WASHINGTON—AT&T Inc. and BellSouth Corp. urged the Federal Communications Commission not to give in to congressional pressure by requiring them to divest their 2.3 GHz and 2.5 GHz wireless broadband assets as a condition of approving AT&T's proposed $67 billion acquisition of BellSouth. "A...
WASHINGTON—ADT Security Services Inc. is urging the Federal Communications Commission to force wireless carriers to keep offering analog service until 2010, noting it cannot meet the Feb. 18, 2008, sunset date because the industry lacks enough digital equipment and technicians needed to install that...
WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission tapped cell-phone association CTIA and wireless infrastructure trade group PCIA as clearinghouses for moving existing 2.1 GHz licensees to new frequencies to make room for new advanced wireless services operators. "PCIA is pleased that the commission recognized the public interest...
WASHINGTON—The Telecommunications Industry Association and the United States Telecom Association announced plans for a new industry conference that will replace Globalcomm and TelecomNext next year. The conference, called NXTcomm, is scheduled for June 18-21 in Chicago. The two groups said the event will focus...
WASHINGTON—A three-judge panel on the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed its rejection of a Federal Communications Commission decision pre-empting states from regulating line items on mobile-phone bills.However, the panel clarified their July 31 opinion by specifically vacating the wireless pre-emption portion of...
RESTON, Va.—Ali Tabassi, vice president for technology development at Sprint Nextel Corp., predicted diverse spectrum and technology assets, combined with proven strategic partners, will give the No. 3 mobile-phone carrier a substantial headstart over competitors in wireless broadband deployment in the United States. "We...
Nortel Networks Ltd. has made no secret of its plans to play big-time in the WiMAX ecosystem. Shortly after Sprint Nextel Corp. announced its plans to build a nationwide WiMAX network, Nortel named Peter MacKinnon as the new general manager of its WiMAX business....
While many in the wireless industry consider Sprint Nextel Corp's decision to build a WiMAX network the technology's defining and legitimizing moment, vendors that have been developing 802.16-2005-compliant WiMAX products are just beginning to feel the glow of the industry's spotlight. During the WiMAX...
Crown Castle International Corp.'s $5.8 billion acquisition last week of Global Signal Inc. not only altered the tower industry's leadership position, but could spark another round of consolidation among industry players, with SBA Communications Corp. seen as the next likely target. Raymond James &...
PURCHASE, N.Y.—MasterCard Worldwide customers can find nearby ATMs with their mobile phones thanks to a new application from Mobile 365. Under the new service, Mobile users can dial an 800 number and enter their location information to receive a text message detailing the location...
EL SEGUNDO, Calif.—Mobile handset display shipments could exceed 1.2 billion units this year, up 17 percent from 1.05 billion in 2005, according to new research from iSuppli Corp. The growth, said iSuppli, is being driven by the wide variety of new mobile phone models...
WASHINGTON—As Congress broke for midterm elections, the wireless industry won a few battles, but for the most part failed to get legislation it supported passed. It's not clear how industry felt about anti-pretexting legislation. But pretexting bills died, getting bogged down in turf battles....
It happens to nearly everyone: you check your wireless bill at the end of the month, and you've gone over your minutes. Maybe by a few, maybe by a few hundred. Perhaps you vow to cut down on calls, or switch to a calling...
WASHINGTON—GOP Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed legislation to allow California wireless and wireline telecom subscribers to contest unauthorized billing charges, including those arising from the theft or loss of mobile phones. Schwarzenegger's veto is a big victory for the mobile-phone industry, which opposed the bill...
HELSINKI, Finland—Nokia Corp. introduced a new short-range radio technology called Wibree that the company said transfers data at speeds of 10 megabits per second and uses only a fraction of the power needed for Bluetooth. Nokia is touting Wibree as an alternative to Bluetooth—which...
Who's got the hottest handset on the market? I do! I do! On the heels of the Motorola Inc. Razr's phenomenal success, carriers may play it cool, but there's a sense in the industry that hot handsets drive subscriber numbers and, therefore, you'd better...
NEW YORK—Motorola Inc.'s iRadio service is the latest to woo music lovers with unreleased content, with the vendor inking a deal with Sony BMG to allow subscribers to access "leaked" albums before they hit the shelves. The music company has created a channel at...
BERWYN, Pa.—SunCom Wireless Holdings Inc. has fallen below the minimum requirements to continue to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and the company said it intends to submit a plan to the exchange on how it expects to boost its market capitalization...
KANATA, Ontario—Wireless broadband service provider BelAir Networks hopes to build on its municipal Wi-Fi business after scoring $21.4 million in a Series D financing round. Ventures West Management Inc. led the round; other investors included Trilogy Equity Partners, Comcast Interactive Capital, T-Mobile Venture Fund,...
OKLAHOMA CITY—Dobson Communications Corp. said its subscriber additions improved significantly during the third quarter. In a preliminary quarterly report, the company said it added about 23,500 net subscribers, including 11,300 postpaid customers and 14,500 prepaid customers. During the third quarter of last year the...
BURLINGTON, Mass.—Lightbridge Inc. said it will quit its Telecom Decisioning Services business after losing Sprint Nextel Corp.'s business. The nation's No. 3 carrier was Lightbridge's largest TDS customer. Sprint Nextel's TDS contract is scheduled to expire at the end of this year. Lightbridge said...
The mobile virtual network operator space has been a-buzz lately, with a new MVNO launched, one closing shop, another sold and yet another expanding its service offering beyond handsets into laptop cards. Following is a look at five areas experts said MVNOs need to...
Leap Wireless International Inc. offered insight into its plans for the spectrum it won in the FCC's advanced wireless services auction, outlining a buildout that should start next year and ultimately cover about 24 million potential customers at a cost of about $28 per...
WALL, N.J.—U.S. and Caribbean operator Centennial Communications Corp.'s earnings were down sharply, coming in at a loss of $2.2 million compared with a gain of $14.6 million in the same period last year. The company's operating income and consolidated revenue were both up slightly...
