WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission last week proposed fining rural wireless provider Dobson Communications Corp. $750,000 for not providing enhanced 911 services in a timely manner. Dobson failed to deploy E-911 Phase I to nine public-safety answering points and Phase II to 41 PSAPs, according...
WASHINGTON-The Justice Department asked the Federal Communications Commission for sensitive numbering information-including local number portability data-from Alltel Corp. and Midwest Wireless Holdings L.L.C. in connection with Alltel's proposed $1 billion acquisition of Midwest that is being opposed by U.S. Cellular Corp. While the FCC...
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.-Alltel Corp. said it has sold one of its Arkansas rural service areas to Cingular Wireless L.L.C., as part of Alltel's divestiture requirements related to its purchase of Western Wireless Corp. last year. The Arkansas 11 RSA covers the counties of Hempstead,...
WASHINGTON-Two TV broadcasters agreed to move out of the 700 MHz band early under a deal with Qualcomm Inc., making way for the company to move forward with its plans to stream TV content on its MediaFlo service. The Federal Communications Commission said it...
With the acquisition of CDMA affiliate Ubiquitel Inc., Sprint Nextel Corp. is another step closer to wrapping up the acquisition of all of its wireless affiliates. The third-largest U.S. carrier last week agreed to buy Ubiquitel for $1.3 billion, including about $300 million in...
NEW YORK-Slow mobile-phone sales continue to plague RadioShack Corp. as the company reported an 85-percent plunge in first-quarter profits. The consumer electronics retailer said first-quarter income fell to $8.4 million, down dramatically from $55 million during the same period last year. Write-downs connected with...
Big just got bigger. The strategic trade-off between profits and market share stood out in stark relief. And the global market for mobile handsets remains insatiable, creating market opportunities for the nimble and those with heft. Yes, all in the first quarter. Arch rivals...
MetroPCS Communications Inc. launched wireless service last week in Detroit, offering flat rate plans with unlimited local and domestic long distance without a contract. MetroPCS is offering four calling plans, with unlimited local calling for $30 or $35 per month and unlimited local and...
Ntelos Holdings Corp. was incorrectly labeled a Sprint Nextel Corp. CDMA affiliate on page 23 of the March 27 issue of RCR Wireless News. Ntelos has a roaming agreement with Sprint Nextel affiliate Horizon PCS Inc., which was recently acquired by iPCS Inc.
WASHINGTON-Former Motorola Inc. executive Susan Schwab is in line to become the nation's top trade negotiator. President Bush last week said he intends to nominate Schwab, currently deputy U.S. trade representative, to succeed Rob Portman at the trade post. Portman was reassigned to head...
WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission denied a 2002 request from the American Bird Conservancy and the Forest Conservation Council to study whether wireless towers contribute to the death of migratory birds, clearing the way for wireless towers to be rebuilt along the Gulf Coast.Meanwhile, an...
WASHINGTON-The Department of Justice reported Qualcomm Inc. and Flarion Technologies Inc. have agreed to pay a $1.8 million in civil penalties for violating "pre-merger waiting period requirements" associated with Qualcomm's $600 million acquisition of Flarion. According to the complaint, Qualcomm obtained operational control over...
Portland, Ore., city officials announced that MetroFi beat out Earthlink Inc. and VeriLAN to supply Wi-Fi networking across the city's 135-square miles. City officials said MetroFi won the contract "by submitting a proposal that excelled in demonstrated operational experience and its level of public...
In the wake of several announcements regarding HSDPA contracts and gear testing, the CDMA Development Group reminded the wireless industry that CDMA technology's evolution path is marching along swiftly and expects to announce further advancements by the end of this year. The CDG said...
LOS ANGELES-Amp'd Mobile Inc. continued to rake in venture capital last week, raising $150 million in a third round of funding. New investors Tudor Investments, Intel Capital, Rho Ventures, Qualcomm Inc., Quilvest Ventures, Polygon Investment Partners and Heights Capital Management participated in the round....
WESTCHESTER, Ill.-Andrew Corp. says it scooped up Precision Antennas Ltd., paying about $26 million for the subsidiary of U.K.-based aerospace and defense contractor Cobham plc that makes antenna systems primarily for cellular network backhaul. Last year, Precision Antenna posted $46 million in sales. Andrew...
Software giant Oracle Corp. announced it's spending about $220 million to buy Portal Software Inc., a firm that develops billing and revenue management solutions for the communications and media industries. Oracle cited its long commitment to the communications industry and noted that its Siebel...
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.-Wireless location services for businesses could top 1 million subscribers by 2010, according to new figures from In-Stat. The technology market research firm said the location-based services business market is set to nearly double during the next five years from fewer than 600,000...
OVERLAND PARK, Kan.-Sprint Nextel Corp. announced that it will help parents locate their children through a downloadable Family Locator service that utilizes Global Positioning System technology in handsets. The service sneaks into the market ahead of mobile virtual network operator Disney Mobile's locator service,...
RESTON, Va.-Sprint Nextel Corp. has hinted that the first fruits of its joint venture with several cable companies will launch in seven markets later this year, and news of which markets those will be is starting to bubble up. The Wall Street Journal reported...
Verizon Wireless said it purchased Mid-Missouri Cellular, a small TDMA/CDMA operator in central Missouri. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The deal includes Mid-Missouri's 27 cell sites and other network equipment, plus spectrum licenses that cover 198,000 potential customers in seven counties,...
SEOUL, South Korea-Samsung Electronics Co. reported net income in the first quarter of $1.96 billion, a modest increase from the $1.6 billion net income the electronics giant reported in the year-ago quarter. Mobile phones and chips represented about two-thirds of Samsung's reported revenue, which...
Soon-to-launch mobile virtual network operator Xero Mobile plans to use 2 million free handsets and discounted talk time to jump into the wireless marketplace-the catch being that the freebies are in exchange for allowing mobile advertising on the handset. The company is going to...
WASHINGTON-Federal regulators last week agreed to give wireless broadband carriers improved access to educational spectrum in the 2.5 GHz band, a move sought by telecom and a major investment firm, but resisted until recently by a powerful parochial school system. The Federal Communications Commission...
