SAN FRANCISCO—Mobileplay Inc. said it launched an advertising-supported service that provides free access to news, games, lifestyle content and location-based services on wireless devices. The service supports personal digital assistants, smart phones, wireless e-mail devices and Java-enabled cell phones, said the company. Mobileplay said...
NEW YORK—Bango announced it has partnered with MTV Networks U.K. & Ireland to provide its browse-and-buy technology for MTV's new WAP site. The MTV WAP site is designed to promote and sell digital content to users. Bango's technology streamlines the process for users to...
OVERLAND PARK, Kan.—Sprint Nextel Corp. launched a branded, pay-per-view movie service that offers nearly four dozen classic films and recent releases. Sprint Movies, which is powered by mSpot, allows users to watch films in their entirety or view chapters that can be watched over...
KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa.—InterDigital Communications Corp. has been awarded $134 million in past royalties, plus interest, from Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. on Samsung's sales of GSM and GPRS/EDGE phones from 2003 to 2005, according to an international arbitration tribunal. The tribunal, operating under the...
The infrastructure industry's merger of the season looks to be a done deal, as Lucent Technologies Inc. and Alcatel Inc. announced that their shareholders approved Alcatel's $10.7 billion proposal to acquire Lucent in the midst of fierce global competition for wireless infrastructure market share....
BURBANK, Calif.—Warner Music Group Corp. subsidiary Rhino Entertainment said it will provide music-based content for HBO Mobile. Rhino, which develops and promotes content from WMG's catalog, plans to deliver ringtones and ring-back tones to support HBO's mobile content services to Cingular Wireless L.L.C. subscribers....
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.—Google Inc. has joined the mobile marketing playground with a wireless version of its AdWords service. The Internet giant quietly launched the offering that allows AdWords customers to place marketing messages—including clickable links—in listings retrieved through Google's mobile search service. AdWords customers...
SANTA ANA, Calif.—Powerwave Technologies Inc. reworked its $336 million acquisition agreement with Filtronic plc, paring the deal down to $185 million in cash along with 17.7 million in shares of Powerwave common stock. In June, the two companies struck an agreement to transfer Filtronic's...
WASHINGTON—The federal government should lean on the wireless industry to make sure hackers can't access personal information on used smart phones and personal digital assistants, the governor of Illinois told the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission. "There is a clear cause...
RESTON, Va.—Sprint Nextel Corp. said it won a government contract worth an estimated $679 million to continue providing telecommunications services for federal agencies. The General Services Administration awarded Sprint Nextel the Federal Telecommunications System 2001 Bridge contract, which Sprint Corp. first won in 1988....
AURORA, Ill.—Lucent Technologies Inc. and Westell Technologies Inc. signed a global reseller agreement that calls for Lucent to resell Westell's TriLink IP Multimedia Subsystem gateway as part of its IMS-based solution. Lucent said it integrated Westell's converged residential gateways into its IMS service delivery...
MENLO PARK, Calif.—Voice-recognition software developer Promptu said it closed an $11.6 million round of funding. Steelpoint Capital Partners led the round, and other current investors also participated. Promptu, which was founded as AgileTV in 2000, has gained significant traction by working with cable operators...
Nokia Corp. announced plans to build on its relationship with Yahoo Inc., embedding the Internet giant's mobile search application on its NSeries multimedia handsets and other phones running the Symbian operating system. The world's largest handset maker said Yahoo will provide Web and image...
WASHINGTON—A new federal pre-emption battle has broken out at the Federal Communications Commission between two small wireless companies and Qwest Corp. The small carriers are asking telecom regulators to intervene by barring five state public utility commissions from further involvement in interconnection arbitration problems...
NEW YORK—The New York Times finally went wireless with a mobile site delivering news, sports, business information and other content to users with Web-enabled devices. The company, which has drawn criticism for its efforts to capitalize on new technological platforms, said the site offers...
Bidding slowed last week in the advanced wireless services spectrum auction, but the competition could be far from wrapping up as companies could bid up prices for competitors and make a few last attempts to capture always valuable spectrum. T-Mobile USA Inc. will almost...
SINGAPORE—Mobile storefront operator CellCity Pte Ltd. said it has inked a deal to offer content from Asian aggregator WooWorld Pte Ltd. CellCity offers a vast portfolio of content and applications for businesses and consumers through its Web site Thecellcity.com. WooWorld sells games, ringtones and...
Space Data Corp. landed a $49 million contract to supply the U.S. Air Force with a communication system that sends radio-equipped industrial balloons filled with hydrogen or helium to between 12 miles and 62 miles above sea level. Space Data claims the balloons float...
The third week of the advanced wireless spectrum auction showed significant slowing in bidding action. Nevertheless, it appears the Sprint Nextel Corp.-cable joint venture is aiming to build a broad footprint of 20-megahertz B-block licenses. Click here for the latest headlines from the AWS...
SANTA CLARA, Calif.-Atheros Communications Inc. isn't wasting any time getting its pre-802.11n Wi-Fi technology on the market, having launched its new pre-n chips and networking processors last week. The company says its launch of pre-n gear could push WLAN access points to below $100...
TOKYO-KDDI Corp. said it plans to invest $1.73 billion over the next three years to upgrade its network to CDMA2000 1x EV-DO Revision A technology. Japan's second-largest carrier said the upgrade should boost network speeds roughly tenfold, allowing downloads up to 3.6 megabits per...
TOKYO-Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo Inc. said it launched HSDPA service in Tokyo, and plans to cover all major Japanese cities with the technology by the end of October. The carrier is selling its new HSDPA-capable phone, the N902iX, to support the service launch. DoCoMo...
SUNNYVALE, Calif.-Mobile technology startup SiBEAM said it snared $21 million in Series B venture funding. Foundation Capital led the round, which included follow-on investments from New Enterprise Associates and U.S. Venture Partners. SiBEAM, which designs chips for gigabit-speed wireless equipment, said it will use...
WASHINGTON-The California legislature last week passed wireless-related bills that prohibit driver use of handheld cell phones in the nation's most populous state, enhance Wi-Fi security and allow consumers to contest unauthorized wireless charges. A bill that would have given new subscribers 21 days to...
