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BREW: Alive and well, headed for battle over direct-to-consumer

"News of my death has been greatly exaggerated," Mark Twain is said to have written in 1897, when he remained hale and hearty. Qualcomm Inc. has taken a page from Twain and added a biblical twist, as it hails its new incarnation of BREW...

U.S. Cellular to use Qualcomm’s uiOne for handsets

SAN DIEGO—U.S. Cellular Corp. signed on to use Qualcomm Inc.’s BREW-based handset customization interface, uiOne. Qualcomm’s uiOne is already in use at Sprint Nextel Corp, the nation’s third-largest carrier with more than 40 million subscribers, and at Alltel Corp., the nation’s fifth-largest carrier with...

TDS holding off on acquiring all of U.S. Cellular

CHICAGO—U.S. Cellular Corp.’s parent company, Telephone and Data Systems Inc., is reportedly delaying plans to buy the 18 percent stake in the wireless carrier that TDS does not currently own. Bloomberg News reported that Leroy Carlson Jr., president and chief executive office of TDS,...

FiberTower, First Avenue to merge backhaul assets

SAN FRANCISCO-Wireless backhaul transporters FiberTower Corp. and First Avenue Networks Inc. said they plan to merge in an all-stock deal worth about $1.5 billion. First Avenue said it will issue approximately 74 million shares of its common stock to FiberTower shareholders, giving them a...

FiberTower, First Avenue to merge backhaul operations

SAN FRANCISCO—Wireless backhaul transporters FiberTower Corp. and First Avenue Networks Inc. said they plan to merge in an all-stock deal worth about $1.5 billion. First Avenue said it will issue approximately 74 million shares of its common stock to FiberTower shareholders, giving them a...

Regional operators continue to struggle with customer retention, but stabilize ARPU

Small and mid-size carriers posted mixed results last week, with most losing customers but improving their revenues and bucking the industry trend of sliding average revenue per user. However, some carriers managed to beat analysts' expectations. UbiquiTel Inc. reported a steep drop in new...

U.S. Cellular scores 151,000 new customers in Q1

CHICAGO—U.S. Cellular Corp. provided preliminary first quarter results, showing a decrease in the number of customers it signed up compared with the same quarter last year, but a level churn rate. U.S. Cellular recorded 151,000 net customer additions in the quarter, down from the...

Regional carriers enjoy strong quarter, despite customer growth struggles

A slew of first-quarter earnings announced last week reflected a generally upbeat quarter for regional wireless carriers. U.S. Cellular Corp. relieved some pressure, having finally released operating results from the third quarter of 2005 and financial restatements dating back to 2000.U.S. Cellular reported that...

U.S. Cellular catches financials up to 3Q 2005

CHICAGO—U.S. Cellular Corp. can breathe a sign of relief, having finally released its operating results from the third quarter of 2005 and the financial restatements dating back to 2000, which the carrier has been working on since November. The company said it expects to...

Consumer wireless satisfaction improving according to J.D. Power

Wireless customers are more satisfied with their cellular service this year than last, according to the latest subscriber survey by J.D. Power and Associates. T-Mobile USA Inc. continues to rank best in customer satisfaction across the country due to strong performance in service plan...

U.S. Cellular challenging Alltel’s acquisition of Midwest Wireless

WASHINGTON-The Justice Department asked the Federal Communications Commission for sensitive numbering information-including local number portability data-from Alltel Corp. and Midwest Wireless Holdings L.L.C. in connection with Alltel's proposed $1 billion acquisition of Midwest that is being opposed by U.S. Cellular Corp. While the FCC...

Alltel unloads rural Arkansas market as part of required divestitures

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.-Alltel Corp. said it has sold one of its Arkansas rural service areas to Cingular Wireless L.L.C., as part of Alltel's divestiture requirements related to its purchase of Western Wireless Corp. last year. The Arkansas 11 RSA covers the counties of Hempstead,...

FunMail to offer MLB content

PLEASANTON, Calif.—FunMail Inc. is teaming with Major League Baseball Advanced Media to deliver images, voice tones and other content from all 30 of its teams. Images are available through Verizon Wireless, Alltel Corp., U.S. Cellular Corp. and other BREW-based carriers in the United States...

Consumer wireless satisfaction improving according to J.D. Power survey

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.—Wireless customers are more satisfied with their cellular service this year than last, according to the latest subscriber survey by J.D. Power and Associates. T-Mobile USA Inc. continues to rank best in customer satisfaction across the country due to strong performance in...

Alltel unloads rural Arkansas market as part of required divestitures

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.—Alltel Corp. said it has sold one of its Arkansas rural service areas to Cingular Wireless L.L.C., as part of Alltel’s divestiture requirements related to its purchase of Western Wireless Corp. last year. The Arkansas 11 RSA covers the counties of Hempstead,...

xMAX devices expected to be available by year-end

XG Technology L.L.C. said its first consumer product, a Voice over Internet Protocol handset, will be available by the end of this year and that the device will work with low-cost xMAX-enabled base stations. The handsets are expected to be dual-mode, equipped with both...

xMAX devices expected to be available by year’s end

SARASOTA, Fla.—XG Technology L.L.C. said its first consumer product, a Voice over Internet Protocol handset, will be available by the end of this year and that the device will work with low-cost xMAX-enabled base stations. The handsets are expected to be dual-mode, equipped with...

Verizon Wireless garners top 4Q ranking as industry posts stronger results

Verizon Wireless ranked at the top of a dozen North American mobile operators in a survey that examined value metrics such as subscriber growth, average revenue per user, churn and subscriber acquisition costs. Meanwhile, Cingular Wireless L.L.C. accounted for more than a third of...

Regional operators post mixed 4Q, year-end results

It was a week of mixed results for regional carriers, as numbers trickled in from a handful of operators-some of which had delayed their reporting or had to restate prior earnings. Leap Wireless International Inc. had a slightly weaker-than-expected fourth quarter, but the company...

Weekly wireless ratings wrap-up

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.CarrierMerrill Lynch lowered its price target on Telephone & Data Systems from $50 to...

U.S. Cellular revises expectations for restatement, offers glimpse at 4Q numbers

CHICAGO—U.S. Cellular Corp. released revised figures on the impact of the financial restatement the company has been working on since November, and put out a few preliminary figures on its operations for the fourth quarter and year-end 2005. The company considerably upped its estimate...

J.D. Powers: Wireless call quality shows improvement

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.—A new report from J.D. Powers and Associates says wireless call-quality problems declined for the second straight year, with reported problems reaching their lowest level since the renowned customer survey firm began studying the issue in 2003. The report, now in its...

Leap joins list of carriers restating financial results

SAN DIEGO—Leap Wireless International Inc. joined several other wireless operators in announcing financial restatements—though the company said it expects the adjustments will result in improved financials.Leap said it plans to restate results for the final five months of 2004 after it emerged from Chapter...

UMA gets following

It may seem like Unlicensed Mobile Access has only recently burst onto the wireless scene, but the Third Generation Partnership Project standard that enables handovers between GSM-based cellular networks and Wi-Fi hot spots has been in development since the turn of the century. For...