WASHINGTON-Proponents of network neutrality face an uphill battle to convince the U.S. Senate to include net neutrality in its version of telecommunications reform after a major defeat Thursday in the House of Representatives. The Bush administration also signaled its opposition to the issue. "The...
At last week's Globalcomm show in Chicago, telecom vendors paraded their technological wares, giving us a peek at their network roadmaps. The future, as the vendors see it, will be dominated by mobile TV, and this phenomenon is shining a bright light on Internet...
Wireless carriers are spending big bucks in promoting the use of their flashy, fast new data services: full-length music downloads, three-dimensional mobile games, Web surfing and the like. But with carriers relying on revenue from those transactions to boost their average revenue per user,...
SAN JOSE, Calif.-A new report from the Semiconductor Industry Association predicts semiconductor sales worldwide will grow 9.8 percent to nearly $250 billion this year, driven largely by the cell-phone market. The new forecast is an increase from November forecasts that projected an increase of...
Alltel Corp. selected Oz Communications Inc.'s mobile instant messaging solution to power its new Axcess Instant Messaging service. The BREW-based solution gives Alltel customers access to AOL's instant messaging service and Yahoo Inc.'s Messenger service in a mobile format that closely mirrors the PC...
An incorrect picture appeared on page 9 of the May 29 issue of RCR Wireless News. Telephone and Data Systems Inc. President and Chief Executive Officer Leroy Carlson Jr. should have been pictured.
BEIJING-Motorola Inc. said it tapped PacificNet iMobile to power its online storefront for wireless users in China. PacificNet will operate the site, dubbed MotoShop, and will provide distribution and logistics support, delivering goods door-to-door in the 40 Chinese cities in which it has distribution...
ATLANTA-Cingular Wireless L.L.C. finally joined the ringback-tone bandwagon, launching ringback music and voice clips from Warner Music Group artists. The carrier unveiled a catalog of 20-second ringback tones that can be used in place of the traditional "ring" a caller hears while waiting for...
KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa.-InterDigital Communications Corp. gave second-quarter financial guidance anticipating revenue of $291million to $293 million, without forecasting net profit. The company's revenue forecast includes a massive payment of $228 million from Nokia Corp. related to the resolution of a prior patent license...
ESPOO, Finland-A U.S. district judge has found Suplimet Corp., a Florida-based supplier of mobile-phone accessories, in contempt of a prior injunction that prevented the firm from trafficking in counterfeit Nokia Corp. products. In the civil proceeding, U.S. District Judge Jose Martinez of the Southern...
Cingular Wireless L.L.C. will offer the Pantech Group's "Slim Series" of phones, beginning with the tiny C300 for its prepaid GoPhone customers, giving the South Korean handset maker another prominent place in the coveted U.S. handset market. The Pantech C300 is a small flip...
WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission got a new member last week and immediately began considering whether it should increase the amount wireless carriers pay into the universal-service fund. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin swore in Robert McDowell Thursday amid reports that Martin wants to increase by...
RESTON, Va.-Broadband wireless provider Nextlink Wireless said Robert Beran is the company's new chief executive officer. As part of the post, Beran also becomes a senior vice president at Nextlink's parent company, XO Holdings Inc. Beran is a 20-year veteran of the technology and...
WASHINGTON-It took nearly a month but the Federal Communications Commission's auction of 800 MHz spectrum is over after 144 rounds. Winning bids totaled $38.3 million for the two licenses to offer air-to-ground services. Early on, AC BidCo L.L.C., an affiliate of AirCell Inc., won...
Regional operator Revol Wireless has introduced a new suite of data applications to its users that includes ringtones, games, 411 directory assistance and Web browsing.Privately held Revol offers service in five Ohio cities and Indianapolis with no contract for $47 per month. The flat-rate...
SAN DIEGO-It's all about the money. And why not? That's a healthy reason for hundreds of people to fly into San Diego and cloister themselves inside a luxury hotel, as the nearby sea beckoned. When Paul Jacobs, Qualcomm Inc.'s chief executive officer, noted in...
WASHINGTON-A leading industry group blasted a Department of Homeland Security draft report that highlighted potential privacy problems with radio frequency identification technology and downplayed the value of the wireless technology. "RFID technology may have a small benefit in terms of speeding identification processes, but...
SAN DIEGO-Qualcomm Inc. refuted claims made in a Korean newspaper that certain Korean manufacturers' royalty obligations will expire in 2006 for sales within Korea and in 2008 for sales outside Korea. Qualcomm said The Korea Times apparently is reporting details of an old agreement...
Wireless industry trade association CTIA is hoping to spur direct-to-consumer revenues by expanding the industry's short-code program. The industry group, along with short-code administrator NeuStar Inc., announced open registration for six-digit short codes. Wireless subscribers can access content or services by sending a key...
Amp'd Mobile Inc. has rounded out its service offering with a prepaid play that began selling last week, touting its new pay-as-you-go service as "the first and only pay-as-you-go 3G wireless phone service." Amp'd Mobile's prepaid offering charge customers 10 cents per minute for...
SKOKIE, Ill.-Rand McNally and Motorola Inc. are teaming up in an effort to get drivers to rely on their cell phones for navigation instead of in-car GPS systems or those old-fashioned, hard-to-fold road maps. The two companies said that they will work together to...
Across the telecommunications industry, companies are taking baby steps toward the quadruple-play bundle of voice, video, high-speed Internet and wireless services. Typically, luring customers to adopt those bundles can include monthly discounts from the price of services if they were purchased separately, sometimes in...
OVERLAND PARK, Kan.-Sprint Nextel Corp. will sell Mobile ESPN L.L.C. service in hundreds of its retail stores, a move that adds weight to the sports-focused MVNO's distribution network. Sprint Nextel originally committed to provide Mobile ESPN space in at least 500 of its stores...
CHICAGO-U.S. Cellular Corp. and its parent company, Telephone and Data Systems Inc., have further delayed their year-end regulatory filings, as well as filings for the first quarter of 2006. TDS and U.S. Cellular said that the delay was due to a review of financial...
