FORT WORTH, Texas—Teletouch Communications Inc. said it has acquired Progressive Concepts Inc., a Cingular Wireless L.L.S. master distributor, reseller and mobile virtual network operator in Texas and Arkansas. PCI primarily operates under the Hawk Electronics brand name.All of PCI’s outstanding securities were contributed to...
TORONTO—Pantech Group continued its march to establish a global brand identity by launching its first Pantech-branded handset—the PN-3200 for young consumers—in Canada. The handset is available through Telus Mobility, Canada’s second-largest CDMA operator, for $100 with a two-year contract. As an original design manufacturer,...
LONDON—The Walt Disney Co. has opted to delay the launch of its mobile virtual network operator phone service in the United Kingdom. "We have decided to postpone the launch of the Disney Mobile service," said Disney Mobile U.K. spokeswoman Sandra van Vreedendaal.Van Vreedendaal added...
OVERLAND PARK, Kan.—Sprint Nextel Corp. has made changes to its child-location offering designed to simplify the registration process, make the service available to more families and expand the range of handsets that can be used to locate or be located by the service. The...
BOSTON—The U.S. mobile virtual network operator market continues to take hits from naysayers who believe the segment isn’t living up to its hype. The latest blow comes from research firm Strategy Analytics, which predicts the majority of MVNOs will fail to make an impact...
LOS ANGELES—Helio L.L.C. is appealing to its 102,600 MySpace friends by offering to drop its standard two-year contract requirement. However, the carrier is not offering discounts on its phones. According to Helio’s MySpace page, the site’s members can get Helio service without a contract...
DENVER-Qwest Communications International Inc. has quietly launched Sprint Nextel Corp.'s full-track music download service for Qwest wireless customers. The mobile virtual network operator is carrying the Sprint Music Store, which allows users to download songs to a mobile phone or PC for $2.50 per...
Canadian telecommunications company Telus has announced a partnership with mobile virtual network operator Amp'd Mobile Inc. in which Telus subscribers will have access to Amp'd services and content and Telus will manage most of the business operations.Meanwhile, Telus Ventures, Telus' venture investment division, announced...
VANCOUVER, British Columbia—Canadian telecommunications company Telus has announced a partnership with mobile virtual network operator Amp’d Mobile Inc. in which Telus subscribers will have access to Amp’d services and content and Telus will manage most of the business operations. Meanwhile, Telus Ventures, Telus’ venture...
DENVER—Qwest Communications International Inc. has quietly launched Sprint Nextel Corp.’s full-track music download service for Qwest wireless customers. The mobile virtual network operator is carrying the Sprint Music Store, which allows users to download songs to a mobile phone or PC for $2.50...
Regional carriers SunCom Wireless Holdings Inc. and Shenandoah Telecommunications Co. continued to stabilize their operations during the second quarter, while NII Holdings Inc. showed positive growth and recently spun-off Embarq Corp. is betting heavily on its recently launched wireless operations. SunCom narrowed its losses...
The mobile virtual network operator bandwagon, cruising along smoothly a few months ago, appears to be suffering from a case of backlash. Recent MVNO news and rumors haven't been particularly pretty. The Wall Street Journal recently ran a scathing assessment of MVNOs' performance thus...
WASHINGTON—Online wireless retailer InPhonic Inc. signed a distribution agreement to add mobile virtual network operator Virgin Mobile USA L.L.C.’s pay-as-you-go product to its lineup of postpaid offerings. InPhonic offers service from multiple carriers and MVNOs, including the four national wireless operators as well as...
Yet another wireless startup is diving head-first into the mobile payment waters this week, as Secure Wireless Transfers Corp. plans to team with the Association of Surfing Professionals for its coming-out party. The Orange County, Calif.-based company will introduce "KushCash," a system allowing consumers...
Helio L.L.C. has 90,000 MySpace friends and counting—and how many wireless companies can say that? Cingular Wireless L.L.C.'s "Cingular Sounds" MySpace page only has about 35,000 friends, while the "Sprint Guy" character formerly featured in Sprint Nextel Corp. ads has a scant 203 friends....
Camella Price, a mother of two girls, is one of eight parents of New York City school children who consider wireless phones a lifeline to their youngsters—and they're suing Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the chancellor of the city schools and the city department of education...
BOULDER, Colo.—The Mobile Marketing Association continued to expand its roster, adding 27 member companies from five countries. The industry organization signed up traditional media companies including the Associated Press, National Public Radio, NBA Media Ventures L.L.C. and Turner Broadcasting System Inc. as well as...
Obopay inked its first carrier agreement last week, announcing a deal to provide wireless payment services for mobile virtual network operator Amp'd Mobile Inc. But most operators aren't exactly embracing such services with open arms.The startup allows users to set up stand-alone accounts that...
REDWOOD CITY, Calif.—Obopay inked its first carrier agreement, announcing a deal to provide mobile payment services for mobile virtual network operator Amp’d Mobile Inc. Obopay allows users to set up stand-alone accounts that can be used to send and receive money between users or...
ANYANG, South Korea-South Korean handset vendor VK Mobile has gone under, according to news reports. The company, which entered business as a battery maker in 1997, had set its sights on becoming a global brand and had cut deals to supply handsets to mobile...
After entering the mobile virtual network operator space with naked ambition, a $500 Sanyo Corp. handset (the "MVP") and a take-the-world-by-storm marketing spend, Walt Disney Co.-owned Mobile ESPN L.L.C. has regrouped. Results have not met expectations for the lucrative sports news franchise-gone-mobile, or in...
WASHINGTON-Online retailer InPhonic Inc. announced a deal to sell phones and services from mobile virtual network operator Amp'd Mobile Inc. InPhonic will sell Amp'd Mobile's wares through its Internet storefront wirefly.com, which also carries offerings from the four Tier 1 operators. Terms of the...
WASHINGTON—Online retailer InPhonic Inc. announced a deal to sell phones and services from mobile virtual network operator Amp’d Mobile Inc. InPhonic will sell Amp’d Mobile’s wares through its Internet storefront www.wirefly.com, which also carries offerings from the four Tier 1 operators. Terms of the...
NEW YORK—The Yankee Group once again pulled together a quality list of speakers for its Wireless Leadership Summit, including executives from Sprint Nextel Corp., Cingular Wireless L.L.C. and Verizon Wireless, as well as representatives from a handful infrastructure vendors and wireless content providers. Notable...
