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...
Leap Wireless International Inc. tweaked the calling plans for its Cricket service, adding some once-optional features and rolling out once-geographically limited plans to more markets. The company said it has added unlimited text messaging to Mexico for some of its "higher-value" plans, which according...
Editor’s Note: Welcome to Reality Check, a feature for RCR Wireless News’ new weekly e-mail service, Mobile Content and Culture. We’ve gathered a group of visionaries and veterans in the mobile content industry to give their insights into the marketplace. In...
Verizon Wireless has been hit with another Fair Credit Reporting Act lawsuit.The lawsuit, pending in Alabama federal court, asserts the No. 2 wireless service provider and TransUnion L.L.C. are ruining the credit of a wireless subscriber.Plaintiff Johnny Howard said Verizon Wireless continues to try...
There just might be an end in sight for Sprint Nextel Corp.'s troubles. After the company reported first-quarter results that were either in line with analyst predictions or, in some cases, better than expected, the carrier's stock dropped slightly after an early jolt in...
A new class-action lawsuit accuses Sprint Nextel Corp. of charging subscribers for mobile content not authorized by subscribers.The lawsuit, virtually identical to one filed against Alltel Wireless in March and currently pending in Illinois federal court, alleges unauthorized charges on consumers' monthly bills are...
Sprint Nextel Corp. affiliate iPCS Inc. filed a lawsuit against Sprint Nextel in relation to the recent partnership between the industry's No. 3 carrier and Clearwire Corp. to bring together their WiMAX offerings under the Clearwire brand.In the lawsuit, iPCS claims the deal breaches...
Leap Wireless International Inc. said it will launch its Cricket service in Las Vegas tomorrow using the advanced wireless services spectrum it won during the Federal Communications Commission's Auction 66 in 2006. Leap has previously launched service using its AWS spectrum in Oklahoma City...
ON MANY LEVELS, politics alone appear to weigh heavily against the government approving a merger that would propel German telecommunications giant Deutsche Telekom AG to the top of the U.S. cellphone-carrier ranking through an acquisition of Sprint Nextel Corp.But perhaps that's precisely the point....
T-Mobile USA Inc. pushed past the 30 million subscriber mark during the first three months of the year, adding 981,000 net customers and ending the first quarter with 30.8 million customers. The net customer growth was inline with the 980,000 customers the carrier added...
Could the wireless industry have new legal exposure as a result of the caustic combination of Web-enabled phones, the Internet and sexual predators?A lawsuit filed in federal court against Verizon Wireless could become a test case on that very question.The parents of a minor...
Rural Cellular Corp. sued Alltel Corp. in federal court, accusing the Arkansas-based cellphone operator of undermining a $48 million wireless deal between the two companies.RCC last year completed its purchase of several Minnesota markets from Alltel, a divestiture-related transaction required of the latter company...
Qwest Communications International Inc. is jumping wireless ship from its current mobile virtual network operator relationship with Sprint Nextel Corp. to reselling Verizon Wireless services. The move, expected to begin this summer, will see the end of the Qwest brand in wireless as the...
While rumors swirl about a German telecom giant's interest in acquiring Sprint Nextel Corp. to become the largest-mobile phone carrier in the United States, the No. 3 U.S. cellular operator faces a more tangible challenge: a new class-action pension lawsuit with the potential to...
T-Mobile USA Inc. officially launched its first 3G network in New York City, the company announced. The nation's No. 4 carrier said the UMTS/HSDPA network uses the advanced wireless services spectrum it acquired during the 2006 auction for $4.2 billion.The carrier has been...
Public-interest groups reiterated their call for federal regulators to protect text-messaging rights, framing the debate as far-reaching in terms of the potential implications for free speech, disability access and competition in the wireless industry.Public Knowledge and other organizations want the Federal Communications Commission to...
THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION approved technical guidelines for a voluntary mobile phone emergency alert system, but the new public warning regime still lacks a federal coordinator.Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel Corp. initially indicated they plan to participate in the program, whose technical requirements are...
The Federal Communications Commission approved technical guidelines for a voluntary mobile-phone emergency alert system, but the new public warning regime still lacks a federal coordinator.Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel Corp. initially indicated they plan to participate in the program, whose technical requirements are based...
I'm no prognosticator, nor do I have any special powers that allow me to see into the future. But I am really good at guessing. After laying that all on the table, I would like to provide my general view of the wireless space...
THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION launched a rulemaking to determine whether mobile text messages and short codes are covered by non-discrimination provisions of the telecom act.Public-interest and consumer groups asked the FCC in December to rule that the law forbids wireless providers from blocking the...
Consumers ranked wireless carriers as providing a less useful and enjoyable customer experience than retailers and credit-card companies, but better than TV service providers and medical insurance providers, according to a recent survey of nearly 5,000 consumers by Forrester Research.Among companies in nine industries,...
The Federal Communications Commission's revised roaming rules may have exacerbated an already divisive industry issue, with warring carriers challenging new guidelines and feuding over the possibility of their extension to wireless broadband service providers. The FCC's Aug. 7 decision concluded automatic roaming is...
AS WILDFIRES RAGED throughout southern California in recent weeks and hundreds of thousands were evacuated from their homes, wireless networks in the area saw dramatic increases in usage as well as some damage from the blazes. The increased usage included first responders who reported...
Verizon Wireless got caught up briefly in abortion politics after denying a request from a pro-choice organization to use its network for text messages-which the carrier swiftly remedied after a public outcry. The carrier had rejected a request from NARAL Pro-Choice America, which supports...
