RCR Wireless News articles from May 2006

RCR Wireless News archives from May 2006

Stock Watch: April 20-April 27.(Wireless Metrics)
May 1, 2006... table: Stock Watch: April 20-April 27 * 3 graphs: Market Diary * Indices * RCR Index: see print copy

Should you get what you pay for?(Opinion)
May 1, 2006... Byline: Tracy Ford 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...

DoT seeks proposals for next-gen 911.(News)
May 1, 2006... The Federal Highway Administration last week released the "presolicitation notice'' for the next-generation 911 system, which would overhaul the current nationwide emergency-response system that relies on 6,000 public-safety answering points...

Razr's edge.(Opinion)
May 1, 2006... Byline: Jeffrey Silva While Congress and states around the country pursue legislation to crack down on schemes to obtain and sell personal cell-phone records, Mississippi is taking a slightly different tack to phone records. No doubt,...

Nokia, RIM strengthen hold on wavering smart-phone market.(Wireless Metrics)
May 1, 2006... The worldwide smart mobile device market is in flux, according to a new study from market research firm Canalys. The firm defines smart mobile devices as handhelds, wireless handhelds and smart phones. According to the study,...

FCC ties DE auction reform to spectrum capacity leases.
May 1, 2006... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The Federal Communications Commission backed away from making major reforms to a controversial auction program offering bidding discounts to small businesses, rejecting a revenue-only threshold for partnership...

Small players decry consolidation's impact on roaming.(News)
May 1, 2006... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA Small and regional wireless carriers petitioned the Federal Communications Commission to conduct a special inquiry designed to collect and inspect a representative sample of wireless roaming agreements on a...

Google voice patent mum on mobile connection.(News)
May 1, 2006... Byline: COLIN GIBBS Google Inc. was finally awarded a patent for speech-recognition technology that allows users to search the Internet by uttering a few words. But whether that's good news or bad news for a handful of wireless software...

mSpot adds CBS radio feeds from top markets on Sprint Nextel service.(Late News)
May 1, 2006... Wireless multimedia entertainment provider mSpot Inc. is partnering with CBS Radio to deliver streaming audio from three major-market sports radio stations. Subscribers of mSpot Radio, which is available through Sprint Nextel Corp., will...

Interoperability fix may come from local governments.(News)
May 1, 2006... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER The solution to the thorny problem of first responders not being able to communicate with each other may come from the local level rather than the federal government, a federal public-safety communications...

Fast Fact.(Wireless Metrics)
May 1, 2006... Ninety-four HSDPA networks are planned, in deployment or commercially launched in 47 countries. Eighteen networks are commercially launched in 14 countries. At least another 29 networks target HSDPA launches by the end of this year. ...

MVNO shakeout at hand.
May 1, 2006... Byline: KELLY HILL This year is supposed to be the Year of the Launch for the new generation of mobile virtual network operators, the time when these MVNOs get on their feet and begin to gain traction in the wireless race. With several...

Trade group aims to drive interoperability through certification, plugfests.(News)
May 1, 2006... Byline: JONI MORSE Hewlett-Packard Co., Intel Corp., Motorola Inc., Nortel Networks Ltd. and Siemens AG are just a few of the heavy-hitters aiming to certify interoperability requirements through a new trade group, the Communications...

Ericsson to expand Digicel's Caribbean network.(Global Wireless)
May 1, 2006... Caribbean wireless carrier Digicel Group plc gave L.M. Ericsson the nod as its exclusive infrastructure provider to build out its GSM network across the Turks and Caicos Islands, a British colony in the West Indies. Since Digicel's launch...

10 years ago this month...(Wireless Metrics)
May 1, 2006... Bidding closed in the FCC's personal communications services auction, which was dominated by NextWave Personal Communications Inc. The company won 56 30 megahertz licenses in half of the top 50 U.S. markets. NextWave later declared bankruptcy...

Motient faces internal, external woes as it tries to reinvent itself.(News)
May 1, 2006... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA Motient Corp. may be the wireless industry's premier high-wire act. The Lincolnshire, Ill., company is attempting a great leap forward from a business model based on unprofitable land-based wireless data...

Nokia to pay InterDigital $253M to end patent dispute.(News)
May 1, 2006... Nokia Corp. has agreed to pay $253 million to InterDigital Communications Corp. to settle a long-running patent dispute between the companies, according to InterDigital. InterDigital's stock soared more than 20 percent on the news to...

Microsoft's wireless biz sees expanding losses.(News)
May 1, 2006... Microsoft Corp. said its Mobile and Embedded Devices unit operating loss widened during its fiscal third quarter ended March 31. The company reported a $14 million loss for the unit, an increase from the $9 million loss it reported during...

