ALBRIGHTON, United Kingdom—Mobile software developer ROK Media Ltd. said it has acquired U.K.-based content developer Fonedream. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.ROK’s offerings include a "place-shifting" device that allows users to watch their home TV broadcasts over mobile devices. The company said it...
BRUSSELS—The European Union has announced plans to cap the international roaming rates that carriers charge one another, which could end up cutting those prices by as much as 70 percent. "The commission wants to ensure that prices paid by consumers for roaming services within...
ATLANTA—Cingular Wireless L.L.C. has become a member of the Open Mobile Terminal Platform, which makes recommendations to the handset industry on security, hardware, operating systems and browsers. Existing network operator members of OMTP include Vodafone Group plc, Orange SA, Hutchison 3G, KPN Mobile, SK...
ANYANG, South Korea-South Korean handset vendor VK Mobile has gone under, according to news reports. The company, which entered business as a battery maker in 1997, had set its sights on becoming a global brand and had cut deals to supply handsets to mobile...
As wireless carriers begin exploring data roaming, several are not simply limiting their sights to domestic roaming but are seeking to provide a more seamless mobile data experience around the world. Cingular Wireless L.L.C. introduced international data roaming not long after it launched its...
ANYANG, South Korea—South Korean handset vendor VK Mobile has gone under, according to news reports. The company, which entered business as a battery maker in 1997, had set its sights on becoming a global brand and had cut deals to supply handsets to...
LONDON—Market research firm Ovum plc said it will pay $1.2 million to acquire Boston-based counterpart Summit Strategies Inc. Ovum, which staged an initial public offering in March, offers research and analysis to customers including Alcatel Corp., Cisco Systems Inc., Deutsche Telekom AG and Vodafone...
CYPRESS, Calif.—Bandai America Inc. announced plans to release a mobile-phone version of its popular Tamagotchi virtual-pet game. Tamagotchi, first introduced 10 years ago as a handheld game, requires users to care for a virtual pet by feeding it, playing with it and performing other...
LONDON—Yahoo Inc. scored a major wireless win with an agreement to provide mobile Internet services for Hutchison’s 3 Group carriers in Europe and Asia. The 3 Group tapped Yahoo to deliver mobile search, instant messaging and e-mail services as well as to provide the...
CYPRESS, Calif.—Bandai America Inc. announced plans to release a mobile-phone version of its popular Tamagotchi virtual-pet game. Tamagotchi, first introduced 10 years ago as a handheld game, requires users to care for a virtual pet by feeding it, playing with it and performing other...
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—Google Inc., Nokia Corp., Vodafone Group plc and others are hoping to spur uptake of the wireless Web with a set of development guidelines for Internet publishers. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) unveiled the initial draft of instructions for developers "on how...
HONG KONG—SK Telecom Co. Ltd. said it plans to buy up to $1 billion in China Unicom Ltd.’s bonds in an effort to tap the world’s largest mobile market. South Korea’s largest wireless operator said it will acquire a 6.7 percent stake in China...
PARIS-French mobile operator SFR launched an HSDPA network in Paris and southern France, using network technology from Nokia Corp. SFR has about 17.3 million customers in France, about 1.5 million of which are 3G customers; the company is owned by Vivendi and Vodafone Group...
LONDON-Warner Music continued to expand its digital distribution operations, acquiring a minority stake in Japanese mobile broadcasting FrontMedia. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.Warner Music Japan said it is making a capital investment in the year-old firm, which operates an Internet-based audio and...
A warm and fuzzy-toned embrace of an open source, mobile Linux operating system sought by an alliance led by Motorola Inc. and Vodafone Group plc, among others, and announced last week drew both optimism and skepticism among analysts, who await further details-and results. Motorola...
The following list details this week's infrastructure awards for the cellular, Wi-Fi and WiMAX industries. The contracts are broken down by transmission technology, country and vendor. The value of the contract is included when available. Click here for additional infrastructure awards from RCR Wireless...
LIBERTYVILLE, Ill.—Motorola Inc. and a handful of handset vendors, along with two major network operators, have agreed to establish a global Linux-based software platform for mobile devices, the companies involved announced. The alliance, which plans to solicit more participants, could stand directly against other...
PARIS—French mobile operator SFR launched an HSDPA network in Paris and southern France, using network technology from Nokia Corp. SFR has about 17.3 million customers in France, about 1.5 million of which are 3G customers.; the company is owned by Vivendi and Vodafone Group...
BOSTON—More than 100 million people worldwide now use W-CDMA and CDMA2000 1x EV-DO third-generation technology on their cell phones, according to ongoing research by Strategy Analytics. After reaching the 100 million milestone early this month, the firm said the number should grow to 106...
LONDON—Warner Music continued to expand its digital distribution operations, acquiring a minority stake in Japanese mobile broadcasting FrontMedia. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.Warner Music Japan said it is making a capital investment in the year-old firm, which operates an Internet-based audio and...
LONDON—Vodafone Group plc posted a massive $41.1 billion loss for 2005, mainly from impairment charges over assets it acquired during the telecom boom days, but promised its investors an even larger than expected payout, which sent its stock up slightly in early trading in...
Gas prices and higher mortgage rates have not affected the demand for Sprint Nextel Corp.'s wireless services, the carrier's chief financial officer told analysts last week. Paul Saleh's remarks were made during a parade of wireless executives at conferences in New York, hosted by...
In early May, KT Freetel Co. Ltd., South Korea's second-largest carrier with 12 million subscribers, announced plans to leave CDMA technology behind in favor of further investment in W-CDMA, which is a third-generation GSM-based technology. The move isn't too surprising since KTF already launched...
DUBLIN—Mobile Top Level Domain Ltd., the driving force behind the mobile Internet domain extension .mobi, said the .mobi suffix will be available through 16 domain name registrars. The company said certain mobile industry associations will be able to register their Web site address as...
