WASHINGTON-Sales of wireless service and equipment helped boost telecom industry spending 8.9 percent to an estimated $856.9 billion last year, the Telecommunications Industry Association said. "The statistics in our new report reveal the telecom industry is expanding once again. The U.S. market is back...
So you've got a wireless Internet-enabled phone and a laptop computer. Phone lines connect computers to the Internet, right? So you should be able to use the phone to get your computer onto the Internet, right? Well, sort of. Some wireless users have found...
WASHINGTON-You may have heard of a CoW or even a CoLT, but how about Mercury? Probably not. And before you start trying to figure out the acronym-it isn't one. Mercury is the code name for Qualcomm Inc.'s portable base station. So what makes Mercury...
A pair of highly anticipated mobile virtual network operators began shedding light on their planned service offerings last week as they gear up for their respective launches in the coming months. The MVNOs will join a market already crowded with the likes of Mobile...
NEW YORK-Third-generation handsets now account for roughly 16 percent of the U.S. mobile phone landscape, according to a new study from CIBC World Markets. In the firm's January report on 3G handset sales, CIBC found that 12 out of a total of 76 handsets...
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill.-Motorola Inc. is hoping to kick-start the lagging mobile-commerce market with a system that allows users to purchase products, transfer funds or pay bills with their cell phones. The company unveiled M-Wallet, a downloadable application for both smart phones and mass-market devices...
LONDON-Next-generation wireless networks are driving multimedia offerings in the United Kingdom and Germany, according to the latest figures from M:Metrics. The Seattle-based mobile measurement firm found that while 3G users remain a small minority, such subscribers are as much as five times more likely...
WASHINGTON-The FBI and Department of Homeland Security have advised state and local law enforcement officials to be alert for large purchases of prepaid cell phones, an FBI spokesman said. The advisory follows an investigation of recent incidents in Texas, California and possibly other states...
Lucent Technologies Inc. said it agreed to purchase Ethernet developer Riverstone Networks' assets for $170 million in cash. Most of Riverstone's employees are expected to join Lucent as part of the company's Multimedia Network Solutions business."We are extremely pleased and energized to join forces...
Bluetoothing in cars is on the rise and the technology shows no signs of slowing down any time soon, says a new report by ABI Research. While Bluetooth automotive markets have been stalled in the past, ABI stated that the market grew significantly in...
WASHINGTON-President George W. Bush signed into law budget deficit legislation requiring TV broadcasters to surrender analog spectrum by Feb. 18, 2009, paving the way for the redistribution of valuable frequencies to public safety and other wireless users. The bill requires the Federal Communications Commission...
SAN MATEO, Calif.-Mobilitec Inc. this week expects to launch an offering for operators and brands looking to publish, manage and deliver mobile content. The mobile software developer will release mPower 5.0, a single-platform solution that supports the spectrum of wireless content including ringtones, games...
Openwave Systems Inc. and Sun Microsystems Inc. this week will unveil an agreement to share technologies in an effort to whittle time-to-market for applications from operators and software developers. The companies will share technologies to produce a software development toolkit that integrates Sun's Java...
At this year's 3GSM World Congress, the world's handset makers will have an important line to toe. On one side, vendors must keep pace with the market's technological advancements. HSDPA, MP3, DVB-H, Bluetooth, wireless e-mail-the list of new technologies seems never-ending.On the other side,...
TEMPE, Ariz.-Motorola Inc. named Interphase Corp. its preferred provider for I/O Advanced Mezzanine Cards, according to an alliance announced by the companies. The first communications server products to include Interphase technology are expected to launch during the second half of this year.Interphase has worked...
WASHINGTON-A new Department of Defense report says the military will depend on broadband and wireless technologies in future warfare, a policy direction that could create added business opportunities for telecom and high-tech industry sectors. The Quadrennial Defense Review Report, the second comprehensive defense assessment...
OKLAHOMA CITY-RadioShack Corp. customers in seven states will be able to purchase cellular phones and services from Dobson Communications Corp.'s wireless subsidiary, Dobson Cellular Systems, under the Cellular One brand. The new distribution agreement, announced by Dobson, involves 54 RadioShack stores in markets primarily...
Research In Motion Ltd. may have found some leverage in its fight against NTP Inc., unveiling a software "workaround" it says would prevent a shutdown of its service to U.S. BlackBerry users. The Canadian developer said it has developed and tested technology it plans...
TORONTO-Mobile security company Diversinet Corp. said its newest authentication offering is ready for commercial use via cell phones and other mobile devices. The company explained that security tokens, sometimes called hardware tokens, authentication tokens or cryptographic tokens, are small devices people can use to...
NEW YORK-Comverse Technology Inc. hopes to boost already booming text messaging usage with a series of new personalized services and short cuts. The company said the services include an offering that allows members to insert a predetermined signature at the end of text messages,...
PLAINFIELD, Ind.-Investors sent shares of Brightpoint Inc. skyward after the company reported a 33-percent increase in fourth-quarter sales. The mobile-phone distributor reported quarterly net income of $8.9 million, or 21 cents per share, up from $7.5 million, or 18 cents per share, in the...
Nortel Networks Ltd. said it may pay more than $2.4 billion in cash and stock to settle a pair of shareholder lawsuits filed as a result of the company's accounting fraud scandal. The company said it agreed in principle to pay $575 million in...
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.-Sprint Nextel Corp. is continuing the former Nextel Communications Corp.'s support of NASCAR, as it introduces a new handheld scanner that is expected to be available for rent at all NASCAR Nextel Cup Series events this year. The scanner, called the NASCAR...
The Federal Communications Commission's planned auction of so-called "advanced wireless services" spectrum scheduled for June could spell a windfall for government coffers, though analysts are mixed on the amount of said windfall. The government has said it expects to generate $25 billion during the...
