LONDON—Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications L.P. announced that its earnings for the second quarter—$181 million—nearly doubled its earnings from the year-ago quarter, while revenue increased more than 40 percent and handset shipment volumes increased by 33 percent. The results exceeded financial analysts’ expectations. The handset...
LOS ANGELES—Cingular Wireless L.L.C. has teamed with HBO to offer made-for-mobile episodes of the cable operator’s hit show "Entourage." The 4-minute episodes are designed to complement the TV series and will center on "Entourage" character Johnny Drama. The wireless clips will feature the same...
SUNNYVALE, Calif.—In a move apparently designed to assuage investors’ concerns, Palm Inc. announced that it would bring its Treo smart phone sporting Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Mobile operating system to Vodafone Group plc by the end of the year. Palm currently offers its Windows-powered Treo...
OVERLAND PARK, Kan.—Sprint Nextel Corp. has modified how its customers reach an automated service line and how their identities are verified following concerns raised by customers about their privacy on a Web site. According to Sprint Nextel spokeswoman Jennifer Walsh, subscribers who called customer...
EMERYVILLE, Calif.—MobiTV Inc. said it snared a whopping $70 million in a Series C financing round led by Oak Investment Partners. The three-year-old wireless video provider said it will use the capital to expand its offerings internationally and across platforms. Oak Investment Partners’ Bandel...
NEW YORK—Verizon Wireless will launch a live music service with concert footage from the band Live, pop-rocker Gavin DeGraw and emerging artist Cheyenne Kimball. The new offering, dubbed Vcast Performances, will include downloadable clips from club and theater shows, Verizon-sponsored tours and special live...
BASKING RIDGE, N.J.—Verizon Wireless and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. announced the first 3.2 megapixel camera phone available to Verizon Wireless’ customers, Samsung’s a990. The CDMA handset also offers video recording and viewing and music downloads on the carrier’s Vcast service. Users can also...
As wireless carriers begin exploring data roaming, several are not simply limiting their sights to domestic roaming but are seeking to provide a more seamless mobile data experience around the world. Cingular Wireless L.L.C. introduced international data roaming not long after it launched its...
VANCOUVER, British Columbia-XM Canada is teaming with Canadian operator Telus Mobility to deliver real-time streaming satellite radio to mobile subscribers. Telus users with a Spark 25 data package can access 20 channels of commercial-free music, talk and comedy for no charge, and other subscribers...
The combined $900 million investment in Clearwire Corp. from Intel Capital and Motorola Ventures establishes that 802.16e technology will be a force in mobile wireless broadband service. Under the investment deal announced last week, Intel plans to invest $600 million into Craig McCaw's Clearwire...
A recent report from Lehman Brothers Equity Research suggests that Cingular Wireless L.L.C. plans to cut its capital expenditures next year by $1.5 billion, a 20-percent drop from the $7.5 billion the nation's leading carrier is planning to spend this year. However, Lehman Brothers...
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...
The Federal Communications Commission late Friday said 81 applications for the advanced wireless services auction were accepted for filing, while 171 applications were deemed incomplete and must be corrected to remain eligible for the scheduled Aug. 9 start of bidding for 1,122 licenses.Verizon Wireless,...
WASHINGTON-Two new class-action lawsuits filed against Cingular Wireless L.L.C. and Verizon Wireless, and industry's tax lawsuit loss in Maryland, raise questions about whether wireless carriers would significantly rid themselves of consumer litigation and state and local fees if it won expanded federal pre-emption and...
WASHINGTON-The 800 MHz Transition Administrator encouraged public-safety spectrum licensees in middle America to begin thinking about the reconfiguration process and begin preparing their requests for planning funding even though their negotiation process is not scheduled to begin until Aug.1. The TA wants public safety...
SAN DIEGO—Much ado about nothing, so far. That sums up Qualcomm Inc.’s press release, issued today, crowing that the United States International Trade Commission had initiated an investigation of Nokia Corp. on Qualcomm’s June 9 complaint that the Finnish vendor is violating Qualcomm’s W-CDMA...
WASHINGTON-The drama that took place during the Senate Commerce Committee's markup of telecom reform measures paled compared to what happened behind the scenes. In at least two instances, issues of importance to the wireless industry-small geographic licenses and special access-were decided in backroom deals...
In the modern age of mobile TV and wireless porn, a simple caller-ID application may not get your pulse racing. Unless you're Rick Hennessey. The chief executive officer of Seattle-based startup Cequint Inc., Hennessey thinks he has a winner in City ID. In addition...
The following list includes ratings changes and financial information for wireless companies announced this week by investment-banking and financial-services firms. Click here for wireless ratings from past weeks from RCR Wireless News. CarrierStandard & Poor’s Ratings Services raised its rating on the senior unsecured debt...
VANCOUVER, British Columbia—XM Canada is teaming with Canadian operator Telus Mobility to deliver real-time streaming satellite radio to mobile subscribers. Telus users with a Spark 25 data package can access 20 channels of commercial-free music, talk and comedy for no charge, and other subscribers...
WASHINGTON—The 800 MHz Transition Administrator encouraged public-safety spectrum licensees in middle America to begin thinking about the reconfiguration process and begin preparing their requests for planning funding even though their negotiation process is not scheduled to begin until Aug.1. The TA wants public safety...
SAN DIEGO—Wireless modem maker Novatel Wireless Inc. announced a bullish outlook for its second quarter by raising its revenue guidance above $44 million, up from a previous guidance of $40 million to $42 million. The company’s stock popped up more than 2 percent on...
Hello! And welcome to our Thursday column, Worst of the Week. There's a lot of nutty stuff that goes on in this industry, so this column is a chance for us at RCR to rant and rave about whatever rubs us the wrong way....
BASKING RIDGE, N.J.—Verizon Wireless and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. announced the first 3.2 megapixel camera phone available to Verizon’s customers, Samsung’s a990. The CDMA handset also offers video recording and viewing and music downloads on the carrier’s Vcast service. Users can also print pictures...
