OKLAHOMA CITY-Rural carrier Dobson Communications Corp. announced it purchased the wireless assets of Michigan carrier RFB Cellular Inc. out of bankruptcy for $29.3 million. Dobson said the deal gives it access to 256,000 pops and 25,900 subscribers in the area. "This represents further progress...
MUNICH, Germany-Siemens AG said it has signed a $32 million contract to expand the GSM network for Pakistan Telecom Mobile Ltd., otherwise called U-Fone. The project will be completed in May next year, according to Siemens. The second-largest Pakistani carrier caters to 1.3 million...
NEW YORK-Swedish-based telecom carrier Tele2 gained two new licenses in Europe, one through a government award and the other through an acquisition. In Croatia, Tele2 gained a GSM 1800 MHz and UMTS license through a consortium it is leading. Tele2 said it will start...
JERUSALEM—In the wake of complaints that too many children were being exposed to erotic material, Israel’s Communications Ministry said last week it had moved to get wireless carriers to restrict access to mobile porn.In an official statement, the ministry said it amended licenses for...
OKLAHOMA CITY—Rural carrier Dobson Communications Corp. announced it purchased the wireless assets of Michigan carrier RFB Cellular Inc. out of bankruptcy for $29.3 million. Dobson said the deal gives it access to 256,000 pops and 25,900 subscribers in the area."This represents further progress in...
TOKYO—Japanese wireless carrier NTT DoCoMo Inc. announced it invested in two Chinese wireless software companies in an effort to tap into the massive potential of the Chinese market.DoCoMo said it will invest $4 million in Emcore Technology Inc., a Chinese location-based services company. Separately,...
The infamous rumor mill was rampant last week with continuing industry merger and consolidation scenarios and various analysts, media outlets and market watchers making suggestions for the next billion-dollar buy.First there were predictions that Vodafone Group could still make a play for either Sprint...
WASHINGTON-Predicting the future is not as difficult as you might think. To predict the future is to know the present in cold, sober terms. You can read what the experts say down below. The biggest pitfall with year-end prognostications is they tend to lend...
Editor's note: At the end of each year, the RCR Wireless News editorial staff looks back on the news events that made headlines and decides which were the most significant, industry-impacting stories during the past 12 months. While our list does not include the...
Sprint PCS became the first U.S. carrier to offer streaming audio for mobile users last week, launching a radio-like service that delivers short video clips and six channels of streaming audio to subscribers via their handsets. Music Choice Today, which is available to the...
Pantech&Curitel, a South Korean manufacturing company comprising the mobile-phone operations of Curitel Communications Inc. and Pantech Group, announced ambitious plans to sell 10 million Pantech-branded mobile phones in the United States in 2005. However, industry watchers believe the company faces a major uphill climb...
BEDMINSTER, N.J.-Verizon Wireless today said the company's corporate Web site has been improved to make it more accessible to customers with disabilities. The nation's No. 2 mobile-phone carrier said new enhancements-such as scalable text size, improved global navigation, accessible online forms, link and image...
HAMPSHIRE, United Kingdom-The global market for multimedia messaging services will more than double next year, reaching $42.5 billion, according to a new report from Juniper Research. Messaging between mobile-phone users will drive the revenue growth, as will services like sports updates that are supplied...
Although the market for W-CDMA mobile phones is still in its infancy, now is the time for most players to get a foot in the door or risk being left out in the cold. According to Strategy Analytics, the market for W-CDMA phones will...
WASHINGTON-Acquisition news continues its frantic pace with InPhonic Inc. and SmartServ Online Inc. both announcing purchases. First, Internet phone retailer InPhonic said it bought privately held A1 Wireless USA Inc., which also sells mobile phones over the Internet, for $20.9 million in cash and...
PARIS-Vodafone Group plc customers in some European markets have access to full-length songs from four major music labels through a deal announced last week. French digital music company Musiwave said it has secured mobile rights to full-length songs from EMI-Virgin, Sony, BMG and Warner....
SHANGHAI, China-Mobile-phone content application provider Linktone Ltd. said it is being sanctioned by carrier China Mobile for billing mistakes. Linktone said it is being penalized for inadvertently billing 27,000 WAP customers 72 cents for a service that should have been free. As a result,...
U.S. Cellular Corp. completed the sale of its Daytona Beach, Fla., 20-megahertz C block license to MetroPCS California/Florida Inc. U.S. Cellular said it scored $8.5 million in cash from the previously announced deal. "This sale is another example of our strategy to exit those...
DALLAS-Preferred Voice Inc. notched its second carrier win with the announcement that it will provide ringback services for Oklahoma regional carrier Panhandle Telephone Cooperative. Ringbacks allow subscribers to choose music clips that callers hear instead of the traditional ring before a phone is answered....
Research In Motion Ltd.'s stock faltered again following the company's third-quarter results, with investors expecting a more bullish fourth-quarter outlook from the company. Some analysts, however, continued to remain relatively positive on the BlackBerry maker and its prospects despite the company's lower-than-expected forecasts and...
DALLAS-A few days after a technical glitch interrupted service for Cingular Wireless customers in Dallas and Houston, the carrier announced it has spent almost $100 million this year improving its coverage throughout Texas. The glitch blocked incoming calls for subscribers in Dallas and Houston...
CAMBRIDGE, United Kingdom-European mobile operators should change their pricing strategies to kick start the lagging market for content, including ringtones, logos, games, music and videos, said a new report from Analysys Research titled "Making a Success of the Mobile Content Value Chain." According to...
KISTA, Sweden-Mobilaris announced a new location-based services application strategy that is said simplifies LBS opportunities for carriers.The company said a variety of commercially proven applications are now ready to deploy on the Pacific Ocean LBS middleware platform, creating a one-stop shop for LBS applications.More...
HONG KONG-Hutchison 3G Italy, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa Ltd., said it will purchase Cirtel's stake in Hutchison 3G Italia, which operates a third-generation service under the 3 brand in Italy. The purchase price for the 1.6-percent stake is $633 million.The deal...
