WARREN, N.J.-Virgin Mobile USA L.L.C. unveiled a third payment option for its mobile virtual network operator service that is similar to host network operator Sprint Corp.'s successful Fair & Flexible postpaid offering. Virgin Mobile USA said its new Month2Month plan adjusts to a customer's...
Universal multimedia messaging service interoperability among U.S. Tier 1 carriers moved closer to becoming reality with two agreements unveiled last week. T-Mobile USA Inc. users can exchange pictures and video clips with subscribers of both Cingular Wireless L.L.C. and Sprint Corp., the three carriers...
As the mobile-phone market continues to surpass all forecasts, there are multiple ways those phones end up in the hands of consumers. At the beginning of last year, industry observers expected handset makers to sell around 500 million phones worldwide in 2004. Instead the...
The big mouse is finally loose in the wireless house as the Walt Disney Co. announced plans to launch a family-oriented mobile virtual network operator wireless service using Sprint Corp.'s nationwide network. The decision has been expected for some time and follows a similar...
MIAMI-Prepaid wireless provider TracFone Wireless Inc. launched its NET10 service offering providing a flat-rate 10-cent-per-minute calling rate for all calls. The service is available with select Nokia Corp. and Motorola Inc. GSM handsets with airtime card expiration dates available in $30, $60, $180 and...
Universal multimedia messaging service interoperability among U.S. Tier 1 carriers moved closer to becoming reality with two agreements unveiled Thursday.T-Mobile USA Inc. users can exchange pictures and video clips with subscribers of both Cingular Wireless L.L.C. and Sprint PCS, the three carriers announced. While...
MIAMI-Prepaid wireless provider TracFone Wireless Inc. launched its NET10 service offering providing a flat-rate 10-cent per minute calling rate for all calls.The service is available with select Nokia Corp. and Motorola Inc. GSM handsets with airtime card expiration dates available in $30, $60, $180...
OTTAWA-Canada's wireless carriers introduced intercarrier multimedia message services last week. The initiative enables customers with MMS-capable mobile phones, regardless of the customers' wireless service provider, to send and receive messages with rich content to and from MMS-capable phones of friends, family and colleagues. The...
While the wireless industry haggles over the price of anti-piracy software supported by the Open Mobile Alliance, Microsoft Corp. is quietly gaining traction in the mobile world with its proprietary digital rights management technology. The standoff continues between industry groups such as the GSM...
OTTAWA-Canada's wireless carriers will introduce intercarrier multimedia message services July 1. The initiative will enable customers with MMS-capable mobile phones, regardless of the customers' wireless service providers, to instantly send and receive messages with rich content to and from MMS-capable phones of friends, family...
The coming surge of mobile virtual network operators will target virtually every demographic, from ethnic groups to sports fans to rural users. But no group of consumers is being courted as much as America's youth. As wireless enters the multimedia era, the market of...
WASHINGTON-The government's review of the proposed $35 billion merger between Sprint Corp. and Nextel Communications Inc. could be complicated by Sprint wireless affiliate US Unwired Inc. The affiliate made a surprise call for federal regulators either to reject the deal or require divestitures of...
STOCKHOLM, Sweden-Wireless technology company Ericsson has acquired Spanish software developer NetSpira Networks S.L. in an effort to bolster its mobile data offering, the company said Friday.Terms of the deal were not announced.Ericsson said it will integrate NetSpira's technology to allow wireless carriers to provide...
The following wireless companies received upgrades or downgrades from financial and investment firms this week.Moody's Investors Service assigned a B3 rating to the proposed senior secured credit facilities of Virgin Mobile USA with a positive outlook. The rating reflects the challenging operating environment the...
Cingular Wireless L.L.C. restructured its prepaid offering with a pair of services using the GoPhone brand name it acquired when it purchased AT&T Wireless Services Inc. last year. The GoPhone plans include a traditional prepaid service, as well as a monthly recurring charge service...
WARREN, N.J.-Prepaid mobile virtual network operator Virgin Mobile USA L.L.C. launched a new pricing plan that the company said was geared toward its higher-usage subscribers.The new plan allows subscribers to pay a flat rate of 35 cents per day to receive 10-cent per-minute calling...
The industry's heavyweights are not the only wireless operators benefiting from the recent consumer surge. A handful of regional operators posted first-quarter results that included generally strong customer growth numbers as well as improving financial metrics. Western Wireless Corp.Posted a company record 58,600 domestic...
Sprint Corp. wireless affiliate US Unwired Inc. reported 35,121 net customer additions during the first quarter of this year, which was a slight improvement compared with the 32,724 customers the carrier added during the first quarter of 2004. The carrier said it ended the...
The MVNO wave is building strength as a growing number of companies have announced plans to enter the wireless space using established operators' mobile networks. Analysts' note that while the wave is gaining momentum, an even stronger surge is expected in the next 12...
WARREN, N.J.-Virgin Mobile USA customers will get exclusive access to ringtones from Grammy-winning artist Faith Evans' album "The First Lady" as part of its First Dibs program.The offer is part of a new mobile content agreement between Virgin and EMI Music. The ringtone for...
Few customer segments have drawn as much consternation from the wireless industry as prepaid subscribers. Non-contract customers have traditionally rewarded operators with lower revenue and higher churn rates when compared with postpaid subscribers and thus have been offered only token rate plans. But, with...
FORT WORTH, Texas-Citing disappointing wireless sales, RadioShack Corp. posted a 13-percent drop in net income during the first quarter from $68.3 million last year, or 41 cents per share, to $55 million this year, or 34 cents per share. The results were at the...
TROWBRIDGE, United Kingdom-Virgin Mobile U.K. will offer adult images of models from the London strip club Stringfellows, the carrier said Thursday.The offering will include images of both men and women, with content divided into two tiers. A series of "fun" pictures will feature models...
"We have run out of people (in the United States) who can pass a credit check and want a wireless phone," said Roger Entner, vice president of North American wireless telecommunications for research and consulting firm Ovum. With 182 million wireless subscribers in the...
