Editor’s Note: RCR Wireless News goes all in for “Throwback Thursdays,” tapping into our archives to resuscitate the top headlines from the past. Fire up the time machine, put on the sepia-tinted shades, set the date for #TBT and enjoy the memories!
ETF class-action lawsuit against VZW certified: Case could cost No. 2 service provider close to $1B
An arbitrator certified a class-action lawsuit against Verizon Wireless that potentially could cost the No. 2 cellphone carrier close to $1 billion in refunds of early termination fees. “I find the claimants have complied with the criteria for class certification,” wrote Eugene I. Farber, a former federal judge and senior arbitrator-mediator for the American Arbitration Association in White Plains, N.Y. “My decision is also motivated by my conclusion that as a matter of equity and fairness, millions of class members are entitled to adjudication of the central common questions of fact or law in this arbitration related to whether the $175 early termination fee imposed by respondents Cellco Partnership d/b/a Verizon Wireless is based upon an unenforceable liquidated damage clause.” … Read More
Analysts debate ‘missing’ iPhones: NYC reseller said he ships 500 to 1,000 overseas each month
Call it “the anatomy of an industry dustup” or, if you’re feeling dramatic, call in Sherlock Holmes. After all, over the past week or so, the issue has been dubbed “the case of the missing iPhones.” Well, are they missing? And, if so, where did they go? Analysts converged on the question and speculation ran a wide gamut, from Apple Inc.’s allegedly dust-gathering warehouses to a large, unreported inventory backlog at AT&T Mobility and the three Euro-carriers currently offering the device. One entrepreneur in New York City, however, scoffed at prevailing theories and suggested that few analysts appeared to know what was happening “on the street.” But it remained impossible to gauge the accuracy of various theories on the “missing iPhones” because no reliable data is available on official inventories or gray market shipments. … Read More
Pained about the roaming in Spain?: Domestic carriers offer options, but heavy usage can be costly
Anyone who has traveled abroad and decided to use their cellphone to call home or check e-mail knows how shocking the total on your subsequent wireless bill can be. Short of owning an unlocked GSM device and carrying multiple SIM cards – each serving as a conduit to cheaper rates – there are a few options among the top four U.S. carriers that can reduce costs; albeit they remain relatively expensive propositions nonetheless. For Americans traveling to Barcelona, Spain for the Mobile World Congress, each of the domestic tier-one carriers recommend different options for their customers depending on their specific needs. GSM-technology based carriers AT&T Mobility and T-Mobile USA Inc. make travel to Europe somewhat easier since the continent uses the same technology; however the device has to operate in the 900/1800 bands Europe has designated for GSM use. … Read More
WAP vs. App: Age-old question continues to haunt developers
The answer to that old “WAP or app” debate? It might be, both. Ever since the early days of WAP – which, yes, was often crap – media companies and advertisers have struggled with how to approach users on their phones. While wireless Web sites can be relatively cheap and easy to build, they typically offer a user experience that pales in comparison to downloadable applications, which can be prohibitively expensive to deploy. So many companies are taking both routes, offering applications for specific kinds of handsets – Microsoft Corp. Windows Mobile-enabled phones, for instance – as well as a simple mobile site for use by a broader swath of devices. YouTube recently continued that trend, expanding its mobile site for 3G phones even as it pushes a J2ME application supported by only a handful of devices in the United States and United Kingdom. The new site provides mobile access YouTube’s entire catalog of tens of millions of video clips. But many of the bells and whistles from the PC site are available only through the application – not the downloadable offering. … Read More
What’s to become of Motorola?: Speculation runs rampant on upshot of surprise news
As word sank in that Motorola Inc. is “exploring the structural and strategic realignment” of its business – including the possible creation of a standalone company for its devices business – attention has turned to the company’s strategy, its actual value and potential outcomes. Strategically, CEO Greg Brown appeared determined to get ahead of the rumor mill, which earlier this week had Moto selling its device business outright, and possibly signal to potential investors that it was open to a deal. Current investors sent Moto’s stock up more than 10% on the news that a decisive solution might be at hand. And investor Carl Icahn, famous for profiting from the sale of under-performing companies’ assets and one of Moto’s largest stockholders, told The Wall Street Journal that he will mount a campaign to obtain four to five seats on the company’s 13-member board at the annual stockholder meeting this May. Icahn failed to gain a seat on the board last May. … Read More
Where was wireless at the Super Bowl?
