WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission's spectrum-sharing test-bed proposal attracted a mix of responses that appear to support parochial agendas among incumbent telecom carriers and others looking for a platform to leverage emerging, smart wireless technologies that may offer solutions to the nation's dwindling supply of...
TeleCommunication Systems Inc. said it filed a lawsuit against Mobile 356 Inc. and WiderThan Americas Inc. claiming the companies infringed on its patents.The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.TCS alleges the companies infringed its patents having...
BASKING RIDGE, N.J.—Verizon Wireless and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. announced the first 3.2 megapixel camera phone available to Verizon Wireless’ customers, Samsung’s a990. The CDMA handset also offers video recording and viewing and music downloads on the carrier’s Vcast service. Users can also...
ANYANG, South Korea-South Korean handset vendor VK Mobile has gone under, according to news reports. The company, which entered business as a battery maker in 1997, had set its sights on becoming a global brand and had cut deals to supply handsets to mobile...
As wireless carriers begin exploring data roaming, several are not simply limiting their sights to domestic roaming but are seeking to provide a more seamless mobile data experience around the world. Cingular Wireless L.L.C. introduced international data roaming not long after it launched its...
NEW YORK-New York City has chosen Nokia Corp. to be the primary provider of the city's free Wi-Fi networks in its parks. The 10 major parks with networks currently being installed include Central Park, Union Square Park, Washington Square Park, Prospect Park and Corona...
TOKYO-NTT DoCoMo Inc. has put out a request for proposal for the development of "Super 3G" base stations and handsets-although no official standard for the technology has yet been set by the Third Generation Partnership Project standards group. Final specifications for Super 3G most...
SAN FRANCISCO-In a marketing space where irrational exuberance evokes deja vu, NeoMedia Technologies Inc. seems particularly, well, exuberant. The Fort Myers, Fla., company has been snatching up hot mobile-advertising companies in Europe and the United States with client rosters that read like a who's...
VANCOUVER, British Columbia-XM Canada is teaming with Canadian operator Telus Mobility to deliver real-time streaming satellite radio to mobile subscribers. Telus users with a Spark 25 data package can access 20 channels of commercial-free music, talk and comedy for no charge, and other subscribers...
WASHINGTON-The Department of Homeland Security last week released a plan designed to protect the nation's critical infrastructure, including information technology and telecommunications networks. "The National Infrastructure Protection Plan is the path forward on building and enhancing protective measures for the critical-infrastructure assets and cyber...
After entering the mobile virtual network operator space with naked ambition, a $500 Sanyo Corp. handset (the "MVP") and a take-the-world-by-storm marketing spend, Walt Disney Co.-owned Mobile ESPN L.L.C. has regrouped. Results have not met expectations for the lucrative sports news franchise-gone-mobile, or in...
SEOUL-Texas Instruments Inc. and Broadcom Corp. filed a complaint in South Korea alleging that Qualcomm Inc. is engaged in unfair business practices, according to news reports. Neither company offered information about the complaint on their Web sites. Qualcomm did not offer a response. The...
MUNICH, Germany-BenQ Mobile announced plans to cut up to 10 percent of its German workforce in an attempt to bolster profitability as it moves ahead after merging with Siemens AG's handset division last year. The handset vendor said it plans to provide additional details...
STOCKHOLM, Sweden-After weeks of speculation that a deal was in the works for China Mobile to purchase Millicom International Cellular S.A., Millicom declared that it terminated all sales talks. "Since May 2006, the company has been in prolonged discussions and due diligence with one...
U.S. carriers are demanding more of a place at the content trough, content provides say, whittling away at already onerous revenue-share deals. And publishers are feeling the squeeze. Ringtone vendors and others have long complained about operators that pocket the lion's share of content...
The company working to establish a mobile-exclusive Internet domain is hoping to lure customers by extending its initial registration period. DotMobi-also known as mTLD, or mobile Top Level Domain Ltd.-said it will extend the trademark sunrise registration by a month, allowing companies to lay...
VANCOUVER-Canadian operator Telus Mobility added Victoria, British Columbia, to the list of cities where it offers CDMA2000 1x EV-DO service. Telus claims that its Wireless High Speed service has typical download speeds of 400 to 700 kilobits per second, with maximum speeds of more...
WASHINGTON-Online retailer InPhonic Inc. announced a deal to sell phones and services from mobile virtual network operator Amp'd Mobile Inc. InPhonic will sell Amp'd Mobile's wares through its Internet storefront wirefly.com, which also carries offerings from the four Tier 1 operators. Terms of the...
WASHINGTON-A new study claims mobile-phone use while driving is as dangerous as drinking while behind the wheel, reinforcing previous research on distracted driving and further complicating industry's message the wireless phones are a safety tool. "We found that people are as impaired when they...
WASHINGTON-A pair of newly published studies link mobile-phone use to biological changes in the brain, but the research does not conclude low-level radio frequency radiation from wireless handsets is necessarily harmful to consumers. Italian researchers wrote in the Annals of Neurology that GSM mobile...
WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission approved final 5 GHz equipment rules, paving the way for vendors to seek government approval of new Wi-Fi gear designed to operate on an additional 255 megahertz and some existing frequencies in the 5 GHz band. New equipment must include...
WASHINGTON-The 800 MHz Transition Administrator encouraged public-safety spectrum licensees in middle America to begin thinking about the reconfiguration process and begin preparing their requests for planning funding even though their negotiation process is not scheduled to begin until Aug.1. The TA wants public safety...
Canadian wireless vendor VCom Inc. said it struck a $1 million cash deal to purchase several subsidiaries of Wave Wireless Corp., including WaveRider Communications (Canada) Inc., WaveRider Communications (USA) Inc., Jetstream Internet Services Inc. and Avendo Wireless Inc. VCom said it expects the total...
As if the Texas wireless market wasn't hot enough-with Leap Wireless International Inc. launching its Cricket Communications service left and right, and T-Mobile USA Inc. responding aggressively-a new, flat-rate wireless carrier recently set up shop in San Antonio and hopes to expand service elsewhere...
