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 currently trialing IPWireless' UMTS TD-CDMA technology in Washington, D.C. using its 2.5...
CHICAGO-A power outage put a U.S. Cellular Corp. switching center near Cedar Rapids, Iowa, out of commission for several hours Monday. The outage caused disruptions in cellular service to the carrier's customers in eastern Iowa and one portion of western Illinois. Cellular service went...
Investors gave tower companies a thumbs up last week as plans for augmenting or expanding their facilities were greeted with a slew of new financing options. SBA Communications Corp., the nation's fifth-largest tower company, said it obtained a new $160 million credit facility. SBA...
The wireline parent companies of Cingular Wireless L.L.C. are dangling discounts, converged bills and the potential of cross-platform services as they try to convince customers to bundle Cingular wireless services along with high-speed Internet, video and wireline phone services. As the AT&T brand re-emerges...
WASHINGTON-A federal judge in Kentucky temporarily blocked enforcement of a new law prohibiting telecom operators from passing through to subscribers a targeted 1.3-percent gross receipts tax, pending the outcome of truth-in-billing litigation in the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The turn of events...
FORT WORTH, Texas-Shares of RadioShack Corp. slid after the company reported disappointing fourth-quarter sales and confirmed it will fall short of projected 2005 earnings-due largely to lagging wireless sales.The electronics retailer reported total sales during the quarter of $1.67 billion, a 5-percent increase from...
WASHINGTON-News stories late last week highlighted the tightrope wireless carriers must walk as they try to help law enforcement and protect their customers' privacy at the same time. On one hand, Sprint Nextel Corp. found itself defending its privacy-protection policies when it did not...
Crown Castle International Corp. and Qualcomm Inc. are placing huge bets on mobile TV, spending a combined $1.3 billion to build networks dedicated almost entirely to one-way wireless video. Traditional TV networks and film studios are hastily establishing divisions to produce content for "the...
SKOPJE, Macedonia-Motorola Inc. announced that its pre-WiMAX MotoWi4 Canopy equipment has been deployed throughout Macedonia, providing the country with a national wireless broadband network. The company explained that the government-sponsored Macedonia Connects Project aims to provide the country with affordable high-speed wireless connectivity. The...
Verizon Wireless is expected to continue leading the wireless pack in fourth-quarter subscriber adds, as analysts fine-tune their predictions and carriers get set to release financial results for the final period of 2005 in the next few weeks. Various analysts anticipated that the fourth...
LUBBOCK, Tex.-Sprint Nextel Corp. has settled three lawsuits involving its CDMA affiliate Alamosa Holdings Inc., suits that included allegations that Alamosa officials had traded insider information on their company to Sprint Nextel in exchange for stock options that vested immediately upon the sale of...
The following list includes ratings changes and financial information for wireless companies announced this week by investment-banking and financial-services firms.CarriersMorgan Stanley updated its estimates on Verizon Communications following the close of its acquisition of MCI. Fourth-quarter 2005 EPS estimate moves to 62 cents from...
FORT WORTH, Texas-Shares of RadioShack Corp. slid after the company reported disappointing fourth-quarter sales and confirmed it will fall short of projected 2005 earnings-due largely to lagging wireless sales. The electronics retailer reported total sales during the quarter of $1.67 billion, a 5-percent increase...
NEW YORK-Sprint Nextel Corp. launched a location-based feature that allows users to access nearby movie theaters and listings by pressing a single button.The carrier added location capability to its MovieGoer application, which is powered by mobile media company Zingy Inc. Users can choose to...
RESTON, Va.-Service on Sprint Nextel Corp.'s network was interrupted for about three and a half hours beginning Monday afternoon, when cuts in two of the carrier's fiber lines in the Western United States caused disruptions in the company's wireless, wireline and long distance services....
Tier 1 operators are beginning to use retail outlets to build long-term customer relationships and generate revenues from lucrative data applications. But when it comes to the brick-and-mortar sales counter, the wireless consumer is still very much up for grabs. While the wireless industry...
A new year is a perfect time to set priorities-and clean off the pile of papers oozing beyond the allotted boundaries on one's desk. (OK-my desk.) One of my first priorities this year is to study the trends that likely will affect the wireless...
OVERLAND PARK, Kan.-John Garcia, senior vice president of strategic partners for Sprint Consumer Solutions, will head up the joint venture between Sprint Nextel Corp. and cable companies Comcast Corp., Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications and Advance/Newhouse Communications. The joint venture will focus on quadruple-play...
Just when you thought your new Wi-Fi-enabled laptop was nifty, along comes a bevy of new laptops embedded with PC cards and chips that support wireless broadband Internet access via third-generation carrier networks. Several announcements touted the latest collaborations between carriers and computer manufacturers...
LAS VEGAS-The much-hyped "year of mobile music" started off with a bang here at last week's 2006 International Consumer Electronics Show. But whether wireless consumers will sign on-and where mobile operators will fit in the value chain-is still very much in question. Verizon Wireless...
Official Washington is suddenly awash in jittery philanthropy. Hardly a day passes without congressional members-Republicans and Democrats alike-deciding to give a portion of their campaign contributions to some charitable cause. President Bush is on the bandwagon, too. This is striking, since the holidays are...
With the first few mobile virtual network operators out of the starting gate and more marching to the post, 2006 looks to be the year of the launch. After 2005, during which several MVNOs spent gearing up for and touting their upcoming launches, the...
The following list includes ratings changes and financial information for wireless companies announced this week by investment-banking and financial-services firms.CarriersFitch Ratings affirmed its A+ issuer default rating on Verizon Communications Inc. and removed it from Rating Watch Negative, where it was placed nearly a...
LAS VEGAS-Verizon Wireless has unveiled its new music service, Vcast Music, which will offer consumers the ability to download full-length digital songs and transfer them between their handset and a Windows XP personal computer. The service is a collaboration between Verizon Wireless and Microsoft...
