BOSTON-Rapid product development among semiconductor players could pave the way for nearly 50 million ultra low cost handset shipments by the end of next year, according to a new report from research firm Strategy Analytics Inc. "In addition to Texas Instruments and Infineon, other...
LOS ANGELES-Mobile virtual network operator Amp'd Mobile Inc. continued to expand its offerings with the introduction of several family plans, which the MVNO is selling as "shared" plans. Interestingly, the plans are far more aggressive-and offer far more minutes-than the family plans from the...
PC maker Lenovo posted positive results with a mobile marketing campaign it used for branding. The campaign, developed by OgilvyInteractive, New York, ran for four weeks in June. It had a click-through rate of 6.7 percent, compared with the mobile click-through average of 3...
BEDFORD, Mass.-Two top executives at Boston Communications Group Inc. have bowed out of their positions in connection with an internal review of stock-option grants, as has the company's general counsel. BCGI's chief financial officer, Karen Walker, left the company, while President and Chief Executive...
As the wireless industry rounds third base on its way into the holiday home stretch, many will depend on momentum from the third quarter to carry them through. The first round of third quarter earnings has begun to trickle in, with most of the...
BOCA RATON, Fla.-Global Tower Partners may be the next tower company to get swallowed up as the industry's giants fight over who will be king of the mountain. Global Tower Partners is owned by Blackstone Group LP, and, according to media reports, the buyout...
NEW YORK-Outlining Walt Disney Co.'s strategy for tackling a consumer-driven TV future, Anne Sweeney, co-chair of Disney Media Networks and president of Disney-ABC TV, revealed some of the company's numerous new-media initiatives around the globe at Mipcom, an international programming sales conference. Mobile TV,...
WASHINGTON-Nearly two years after President Bush authorized the creation of an advisory committee as part of spectrum policy initiative launched in 2003, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration has yet to disclose identities of members, whether any meetings have been held or explain what...
WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission's scheduled vote on AT&T Inc.'s proposed $69 billion acquisition of BellSouth Corp. imploded last Friday, with Chairman Kevin Martin delaying action on the deal until at least next month. The news follows revelations that AT&T has offered to accept merger...
SAN JOSE, Calif.-Covad Communications Group Inc. said it signed an agreement to acquire the assets of Chicago-based broadband wireless operator DataFlo Communications L.L.C. for $1.4 million. The cash transaction is expected to close this month.The deal expands Covad's broadband wireless coverage to six markets...
WASHINGTON-A major fallout of Congress' failure to pass telecom-reform legislation this year is the continued imposition of new state and local cell-phone taxes, like the one on track to begin Jan. 1 in South Sioux City, Neb. Though only a small town in a...
WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission said it believes fixed-low-power devices can operate in the vacant TV spectrum after the transition to digital TV is completed, set for 2009. The vacant TV channels are set aside to protect TV broadcasters from interference, and are known as...
WASHINGTON-The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia affirmed a lower court ruling dismissing a lawsuit by a former T-Mobile USA Inc. national sales manager, who claimed the No. 4 cell-phone carrier fired him to avoid paying more than $320,000 in commissions...
WASHINGTON-Cingular Wireless L.L.C. said it has filed three lawsuits in the federal court in Atlanta to stop telemarketers from making unsolicited and illegal calls to its wireless customers. In one lawsuit, Cingular alleges that Sebell Telecommunications L.L.C. of Miami, Fla. made unsolicited marketing calls...
Freedom Wireless Inc. scored another licensing agreement as Virgin Mobile USA L.L.C. agreed to use the patent holding company's prepaid wireless billing technology. The agreement resolves Freedom's claims of patent infringement against the mobile virtual network operator-a joint venture between Richard Branson's Virgin Group...
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.-ROK Entertainment Group U.S. expanded its mobile video offerings with 13 free channels of news, music and sports. The subsidiary of the U.K.-based wireless video company unveiled FreeBe TV, a WAP-based service for roughly two dozen 2.5G and 3G phone models. Channels...
WASHINGTON-President George W. Bush signed the port-security bill into law, a move that also creates the Warning, Alert and Response Network. The WARN legislation was attached to the port-security bill, and essentially updates the nation's Cold War-era emergency-alert system to use newer technologies, including...
The WiMAX ecosystem went from skinny to fat last week as Nortel Networks Ltd. and Nokia Corp. launched their WiMAX portfolios at the WiMAX World trade show in Boston. To date, Alcatel Inc., Fujitsu Network Communications, Motorola Inc., Nortel and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd....
DEL MAR, Calif.-Great Call Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. announced the launch of a new mobile virtual network operator called Jitterbug, named after the dance craze that originated in the 1930s and popularized by band leader Cab Calloway. The MVNO will sell phones...
BOSTON-Thin is in, except in the case of mobile phones. A new report from research firm Strategy Analytics says phones have to be more than just slim to catch consumers' eyes these days. Ultra-thin phones were a unique item not all that long ago,...
Having helped triple his company's year-on-year profits in the third quarter, Najmi Jarwala, Sony Ericsson's chief executive officer for North America, can afford to wax philosophical about his company's future. "Innovation is our differentiator," he said last week. "If we continue to innovate-and execute...
Under pressure to assure the market that it can expand its traditional, enterprise customer base, Palm Inc. made a high-profile announcement last week in New York at the DigitalLife 2006 conference that it would launch a Treo 680 model for consumers in the United...
ALAMEDA, Calif.-UTStarcom Inc. said it is exploring "strategic alternatives" and has retained Merrill Lynch & Co. as its financial adviser. The announcement could mean that UTStarcom is openly seeking to sell itself or merge with another company. "Our board of directors and management team...
SAN JOSE, Calif.-Adobe Systems Inc. said it acquired vector graphics technology developed by Actimagine, a company that provides software solutions for video and interactive vector graphics. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.Adobe said the acquisition allows it to extend the reach of its...
