THE GROUND CONTINUED TO SHIFT in the tumultuous mobile virtual network operator space this month as one player announced plans to call it quits, another explores a potential merger and a third prepares to morph into a reseller of wireless services.Embarq Holding Co. L.L.C....
The Federal Communications Commission said the nation's top prepaid wireless company, TracFone Wireless Inc., is now eligible for universal service subsidies in ten states and the District of Columbia, a move aimed at addressing modern-day communications needs of low-income citizens."For quite some time the...
The Federal Communications Commission said the nation's top prepaid wireless company, TracFone Wireless Inc., is now eligible for universal service subsidies in ten states and the District of Columbia, a move aimed at addressing modern-day communications needs of low-income citizens. "For quite some time...
A federal judge in Dallas issued a $1 million judgment for TracFone Wireless Inc. in connection with the hacking and resale of bulk amounts of prepaid phones, an illegal practice whose scope appears larger and more geographically widespread than originally suspected.The ruling by U.S....
Just how big a problem is prepaid mobile-phone trafficking in the United States? All signs point to a potentially huge black market of international scope.AT&T Mobility, the nation's largest mobile-phone carrier, alleges in a suit filed in Texas federal court that its GoPhones are...
Consumers ranked wireless carriers as providing a less useful and enjoyable customer experience than retailers and credit-card companies, but better than TV service providers and medical insurance providers, according to a recent survey of nearly 5,000 consumers by Forrester Research.Among companies in nine industries,...
CompUSA, a leading consumer electronics retailer and purveyor of unlocked mobile phones, is going out of business, the company announced. The announcement did not cite a reason for CompUSA's sale. But the electronics retailer, founded in 1984 in Dallas, had announced last fall that...
Editor's Note: In this monthly feature, RCR Wireless News talks to retail managers across the country to get a first-hand view of what's hot in wireless.RadioShack Corp. sells wireless devices and service around the country. The retailer offers postpaid service from AT&T Mobility and...
Tracfone Wireless Inc. has turned up the heat on the cellphone black market, securing a slew of court judgments to halt the resale of prepaid phones altered to work on cellular networks other than those of the prepaid mobile-phone company."TracFone is committed to putting...
The next big thing in mobile virtual network operators may not look much like the MVNOs that have been launching-and sometimes crashing-in the past couple of years. With the hype around the space settling into caution, observers see a new kind of MVNO-like partnership...
In a digital netherworld in which Internet-based blog sites begin to look like the most legitimate aspect of the terrain, word has spread that two iPhone unlocking procedures are making the rounds. The first-iPhoneSimFree-is "proprietary" and costs a curious $99 at iPhone "resellers." The...
James Baldinger, a partner at Carlton Fields PA, has successfully litigated cases on behalf of Tracfone Wireless Inc. against individuals and groups that have purchased discounted Tracfone handsets, unlocked them and resold them for profit.Based on his experience with such litigation and his familiarity...
Customer satisfaction in the prepaid sector has increased considerably since last year, driven by new pricing options and services, according to the latest survey by J.D. Power and Associates. Overall satisfaction got a boost of 10 points on the company's 1,000-point scale, with cost...
T-Mobile USA Inc. instituted a set of new promotional price plans and expanded its offerings at the increasingly popular $40 price point. The carrier added a $40 per month Get More 1,000 Plus individual plan that includes unlimited night and weekend calling, but does...
The Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing of Amp'd Mobile Inc. may not necessarily signal the death knell for the business model, but is certain to make investors and partners wary and put additional pressure on other fledgling mobile virtual network operators to review their own...
Big-box retail is second only to the network operators' own branded retail stores as the channel of choice among American consumers. Big-box retailers as a distribution channel are rapidly rising in importance among carriers as well. This evolution reflects the growing sophistication of the...
Here's an admittedly cynical take on the elevation of the Mexican telecom magnate who Forbes magazine said narrowly surpassed Warren Buffet to become the world's second wealthiest man, just a notch behind Bill Gates and his $56 billion value-added bank account. Carlos Slim...
TracFone Wireless Inc. agreed to settle a class-action suit alleging the top prepaid cellular company misled consumers by charging them at the roaming rate in their home calling area and refusing to extend the length of their prepaid service periods during repairs of defective...
Sprint Nextel Corp. this past week made increased efforts to work its online retail handset angle. The carrier added at least four new handsets in the entry- and low-tiers, cut prices on smartphones and toyed with pricing on its iDEN handsets.Between Feb. 12 and...
Mobile virtual network operators have definite target demographics that they're trying to lure away from mainstream wireless operators with a unique approach to service and handsets. A recent study by Yankee Group and Compete Inc. shows, however, that some of the MVNOs are generating...
WASHINGTON-Prepaid wireless king TracFone Wireless Inc. filed a lawsuit in Florida to repeal a new Library of Congress rule exempting mobile-phone locking software from U.S. copyright law. The suit, filed Tuesday in federal court in Miami, names as defendants Librarian of Congress James H....
WASHINGTON-TracFone Wireless Inc., the nation's largest pre-paid wireless company, said it is considering filing suit in federal court to repeal a new Library of Congress rule exempting mobile phone locking software from U.S. copyright law. The ruling essentially allows an individual to unlock his...
WASHINGTON-The U.S. Copyright Office recommended that mobile-phone subscribers beginning Dec. 1 can keep their handsets to use on other wireless networks when they change cellular operators, a minimum three-year ruling with huge implications for carriers and vendors. "The underlying activity sought to be performed...
Prepaid is a fast-growing segment of the wireless market. The industry's third-largest carrier Sprint Nextel Corp.'s growth in the past few quarters has been fueled by sales of its prepaid Boost Mobile L.L.C. product. During the fourth quarter of 2005, a large percentage of...
