MEXICO CITY-Prepaid wireless provider TracFone Wireless Inc. reported soaring third-quarter revenues of $330 million, a 36-percent increase over its year-ago figure of $243 million. The Miami-based prepaid carrier's subscriber base grew by 41.1 percent year-over-year, from 5.1 million to 7.2 million as the carrier...
MEXICO CITY—Prepaid wireless provider TracFone Wireless Inc. reported soaring third quarter revenues of $330 million, a 36 percent increase over its year-ago figure of $243 million. The Miami-based prepaid carrier’s subscriber base grew by 41.1 percent year-over-year, from 5.1 million to 7.2 million as...
WASHINGTON—U.S. law enforcement officials are expected to continue scrutinizing large purchases of prepaid cell phones and possible links to terrorist activity on American soil, despite failing to make such a connection to a wireless buying behavior that may be far more widespread than initially...
WASHINGTON—U.S. officials in Michigan said their probe of large prepaid cell phone purchases will not end as a result of a federal magistrate’s decision to throw out conspiracy and money laundering charges against three Texas men. The men originally faced terrorism charges, which were...
Virgin Mobile USA L.L.C. topped a new prepaid wireless customer satisfaction survey from J.D. Power & Associates. The rankings covered mobile virtual network operators and traditional wireless operators.The survey examined responses from about 4,000 current prepaid wireless customers on their experience in seven aspects...
The executive shuffle continued last week at RadioShack Corp. as President and Chief Operating Officer Claire Babrowski said she will step down at the end of the month. But the chain's woes go far beyond the front office's revolving door. Babrowski joined the company...
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.—Virgin Mobile USA L.L.C. topped a new prepaid wireless customer satisfaction survey from J.D. Power & Associates. The rankings covered mobile virtual network operators and traditional wireless operators. The survey examined responses from about 4,000 current prepaid wireless customers on their experience...
Why is everybody in wireless chasing the youth demographic? To steal a line from bank robber Eddie Sutton, that's where the money is. Today's average 10-year-old will spend nearly $30,000 on wireless services over the course of his lifetime, according to new figures from...
Resellers of inexpensive cellular phones risk being targeted as terrorists these days, since local and federal law enforcement officials are on the look-out for purchases of large numbers of prepaid cellular phones. Five men of Middle Eastern descent were recently arrested in Michigan and...
Sprint Nextel Corp. had a rocky second quarter, with plummeting retail postpaid net customer additions and negative net additions through its wholesalers. Carrier executives acknowledge the problem and blamed it on a tightening of the company's credit requirements for customers, as well as the...
BAY CITY, Mich.—Terrorism-related charges have been dropped against three young men who purchased hundreds of phones in northern Michigan. However, the men now reportedly face charges of defrauding customers, Tracfone Wireless Inc. and Nokia Corp. The men—brothers Adham and Louai Othman and their cousin...
CARO, Mich.—Three men were arrested on terrorism charges after reportedly buying 80 prepaid phones from a Wal-Mart store in Michigan. Police found about 1,000 phones in the men’s van. According to the Associated Press, most of the phones were from Tracfone Wireless Inc., which...
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...
WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission Wednesday morning raised the amount that the wireless industry pays into the universal-service fund, but will continue to allow mobile-phone carriers to estimate their contribution amounts based on traffic studies. The 5-0 decision to raise the safe harbor to 37.1...
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. continues to make strides on the mobile retail front, expanding its agreement with Verizon Wireless to include postpaid plans and high-end multimedia phones. The chain, which not long ago stocked only prepaid offerings, will offer two Vcast music phones as well...
WASHINGTON-Wireless industry trade association CTIA continued to press the Federal Communications Commission to allow its members to use studies to determine long-distance vs. local traffic to figure how much they owe in universal-service fund contributions. The commission expects to consider the issue at its...
WASHINGTON—Wireless industry trade association CTIA continued to press the Federal Communications Commission to allow its members to use studies to determine long distance vs. local traffic and thus how much they owe in universal-service fund contributions. CTIA’s statements came as the FCC confirmed it...
Consumer-side mobile virtual network operators that still want to get in on the game could be out of luck, but there are opportunities ahead on the business side and in serving the machine-to-machine space. John Caddell, vice president and general manager of mobile virtual...
As far as Sprint Nextel Corp. officials are concerned, the future is mobility, new models and new math. Sprint Nextel Chief Executive Officer Gary Forsee argued at the company's annual analyst conference that his company's partnership with cable companies and its relationships with multiple...
WASHINGTON-A federal court has ordered a Florida firm to immediately halt "unlocking" TracFone Wireless Inc. prepaid cell phones. Unlocked phones can be used on cellular networks other than those affiliated with the prepaid wireless provider. TracFone, the nation's largest prepaid cell phone company, and...
James Baldinger should have been identified as the TracFone Wireless Inc. lawyer quoted in the Feb. 27 issue story "TracFone, Nokia sue two Fla. Firms, charging they 'unlock' handsets."
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—Pyramid Research issued a cautious view of the young mobile virtual network operator market in its latest report, "MVNOs and MVNEs: Analyzing the Viability of Virtual Mobile Players." The firm said MVNOs face a variety of challenges and the segment’s financials may not...
WASHINGTON—A federal court has ordered a Florida firm to immediately halt "unlocking" TracFone Wireless Inc. pre-paid cell phones. Unlocked phones can be used on cellular networks other than those affiliated with the prepaid wireless provider. TracFone, the nation’s largest pre-paid cell phone company, and...
WASHINGTON-TracFone Wireless Inc., the nation's largest prepaid cell-phone company, has sued to shut down firms accused of buying large quantities of phones at major retail outlets and disabling proprietary software before reselling handsets for use on other cellular networks. Miami-based TracFone, a subsidiary of...
