2006

SEATTLE—Starbucks Coffee Co. is the latest mega-brand to go mobile, launching a scavenger-hunt promotional campaign for wireless users. The coffee giant launched a Web site, starbuckssummer.com, that allows customers to …

WASHINGTON—The Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police plans to urge Congress to lean on the Federal Communications Commission to put the 700 MHz Cyren Call Communications Inc. proposal out for …

TORONTO—Nortel Networks Ltd. bagged what is likely a hefty contract to supply Verizon Wireless with CDMA2000 1x EV-DO Revision A network technology beginning in the third quarter. Though Nortel didn’t …

IRVINE, Calif.—AskMeNow, which allows cell-phone users to search the Internet for information using natural language queries, said it disabled its call-in Interactive Voice Response feature while it makes enhancements to …

REDWOOD SHORES, Calif.—Chilean wireless operator Entel PCS said it launched a location-based safety service in Chile using products provided by Wherify Wireless Inc. The service, called Ubicom, uses Wherify’s Wherifone …

STANFORD, Calif.—Number portability has translated into lower wireless costs for consumers due to increased competition, according to research done at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Since the Federal Communications …

ATLANTA—Cingular Wireless L.L.C. expanded the availability of Good Technology Inc.’s Mobile Messaging for its business customers. Cingular customers now can get Good Mobile Messaging for IBM Lotus Domino; the carrier …

ATLANTA—Mobile television provider SmartVideo Technologies Inc. said it raised $9 million in a private placement. SmartVideo delivers video programming to users with smart phones and laptop computers, and boasts relationships …

NEW YORK—UrbanWorld Wireless added several high-profile performers to its stable of content with a new distribution agreement with entertainment management company Czar Entertainment. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. …

PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y.—As multimedia-enabled handsets flood the market, so are external memory options, according to a new report from The NPD Group. The number of handsets equipped with removable media …

SARASOTA, Fla.—Mobile Voice over Internet Protocol developer xG Technology L.L.C. said it is launching a nationwide deployment program of xMax, the company’s new mobile VoIP service. The company said it’s …

TORONTO—Nortel Networks Ltd. and Microsoft Corp. are teaming up to provide unified communications with the intent of transforming business communications systems. The companies said they agreed on a four-year deal …

ISSY-LES-MOULINAUX, France—The Linux Phone Standards Forum said Telecom Italia, Texas Instruments Inc. and ZTE Corp. have joined its ranks. The group is in the process of defining a standard software …

BOULDER, Colo.—The Mobile Marketing Association continued to expand its roster, adding 27 member companies from five countries. The industry organization signed up traditional media companies including the Associated Press, National …

Business forecasts are integral to industry, wireless or otherwise. Vendors crunch them, analysts parse them, investors fret over them, bloggers disparage them and reporters write about them. Early in the …

EMERYVILLE, Calif.-MobiTV Inc. said it snared a whopping $70 million in a Series C financing round led by Oak Investment Partners. The three-year-old wireless video provider said it will use …

Obopay inked its first carrier agreement last week, announcing a deal to provide wireless payment services for mobile virtual network operator Amp’d Mobile Inc. But most operators aren’t exactly embracing …

Although much attention has been focused on the network transitions and upgrades of national carriers, many regional operators around the country also are deciding how to implement new technologies and …

SAN ANTONIO, Texas-Cingular Wireless L.L.C. launched its UMTS/HSDPA mobile broadband network in the hometown of parent company AT&T Inc. The wireless carrier announced that it has added San Antonio to …

Motient Corp. scored a solid win against Highland Capital Management L.P. and its president, James Dondero, with news that Motient stockholders voted to elect all of the company’s six nominees …

OVERLAND PARK, Kan.-Sprint Nextel Corp. has modified how its customers reach an automated service line and how their identities are verified following concerns raised by customers about their privacy on …

BRUSSELS-The European Union has announced plans to cap the international roaming rates that carrier charge one another, which could end up cutting those prices by as much as 70 percent. …

LOS ANGELES-Cingular Wireless L.L.C. has teamed with HBO to offer made-for-mobile episodes of the cable operator’s hit show “Entourage.” The 4-minute episodes are designed to complement the TV series and …

IPSWICH, Mass.-The Consumer Respect Group, which examines how companies treat online customers, has found that the telecom industry-particularly traditional landline and wireless companies-does a better-than-average job of interacting with customers …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission fined LocateCell.com $97,500 for repeatedly failing to respond to subpoenas to provide information in connection with the commission’s investigation of data brokers that deceptively gain access …