Controversial messaging company SMS.ac is hoping to scrub its image by issuing consumers' rights guidelines for wireless companies. The text-messaging company issued a six-point Consumer Bill of Rights calling on messaging and content providers to offer clear pricing, effective customer service and money-back refunds...
Controversial messaging company SMS.ac is hoping to scrub its image by issuing consumers' rights guidelines for wireless companies. The text-messaging company issued a six-point Consumer Bill of Rights calling on messaging and content providers to offer clear pricing, effective customer service and money-back refunds...
WASHINGTON-The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last week in two key high-tech cases that now may move across the street to the U.S. Capitol. In March, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the cases, which both potentially could impact the wireless industry. The Brand...
WASHINGTON-Federal Communications Commission member Michael Copps last week continued his campaign to get gaps in homeland security communications addressed, urging new FCC Chairman Kevin Martin to appoint a commissioner to take the lead on key issues such as ensuring emergency responders at local, state...
WASHINGTON-Federal Communications Commission member Michael Copps complained his agency is not doing enough to address gaps in homeland security communications, and he urged FCC Chairman Kevin Martin to appoint a commissioner to take the lead on key issues such as ensuring emergency responders at...
Following is a list of debt and financial ratings changes for wireless companies announced this week by financial firms.Merrill Lynch upgraded its view of the overall technology market from underweight to market weight, saying the firm's recent changes on the Internet and wireless sectors...
WASHINGTON-In a surprise move that gives new FCC Chairman Kevin Martin more time to reveal his regulatory philosophy, Level 3 Communications Inc. withdrew a forbearance petition regarding how much Voice over Internet Protocol carriers must pay to have their calls connected to the public-switched...
WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission left the few remaining independent wireless carriers twisting in the wind last week when it said that mobile-phone and long-distance carriers could not get access to unbundled network elements. "If you allow long-distance or mobile carriers access to UNEs, they...
WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission has rescinded a proposed $200,000 fine against Western Wireless for operating a transmitter on a historic site in North Dakota.The FCC said Western Wireless made good-faith efforts to address the historic preservation issues and that mitigation proposals could potentially resolve...
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...
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-The fanfare surrounding last week's government approval of Cingular Wireless L.L.C.'s $41 billion acquisition of AT&T Wireless Services Inc. proved to be short-lived, with Moody's Investors Service reacting immediately by downgrading long-term debt ratings of the new No. 1 U.S. mobile-phone carrier and its...
WASHINGTON-The fanfare surrounding final government approval of Cingular Wireless L.L.C.'s $41 billion acquisition of AT&T Wireless Services Inc. proved to be short-lived, with Moody's Investors Service downgrading long-term debt ratings of the new No. 1 mobile-phone carrier and its two Bell telephone parent companies....
WASHINGTON-Tim Donahue, chief executive officer of Nextel Communications Inc., said Thursday morning Nextel finds nothing in the Federal Communications Commission's plan to solve public-safety 800 MHz interference that it opposes and believes that the issues it has been discussing with the FCC can be...
COPENHAGEN-Siemens AG has unveiled the SF65, a clamshell-style mobile phone that includes a 1.3-megapixel camera with flash, four-times zoom, a color display, and a swivel action screen that transforms it from a phone into a digital camera.The device also comes with enhanced picture-editing capabilities...
ATLANTA-Sprint PCS affiliate AirGate PCS Inc. reported changes to its Sprint management and services agreements regarding back-office billing and service changes, new customer activation fees and roaming rates, which the carrier said would provide "immediate substantial savings to AirGate's cost structure." AirGate noted the...
FRAMINGHAM, Mass.-Lucent Technologies Inc. said it is partnering with NMS Communications to design and build advanced optical voice processors for use in next-generation wireless networks.The companies expect the solution to be deployed next year.The solution will minimize distractions from outside noise such as those...
The standards deadlock over ultra-wideband technology between the Multiband OFDM Alliance and the Direct Sequence UWB Forum continued at the IEEE conference last week. This time, however, it had an unexpected twist. In a vote tally often won by MBOA, the DS-UWB Forum won...
WASHINGTON-Just days before the Senate Commerce Committee is scheduled to consider the VoIP Regulatory Freedom Act of 2004, public-safety officials were urged Thursday by their national association to tell lawmakers to change the bill or vote it down."The absence of any form of regulatory...
Camera phones are the most rapidly accepted consumer electronics device in history. Yet it appears that wireless carriers-a group many assumed would reap the rewards of a camera-phone revolution-are sitting on the sidelines of this mass adoption, watching and waiting.Annual sales of camera phones...
HOUSTON-Texas Instruments has released a new Hands-Free Kit (HFK) Development Platform and a Bluetooth subsystem to go with it. According to TI, combining the digital signal processor (DSP)-based platform with a Bluetooth solution means higher quality, faster time-to-market and lower costs for developers than...
NEW YORK-Standard & Poor's Ratings Service Inc. has placed all entities related to Verizon Communications Inc., including Verizon Wireless, on CreditWatch with negative implications.The move follows S&P's decision last month to place SBC Communications Inc. and BellSouth Corp., including their Cingular Wireless L.L.C. affiliate,...
TROY, Mich.-Clarity Technologies Inc. announced its Clear Voice Capture (CVC) voice communications software technology will be embedded in Peiker's Bluetooth hands-free system for use in the Mini Cooper automobile."Together there is no denying the ability of Peiker and Clarity Technologies to deliver a superior...
TOKYO-A new application from Royal Philips Electronics, Sony Corp. and E Ink Corp. allows mobile users a paper-like reading experience via mobile devices.The Electronic Paper Display module, designed by Philips, uses E Ink's electronic ink technology and is available in Sony's new e-Book reader,...
