Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin is coming under mounting pressure to back off a controversial plan to auction a national wireless Internet license that would require the winning bidder to provide free broadband service, open access and filtering to block obscene content. But...
The one-two punch of a typically slow quarter and overall economic challenges dazed regional wireless provider MetroPCS Communications Inc., which posted customer growth results for the second quarter that came up short of analysts' expectations. The carrier said it added 183,530 net customers during...
Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., the Chinese vendor of entry-tier phones, is seeking a capital infusion for its handset division to fuel international expansion of that business, particularly in the United States. Such a move would provide a brand-building opportunity and also free up resources...
While wireless providers - large and small - differ on such hot-button issues as universal service support, exclusive handset arrangements and special access, the controversy over roaming has the potential to become the major fault line in the cellphone industry.The consolidation trend is making...
Huawei Technologies Co. has five interested suitors seeking a stake in the Chinese telecom company's handset division, according to today's Wall Street Journal. The nearly instant ardor for Huawei leaves investor-hungry Motorola Inc. looking like a wallflower at a school dance.The bids, made last...
Regional wireless carrier MetroPCS Communications Inc. announced a new promotion, MetroFlash, that will allow shoppers with a compatible CDMA handset to connect to the MetroPCS network; users will be able to sign up for MetroPCS service without having to buy a new phone. The...
Comments on what the FCC should do with the 700 MHz D Block ran the gamut, with some urging the agency to tighten its rules on a public-private sharing of the spectrum while others recommended the D Block be auctioned without any conditions whatsoever.The...
The companies listed below represent the ten largest national and regional licensed wireless carriers based on subscriber numbers at the end of the first quarter of this year.
There were no changes in rankings among the top 10 carriers, and AT&T Mobility continued to top...
WHILE THE CARRIER'S COMPETITORS WORRY over a potentially greatly expanded customer base and network footprint, Verizon Wireless' handset suppliers likely are cheering news that the carrier plans to acquire Alltel Communications L.L.C."The strongest (handset) players at Verizon Wireless areprobably the winners" in the merger,...
A dispute has erupted over whether a federal appeals court should delay ruling on the wireless industry's challenge to the Federal Communications Commission's backup power rule until Bush administration budget officials complete their review of controversial guidelines designed to respond to communications failures from...
The following list includes ratings changes and financial information for wireless companies announced this week by investment-banking and financial-services firms.Carrier--Lehman Brothers raised its price target on Leap Wireless to $60 from $43 and improved its EPS estimates to a loss of 79 cents rather...
The following list includes ratings changes and financial information for wireless companies announced this week by investment-banking and financial-services firms.Carrier--Lehman Brothers lowered its EPS estimates on Sprint Nextel to break even from 42 cents for 2008 and to 18 cents from 37 cents for...
Mobile virtual network operators Virgin Mobile USA Inc. and Helio L.L.C. have few things in common other than a subscriber base that operates on Sprint Nextel Corp.'s network. And yet the struggling companies are said to be in merger talks nonetheless, according to media...
There just might be an end in sight for Sprint Nextel Corp.'s troubles. After the company reported first-quarter results that were either in line with analyst predictions or, in some cases, better than expected, the carrier's stock dropped slightly after an early jolt in...
Leap Wireless International Inc. said it will launch its Cricket service in Las Vegas tomorrow using the advanced wireless services spectrum it won during the Federal Communications Commission's Auction 66 in 2006. Leap has previously launched service using its AWS spectrum in Oklahoma City...
The 700 MHz auction ended two months ago, but you'd never know it.Few things rarely are settled in official Washington. The Federal Communications Commission this week plans to launch a rulemaking to consider changes to the D Block. The national public-safety/commercial licensee was stranded...
The Federal Communications Commission could be forced to back off the backup power rule. Two members of a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit voiced serious doubts about whether the FCC had authority to mandate...
Regional wireless operator MetroPCS Communications Inc. reported a 23% jump in total revenue and an 11% rise in income, while average revenue per user and net subscriber additions declined slightly. Despite solid subscriber gains, the company's results fell below Wall Street expectations. MetroPCS' shares...
For $30 to $50 per month, MetroPCS Communications Inc. will offer residents of Jacksonville, Florida, its unlimited voice and data plan.MetroPCS' signature "no signed contract" applies, the company said, and the plans allow Jacksonville residents to use the service throughout Florida. The Dallas-based company...
The U.S. Supreme Court without comment declined to review a Tenth Circuit ruling that said the trustee of bankrupt Magnacom Wireless L.L.C. is not entitled to proceeds from the re-auction of the company's cancelled wireless licenses.Magnacom paid nearly $48 million for 13 F-Block personal...
Stop me if you've heard this one before: NextWave Wireless Inc. said today it's exploring the sale of its U.S. spectrum holdings.The company made its mark on wireless in the mid-90s by being the top bidder for extensive 1.9 GHz spectrum covering most of...
Microsoft Corp. subsidiary TellMe said it added a GPS location feature to its voice portal to give BlackBerry users information about businesses, movies, traffic, weather, maps and driving directions. The "voice in, visual out" way of receiving information is useful to people who are...
Regional wireless operator MetroPCS Communications Inc. introduced its ChatLink service, a push-to-talk feature that allows its subscribers to use PTT services with people outside of MetroPCS' network. Kodiak Networks, which powers the ChatLink service as well as other PTT offerings from a number of...
Mark Louison's unassuming manner dovetails well with Nokia Corp.'s efforts to project a kinder, gentler approach to the North American device market, an effort he has led for the past year."Alignment" with carrier needs is a term oft-repeated by handset vendors in discussing the...
