As a self-proclaimed impartial observer of the wireless industry-I criticize all companies equally-I have to say I have been getting little pleasure out of Sprint Nextel's ongoing struggles to integrate the former Nextel Communication's rogue customers and network technology into its more mainstream CDMA...
Internet behemoths and pure-play startups are hastily inking deals and positioning themselves for a long, hard slog on the mobile search battlefield.Yahoo Inc. continued its aggressive move into wireless last week, using the Consumer Electronics Show to tout a host of new partnerships for...
Handset prices at the major carriers continue to gyrate, week-by-week, suggesting that carriers-like retailers changing their window displays-are perennially in search of the right combination of brand, features and price to lure in new subscribers or retain current subs with an upgrade. Yet some...
Cellphones are everywhere! They rule! Indeed, the new James Bond remake, Casino Royale, (seen over the holidays) should have listed the cellphone as a character because the storyline revolved around the phone with at least three major plot points center on the mobile device....
Conventional wisdom says, and consumers certainly seem to think, that family wireless plans offered by cellular carriers are a great deal. In exchange for tying other family members into one service plan at the standard $10 per month, consumers can cut down on their...
As the wireless industry rings in 2007 at this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, we'll likely see some hot new looks from the nation's top wireless players.
You might also notice RCR Wireless News got a new look for the new year....
Hello!And welcome to our Thursday column, Worst of the Week. There's a lot of nutty stuff that goes on in this industry, so this column is a chance for us at RCR Wireless News to rant and rave about whatever rubs us the wrong...
Cingular Wireless L.L.C., the nation's largest cellphone carrier, announced it will renew its content distribution deal with Motricity. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed."Motricity has reduced Cingular's time to market for new content and increased title selections for their end-users," said Motricity Chairman...
Alltel Corp., the nation's fifth-largest wireless carrier, is being floated as a potential target for a leveraged buyout by private-equity firms, according to unnamed sources in an article in today's Wall Street Journal.Alltel currently has a market value of $21.7 billion and a debt...
Brightpoint Inc. will shell out $88 million in cash to purchase a major piece of crippled competitor CellStar Corp.The Plainfield, Ind.-based logistics and distribution giant announced plans to buy CellStar's 500-employee U.S. operations, including its Miami headquarters, and the bulk of its Latin American...
Hello!And welcome to a special edition of our Thursday column, Worst of the Week. As 2006 draws to a close and we take stock of all the changes that have happened in the wireless industry, we can't help but wonder how things will look...
A slow start for Motorola Inc.'s new product line and generally weak demand in the North American handset market this holiday season may impact Motorola's fourth-quarter results, according to Cowen analyst Matthew Hoffman. The financial analyst said channel checks show that Motorola's market in...
Financiers continue to flood the white-hot-and increasingly litigious-mobile e-mail space. Specifically, white-label wireless e-mail provider Seven Networks Inc. snared $42 million in an oversubscribed round of funding. The company said undisclosed new investors joined existing backers, which include Amadeus Capital Partners Ltd., Greyloack, Ignition...
Alltel Corp. said it will sell four markets in rural Southern Minnesota to Rural Cellular Corp.Terms of the deal were not released.Alltel had to divest the markets as part of its purchase of Midwest Wireless. The transaction includes licenses, retail stores, employees, about 38,000...
Virgin Mobile USA L.L.C. tapped JumpTap Inc. to power a mobile-specific search engine for users looking for wireless content.The mobile virtual network operator said JumpTap will provide an advertising-supported search offering designed to deliver ringtones, games, wallpapers and other mobile content. The service will...
Mobile marketers are looking to avoid the "pay-per-click" problems that continue to plague online advertising. And many of them are hoping simple phone calls provide the solution.Google Inc., Yahoo Inc. and other ad-supported online search engines charge advertisers a set amount each time a...
Verizon Wireless earned another round of kudos from Consumer Reports' annual survey of wireless carriers, but Alltel Corp. outpaced other carriers in two new markets included in this year's results. The survey evaluated service in 20 markets around the country, based on nearly 43,000...
YONKERS, N.Y.-Crappy New Year to all. Or, at least, to some. Consumer Reports has taken a look at mobile carriers and handsets in the United States in its January 2007 issue and, apart from a few companies that may do cartwheels after receiving the...
PHOENIX-Freedom Wireless Inc. sued two wireless carriers and three service providers for allegedly violating the company's patents on providing prepaid wireless services. Cingular Wireless L.L.C. and Alltel Corp. are named as defendants in two separate suits, along with their prepaid suppliers: Ericsson Inc. is...
LOS ANGELES-Fixed-line Internet companies and industry associations have long grappled with potential pitfalls and consumer-unfriendly tactics such as spam, click fraud and unwelcome pop-up ads from in-your-face marketers. In the world of wireless, though, carriers are hoping to boost mobile data services by keeping...
Tower marketing and licensing firm KGI Wireless Inc. added 363 tower sites from Time Warner Cable to its portfolio, pushing its count of managed sites to more than 7,000.Earlier this year, KGI snagged a multi-year deal to manage Alltel Corp.'s 3,000 wireless tower sites,...
Digital networking company Plaxo Inc. stepped onto the wireless playground last week, inking a deal to allow Verizon Wireless subscribers to update contact information on their handsets over the air. The software developer unveiled Plaxo Mobile Plus, a service that takes information from popular...
The following list includes ratings changes and financial information for wireless companies announced this week by investment-banking and financial-services firms. Click here for wireless ratings from past weeks from RCR Wireless News. CarrierRW Baird lowered its rating on Alltel Corp. to neutral from outperform after...
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.—Digital networking company Plaxo Inc. stepped onto the wireless playground, inking a deal to allow Verizon Wireless subscribers to update contact information over the air. The software developer unveiled Plaxo Mobile Plus, a service that takes information from popular e-mail systems including...
