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Wireless scores legal victory against prepaid mobile-phone trafficking : Virgin Mobile USA phones bound for Hong Kong

The first criminal conviction of an international prepaid mobile-phone trafficker was announced by U.S. officials in Houston, news that again highlights a growing problem of global proportions for wireless. Indeed, the issue has already triggered numerous lawsuits by a number of U.S. wireless service...

MVNOs winnow: Try not to wake the bear

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....

Class action nets group of top wireless carriers for texting, other charges

Another day, another class-action wireless consumer lawsuit. This one is big, though, naming six mobile-phone carriers and a top mobile virtual network operator as defendants in a complaint filed in Mississippi federal court."This action seeks recovery for actual and compensatory damages sustained by plaintiffs...

The race to connectivity

First, let me say I think Wi-Fi is the best thing since sliced bread. Really, I do. That being said, a number of announcements last week made me scratch my head as different companies try to attack the wireless broadband space. Come along for...

Virgin Mobile USA ties Sugar Mama to Facebook

Virgin Mobile USA Inc. expanded its Sugar Mama program with a new application for Facebook users.The mobile virtual network operator unveiled "Fund My Phone," a feature that allows users to earn up to 75 minutes of calling time per month by viewing pitches and...

Virgin Mobile USA confirms SK Telecom talks: Discussions could lead to MVNO merger

Following much speculation, Virgin Mobile USA Inc. confirmed today that it is in "preliminary discussions" with SK Telecom to "explore possible strategic opportunities." Those opportunities are expected to include a possible merging of Virgin Mobile USA and SK Telecom-controlled mobile virtual network operator Helio...

Virgin Mobile USA-Helio merger: ‘What do they get out of it?’

Mobile virtual network operators Virgin Mobile USA Inc. and Helio L.L.C. have few things in common other than a subscriber base that operates on Sprint Nextel Corp.'s network. And yet the struggling companies are said to be in merger talks nonetheless, according to media...

Virgin Mobile USA’s outlook dims expectations

Virgin Mobile USA Inc. reported that in the first quarter its service revenue was down, net income and net customer adds were down drastically, churn was up and average revenue per user was down. Yet, it was possible for one analyst to take heart,...

Etc.

Can you smell me now?Multimedia messaging could soon become multi-sensory. A German syndicate including a sensory analysis and marketing consultancy and an interactive value-added services specialist have filed for a patent for technology that allows users to send scents with their MMS messages to...

Feet on the street: ‘Master agents,’ indie retailers serve the grass roots

America is the proverbial "melting pot," a nation of immigrants and their neighborhoods. With greater than 80% wireless penetration, everyone needs a mobile phone. Add the complexity of the shifting landscape from voice to advanced data services and you have a business proposition for...

T-Mobile USA unwraps $1-per-day prepaid option

T-Mobile USA Inc. took the wraps off a new prepaid calling plan the carrier hopes will counteract growing competition in the prepaid sector.T-Mobile USA's new Pay By The Day option costs $1 per day and allows users to place calls for 10 cents per...

APC Wireless picks up bankrupt MVNO: CEO blames unrealistic venture capitalists for Movida’s financial troubles, pledges to continue Hispanic focus

Finally, the rapid collapse of an MVNO gets blamed on venture-capitalist firms placing unrealistic goals on those left managing the day-to-day operations. That's what happened in the case of recently bankrupt mobile virtual network operator Movida Communications Inc., APC Wireless CEO Paul Greene told...

Virgin Mobile USA to use Limbo interactive content

Mobile entertainment community Limbo inked a year-long deal with Virgin Mobile USA Inc. to offer mobile promotions to customers.Limbo, a 2-year-old startup headed by founders of the mobile marketing firm Enpocket, will stage monthly and quarterly promotions through text-message blasts and on the VirginXL...

Branson rocks!: He’s sending a Noah’s Ark into outer space

The "old hippie" is headin' to Mars. Or, perhaps more accurately, Richard Branson - fearless leader of the ubiquitous Virgin brand - is hatching a plan with Google Inc.'s founders to send volunteers to the Red Planet to establish a city.There is a catch,...

Virgin Mobile USA tweaks calling plans

Virgin Mobile USA Inc. is to unroll a set of new pricing plans that streamlines some of its pay-as-you-go offerings and enhances features included in monthly plans.The move comes less than two weeks after the company's stock was hammered for failing to meet Wall...

CTIA takes the big show back to Sin City: CTIA Wireless 2008 set for Las Vegas

CTIA is taking its big show back west this year as the CTIA Wireless 2008 event is set to take place April 1-3 in Las Vegas (and if you haven't made your plans to attend yet, you might want to stop reading this and...

Virgin Mobile USA’s stock plunges : Quarterly loss digs into full-year gains, but posts records profit

Virgin Mobile USA Inc. stock dropped more than 53% from its closing price after it reported a $14.7 million loss in the fourth quarter. The mobile virtual network operator did, however, report net income of $4.2 million for the full year, making 2007 the...

Virgin Mobile USA’s stock plunges on Q4 results: Quarterly loss digs into full-year gains

Virgin Mobile USA Inc. stock dropped more than 53% from its closing price yesterday after it reported a $14.7 million loss in the fourth quarter. The mobile virtual network operator (MNVO) did, however, report net income of $4.2 million for the full year, making...

TracFone racks up another win against cellphone hackers

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....

Firm takes aim at handset giants over patent infringement

Aloft Media L.L.C. has sued several wireless handset giants over alleged infringement of a patent for transferring contact information using a mobile phone. Aloft Media, based in Longview, Texas, names as defendants Nokia, Motorola Inc., Palm Inc. Research in Motion Ltd. and Sony Ericsson...

T-Mobile USA, U.S. Cellular, Virgin Mobile USA and Helio sued over patent infringement: Intellect Wireless claims patents covering image messaging

Intellect Wireless Inc. has sued T-Mobile USA Inc., U.S. Cellular Corp., Virgin Mobile USA Inc. and Helio Inc. in federal court in Chicago, accusing the companies of infringing wireless image messaging patents.The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District...

Wireless industry retaliates against prepaid phone traffickers: AT&T Mobility joins T-Mobile USA, Nokia, others in legal battle

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...

Voce flames out, another MVNO casualty: COO discovered he’d been fired when phone disconnected

Voce's promises are now just a hollow echo of P.T. Barnum's famous dictum, "there's a sucker born every minute." "The ultimate service," the now-defunct mobile virtual network operator's Web site still assures viewers. "Voce redefines customer care." In the case of Voce, which...

Shareholders frown on Virgin Mobile USA’s continued losses

Virgin Mobile USA Inc. reported that it added 210,000 customers in the final quarter of 2007; however the MVNO will be taking on a loss of $3 million to $6 million for the year.The five-year-old company added 512,000 customers to its rolls in 2007,...