Time Trippin’: Nokia, Motorola square off for No. 1; Palm confident … 7 years ago this week

Editor’s Note: The RCR Wireless News Time Machine is a way to take advantage of our extensive history in covering the wireless space to fire up the DeLorean and take a trip back in time to re-visit some of the more interesting headlines from this week in history. Enjoy the ride!
Motorola, Nokia eyeing each other’s turf
The top two handset vendors made small ripples this week in near-perfect juxtaposition. They both want something the other has-and gettin’ some is going to be difficult. Nokia Corp. announced yesterday that it will make two of its premium N-series devices available for sale in the United States directly to consumers. The Finnish vendor said the N75 and N76 devices will be available at $430 and $500 respectively through its branded flagship stores and through independent, online retailers. Consumers would need to sign up for service through a domestic GSM carrier for service. (The release made no mention that the N75 has been available at AT&T Mobility since earlier this month.) … Read More
Telecom giants remain in wiretapping crosshairs: Congress refuses to provide liability protection
Wireless and wireline carriers remain vulnerable to lawsuits over the National Security Agency’s anti-terrorist wiretapping program, with Congress so far refusing to consider a Bush administration legislative proposal that would give telecom carriers liability protection. In its authorization bill report, the Senate Intelligence Committee said it cannot take up the administration’s draft legislation until the White House shows an increased willingness to be forthcoming about a warantless electronic surveillance initiative secretly begun after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. … Read More
Palm gets eager hands on new cash, executives: Treo maker confident it will lead, but analysts wary
Executives at Palm Inc. appear to believe they’ve bought the time and talent to move from less than 3% of the smartphone market to leadership in mobile computing. To paraphrase Neil Armstrong, that’s a giant leap for any company, analysts said. This is perhaps particularly true in a fast-moving industry in which Palm is already playing catch-up, in the view of many analysts who weighed in on the latest news. Palm CEO Ed Colligan said last week that it would take 18 months until the new management’s “brain children” would hit the market. One analyst contacted last week, unaware of Palm’s lengthy product-development forecast, said the company would be at a competitive disadvantage if it hit the market in only nine months. … Read More
ITC orders ban on new 3G handsets with Qualcomm chips: Ruling ‘a shocker,’ potentially detrimental to entire wireless industry
In a potentially serious blow to Qualcomm Inc.’s chipset and IP-licensing business, the U.S. International Trade Commission ordered a ban on new 3G handsets bearing Qualcomm chips that infringe on a Broadcom Corp. patent. The ruling could also have wide-ranging effects on the U.S. wireless industry. It was not immediately clear what brands and models of mobile handsets would be affected by the order, which applies to handsets imported after today that contain the offending Qualcomm chip. … Read More
Deadbeat customers, Verizon Wireless’ threats led to Amp’d bankruptcy
Amp’d Mobile Inc. blamed its rapid growth, back-office systems and collection problems as the reasons for its need to reorganize under Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and said that nearly half of its youthful customer base were not paying their bills by early 2007, according to the company’s bankruptcy filings. According to the filings, Amp’d had raised about $350 million in investment money and had about $31 million in debt investments. The company began to run into troubles after it hit the 100,000-subscriber mark in late 2006. Amp’d said that about 90% of its customers were on 18-month postpaid service contracts, and in early 2007 the company “began to find a host of credit and collections problems and contributed ultimately to a liquidity crisis.” … Read More
HTC touts new touchscreen phone
HTC Corp., the nimble, Taiwan-based smartphone maker that is a leading purveyor of Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Mobile operating system, announced in London its new HTC Touch, a phone that employs touchscreen technology. The move is notable as Apple Inc.’s iPhone, which also features a touchscreen and similar design, is scheduled to hit store shelves at the end of this month. … Read More
Prince reigns at Verizon Wireless: Direct-to-consumer approach may be first in attempts to squeeze out record label
Verizon Wireless, meet Prince, the prolific artist who aggressively protects his fusion of just about every musical genre imaginable. The man whose bitter battle with a record label prompted him to change his name to a symbol for eight years has now inked a deal with the nation’s No. 2 wireless carrier to give subscribers a free, exclusive download of Prince’s new single, “Guitar.” Prince currently has no label to distribute his forthcoming album “Planet Earth,” and appears to be hedging his bet on this new direct-to-mobile arrangement and the major marketing and advertising push behind it. … Read More
Has customer growth peaked?: Q1 numbers from nation’s top carriers show signs
With domestic wireless penetration nearing 80%, signs of slowing customer growth may be beginning to show. The nation’s four largest carriers brought in fewer customers in the first quarter of this year than in the same quarter of the past three years, posting about 4.1 million net customer additions this year. During the last five years, the numbers peaked in 2006 with the top four carriers bringing in 5.7 million net additions in the first quarter. The 2007 figure was roughly on par with 2004′s 4.2 million net customer additions. It’s probably too early to tell if the dip in growth is just a temporary blip or evidence of a plateau for industry growth, but the next few quarters should shed light on the situation. … Read More
Network migration pause impacts capex: Investment expected to be flat this year
In the midst of a lull between completing the buildout of 3G networks and beginning work on next-generation networks, U.S. telecom companies are expected to keep their wireless capital spending mostly flat this year as they figure out how to better sell applications to profit off their current networks before plunging ahead to build new ones. If anything, telecom companies such as AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. are talking more about their progress in expanding wireline fiber networks, pursuing video offerings and IP-based network infrastructure-as opposed to foaming at the mouth over the next generation of wireless evolution. … Read More
Alltel, MetroPCS hint at 700 MHz plans
Alltel Corp. made clear its interest in the upcoming 700 MHz spectrum auction in government filings, and requested that the Federal Communications Commission avoid plans to set aside a chunk of the spectrum for a national private/public-safety network and make sure that smaller regional licenses are available for bidding. … Read More
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