Alexis de Tocqueville might have saved himself a lot of travel if he could have watched a few Super Bowl broadcasts. It’s no secret that Super Bowl commercials act as a sort of barometer for what Americans are all about. The expectations surrounding the Big Game are as much about ads for fast food, sexy gadgets, light beer and battleship-sized SUVs as they is about nickel defenses and shotgun formations. So with my laptop at the ready, an ice chest at my feet and my Stadium Pal in place, I settled in on the couch Sunday afternoon to find out where mobile data fits into the vast shopping mall of U.S. consumerism. The answer? On the periphery, apparently. Because on Super Sunday, mobile had a lower profile than an “Iron Chef America” judge. … Read More
Devices at 700 MHz: wait-and-see attitude: Spectrum winners’ strategy and service decisions come first
What types of devices might ride on the 700 MHz frequency licenses now up for bid in the United States? The question is as open and varied as the 214 qualified spectrum bidders and their disparate strategies, analysts said. “We don’t know what the winners of the 700 MHz auction will use the spectrum for,” said Will Strauss, principal at Forward Concepts, a semiconductor research firm. “Would it be WiMAX? Would it be more MediaFLO? Would it be for cellular? None of this is yet obvious.” Among the qualified bidders, “90% of them you’ve never heard of,” said Mike Thelander, principal at Signals Research Group, L.L.C. The list of 214 reveals many modest, regional, cellular players, the analyst said. … Read More
Equipment vendors ready for 700 MHz orders
The dust sure to be left in the wake of the 700 MHz auction is far from settled – with the final outcomes still unknown – yet, infrastructure vendors say they’ll be ready for buildout plans the moment existing carriers or new entrants are ready to pull the trigger. “You’re basically pointing your guns at 2009 and what the market looks like,” said Sandip Mukerjee, VP of wireless portfolio and strategy at Alcatel-Lucent. “We’re very confident that if somebody wanted to deploy these technologies in 2009, we will be ready.” That’s when the Federal Communications Commission is requiring TV broadcasters to free up the spectrum and transition to an entirely digital transmission. … Read More
S.E., Nokia set to battle in D-2-C space: Line-ups appear stacked, though carrier competition remains
Nokia Corp. and Sony Ericsson are gearing up for what looks to be an epic battle on the mobile content playground. But the complicated world of mobile content is more like one of those bar-fight scenes in the movies where it’s tough to tell who’s fighting whom. Sony Ericsson last week bulked up its content portfolio, securing deals with 10 music labels and adding 5 million tracks for its PlayNow service. The joint venture between Sony Corp. and L.M. Ericsson unveiled agreements with Sony BMG, Warner Music Group, EMI, The Orchard and six others; Sony Ericsson also added 250 games through existing deals with EA Games, Gameloft and other publishers. PlayNow came to market four years ago as a storefront for ringtones and has expanded to offer games and full-track downloads to users in 32 countries. Sony Ericsson said it hopes to offer the expanded PlayNow “arena” in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland in May with other markets to follow. … Read More
Forecast calls for … iPhone ‘killers’: Vendor-specific challenges also loom as smartphone space heats up
The landscape of the wireless industry is in flux as you read this story, with product launches, pre-announcements and hype flying by like so much confetti on the wind. Or is that confetti actually the cellular industry after being fed through a shredder? The traditional cellular industry itself is morphing, too – if not in actual tatters – as newcomers from Apple Inc. to Amazon.com to Garmin Ltd. market devices that take their traditional strengths – multimedia, books and personal navigation, respectively – and add cellular connectivity to offer voice and data, plus myriad other functions. Handsets and personal computers are being merged in the ultra-mobile PC space that promises some bizarre hybrids. And the 700 MHz auction and the great WiMAX question – will it or won’t it fly in the United States? – blow like winds of change across the now-hazy horizon. … Read More
Check out RCR Wireless News’ Archives for more stories from the past.
