A federal jury ruled in favor of Verizon Communications in a patent lawsuit against Vonage Holdings. Vonage must pay the telecom giant $58 million in damages plus royalties for infringing on three patents for Internet telephone technology.In addition, Vonage is required to pay Verizon...
In an attempt to turn around its performance by increasing customers satisfaction, Sprint Nextel Corp. has named a new senior vice president for customer care. Bryan DiGiorgio will "manage all of Sprint Nextel's business and consumer customer service activities, as well as the general...
Brightpoint Inc. will shell out $88 million in cash to purchase a major piece of crippled competitor CellStar Corp.The Plainfield, Ind.-based logistics and distribution giant announced plans to buy CellStar's 500-employee U.S. operations, including its Miami headquarters, and the bulk of its Latin American...
PLAINFIELD, Ind.-Brightpoint Inc. handled roughly 42 million mobile phones last year and may handle 60 million or more this year. But whatever you do, don't call the company a distributor. "If anything, we are a customized logistics company," Senior Vice President Anurag Gupta protested...
Two recent Wi-Fi network announcements reinforced the notion that Wi-Fi business models vary from place to place. In Pittsburgh, a free outdoor Wi-Fi network is in the works to provide coverage throughout the city's central business district along with its Golden Triangle, North Shore...
LONDON—Wi-Fi network operator The Cloud announced the launch of its Ultra Wi-Fi offering, an all-you-can-eat plan that offers Wi-Fi access in 9 U.K. cities and about 7,000 hotspots throughout the country. Bobby Sarin, The Cloud’s chief operating officer said the Ultra Wi-Fi service gives...
WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission got a new member last week and immediately began considering whether it should increase the amount wireless carriers pay into the universal-service fund. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin swore in Robert McDowell Thursday amid reports that Martin wants to increase by...
LONDON-Vonage Holdings Corp. reported plans to partner with European Wi-Fi hot-spot operator The Cloud to offer Internet-based mobile-phone calls. The companies are working to launch a service that would allow Vonage subscribers with Wi-Fi phones to make calls from The Cloud's U.K. hot spots...
As cities across the nation experiment with offering free or subsidized Wi-Fi access to their citizens, stories are cropping up regarding stumbles along the way in these endeavors. It's a grand thought gaining traction in diverse regions of the country: Give your residents and...
LONDON—Vonage Holdings Corp. reported plans to partner with European Wi-Fi hot-spot operator The Cloud to offer Internet-based mobile-phone calls. The companies are working to launch a service that would allow Vonage subscribers with Wi-Fi phones to make calls from The Cloud’s U.K. hot spots...
Clearwire Corp. is introducing a voice over Internet protocol service today that will allow subscribers to make voice calls via Clearwire's pre-WiMAX wireless broadband network. The $30 monthly service will first be available in Clearwire's Stockton, Calif. , market, where it has been...
British wireless subscribers can send and receive text messages at bargain-basement rates thanks to an IP-based messaging service released last week. But-unlike Voice over IP-analysts say the new offering poses little threat to mobile operators in the United States. Hotxt, which describes its service...
WASHINGTON-When the government broke up Ma Bell more than 20 years ago, it did so because it did not want one company controlling computer-to-computer communication-at the time the stuff of science fiction. As Ma Bell is nearly reborn in the form of AT&T Inc....
WASHINGTON-The Senate Commerce Committee seemed cool to the idea that broadband-pipe owners should be able to require some bandwidth hogs-like Voice over Internet Protocol providers, Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc.-to pay to access their broadband pipes. "I think the refrain of this committee ought...
One of the most popular features of instant messaging is expanding off the desktop and into the mobile enterprise. It's called presence, and it allows users to determine the availability of others. An employee, for instance, can use presence to determine whether a colleague...
WASHINGTON-The Senate Commerce Committee seemed cool to the idea that broadband-pipe owners should be able to require some bandwidth hogs like Voice over Internet Protocol providers Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. to pay to access their broadband pipes. "I think the refrain of this...
SAN MATEO, Calif.-Wireless trailblazer Craig McCaw and other high-tech heavyweights are backing a new company looking to let business users reach colleagues through mobile phones, e-mail or instant messaging. The firm, Tello Corp., emerged last week after operating for more than a year in...
The evolution of the wireless industry has had a profound effect on the players involved. Within all levels of the market, companies have had to scramble to adapt to changing demands and conditions. And the rollercoaster isn't likely to slow down-for anyone. From carriers...
SAN MATEO, Calif.-Wireless trailblazer Craig McCaw and other high-tech heavyweights are backing a new company looking to let business users reach colleagues through mobile phones, e-mail or instant messaging. The firm, Tello Corp., emerged this week after operating for more than a year in...
Tier 1 operators are beginning to use retail outlets to build long-term customer relationships and generate revenues from lucrative data applications. But when it comes to the brick-and-mortar sales counter, the wireless consumer is still very much up for grabs. While the wireless industry...
If life is a journey, 2005 has been a long, strange trip for the wireless industry.Looking back at the events of this year only underscores how quickly this industry changes. We reported that Verizon Wireless launched Vcast service in January and committed to MediaFlo's...
HOLMDEL, N.J.-Voice over Internet Protocol company Vonage Holdings Corp. released a Wi-Fi telephone it will sell for around $80 with a service plan. The UTStarcom Inc.-sourced phone will allow Vonage users to place VoIP calls from any publicly available hotspot."With the rapid increase of...
For the past few years, the strategy for U.S. carriers looking to retain customers was simple: offer subscribers a slick new handset at no charge. But in today's transitory market-where profit margins from voice services continue to thin as data revenues just begin to...
Wireless distributor and fulfillment services provider Brightpoint Inc. is going directly to consumers with branded retail stores. The company said it plans to sell mobile phones and services from Sprint Nextel Corp., Virgin Mobile USA L.L.C. and Vonage Holdings Inc. through outlets under the...
