AT&T Mobility launched a service offering tailored to seniors, following a similar recent move by Verizon Wireless. The new AT&T Senior Nation 200 plan includes 200 anytime minutes, 500 off-peak calling minutes and unlimited mobile-to-mobile calling for $30 per month. The company said the...
Consider WiMAX a bit schizophrenic. The technology is taking two divergent paths as different countries and different companies explore how best to put it to use in their respective markets.Dr. Mohammad Shakouri, board member and VP of marketing for the WiMAX Forum, has described...
With ringtone revenues in decline and full-track downloads struggling to find an audience, carriers and third-party vendors are working furiously to breathe life into a withering mobile music industry.Ringtones for years have been the most popular type of content on (or off) carrier decks,...
MobiTV Inc. hit the three-million-subscriber mark and is experiencing even greater video usage among each of those subscribers, the company announced yesterday."We really feel like we're set up now for '08 to be a huge year for TV," President and Co-founder Paul Scanlan said."Viewing...
Triple-play bundles work, but the quadplay is as yet unproven as a strategy by which operators can improve revenues and reduce churn, according to a new report by global telecom advisory firm Analysys.Analysys found that triple-play packages have helped U.S. cable operators to double...
Triple-play bundles work, but the quad-play is as yet unproven as a strategy by which operators can improve revenues and reduce churn, according to a new report by global telecom advisory firm Analysys.Analysys found that triple-play packages have helped U.S. cable operators to double...
Alltel Corp. has partnered with Wi-Fi hot-spot provider Boingo Wireless to provide laptop access to Wi-Fi access points around the country. The carrier already offers data access via its own CDMA wireless network, and is making a Wi-Fi/EV-DO wireless Internet bundle available to customers...
Nokia Corp. stepped up its spending spree last week, agreeing to acquire digital mapping company Navteq in a blockbuster, $8.1 billion deal.The Finnish firm-which in the last year or so has out-shopped Paris Hilton-plans to spend $78 per share for Navteq, a 22-year-old, Chicago-based...
Consider WiMAX a bit schizophrenic. The technology is taking two divergent paths as different countries and different companies explore how best to put it to use in their respective markets. Dr. Mohammad Shakouri, board member and VP of marketing for the WiMAX Forum, has...
Record labels and carriers are looking for creative ways to keep the lucrative ringtone party alive. But a handful of startups have taken a cue from music group REM, asking, "Why don't we give it away?"Ringtones for years have been the most popular type...
The nation's top consumer groups threw their weight behind new legislation to set federal standards for contracts, early termination fees, billing, disclosure and other mobile-phone industry practices that have sparked controversy and lawsuits in recent years. "Most wireless carriers advertise a price significantly lower...
If businesses had Ten Commandments, No. 1 would probably be "Know Thy Customer."Easier said than done.Customer information plays a crucial role in customer relationship management, from determining the type of offers and incentives that are made to customers to impacting growth and retention. The...
Qwest Communications International Inc. reported another quarter of positive growth, with profits of $246 million that more than doubled compared with the second quarter of 2006. The company's wireless revenues dipped by about 2% year-over-year and average revenue per user fell slightly from $52...
Motorola Inc. will buy privately held Leapstone Systems, Inc., a software developer with a unified platform for voice and data bundles across multiple networks and devices. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Leapstone's communications convergence engine has been used by fixed and mobile...
Verizon Wireless restructured its pricing plans, adding a half-dozen new "premium" plans for data-hungry consumers.The plan restructuring now provides for three levels of options for individual plans: "basic," "select" and "premium." The "basic" plans begin at $40 per month for 450 anytime calling minutes....
AT&T Mobility unveiled price plans exclusively for the much-hyped Apple Inc. iPhone, which will be unleashed on the world later this week. (Perhaps showing who wears the pants in this relationship, the price plans are currently only shown on Apple's site.) The plans include...
CHICAGO-The NXTcomm 2007 conference offered a glimpse into a bright telecom future in which mobility and convergence are a key component, with new networks and new services evolving designed to change consumers' lives as well as offer new revenue opportunities to the companies that...
CHICAGO-Telecom vendors will need to offer unique wireless services to entice new subscribers-rather than simply bundling wireless service with other telecom offerings, according to a panel of speakers at a Digital Hollywood session during the pre-show conferences at NXTcomm. Wireless is a "very unique"...
Stalwarts in media are increasingly bullish on driving their audience's eyes and ears to just about every channel imaginable. But just as these powerhouses are finally finding their online groove, they're efforts are being re-doubled on the next frontier in media-mobile phones. Fox Interactive...
Gadgets beget more gadgets, leading to fun, safety and productivity for consumers and profit for all. What's not to love about that? New figures for the accessory market place its ascendance in context and underscore how handset vendors and network operators have...
As carriers tempt customers to move into data services beyond text messaging, some of them are designing service or accessory packages that specifically appeal to how different types of customers will make use of their phones. Sprint Nextel Corp. recently introduced a new...
LAS VEGAS-New technologies and trends are trickling down to impact the businesses of rural carriers, bringing with them a host of new opportunities and challenges. The common theme among sessions at the Rural Cellular Assocation annual convention in Las Vegas last week was how...
MediaFLO USA launched its broadcast mobile television service with Verizon Wireless earlier this month. Virtually everyone in the industry is wondering if the service will take off, and questions run the field as to the profitability of the service and where architects of the...
ORLANDO, Fla.-Sprint Nextel Corp. shook up its mobile music service to be more competitive, and announced an expansion of its joint venture with its cable partners.The music offering includes the new Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. SPH-m620 phone, dubbed Upstage, that offers a slim form...