WASHINGTON-A Minnesota federal court has upheld a new state law forbidding mobile-phone carriers from making significant changes to service contracts without obtaining written or verbal permission from subscribers, but ruled regulatory recovery fees can be passed through to consumers without notice.The Minnesota wireless consumer...
LONDON-The GSM Association said it is opening its 2005 awards for nominations this week.The awards are open to all industry players that offer content, products or services that run on GSM, GPRS, EDGE and W-CDMA networks. Entries can be made at the organization's Web...
The future of wireless could be the future of most everything. Wireless technology has evolved in leaps and bounds since the first transmission of radio communication signals across the English Channel and then across the Atlantic Ocean a century ago. Wireless technology is being...
LONDON-Intec Telecom Systems plc said it has completed the acquisition of the Singl.eView retailing billing division from ADC Telecommunications Inc.This acquisition, which amounts to $74.5 million, gives Intec access to the more than 70 tier-one and tier-two carriers in 17 countries that use Singl.eView...
Sprint Corp. and SBC Communications Inc. announced they have entered a reciprocal Wi-Fi roaming agreement. Through the partnerships, the carriers' customers will be able to access each other's public Wi-Fi networks using existing user IDs and passwords, and will be charged according to their...
Regulatory fees have been a contentious item for both wireless carriers that claim they are just passing along government-mandated charges and customers who have found up to 30-percent increases in wireless bills due to such fees. The fees first gained notoriety during the run-up...
OVERLAND PARK, Kan.-Sprint Corp. and SBC Communications Inc. announced they have entered a reciprocal Wi-Fi roaming agreement.Through the partnerships, the carriers' customers will be able to access each other's public Wi-Fi networks using existing user IDs and passwords, and will be charged according to...
HERNDON, Va.-CDW Corp.'s government and education subsidiary CDW Government Inc. signed a data solutions provider agreement with AT&T Wireless Services Inc. to stock, sell and activate data devices designed for AWS' GSM-based data network. The deal includes Research In Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerry devices, which...
Despite reports from most wireless carriers that they have seen little to no impact in customer churn related to the implementation of wireless local number portability in the top 100 markets last November and this past May across the rest of the country, the...
Dobson Communications Corp.'s Dobson Cellular Systems jumped into the converged market last week with the launch of its MERGE product, which the company said would help bridge the gap between traditional wireline and wireless services by allowing customers to access their wireless calling plan...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska-Dobson Communications Corp. and GCI have entered distribution and spectrum-leasing agreements in Alaska. The companies said the 10-year agreement will allow GCI to market wireless services to its current telephone, Internet and cable television customer base, by selling wireless as part of a...
COPENHAGEN, Denmark-Two billing services companies, Dan Net A/S and Mach Sarl, have reached an agreement to merge their businesses.The deal is subject to regulatory approvals, according to the companies.Dan Net is owned by Danish telecom carrier TDC, while Mach is owned by Advent International...
WASHINGTON-State regulators should be stopped from implementing restrictive billing requirements, Nextel Communications Inc. told the Federal Communications Commission in comments on a consumer advocate petition on truth in billing."Confirming the FCC's jurisdiction over wireless services is critical as a number of states are taking...
Wireless retailer FTS Wireless Inc. reported it will begin offering Nextel Communications Inc. subsidiary Boost Mobile L.L.C.'s prepaid wireless services. FTS, which also operates Wi-Fi hot spots, operates six retail wireless locations and one wireless kiosk in the Florida Gulf Coast region and one...
NEW YORK-AT&T Wireless Services Inc. led the list of consumer complaints made through Consumers Union's Escape Cell Hell Web site during the second quarter, with 41 complaints just beating out soon-to-be acquirer Cingular Wireless L.L.C.'s 32 complaints, though both carriers combined managed to account...
NEW YORK-AT&T Wireless Services Inc. led the list of consumer complaints made through Consumers Union's Escape Cell Hell Web site during the second quarter, with 41 complaints just beating out soon-to-be acquirer Cingular Wireless L.L.C.'s 32 complaints, though both carriers combined managed to account...
Vodafone Group plc signed a long-term global framework agreement with billing and customer retention management provider Amdocs. The deal will position Amdocs as the global billing solutions provider for Vodafone's worldwide operations, which currently include equity interests in 26 countries with a proportionate customer...
The continued emphasis carriers are placing on alternative sales and information channels appears to be paying off as a report from industry research firm Compete Inc. showed a dramatic increase in the number of wireless service prospects who are surfing carrier Web sites in...
LONDON-Mobile carrier T-Mobile International will deploy intelligent packet core networking equipment from Nortel Networks Ltd. to allow for more flexible mobile-data billing. The value of the agreement was not disclosed.Nortel said it will provide a solution to allow T-Mobile to implement flexible billing options...
In a move expected to bolster its spectrum position and coverage in the western United States, Verizon Wireless reported late last week that it had agreed to acquire Qwest Communications International Inc.'s wireless assets, including spectrum and network infrastructure for $418 million. Analysts noted...
WASHINGTON-The mobile-phone industry continues to find its battlefield expanding, with carriers increasingly drawn into fights with one state after another on issues ranging from billing to contracts to taxes.Last week, Minnesota was at center stage when a federal judge temporarily blocked the state from...
LUBBOCK, Texas-Sprint PCS affiliate Alamosa Holdings Inc. said it has amended its management and services deals with Sprint PCS for back-office billing and service charges, activation fees for new users and wholesale/resale rates negotiated by Sprint with other carriers.The amendments reduce monthly service fees...
LUBBOCK, Texas-Sprint PCS affiliate Alamosa Holdings Inc. said it has amended its management and services agreements with Sprint PCS relating to back-office billing and service charges, activation fees for new subscribers and wholesale/resale rates negotiated by Sprint PCS with other carriers.The amendments reduce monthly...
In a bid to provide comprehensive operation support systems, big vendors and carriers may be biting off more than they can chew, according to a new study.Many smaller players are using bigger vendors like L.M. Ericsson, Lucent Technologies Inc. and Alcatel Alsthom as channels,...
