WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission this week is expected to consider the first step in whether to regulate voice over Internet protocol communications, notwithstanding widely publicized calls from law enforcement to delay the proceeding because of concerns regarding the implementation of the digital wiretap act.The...
ATLANTA-Motorola said it will introduce four new Motorola Talkabout two-way radios in 2004. The "Innovative Series" of Talkabout radios will include MP3, solar-charging, text messaging and games, targeting active family and outdoor lifestyles. In addition, Motorola said the entire line of Talkabout radios has...
EVANSTON, Ill.-Mobile marketing company Vibes Media released its new iRadio product, which the company said allows radio stations to conduct interactive polls and campaigns using text messaging. The company said radio station KTTB/B96 in Minneapolis launched the iRadio platform this summer and uses it...
Deloitte Research expects wireless subscriber numbers to continue to rise during 2004, bolstered by the steady use of traditional voice applications.Deloitte predicts mobile subscriber penetration rates will continue to rise in 2004, with voice applications continuing to dominate mobile revenues and profits. The research...
Although mobile-phone marketing is relatively new in the United States, a new survey of more than 400 marketers reports that a majority already highly rate its potential as a marketing medium. Forty-six percent of those polled rate the viability of mobile phones for marketing...
BASKING RIDGE, N.J.-AT&T Wireless Services Inc. said it has reduced per-minute rates for calling 30 frequently dialed countries from the United States and has extended the reach of its international text messaging to nearly half of the world's wireless subscribers.The reduced calling rates are...
LONDON-U.K.-based wireless messaging company mBlox announced it acquired Swapcom SMS, the French text messaging transmission business of Swapcom. MBlox said the move will help it gain a foothold in the French market, and that it will continue to support the Swapcom short messaging service...
BASKING RIDGE, N.J.-AT&T Wireless Services Inc. said it has reduced per-minute rates for calling 30 frequently dialed countries from the United States and has extended the reach of its international text messaging to nearly half of the world's wireless subscribers.The reduced calling rates are...
ATLANTA-Although wireless banking services have suffered from low subscriber numbers and uninterested customers, Premier America Credit Union recently launched a new text-messaging service the firm said is enjoying some success.Premier America teamed with Digital Insight and wireless technology company Air2Web to launch a wireless...
BEDMINSTER, N.J.-Verizon Wireless and minority interest parent company Vodafone Group plc said they plan to launch transatlantic text messaging capabilities between Verizon Wireless' CDMA network and 10 Vodafone GSM networks beginning early next year.The inter-carrier and transatlantic service, which will be processed and converted...
BEDMINSTER, N.J.-Verizon Wireless and minority interest parent company Vodafone Group plc said they plan to launch transatlantic text messaging capabilities between Verizon Wireless' CDMA network and ten Vodafone GSM networks beginning early next year.The inter-carrier and transatlantic service, which will be processed and converted...
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.-Motorola Inc. announced a new version of its text input system the company said could predict and suggest entire sentences based on users' past typings."Our aim with iTAP 6.0 is to make text messaging from a mobile device keypad simple and efficient...
WASHINGTON-The District of Columbia in July is expected to join New York and a handful of other locales that require drivers to use hands-free devices when driving and talking after a bill passed the city council last week.The bill calls for $100 fines, which...
Much like Al Capone's vault, the first few days of local number portability provided more hype than headlines as the feared millions of customers beating down the doors of retail outlets selling wireless services in an attempt to switch carriers was tempered by a...
Despite wireless carrier-generated public-relations hype surrounding the success of initial number porting, which was helped by only a slight increase in customer traffic, a number of analysts questioned the first day's success of the Federal Communications Commission mandate. Wireless industry research firm Mobile...
BERNE, Switzerland-The European Telecommunications Standards Institute said it signed a cooperation agreement with the Fixed Line Multimedia Messaging Service Forum to cooperate on multimedia messaging for fixed-line subscribers starting next year.The groups said they are committed to promoting and supporting an industry standard for...
Sprint PCS said it will launch a new text messaging service in the coming weeks, a move that will allow users to fire off text messages without the need of a WAP browser.Critics have long disparaged Sprint's WAP-based text messaging service as clunky and...
ATLANTA-Regional operator Southern LINC launched its Recharge prepaid offering designed for business users, which includes cellular, text messaging and its Instant LINC two-way radio service, without a credit check, deposit or contract.The iDEN-based carrier said Recharge customers will receive unlimited Instant LINC radio minutes...
Premium text messaging is now a reality in the United States-essentially creating a new market in the U.S. wireless industry.Most of the nation's wireless carriers have installed the necessary billing and management systems to offer the service-including all of the nationwide operators-and already a...
Following more than six months of restructuring under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Leap Wireless International Inc. is set to re-launch its Cricket branded service this week using some of its original ideas, including unlimited local calling for a fixed rate, updated with new initiatives...
OTTAWA-The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association said Canadians sent more than 32 million person-to-person text messages during the month of September, representing three times as much monthly usage in the 18 months since the launch of inter-carrier text messaging by Canada's wireless carriers."The industry is...
OTTAWA-The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) said Canadians sent more than 32 million person-to-person text messages during the month of September, representing a tripling in monthly usage in the 18 months since the launch of inter-carrier text messaging by Canada's wireless carriers."The industry is...
LondonFollowing its launch of an MVNO service in the United Kingdom promoted through a multimillion-dollar ad campaign, British Telecommunications Inc. launched a new service, BTringtones.com, on its public Internet kiosks. The new service offers ring tones, as well as multimedia messaging service backgrounds, logos,...
Sprint PCS is apparently getting closer to launching its planned push-to-talk service, as a newly approved mobile phone from Sprint handset provider Sanyo features what appears to be a dedicated PTT button.The Federal Communications Commission recently approved the new Sanyo phone, the SCP-5500. The...
