BAY CITY, Mich.—Terrorism-related charges have been dropped against three young men who purchased hundreds of phones in northern Michigan. However, the men now reportedly face charges of defrauding customers, Tracfone Wireless Inc. and Nokia Corp. The men—brothers Adham and Louai Othman and their cousin...
CARO, Mich.—Three men were arrested on terrorism charges after reportedly buying 80 prepaid phones from a Wal-Mart store in Michigan. Police found about 1,000 phones in the men’s van. According to the Associated Press, most of the phones were from Tracfone Wireless Inc., which...
Mobile-phone penetration rates are surpassing 90 percent in markets around the world, reaching the saturation point in Hong Kong, South Korea and Western Europe. Meanwhile, handset manufacturers continue to gain ground. Worldwide mobile-phone shipments in the second quarter fell just short of an all-time...
LIBERTYVILLE, Ill.—Cingular Wireless L.L.C. plans to sell Motorola Inc.’s new low-cost handset to its GoPhone prepaid customers for $40. The move reflects the handset vendor’s strategy for grabbing a slice of the fast-growing prepaid market in the United States, where prepaid service offers an...
The company working to establish a mobile-exclusive Internet domain is hoping to lure customers by extending its initial registration period. DotMobi-also known as mTLD, or mobile Top Level Domain Ltd.-said it will extend the trademark sunrise registration by a month, allowing companies to lay...
Hello! And welcome to our Thursday column, Worst of the Week. There's a lot of nutty stuff that goes on in this industry, so this column is a chance for us at RCR to rant and rave about whatever rubs us the wrong way....
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. continues to make strides on the mobile retail front, expanding its agreement with Verizon Wireless to include postpaid plans and high-end multimedia phones. The chain, which not long ago stocked only prepaid offerings, will offer two Vcast music phones as well...
IRVINE, Calif.-Boost Mobile L.L.C., a subsidiary of Sprint Nextel Corp., said its prepaid wireless phones and service will be available at Fred Meyer stores. The company's products are already available at Target, Wal-Mart and Best Buy locations.Boost said it is offering three Motorola Inc....
IRVINE, Calif.—Boost Mobile L.L.C., a subsidiary of Sprint Nextel Corp., said its prepaid wireless phones and service will be available at Fred Meyer stores. The company’s products are currently available at Target, Wal-Mart and Best Buy locations.Boost said it is offering three Motorola Inc....
LAS VEGAS-PayPal Inc. officially went mobile, launching a service that allows users to make purchases and send or receive funds via wireless phones. Wireless subscribers can use the offering-which the company quietly began testing several weeks ago-to send money to other registered PayPal members...
SAN JOSE, Calif.-PayPal quietly launched a service allowing users to make purchases or send money to other users from a mobile phone. The world's largest supplier of online payment services is testing the offering, which allows users to send a text message indicating the...
BEDMINSTER, N.J.-Verizon Wireless inked a major retail distribution deal for its wireless service, agreeing to sell its INpulse offering through 2,300 Wal-Mart Stores Inc. locations nationwide. The news marks a potentially substantial opportunity for Verizon as Wal-Mart dominates the market among third-party retailers of...
BEDMINSTER, N.J.—Verizon Wireless inked a major retail distribution deal for its wireless service, agreeing to sell its INpulse offering through 2,300 Wal-Mart Stores Inc. locations nationwide. The news marks a potentially substantial opportunity for Verizon as Wal-Mart dominates the market among third-party retailers of...
WASHINGTON-TracFone Wireless Inc., the nation's largest prepaid cell-phone company, has sued to shut down firms accused of buying large quantities of phones at major retail outlets and disabling proprietary software before reselling handsets for use on other cellular networks. Miami-based TracFone, a subsidiary of...
Mort Rosenthal sees a gaping whole in the wireless retail industry, and he's hoping to fill it with IMO. An entrepreneur with a background in software distribution, Rosenthal founded IMO-short for `independent mobile"-in 2004 after growing frustrated shopping for a wireless phone and service....
WASHINGTON-A new Department of Defense report says the military will depend on broadband and wireless technologies in future warfare, a policy direction that could create added business opportunities for telecom and high-tech industry sectors. The Quadrennial Defense Review Report, the second comprehensive defense assessment...
Alltel Corp. is revamping its prepaid service to try to profit from recent trends. As the U.S. postpaid wireless market saturates, fourth-quarter results showed most carriers, including Alltel, registered a heavier prepaid and reseller mix among newly added customers. The country's fifth-largest carrier introduced...
BENTONVILLE, Ark.-Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it plans to offer its own discount wireless service in Germany under the brand name MangoMobile. Wal-Mart Germany is partnering with telecommunications distributor Facey Retail Solutions GmbH for the mobile virtual network operator service, which will be sold in...
The hype surrounding mobile virtual network operators has created a new segment of the mobile industry with MVNO enablement, and a myriad of companies are eager to tell would-be operators the best way to plunge into the MVNO space. Last week, DBS Communications launched...
BENTONVILLE, Ark.-Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it plans to offer its own discount wireless service in Germany under the brand name MangoMobile. Wal-Mart Germany is partnering with telecommunications distributor Facey Retail Solutions GmbH for the mobile virtual network operator service, which will be sold 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...
LOS ANGELES-Move aside Barbie, Bratz now have their own mobile phones. MGA Entertainment-the company behind the Bratz "fashion dolls"-announced it will sell a Bratz-branded mobile phone through select Wal-Mart locations nationwide. The phone is a rebranded Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications L.P. T290 and features...
Wireless loves advertising; the industry ranks third in terms of total ad dollars spent, behind the automotive and financial services industries. And while most of the wireless industry's commercials are entertaining, some drive me (and you too I bet) crazy.For example, Cingular Wireless L.L.C....
WASHINGTON-Federal officials last week said foreigners who last month tried to buy a sizeable quantity of prepaid cell phones in Texas do not have terrorist ties. But the incident, which prompted a flurry of news stories, underscores how quickly a story can take on...
