THE MOBILE-PHONE INDUSTRY FINDS ITSELF ADRIFT in a sea of uncertainty as the 2008 election year approaches, with litigation, legislation and other factors casting a collective cloud over spectrum auctions critical to rollout of next-generation wireless services and the existing regulatory regime.Competition for new...
Welcome to our Friday feature, Week in Review. Every Friday, RCR Wireless News runs through the major events of the past week, outlining what happened and speculating on what to look for in the coming weeks, months and years. Check below for news about...
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected Verizon Wireless' emergency motion for fast-track treatment of its challenge to the Federal Communication Commission's open-access rule, increasing the likelihood that litigation will remain in play in the lead up to the...
The Federal Communications Commission and Frontline Wireless L.L.C oppose Verizon Wireless' emergency motion to have its court appeal of the 700 MHz open-access rule put on a fast track."It would make little sense for the court to expedite this case when, halfway through the...
DEMOCRATS WARNED FCC CHAIRMAN KEVIN MARTIN not to cripple the open-access stipulation on the 700 MHz spectrum up for auction early next year, following the agency chief's failed attempts to revise the rule through a procedural maneuver shortly after Verizon Wireless lobbied on the...
The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected on procedural grounds a challenge to the Federal Communications Commission's small business bidding rules, delaying for another day a ruling on the merits of a case with the potential to overturn the results of last year's...
While large service providers look to WiMAX technology to push the envelope on advanced services, small, rural operators are turning to WiMAX to provide basic broadband service to people who have not had access to it.Interest is strong, but actual deployments are few at...
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin is aggressively pushing for prompt revisions to the 700 MHz open-access rule-even before the agency completes a review of the various regulatory challenges to the full 700 MHz decision, according to industry sources who suggest the behind-the-scenes activity...
The upcoming auction of 700 MHz could give birth to an unprecedented infrastructure that could serve countless rural consumers as it provides a crucial boost to the nation's public-safety industry.Or it could be a debacle.The winner of the highly prized chunk of spectrum will...
The next big thing in mobile virtual network operators may not look much like the MVNOs that have been launching-and sometimes crashing-in the past couple of years. With the hype around the space settling into caution, observers see a new kind of MVNO-like partnership...
The Federal Communications Commission launched a rulemaking on the highly-sought 2155 MHz-2175 MHz spectrum band, setting the stage for a resumption of a wireless open-access debate that gained strength during in the agency's 700 MHz proceeding.Late last month, the FCC tossed out applications of...
MetroPCS Communications Inc. rolled out service in the Los Angeles market today, pitching its flat-rate, unlimited plans to Angelinos.Roger Linquist, chairman and CEO of MetroPCS, said that the company's initial network coverage includes 11 million potential customers. Metro said it has 400 L.A.-area authorized...
M2Z Networks Inc. said it reached a wholesale wireless broadband pact with rural telephone companies, a business relationship that depends on the startup winning a legal challenge against the Federal Communications Commission or winning a license after rules are set for the 2155 MHz-2175...
Verizon Wireless challenged in federal appeals court the Federal Communications Commission's 700 MHz open-access rules, the opening salvo in what could evolve into a messy legal battle. The move puts a cloud of uncertainty over the upcoming auction of more than a thousand wireless...
In-Stat last week touted a new study with the observation that "Competition in mobile video could threaten mobile operators."Duh.But the fact that In-Stat's conclusion is self-evident doesn't minimize the risk mobile network operators increasingly face in the broader digital entertainment arena. Carriers are on...
METROPCS COMMUNICATIONS INC. last week made public a proposal to merge with flat-rate rival Leap Wireless International Inc. in a move that could create a fifth carrier with a national presence and catapult no-contract offerings from the fringe to the spotlight.So far, Leap has...
Despite the Federal Communications Commission's publicly stated desire to avoid anti-competitive behavior in the 700 MHz auction and its embrace of blind bidding as a safeguard against such activity, there are growing concerns that the combination of hefty reserve prices on key spectrum blocks,...
THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS Commission appeared poised to reject M2Z Networks Inc.'s plan to offer free nationwide broadband service on the 2155-2175 MHz band, a move likely to prompt a court challenge and refocus the campaign to integrate open-access wholesale requirements in the wireless space.Once...
What a tome: 312 pages, including appendices. Why, already the number of printed copies of the Federal Communications Commission's 700 MHz decision would keep Dunder-Mifflin afloat a little longer.But what would you expect? The Martin FCC-eagerly egged on by Cyren Call, Frontline Wireless, Google...
While Congress and the Federal Communications Commission will have a full plate of wireless and high-tech issues this fall, policymakers are unlikely to move on any sweeping measures for the remainder of the year.Nonetheless, telecom/high-tech policy matters before Congress and the FCC are significant....
Who says you can't buy influence? Or at least attempt to.During the first six months of this year, the communications-electronics sector spent big money attempting to curry favor from elected officials on topics ranging from trade disputes to the upcoming 700 MHz spectrum auction.According...
The Federal Communications Commission appeared poised to reject M2Z Networks Inc.'s plan to offer free nationwide broadband service on the 2155-2175 MHz band, a move likely to prompt a court challenge and refocus the campaign to integrate open access-wholesale requirements in the wireless space.Once...
Google Inc. Chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt left the door open to bidding on wireless licenses when the 700 MHz auction begins in mid-January, but the Web search-engine giant and others are not apt to make final plans until after the Federal Communications Commission...
Tracy,I saw your article on RCRNews.com (Mobile Content & Culture Aug. 14) and wanted to offer a different point of view. I founded one successful mobile developer, Vindigo, and recently started another, Skydeck. I testified to Congress in favor of open access and together...
