WASHINGTON-The nation's most populous state is a step closer to banning drivers from operating handheld cell phones while behind the wheel. The bill, approved 21-14 by the California Senate and sponsored by Sen. Joe Simitian (D), now goes to the California State Assembly for...
IRVINE, Calif.-Boost Mobile L.L.C., a subsidiary of Sprint Nextel Corp., said its prepaid wireless phones and service will be available at Fred Meyer stores. The company's products are already available at Target, Wal-Mart and Best Buy locations.Boost said it is offering three Motorola Inc....
WASHINGTON-The 800 MHz Transition Administrator warned that vendors supplying equipment for companies moving off the 800 MHz band need to proactively prepare for their clients' needs as the reconfiguration process goes forward. Companies like Motorola Inc., Kenwood and M/A Com supply products to the...
DENVER-Qwest Communications International Inc. wireless customers seeking directory assistance no longer have to rely on memory or a quick scribble to recall the number that they're looking for. The regional telecommunications provider has begun offering a text-messaging 411 option. When a customer calls 411...
WASHINGTON-EarthLink Inc. is set this week to respond to privacy concerns raised about its bid with Google Inc. to build a municipal Wi-Fi system in San Francisco. The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, The Electronic Privacy Information Center and the Electronic Frontier...
Global Tower Partners expanded its footprint in the Western United States with an agreement to buy 78 towers from Chinook Wireless Communications, a carrier holding 1900 MHz licenses in eight basic trading areas covering more than 1 million people across Montana and part of...
WASHINGTON-With a small improvement in equipment, unlicensed wireless spectrum could solve the network-neutrality debate by providing proponents with enough bandwidth to compete with cable and digital subscriber lines, said Yochai Benkler, a professor at Yale University and author of "The Wealth of Networks: How...
WASHINGTON-A coalition of top wireless and high-tech manufacturers urged the Federal Communications Commission to reject a California testing lab's call to revise compliance measurement guidelines for new 5 GHz wireless Internet devices. A government-industry group crafted the guidelines to ensure the devices won't interfere...
Chicago's Mayor Richard M. Daley announced that the city will begin taking requests for proposals in turning Chicago into a wireless community. The mayor is seeking submissions from private-sector firms that would provide Internet access throughout the city, including free wireless service in Chicago...
SCHAUMBURG, Ill.-Motorola Inc. said it will shell out $192 million to acquire TTP Communications plc, a U.K.-based mobile software developer and chipmaker. TTPCom is a 575-employee holding company with substantial stakes in a handset certification business, and also sells software for GSM and GPRS...
While big-name media conglomerates scramble to find ways to leverage the "third screen," a handful of wireless companies are slowly gaining traction by offering content from hometown TV newscasts. Local Solutions Network, an Atlanta-based mobile content delivery company, has quietly inked deals with local...
Zingy is hoping to find some stability in the direct-to-consumer market. The New York-based mobile content provider launched an Internet storefront targeting 13- to 21-year-olds with both a la carte and subscription pricing models for ringtones, images, games and applications. Zingy said it will...
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates-Phone junkies have been speculating for months about i-mate's forthcoming slim Smartflip handset ever since photos of the device were posted on the Internet earlier this year. Now the company has offered a more concrete glimpse of the handset in its...
The news that India's government plans to delay the launch of 3G services in that country is probably grabbing attention in the executive suites of the world's most ambitious handset vendors; India's market potential is enormous and among the fastest growing on the planet....
HIGHLAND PARK, Ill.-Yuvee Inc. introduced a new cell-phone keypad interface called NeoKeys that it says simplifies commands and text and number entry and eliminates use of the upper screen for navigation. The keypad eliminates hard labeling on the keys and provides dynamic displays above...
LOS ANGELES-The Independent Film & Television Alliance released a revised wireless guide in advance of the 2006 Cannes Film Festival to keep its membership educated about evolving digital rights management issues. The group said the guide provides direction on business, financial, legal and technological...
Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma wreaked havoc along the Gulf Coast and in Florida last year, and the U.S. is facing another above-average hurricane season. Cellular carriers claim that they are ready for the storm season, which starts June 1 and is expected to...
WASHINGTON-With a $31.3 million offer, AC BidCo L.L.C., an affiliate of AirCell Inc., looks to be the winner of a 3-megahertz license to offer air-to-ground services in the 800 MHz band. Bidding continues between Space Data Spectrum Holdings L.L.C. and JetBlue's LiveTV L.L.C. for...
Gas prices and higher mortgage rates have not affected the demand for Sprint Nextel Corp.'s wireless services, the carrier's chief financial officer told analysts last week. Paul Saleh's remarks were made during a parade of wireless executives at conferences in New York, hosted by...
BEIJING-Rumors are swirling that China Mobile Communications Corp., the world's largest wireless carrier, may be on the brink of acquiring Luxembourg-based Millicom International Cellular SA-or possibly, already has bought the company. Several newspapers reported last week that the two companies were close to a...
The wireless industry is good at churning out enterprise-focused applications and the devices to run them, but has largely failed to offer businesses an easy way to purchase, deploy and manage mobile phones. Two former Sprint Corp. wireless executives are hoping to change that.The...
The upcoming AWS auction of 1700 MHz and 2100 MHz spectrum, now slated for August, raises the question of how many frequency bands might be jammed onto a handset and whether that poses technical challenges for component and handset vendors. The answer, at least...
Motorola Inc. will finally bring its much-touted MOTO Q smart phone to market as you read this, probably the last time it will announce a handset far in advance of its launch, to avoid tipping off competitors and so its executives won't have to...
OVERLAND PARK, Kan.-Sprint Nextel Corp. and LG Electronics Co. Ltd. announced the launch of the Fusic music phone, another example of taking a feature phone and branding it a "lifestyle" device to tap the U.S. youth market. The phone also represents Sprint Nextel's effort...
