Struggling wireless data carrier Motient Corp. appears to be returning to the industry from which it originally sprang-satellite communications. The company last week raised $126.4 million in a private stock placement to increase its stake in Mobile Satellite Ventures from 29.5 percent to 38.6...
CHICAGO-Regional wireless provider U.S. Cellular Corp. launched its nweb Internet browsing service providing customers with access to Web pages using their wireless handsets. The service, which was developed in conjunction with wireless software provider Novarra and uses U.S. Cellular's CDMA2000 1x-based easyedge data network,...
Cingular Wireless L.L.C.'s integration of AT&T Wireless Services Inc. gained steam last week as Cingular converted more than 1,000 AWS retail outlets to the Cingular moniker. The timing of the conversion was important as Cingular had previously stated it wanted to provide a seamless...
Carriers and content providers descended on Miami for the Mobile Music Conference last week, but at least one company was conspicuous by its absence. MusiKube, a New York-based mobile music marketing company, had reason to stay home: it is possibly being eyed by a...
As the new No. 1 carrier in the United States, Cingular Wireless L.L.C. is in the position to greatly tighten its control over its handset suppliers. And with a subscriber base of nearly 46 million, the carrier has influence enough to develop a Vodafone-style...
You couldn't really say the big mobile-phone and paging mergers of 2004 had folks on the edge of their seats or challenged crackerjack government antitrust lawyers. The former at least was interesting for its policy and precedential import, not to mention the $41 billion...
OYSTER BAY, N.Y.-The GSM technology community must include location-based services in its strategic plans by next year or it will be in a disadvantaged position, according to Alan Varghese, principal analyst of semiconductor research at ABI Research. Varghese said GSM operators should mandate global...
Verizon Wireless became the first major U.S. carrier to offer ringback tones, launching a service analysts say-and carriers hope-may be even more profitable than ringtones. Ringbacks are clips of music a caller hears instead of a traditional ring before the person being called answers...
WASHINGTON-More than a year after the Federal Communications Commission declared that there would be intermodal porting in addition to wireless local number portability, rural local exchange carriers are still upset. Thursday they took their grievances to court, but didn't seem to persuade the appeals...
Japanese wireless giant NTT DoCoMo Inc. released its latest line-up of advanced handsets for its FOMA third-generation network. The carrier's new 901i series of mobile phones feature advanced video calling, increased memory and support for a variety of features. As usual, DoCoMo did not...
LONDON-U.K. fixed-line carrier British Telecommunications plc launched a mobile virtual network operator service for the corporate market, dumping its former wireless subsidiary MmO2 for rival carrier Vodafone U.K. as the wireless service supplier.BT Mobile, which has plans for a fully converged fixed and mobile...
A new study shows that businesses are most likely to look to wireless carriers-instead of device makers or computer suppliers-for their wireless data needs. Further, the business market represents a major opportunity for wireless, as enterprises have increased their spending on the technology by...
WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission has issued foreign ownership guidelines for international deals involving U.S. wireless and wireline carriers."A review of the applications involving foreign-ownership interests received by the commission suggests that the case law may not provide sufficiently clear guidance to applications," the FCC...
STOCKHOLM, Sweden-L.M. Ericsson said it has won a $370 million contract extension with third-generation wireless carrier 3 to supply core, radio, transmission equipment and related services.The contract covers Sweden, Denmark, Norway and optionally Finland, according to Ericsson."We believe it is our duty as good...
BERWYN, Pa.-Triton PCS Inc. closed on its $250 million senior secured term loan facility, which the carrier said is secured by substantially all of its assets. The facility includes pricing at LIBOR plus 3.25 percent, a five-year maturity and no financial maintenance covenants.Triton PCS...
SEATTLE-Boeing's efforts to bring high-speed wireless Internet access to airline passengers made news again Friday with two agreements with Asian telecom companies.StarHub, a Singapore-based communications company, agreed to add Connexion by Boeing to its services portfolio. The companies said they are completing network compatibility...
SYDNEY-Australian wireless carriers Optus and Vodafone Australia formalized an agreement first announced in August to share third-generation network sites and infrastructure across Australia. The carriers plan to share more than 2,000 base stations nationally, and the network is scheduled to launch in the third...
Leap Wireless International Inc. reported $205.7 million in total revenues during the third quarter of this year, which was a 6.7-percent improvement compared with the $192.9 million the carrier posted during the third quarter of 2003. Net income also increased from a loss of...
WASHINGTON-Three independent wireless carriers told the Federal Communications Commission Wednesday that changes to the intercarrier-compensation regime should move toward a bill-and-keep regime where carriers would choose the best way to terminate a call and then bill their customers for it."Bill-and-keep reduces the opportunity for...
The National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus Inc. recommended that Verizon Wireless modify or discontinue its "anytime, anywhere" claim for the carrier's "IN-Network" calling plans to "avoid potential consumer confusion and to avoid potentially conveying the inaccurate and overly broad...
Customer confusion over wireless rate plans and services is costing wireless operators $3 billion per year due to increasing customer churn and harmed brand relationships, according to a consumer survey from brand strategy company Siegel & Gale. The survey, which was part of the...
WASHINGTON-Democratic Federal Communications Commission Jonathan Adelstein won strong bipartisan support for a new term at a Senate confirmation hearing this morning, with Senate Commerce Committee members venting anger at the Bush White House for delaying the reappointment for two years.Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) said...
LONDON-Norwegian operator Telenor and U.S. transportation communications provider Arinc Inc. hosted a simulated flight Thursday to demonstrate an onboard aircraft GSM mobile-phone network.During the event, European journalists placed and received calls from their phones to test the new service, which uses a "picocell" installed...
FREMONT, Calif.-The Global UMTS TDD Alliance announced today that several new operators and vendors have joined the organization, pushing the group past the 50-member milestone in less than nine months since its inception. The alliance also formed a subcommittee to address and advance global...
