WASHINGTON-Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.), often an advocate for rural America and former chairman of the Senate communications subcommittee, celebrated the tenth anniversary of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 last week by introducing a universal-service reform bill that basically leaves wireless out in the cold....
WASHINGTON-Wireless, telecom and high-tech sectors that spend an estimated $300 million a year to change the hearts and minds of congressmen, federal regulators and White House officials are unlikely to lose prized access to policymakers, with efforts to pass lobbying reform legislation showing signs...
The mobile TV ecosystem was filled with TDtv news last week as IPWireless Inc. announced two new partnerships and upcoming trials. The network technology company says it's teaming up with mobile streaming providers Vidiator and MobiTV Inc. to develop mobile TV solutions based on...
Cincinnati Bell Inc. reported that it added 15,000 postpaid wireless customers in the fourth quarter of 2005-the company's best wireless performance since the fourth quarter of 2001. However, the company's overall earnings slipped from $18.3 million, or 7 cents per share, a year ago...
LONDON-Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications L.P. released a new high-end 3G device and also laid out its plans for wireless e-mail. The company apparently has decided to forgo choosing sides in the hotly contested wireless e-mail market by supporting virtually every major wireless e-mail program...
WASHINGTON-The Senate Commerce Committee seemed cool to the idea that broadband-pipe owners should be able to require some bandwidth hogs-like Voice over Internet Protocol providers, Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc.-to pay to access their broadband pipes. "I think the refrain of this committee ought...
Imagine this: a company's chief financial officer uses his smart phone to download a game while waiting at an airport-but the game contains a virus that sends all the data on the phone to a Web site, and the company's financial results get posted...
WASHINGTON-Two powerful Senate Democrats asked executives of three telecom giants with major mobile-phone units to turn over information on their alleged participation in the Bush administration's warrantless domestic surveillance program. Sens. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), members of the Senate Judiciary Committee,...
WASHINGTON-Government officials should move quickly to ensure that telecommunications carriers can gain access to their sites and the necessary fuel and security to be able to restore communications service as rapidly as possible. This was the conclusion of the Senate Homeland Security & Governmental...
BARCELONA, Spain-Nvidia Corp. said it plans to unveil a single chip solution that supports mobile TV, music and games. applications at the 3GSM show. The graphics processor technology company said the GoForce 3D 5500 is designed to capitalize on 3G networks and handsets. The...
WASHINGTON-The Bush administration confirmed an agreement among military, high-tech and wireless firms on criteria for certifying new 5 GHz Wi-Fi devices capable of avoiding harmful interference to military radar. RCR Wireless News first reported the accord Feb. 6.The 5 GHz Wi-Fi pact, the result...
MEXICO CITY-Leading wireless prepaid provider Tracfone Wireless Inc., which is a subsidiary of America Movil, said it gained 1 million new subscribers in the fourth quarter of 2005, bringing its net additions for the year to 1.7 million customers The new Tracfone subscribers accounted...
SCHAUMBURG, Ill.-Regional wireless carrier and Sprint Nextel Corp. CDMA affiliate iPCS Inc. reported a net loss of $17.2 million, or $1.03 per share, although the operator's churn rate was down and it had solid net customer additions of nearly 19,000 subscribers for its first...
Mort Rosenthal sees a gaping whole in the wireless retail industry, and he's hoping to fill it with IMO. An entrepreneur with a background in software distribution, Rosenthal founded IMO-short for `independent mobile"-in 2004 after growing frustrated shopping for a wireless phone and service....
It seems like hardly a week has gone by lately without a miner tragedy or a near-tragedy in the news. As the media shines its light on the mining industry, it's clear that mining communications is ripe for modernization. Today most mines have hard-wired...
Alltel Corp. is revamping its prepaid service to try to profit from recent trends. As the U.S. postpaid wireless market saturates, fourth-quarter results showed most carriers, including Alltel, registered a heavier prepaid and reseller mix among newly added customers. The country's fifth-largest carrier introduced...
Alltel Corp. officials emphasized plans to continue their conservative path during a company analyst day in New York last week, even though they said they remain optimistic going forward. "We've never been `let's swing for the fences' and bet everything on a roll of...
New agreements, contract details from Philadelphia and a smidge of a slowdown in product certifications kept Wi-Fi circles buzzing last week. In Philadelphia, reports surfaced early last week that the city had worked out the terms of its contract with Earthlink Inc. for the...
Regional wireless operators Cleveland Unlimited Inc. and CSM Wireless L.L.C. are expanding their Revol-branded unlimited postpaid calling service into the Ohio cities of Canton, Youngstown and Columbus, as well as Indianapolis.Revol launched in Cleveland in June of last year offering customers unlimited local and...
BENTONVILLE, Ark.-Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it plans to offer its own discount wireless service in Germany under the brand name MangoMobile. Wal-Mart Germany is partnering with telecommunications distributor Facey Retail Solutions GmbH for the mobile virtual network operator service, which will be sold in...
WASHINGTON- The Federal Communications Commission is expected to propose additional rules to protect cell-phone customer records later this month. Testifying before the House Commerce Committee, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin also asked that lawmakers strengthen laws to prohibit the commercial sale of call records. "We...
WASHINGTON-U.S. tech firms, bedazzled by Internet, wireless and other business opportunities in China's massively underserved market, find themselves facing intensive scrutiny and criticism from Congress, human-rights groups and others for adhering to the communist government's censorship policies. Chinese censorship, a growing controversy that complicates...
The flurry of legal wrangling in the wireless e-mail space continued as Visto Corp. filed a patent-infringement lawsuit against competitor Good Technology Inc. Meanwhile, Research In Motion Ltd. scored several patent wins. In its lawsuit, Visto accused Good of violating four of its patents...
WASHINGTON-Finally! Congress has told TV broadcasters that they must give up the spectrum they were given to transition to digital TV by Feb. 17, 2009. After an unexpected delay caused by an unrelated procedural move in the Senate, the House passed the Budget Reconciliation...
