Leap Wireless International Inc. said that it plans to acquire Hargray Communications Group Inc.'s wireless operations for $30 million, expanding Leap's Cricket service into Savannah, Ga. and Hilton Head, S.C.The deal includes Hargray's 15 megahertz spectrum license, wireless network and most of its wireless...
Editor's Note: Welcome to Yay or Nay, a feature for RCR Wireless News' weekly e-mail service, Mobile Content and Culture. Every week we'll review a new wireless application or service from the user's point of view, with the goal of highlighting what works and...
Editor's Note: Welcome to Reality Check, a feature for RCR Wireless News' weekly e-mail service, Mobile Content and Culture. We've gathered a group of visionaries and veterans in the mobile content industry to give their insights into the marketplace. In the coming weeks look...
VERIZON WIRELESS' DECLARATION LAST WEEK that "any application, any device" will run on its network next year was clearly an overstatement, though executives acknowledged later that itsCDMA network allows only CDMA-based devices. The juxtaposition of overstatement and subsequent qualification in a way reflected many...
VERIZON WIRELESS LAST WEEK confirmed what executives from its parent companies have been hinting at for some time: the carrier will move away from CDMA technology for its next-generation network, and embrace the OFDM-based Long Term Evolution technology. In essence, the service provider concluded...
Conventional wisdom has American shoppers descending like locusts on brick-and-mortar retail stores on the Friday after Thanksgiving-presumably working off the turkey-and-gravy by lightening their wallets-then returning to work on Monday, where they resume spending online.AT&T Mobility appeared to make the most of "Cyber Monday,"...
The mobile-phone industry suddenly finds itself on opposite sides of Bush administration wiretapping efforts, as the White House attempts to overcome congressional opposition to immunizing telecom companies from post-9/11 eavesdropping suits and wireless carriers battle the Department of Justice over efforts to force carriers...
It seems the entire mobile gaming industry is scampering to churn out pick-up-and-play, made-for-mobile titles that emphasize simplicity and downplay rich graphics and other sophisticated features.Vollee Inc. is headed the other direction.The San Mateo, Calif.-based firm is hawking a kind of placeshifting technology that...
Hello! And welcome to our Thursday column, Worst of the Week. There's a lot of nutty stuff that goes on in this industry, so this column is a chance for us at RCRWirelessNews.com to rant and rave about whatever rubs us the wrong way....
Mobile Satellite Ventures said the Federal Communications Commission waived a requirement that it build a ground-based spare satellite in the event of satellite failure.FCC rules require mobile satellite service licensees, like MSV, to build an on-the-ground spare satellite within one year of the company...
Verizon Wireless' declaration this morning that "any application, any device" will run on its network next year is clearly an overstatement-Verizon's CDMA network allows only CDMA-based devices, in use by 60% of subscribers in the United States market, but only 20% of the global...
Editor's Note: Welcome to a special edition of our weekly feature, Analyst Angle. We've collected a group of the industry's leading analysts to give their outlook on the hot topics in the wireless industry. In the coming weeks look for columns from Jupiter Research's...
Editor's Note: Welcome to Reality Check, a feature for RCR Wireless News' new weekly e-mail service, Mobile Content and Culture. We've gathered a group of visionaries and veterans in the mobile content industry to give their insights into the marketplace. In the coming weeks...
The mobile-phone industry asked a federal appeals court to overturn a new federal mandate setting minimum requirements for backup-power sources at cell sites and other wireless facilities, arguing the government overstepped its legal authority in attempting to address communications problems caused by Hurricane Katrina...
So Amazon.com released a new electronic book reader called the "Kindle." It's pretty neat stuff: You can download new books wirelessly via Sprint Nextel's EV-DO network. However, the device goes for a whopping $400, a price that does not include the additional $10 you...
THE MOBILE-PHONE AND TOWER SECTORS could take a significant financial hit as a result of a new Federal Communications Commission mandate requiring backup power sources at key facilities.The FCC rule, which industry sources claim could cost wireless carriers hundreds of millions of dollars to...
A federal-state panel recommended that the Federal Communications Commission cap government subsidies for rural wireless deployment as part of a broader effort to reform the swelling universal service fund, an action that if upheld could cost mobile-phone carriers billions of dollars of support.The Federal-State...
That sucking sound you hear is Steve Jobs trying to get air after laughing too hard at the spectacle of German operators fighting over the Apple Inc. iPhone. More fighting, more publicity, more sales-hence that haunting laughter echoing throughout the wireless industry.Vodafone Group plc...
Online retailer Amazon.com Inc. announced a new reading gadget-dubbed Kindle-that will allow users to download books, magazines and other publications via Sprint Nextel Corp.'s network. The innovative offering requires no monthly service fees; instead, the cost of wireless access is built into the price...
Flash memory will continue to dominate in mobile phones during the next few years, despite inroads being made by new hard disk drive (HDD) solutions in handheld devices, according to a new study from Parks Associates.The company predicts 99% of mobile phones will have...
Silicon Valley-the country's hub of innovation and technology-is home to more than 2.4 million people and a group of businesses that read like a who's who of the dotcom darlings. Yet, for all the money and societal changes that were born from the area,...
After a trial involving 5,000 users, regional wireless carrier Revol has decided to go forward with a full launch of a mobile advertising service that the company said has achieved engagement rates of close to 50%. The company will begin marketing the service, Revol...
Editor's Note: Welcome to Yay or Nay, a feature for RCR Wireless News' new weekly e-mail service, Mobile Content and Culture. Every week we'll review a new wireless application or service from the user's point of view, with the goal of highlighting what works...
With the launch of WiMAX trial markets just weeks away, Sprint Nextel Corp. says it is re-examining its WiMAX business plans and has abandoned a partnership with Clearwire Corp. intended to promote a faster, cheaper deployment of the mobile broadband technology. Sprint Nextel said...
