The FCC approved Cingular’s $41B purchase of AT&T Wireless, while Sprint snagged initial Treo 650 launch … 12 years ago this week
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!
FCC approves Cingular/AWS merger
The Federal Communications Commission today conditionally approved the $41 billion merger of Cingular Wireless L.L.C. and AT&T Wireless Services Inc., requiring the new No. 1 mobile-phone operator to scale back or forgo combined wireless operations in 22 markets. The decision received criticism from two Democratic commission members for not including consumer safeguards in regions where Cingular and its wireline Bell telephone parents are dominant. The FCC ruling comes a day after the Justice Department reached an antitrust settlement requiring Cingular to sell wireless properties in 13 markets where the two mobile-phone firms have significant spectrum holdings. The wireless business deal is expected to close within days. … Read More
Sprint PCS becomes first carrier to offer new Treo
Sprint Corp. announced it will be the first carrier to offer palmOne Inc.’s new Treo 650 smart phone. The device, which will retail for $600, includes phone, e-mail, Web, organizer, MP3 player, digital camera and camcorder capabilities. Sprint said it will also offer a non-camera version of the phone later this year. “The Treo 650 by palmOne is an incredibly powerful smart device that will make a valuable addition to Sprint’s broad portfolio of wireless offerings, unmatched by any of our competitors,” said Harry Campbell, president of emerging and mid-markets at Sprint. … Read More
Nokia dominates smartphone market in new research
Worldwide mobile device shipments in the third quarter were up 83 percent from a year ago, with Nokia Corp. leading the charge, according to recent research from Canalys. The firm defines the mobile device market as feature phones, smart phones, handhelds and wireless handhelds. Nokia grabbed nearly 40 percent of the market, according to the research. PalmOne Inc. followed in second place with 14.5-percent market share, which Canalys attributed to more than 300,000 shipments of the Treo 600 smart phone, mostly in the United States, during the quarter. … Read More
Cingular Wireless launches new ad campaign integrating AWS elements
Cingular Wireless L.L.C. began a new advertising campaign that includes links to recently acquired AT&T Wireless Services Inc. and represent the carrier’s new position as the nation’s largest wireless operator. The campaign, which was created by BBDO Atlanta and BBDO New York, is set for national television, national and local newspapers, radio and the Internet. The campaign will include a new tagline: “Raising the bar” that is similar to the “How many bars do you have?” campaign AWS used prior to its acquisition by Cingular that closed earlier this week. Cingular will also unveil an update to its existing orange logo that will now be followed by the word Cingular written in blue, which was the color used by AWS in its advertising. … Read More
NextWave requests another extension, plans to emerge from bankruptcy in January
NextWave Telecom Inc. has requested another extension before filing its reorganization plan, but told the court Tuesday that it would like to emerge from bankruptcy by late January. The latest extension request would have NextWave filing its reorganization plan by Nov. 12 and then soliciting comments until Jan. 25, 2005. NextWave had told the bankruptcy court Oct. 19 that it would file its plan on Nov. 3 but now it says it needs until Nov. 12 to complete the necessary documentation. … Read More
Kyocera recalls 1M phone batteries
Kyocera Wireless Corp., along with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, is recalling 1 million cell-phone batteries, pointing to concerns that some of the batteries supplied by the manufacturer may be counterfeit. The batteries, manufactured by El Paso, Texas-based Hecmma Group, are included in the Kyocera Slider, K400 and 3200 Series cell phones. The phones are sold through Alltel Corp., Cricket Communications, MetroPCS, U.S. Cellular Corp. and Verizon Wireless stores. … Read More
Triton PCS loses subscribers, acquires Urban Comm
Former AT&T Wireless Services Inc. affiliate Triton PCS Holdings Inc. said it lost 19,211 subscribers during the third quarter of this year as the carrier was hit by an increase in customer churn that it associated with AWS’ recently completed acquisition by Cingular Wireless L.L.C. Triton noted customer churn jumped from 2.6 percent during the second quarter of this year to 3.1 percent during the third quarter. Average revenue per user deteriorated from $57.29 during the third quarter of 2003 to $55.23 this year, while the cost per gross customer addition dropped from $451 last year to $415 during the third quarter of this year. … Read More
Merger fanfare short-lived with downgrades
The fanfare surrounding final government approval of Cingular Wireless L.L.C.’s $41 billion acquisition of AT&T Wireless Services Inc. proved to be short-lived, with Moody’s Investors Service downgrading long-term debt ratings of the new No. 1 mobile-phone carrier and its two Bell telephone parent companies. Moody’s-pointing to wireline competitive pressures, network upgrade costs and potential wireless merger snags-said the ratings outlook is negative for SBC Communications Inc., 60 percent owner of Cingular, and BellSouth Corp., which holds a 40-percent stake in the Atlanta-based mobile-phone operator. Moody’s said the ratings outlook for Cingular and AT&T Wireless is stable. … Read More
Carriers agree on MMS interoperability
The nation’s wireless carriers have agreed to provide consumers with multimedia messaging service interoperability, a move that industry watcher say will give a much-needed boost to MMS use in the United States. The Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association said the Inter-Carrier MMS Working Group Friday established a set of guidelines that will allow wireless carriers to phase in photo and video messaging services over time. Currently, only customers of the same carrier network are capable of exchanging photo and video messaging. The new agreement will allow customers of different networks to swap multimedia images. … Read More
Clearwire partners with Intel on WiMAX networks
Broadband wireless carrier Clearwire and Intel Corp. said they will join forces to develop and deploy WiMAX wireless broadband networks. Wireless broadband equipment from Clearwire subsidiary NextNet Wireless will be used for the networks. Future Intel silicon products that will support the upcoming 802.16 standard for WiMAX solutions will also be included in the networks. Furthermore, under their agreement, Intel Capital will make a “significant” investment in Clearwire as part of its strategy to invest $150 million in wireless technology to accelerate the adoption of high-speed wireless networks. … Read More
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