless Inc.’s $1.1 billion of senior unsecured notes …

SAN DIEGO, Calif.—Leap Wireless International Inc. saw a big jump in customer additions during the third quarter, gaining 161,000 new subscribers and reporting a 73-percent improvement in gross additions. Leap …

NEW DELHI—Reports are streaming out of India indicating that Motorola Inc. and ZTE Corp. have been eliminated from the bidding process for state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd.’s multibillion-dollar contract to …

WASHINGTON—One of the three Republicans of the five-member, GOP-controlled Federal Communications Commission has decided not to participate in the agency’s vote on the proposed $67 billion merger between AT&T Inc. …

BOSTON—Nortel Networks Ltd. introduced its mobile WiMAX portfolio at the WiMAX World trade show and is hawking its new offering as 4G mobile broadband technology. The company says its MIMO-powered …

NEW YORK—Content provider Mobile Streams said it built an off-deck WAP portal to provide content from Showtime Networks Inc. The company said it will offer video clips from various Showtime …

RESTON, Va.—In the second departure of a high-ranking leader within the past two months, Sprint Nextel Corp. announced that Chairman Tim Donahue is retiring from the company’s board of directors. …

SAN FRANCISCO—AirPlay said it secured $14 million in its second round of venture financing. Qualcomm Inc., Motorola Inc., JK&B Capital, Onset Ventures and Redpoint Ventures participated in the funding round. …