Mobile News – RCR Wireless News

HAMPSHIRE, U.K.-The mobile music market may be on the cusp of shifting away from ringtones to over-the-air full-track music services, according to research from Juniper Research. The shift is being driven by new technologies like third-generation networks and music-centered handsets, …

The videogame industry’s annual extravaganza of booth babes, deafening sound effects and eye-popping displays is lowering its profile. And mobile game makers aren’t complaining. The Electronic Entertainment Expo, which has exploded into a 60,000-person tech-fest, is going to be dramatically …

BOSTON-MobileLime, which focuses on using mobile phones for marketing and loyalty programs, said it is working with a dozen Subway sandwich shop franchises in Buffalo, N.Y., to offer alerts and coupons t to mobile-phone users. The program is part of …

If the growth in handset sales in mature markets such as the United States slowed somewhat at mid-year, as some market and financial analysts have suggested, one explanation may be the dearth of new product launches. That has opened a …

MILAN, Italy-Content aggregator Buongiorno USA Inc. is looking to expand its presence in North America with plans to spend as much as $27 million to acquire application developer Rocket Mobile. The subsidiary of Buongiorno SpA Group agreed to a $17 …

Canadian telecommunications company Telus has announced a partnership with mobile virtual network operator Amp’d Mobile Inc. in which Telus subscribers will have access to Amp’d services and content and Telus will manage most of the business operations. Meanwhile, Telus Ventures, …

WASHINGTON-CTIA is asking the Federal Communications Commission to clarify recent universal-service rules that have sparked a puzzling situation where the FCC has accused the industry of not fully reporting its “toll” revenues-and by implication not paying its full share of …

Despite disappointing quarterly results, Sprint Nextel Corp. reaffirmed its commitment to upgrading its network to CDMA2000 1x EV-DO Revision A. The carrier said it plans to cover approximately 40 million potential customers with the higher-speed technology by the end of …

Shares of Electronic Arts Inc. surged after the publisher posted strong first-quarter sales of its Microsoft Corp. Xbox and mobile-phone offerings The videogame giant reported mobile revenues of $33 million in its first quarter of 2007, the first full quarter …

It was a good quarter for some regional providers of wireless service, with healthy growth and increasing average revenue per user. Alltel Corp. posted strong second-quarter results with plusses and minuses in all the right places. The industry’s No. 5 …

As EarthLink Inc. prepares to unwire Pasadena, Calif., using gear from Tropos Networks Inc. and Motorola Inc., another vendor is celebrating the deployment of its Wi-Fi mesh network equipment in Red River, N.M., where Enchanted Circle Communications launched a wireless …

Lindsay Lohan’s BlackBerry has apparently been hacked, and some are pointing the finger at her archrival Paris Hilton. A spokesperson for Lohan said somebody stole the password to the actress’ BlackBerry and then sent sordid messages to her friends and …

WASHINGTON-Wireless industry trade association CTIA is pushing Congress to overturn a federal appeals court ruling that said the Federal Communications Commission overreached when it said states could not prohibit wireless carriers from putting certain line items on their bills. “Creating …

BOCA RATON, Fla.-SBA Communications Corp., the nation’s fourth-largest tower owner, posted second-quarter losses of $75.6 million despite increased revenues of $87.4 million. Last year in the same quarter the company recorded $63.2 million in revenues and a loss of $26.2 …

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.-Openwave Systems Inc. reported substantially improved net loss figures during its fourth quarter, but revenues declined. For the quarter, Openwave reported revenues of $91.1 million, down 9 percent from revenues of $100.3 million during the same period a …

A well-worn maxim has it that “politics make strange bedfellows,” which might be tweaked to reflect the wireless industry’s sometimes odd match-ups. Companies that compete also cooperate, often at the nitty-gritty level of critical intellectual property that enables devices, networks …

Trans Con Mobile Ltd. recently announced that after two years of developing mobile Voice over Internet Protocol technology, the Israeli company’s proprietary base stations and handsets are in the final stages of testing; deployments are expected in the United States …

HOUSTON-Following Crown Castle International Corp.’s good news-the company’s shrinking net loss in the second quarter-the company released some not-so-good news that the Securities and Exchange Commission has launched an informal inquiry into the company’s stock-option practices. Crown said it will …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission is re-examining the service and licensing rules for the 700 MHz spectrum it plans to auction in 2008, and will consider changing how the spectrum is divvied up as well as when spectrum licenses will expire. …

Nortel Networks Ltd. swung from a $33 million net loss at the close of last year’s second quarter to a profit of $366 million this year, thanks to a 30-percent decline of its stock price during the quarter. The company’s …

AUSTIN, Texas-StarCore L.L.C. is closing up shop due to a lack of success in licensing its early digital signal processor family of chips. The company had hoped to challenge Texas Instruments Inc.’s leadership position in the DSP market. The shutdown …

Just when you thought mobile music personalization applications couldn’t get any more disruptive, along come background tones. The latest-but surely not last-step in the evolution of such offerings, background tones play during entire conversations between mobile users. Subscribers can choose …

WARREN, N.J.-Virgin Mobile USA L.L.C. is expanding it customers’ ability to earn free airtime by launching a prepaid Visa debit card that will be linked to Virgin Mobile USA phones. The “Stash” prepaid debit card will be issued by Inter …

If you’re a Cingular Wireless L.L.C. customer, having an out-of-date wireless phone is going to cost you. The nation’s largest wireless carrier will soon start charging customers an additional $5 each month if they have an analog or TDMA handset. …

Welcome to Hedgehogging. As you know from your own jobs, something is always happening in the wireless space. Some of it makes us stop what we’re doing to clap, boo or question these developments. This week’s column is a roundup …