MetroPCS Communications Inc. rolled out service in the Los Angeles market today, pitching its flat-rate, unlimited plans to Angelinos.Roger Linquist, chairman and CEO of MetroPCS, said that the company's initial network coverage includes 11 million potential customers. Metro said it has 400 L.A.-area authorized...
Leap Wireless International Inc. rejected a merger proposal from MetroPCS Communications Inc., saying that the offer fails to fully account for Leap's growth prospects, undervalues Leap's business, and favors MetroPCS' shareholders over those of Leap.Leap made its response-a letter from CEO Doug Hutcheson to...
METROPCS COMMUNICATIONS INC. last week made public a proposal to merge with flat-rate rival Leap Wireless International Inc. in a move that could create a fifth carrier with a national presence and catapult no-contract offerings from the fringe to the spotlight.So far, Leap has...
Despite the Federal Communications Commission's publicly stated desire to avoid anti-competitive behavior in the 700 MHz auction and its embrace of blind bidding as a safeguard against such activity, there are growing concerns that the combination of hefty reserve prices on key spectrum blocks,...
Leap Wireless International Inc. announced that its CFO Amin Khalifa has "resigned from the company to pursue other interests," and that Leap CEO and President Doug Hutcheson would assume his duties. Hutcheson was Leap's CFO prior to being named CEO. Khalifa joined Leap as...
MetroPCS Communications Inc. has proposed a merger with its flat-rate rival Leap Wireless International Inc.Metro said it sent Leap a letter detailing its offer, which involves a "stock-for-stock, tax-free merger that will create a fifth national wireless carrier." Each outstanding share of Leap's stock...
FLAT-RATE WIRELESS carriers serving the sub-prime sector have seen their stocks plunge in recent weeks, reflecting fears about sub-prime customers who could affect the carriers' financial results.The financial markets have been rattled by fears about the extent to which the floundering sub-prime mortgage market...
Flat-rate wireless carriers serving the sub-prime sector have seen their stocks plunge in recent weeks, reflecting fears about sub-prime customers who could affect the carriers' financial results.Earlier this year Leap's stock had been steadily gaining value, and was trading as high as $99 per...
Leap Wireless International Inc., Verizon Wireless and Qwest Communications International Inc. are on deck this week with new phones. The announcements come as several carriers also cut prices on a variety of devices, including T-Mobile USA Inc. halving the online price of its recently...
THE FINANCIAL MARKETS HAVE BEEN JITTERY in recent weeks, absorbing the fallout from the extension of easy credit to both individuals and corporations. Now, the backlash is likely to find lenders more closely scrutinizing business plans, mergers and company strategies to reduce their risks-and...
The following list includes ratings changes and financial information for wireless companies announced this week by investment-banking and financial-services firms.Carrier --Credit Suisse First Boston lowered its price target on Leap Wireless International to $90 from $95 after the carrier offered weaker-than-expected guidance for the...
Though diminishing in count, regional wireless operators continued to report firm financial results highlighting continued opportunities outside the urban corridors.U.S. CellularU.S. Cellular Corp. reported $971.6 million in total revenues for the second quarter, a nearly 15% increase compared with the $846.1 million the carrier...
Welcome to our Friday feature, Week in Review. Every Friday, RCR Wireless News will run through the major events of the past week, outlining what happened and speculating on what to look for in the coming weeks. Check below for news about carriers, handset...
Leap Wireless International Inc. failed to meet analysts' estimates for customer additions in the last quarter and its stock suffered dramatically because of it, plummeting more than 20% following yesterday's report.The carrier reported almost 127,000 customer additions to its Cricket-branded service, most of which...
Sierra Wireless Inc., the maker of wireless PC cards, posted strong revenue and earnings yesterday on robust demand for its products, the company said. "Intense focus on our core business of wide-area wireless for mobile computing has driven a remarkable business recovery, following our...
Leap Wireless International Inc. subsidiary Cricket Communications Inc. has selected three infrastructure vendors for equipment, services and software in its planned buildout of third-generation networks in its recently acquired advanced wireless services spectrum. The entire network coverage expansion will include CDMA2000 1x and EV-DO...
Nortel Networks Ltd. has secured a three-year contract with Cricket Communications Inc. valued at $135 million, to supply the carrier with CDMA equipment as it expands its network coverage with CDMA2000 1x and EV-DO Rev. A equipment, the Toronto-based company announced.The flat-rate carrier is...
WHILE FRONTLINE WIRELESS L.L.C., Congress and the mobile-phone industry sound off in the final throes of a testy, high-profile 700 MHz debate, the steady, low-key diplomacy of the public-safety community could prove decisive in determining whether the Federal Communications Commission approves for auction a...
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...
Leap Wireless International Inc. has signaled its commitment to deploying CDMA2000 1x EV-DO Revision A by choosing Alcatel-Lucent to build out the carrier's new spectrum acquired in the advanced wireless service auction and to upgrade its existing markets. Leap subsidiary Cricket Communications Inc., the...
Leap Wireless International Inc. rolled out service in the Research Triangle area of North Carolina, expanding its coverage to about 1.3 million potential customers in the region.Cities in the area include Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Cary and Burlington. Leap said that the addition of...
WPCS International Inc. said it will spend $800,000 in cash and stock to acquire Houston's Max Engineering.Max Engineering, which was founded in 2000, provides engineering services for infrastructure in the telecommunications and energy markets. The company's customers include AT&T Mobility, Clearwire Corp., Leap Wireless...
The following list includes ratings changes and financial information for wireless companies announced this week by investment-banking and financial-services firms.Carrier --Goldman Sachs adjusted its estimates on Leap Wireless to 63 cents from 49 cents for 2007; $1.10 from $1.11 for 2008; $4.91 from $3.71...
MetroPCS Communications Inc. extended its contract with TeleCommunications Systems Inc. for the company to provide hosted E911 services to the flat-rate carrier. The contract between the two companies has been extended for three years; additional terms were not disclosed."The contract extension demonstrates MetroPCS' continued...
