SEATTLE—Melodeo Inc. announced that its Mobilcast podcast and radio-listening service is now available to Cingular Wireless L.L.C. customers for $5 a month. In addition, the companies said they’re launching a seamless Web-to-mobile podcasting service with Mobilcast features such as automatic playlist synchronization and continuous...
LOS ANGELES—Verizon Wireless and Alltel Wireless each announced that new search tools are available to their subscribers for free. Verizon Wireless said its Get It Now Search application, developed by Medio Systems Inc., lets subscribers search by voice or by typing. The service searches...
Strong regional differences in call quality among carriers showed up in the latest J.D. Power and Associates consumer survey, with no carrier dominating nationally. J.D. Power also noted that the number of calls made from inside buildings exceeded the number of calls made from...
The Justice Department said Alltel Corp. agreed to sell wireless assets in several rural Minnesota markets as a condition to antitrust approval of its $1 billion purchase of regional operator Midwest Wireless."The department's action ensures that wireless telephone consumers will continue to obtain the...
WASHINGTON—The Justice Department said Alltel Corp. agreed to sell wireless assets in several rural Minnesota markets as a condition to antitrust approval of its $1 billion purchase of regional operator Midwest Wireless. "The department's action ensures that wireless telephone consumers will continue to obtain...
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.—Strong regional differences in call quality among carriers showed up in the latest J.D. Power and Associates consumer survey, with no carrier dominating nationally. The company also noted that the number of calls made from inside buildings exceeded the number of calls...
Virgin Mobile USA L.L.C. topped a new prepaid wireless customer satisfaction survey from J.D. Power & Associates. The rankings covered mobile virtual network operators and traditional wireless operators.The survey examined responses from about 4,000 current prepaid wireless customers on their experience in seven aspects...
The executive shuffle continued last week at RadioShack Corp. as President and Chief Operating Officer Claire Babrowski said she will step down at the end of the month. But the chain's woes go far beyond the front office's revolving door. Babrowski joined the company...
WASHINGTON-Alltel Corp. agreed to contribute $100,000 to the U.S. Treasury, but did not admit it violated a Federal Communications Commission rule that requires carriers to prove they are protecting customers' call records. The FCC proposed fining Alltel in January after the carrier did not...
So Sprint Nextel fired its chief operating officer, Len Lauer. The carrier said it is making changes in the management of its core operations and that Lauer would leave the company immediately. Gary Forsee, Sprint Nextel's president and chief executive officer, will assume Lauer's...
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 RCRNews.com to rant and rave about whatever rubs us the wrong way....
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.—Virgin Mobile USA L.L.C. topped a new prepaid wireless customer satisfaction survey from J.D. Power & Associates. The rankings covered mobile virtual network operators and traditional wireless operators. The survey examined responses from about 4,000 current prepaid wireless customers on their experience...
WASHINGTON—Alltel Corp. agreed to "voluntarily contribute" $100,000 to the U.S. Treasury, but did not admit to violating a Federal Communications Commission rule requiring certification that it is protecting its customers’ call records. The FCC proposed fining Alltel in January after the carrier did not...
Controversial competing technologies. A spectrum auction that brings in billions of dollars. Am I flashing back to 1995?No, but a few noteworthy announcements in recent weeks are reminiscent of spectrum auctions and subsequent buildouts for second- and third-generation services. If history repeats itself, look...
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.-Alltel Corp. and Melodeo Inc. announced they are working together to offer podcasts to Alltel subscribers. The Axcess Mobilcast service is expected to allow Alltel subscribers to search and listen to thousands of podcasts on their wireless phones for $4 a month....
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.-XM Satellite Radio Corp. notched its first deal with a U.S. carrier, teaming with Alltel Corp. to offer 20 channels of commercial-free music. The service, available for $8 a month, offers several music genres including pop, alternative, country, hip-hop and Latin. Users...
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.—XM Satellite Radio Corp. notched its first deal with a U.S. carrier, teaming with Alltel Corp. to offer 20 channels of commercial-free music. The service, which is available for $8 a month, offers several music genres including pop, alternative, country, hip-hop and...
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.—Alltel Corp. and Melodeo Inc. announced they are working together to offer podcasts to Alltel subscribers. The Axcess Mobilcast service is expected to allow Alltel subscribers to search and listen to thousands of podcasts on their wireless phones for $4 a month....
It was a good quarter for some regional providers of wireless service, with healthy growth and increasing average revenue per user. Alltel Corp. posted strong second-quarter results with plusses and minuses in all the right places. The industry's No. 5 carrier improved ARPU, substantially...
Welcome to Hedgehogging. As you know from your own jobs, something is always happening in the wireless space. Some of it makes us stop what we're doing to clap, boo or question these developments. This week's column is a roundup of some of the...
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. CarrierStandard & Poor’s Ratings Services cut its corporate credit and unsecured debt ratings...
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.—Alltel Corp. posted strong second quarter results with plusses and minuses in all the right places. The industry’s No. 5 carrier improved its average revenue per user, substantially cut its overall and postpaid churn rate, and increased revenue from its wireless segment...
BASKING RIDGE, N.J.—Verizon Wireless hopes that, as it claims, "everybody loves chocolate," especially the $150 variety from LG Electronics Co. Ltd. that provides multimedia functions. Verizon Wireless launched the Chocolate today, hyping it as "part MP3 player, part phone, totally sweet." The Chocolate phone,...
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.—Alltel Corp. announced plans to purchase up to $1 billion of its outstanding notes, as part of the carrier’s strategy to reduce debt. The cash tender offers is set to involve four series of notes that total $1.4 billion, with the highest...
