BROOMFIELD, Colo.-Level 3 Communications Inc. said it will spend $137 million to acquire Progress Telecom L.L.C., a regional wholesale network services company. Level 3 said it intends to pay for the company with equal amounts of cash and stock. Progress operates 29 metropolitan networks...
WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission authorized Globalstar L.L.C. to operate land-based cell phone networks to augment its existing mobile satellite services, a significant enhancement that should allow the company to reduce the size of its satellite phones. Globalstar is the second MSS operator to win...
WASHINGTON-Proposals and counter proposals for how best to ensure access to telecommunications services in rural America are under way as rural local exchange carriers and their champions in Congress argue for the status quo, while the wireless industry calls for wholesale reform of the...
WASHINGTON-The bill-of-rights brawl in California took yet another turn last week, with Public Utilities Commission member Dian Grueneich offering a new telecom consumer-protection plan less onerous than the existing regime, but more regulatory than another proposal backed by CPUC President Michael Peevey. Votes on...
CHICAGO-U.S. Cellular Corp. and its parent company, Telephone and Data Systems Inc., again delayed the release of their financial results for the third quarter of 2005. The two companies have until Feb. 28 to file their results for last year's third quarter, as well...
Big brands and high-powered advertising agencies are stampeding to wireless in an effort to snuggle up next to consumers. But they're finding that effective mobile marketing usually means more than just placing their company name on the display. Recent weeks have seen a flurry...
Three Christmases ago, Sue Nokes received a call from a T-Mobile USA Inc. customer who had been bumped up through the customer care system until he reached her. The man, Nokes recalled, told her that though he liked the carrier's customer service reps, he...
PORTLAND, Ore.-Directory assistance provider Metro One Telecommunications Inc. said it received notice that its stock is in danger of being de-listed from the Nasdaq Stock Exchange. The company said it plans to appeal the decision. Metro One's stock, which trades on the Nasdaq under...
LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif.-Bitfone Corp., which specializes in over-the-air updating technology for mobile phones, said Chinese mobile-phone manufacturer Amoi Electronics plans to use its mProve device management client suite for OTA updates. Amoi purchased the products to align with the Open Mobile Alliance's specifications for...
MINNEAPOLIS-Verizon Wireless topped Vocal Laboratories Inc.'s quarterly customer service survey for the fourth quarter. The carrier maintained its top position but slipped slightly from an overall caller satisfaction grade of A to B. Verizon held its B rating in the single-call-completion category.T-Mobile USA Inc....
WASHINGTON-A technology expert warned last week that if Congress authorizes the Federal Communications Commission to require a broadcast flag in digital TV transmissions, the FCC could wind up as a gatekeeper for innovation. A broadcast flag is coding that would prevent the indiscriminate copying...
CERRITO, Calif.-Cingular Wireless L.L.C. reported a deal with Gigante USA Inc. targeting Latino wireless users in Southern California. The carrier said it plans to operate kiosks in all nine Gigante supermarkets in downtown Los Angeles, Anaheim, Chino and other cities. Gigante USA is owned...
OKLAHOMA CITY-Dobson Communications Corp. announced that two of its subsidiaries have been designated as eligible telecommunications carriers (ETC) in rural areas of Alaska and Minnesota by the states' respective regulatory commissions.The carrier already has received written notification from the Regulatory Commission of Alaska that...
WASHINGTON-A pair of studies reach different conclusions on whether cell phones pose health risks to consumers, continuing a trend of conflicting scientific results that keeps consumers scratching their heads and plaintiffs' lawyers filing lawsuits. One study, published in the British Medical Journal earlier this...
RESTON, Va.-Sprint Nextel Corp. said it invested another $10 million into IPWireless Inc., which develops UMTS TD-CDMA network technology. Sprint Nextel initially invested $4 million in IPWireless in July. Sprint Nextel is trialing IPWireless' UMTS TD-CDMA technology in Washington, D.C. using its 2.5 GHz...
MIAMI-Brightstar Corp. continued to strengthen its presence in the Asia-Pacific market with a new subsidiary in Hong Kong. The mobile-phone distributor and supply-chain management company opened the doors to its new sales offices and a distribution center in the city, which it said will...
Among the gathering hordes of hungry mobile virtual network operators, nearly all are angling for a bite of the 18-to-34-year-old demographic. But one MVNO launching this week, BeyondMobile, is taking a different tack, targeting small businesses. The wireless service is being offered by an...
EarthLink Inc. announced a contract with Motorola Inc. and Tropos Networks Inc. as the Internet service provider prepares to launch municipal Wi-Fi networks in five cities. Though terms of the contract were not disclosed, EarthLink said the agreement includes design, installation, system integration and...
Regional wireless operator SunCom Wireless Holdings Inc. said it expects to report a $14 million loss for the fourth quarter of 2005. The carrier also said it no longer plans to give any guidance or commentary on future performance. SunCom had previously forecast a...
Alltel Corp. reported weaker-than-expected total earnings, but still outpaced analysts' predictions by adding 147,000 net new wireless subscribers, most of which were prepaid. Alltel reported consolidated revenue of $2.58 billion, a 21-percent jump from 2004's fourth quarter. However, net income fell to $255.1 million...
SAN JOSE, Calif.-Fixed WiMAX products from Aperto Networks Inc., Redline Communications Inc., Sequans Communications and Wavesat Inc. have been stamped "WiMAX Forum Certified." "The WiMAX era starts today," boasted Ron Resnick, president of the WiMAX Forum, at the WCA Technical and Business Symposium in...
EDINBURG, Va.-Shenandoah Telecommunications Co. cut its churn rate in the fourth quarter of 2005 and increased its net retail customers by 6,515 subscribers, a jump of nearly 43 percent compared with the fourth quarter of 2004. The company's wholesale customer adds for 2005 dropped...
Boston's neighborhood business districts may soon be bustling with free Wi-Fi hot spots thanks to the city's Main Streets economic development project. But Boston's free project is different from those proposed in other large U.S. cities. First of all, Boston said its Wi-Fi project...
WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission and cellular carriers urged a federal appeals court to throw out challenges to an agency ruling that forbids states from regulating line-item charges on monthly mobile-phone bills. The litigation has turned into a major legal test of the reach of...