Motricity adds $40M to funding chest.(News)
May 1, 2006... Motricity is looking to expand its content business after raking in $40 million in venture capital. Advanced Equities Inc. led Motricity's most recent round; fellow existing investors New Enterprise Associates and Technology Crossover...

Disney, union ink rev-sharing contracts for "Lost" mobisodes.(News)
May 1, 2006... Mobile episodes of the hit TV show "Lost'' are once again in the works following an agreement between Walt Disney Co. and three Hollywood unions. Disney's Touchstone Television reached an agreement with the Screen Actors Guild, the Writers...

Vonage to offer voice over Wi-Fi via The Cloud in United Kingdom.(Global Wireless)
May 1, 2006... 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...

Dems split over network neutrality as House panel passes reform bill.(News)
May 1, 2006... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER A dispute among Democrats during a House panel debate on telecom reform underscored how lawmakers' views of network neutrality often corresponds to whether they think telephone companies should be allowed to...

Bill would speed authorization of multi-modal devices.(News)
May 1, 2006... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER The House Commerce Committee voted to streamline the process that the Federal Communications Commission uses to approve multi-mode devices. "All we are trying to do is kick in a quicker process so that...

O'Brien's public-safety plan faces questions, concerns and outright opposition.(News)
May 1, 2006... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA A bold plan to take a large swath of spectrum off the auction block and devote the valuable airwaves to a national broadband public-safety network-one having interoperability capabilities missing before and after the...

U.S. closing gap in data adoption.(Special Report)
May 1, 2006... Byline: COLIN GIBBS It's safe to say U.S. wireless subscribers have caught up with much of the rest of the world in terms of data consumption. But it appears American carriers still have their work cut out for them when it comes to cashing...

Mobile marketing space heats up.(News)
May 1, 2006... Byline: COLIN GIBBS The flurry of activity in the content and messaging space continued last week as Wireless Services Corp. announced the acquisition of Mobile Media North America. Terms of the deal were not announced. WSC said it...

Infrastructure Awards.(Wireless Metrics)
May 1, 2006... Following are infrastructure contracts announced in April: Ericsson Czech Republic With Vodafone Czech Republic to build a 3G transmission and core network. Value: Undisclosed Sweden and Denmark With 3 Scandinavia to provide...

China 3G delay blamed for sluggish earnings.(News)
May 1, 2006... Byline: JONI MORSE As earnings reports tumbled in, equipment vendors pointed to third-generation pricing wars and the still-not-granted 3G licenses for China's advanced network buildout as reasons for sluggish financials. Alcatel Inc....

Vendors hope to ease AWS spectrum transition.
May 1, 2006... Byline: JONI MORSE As the highly anticipated advanced wireless spectrum auction nears, infrastructure vendors are positioning themselves to reap profits from the auction's aftermath. Both Radio Frequency Systems and Andrew Corp.'s...

Rogers income soars on wireless results.(Global Wireless)
May 1, 2006... Canadian telecommunications provider Rogers Communications Inc. boosted its operating revenue by 28 percent from the first quarter of 2005, results driven primarily by a nearly 36-percent growth in its wireless operations. The company noted its...

CSI sells fixed wireless business to Telular.(News)
May 1, 2006... CSI Wireless, which designs and manufactures products using wireless and Global Positioning System technology, has agreed to sell its fixed wireless telephone business to Illinois-based Telular Corp. for $13 million. CSI said that its...

Blackstone Group to pick up DT shares.(Global Wireless)
May 1, 2006... Blackstone Group, a private investment group, has agreed to buy about 4.5 percent of Deutsche Telekom AG's outstanding shares, the German-based operator announced. Blackstone plans to purchase approximately 192 million shares from...

Road rules; Carriers navigate how to treat customers who roam too much.
May 1, 2006... Byline: KELLY HILL Network integration work has given Cingular Wireless L.L.C. a better grasp of how subscribers are using its network, according to company officials-and in some cases, that is leading to customers' service being suspended...

Dobson subsidiary expands Texas operations.(News)
May 1, 2006... Dobson Communications Corp.'s wireless subsidiary, American Cellular Corp., expanded its spectrum position in Texas with the $25 million purchase of a Rural Service Area and additional spectrum in markets that the company already serves. ...

Wireless industry adjusting to new challenges.(News)
May 1, 2006... Byline: KELLY HILL Post-CTIA Wireless 2006, the pundits and ponderers have plenty to chew on. With the conference showcasing the leading edge, the bleeding edge and the receding edges of the wireless industry and mobile technology, it...

Sprint Nextel posts soft quarter.(News)
May 1, 2006... Byline: KELLY HILL Sprint Nextel Corp. reported a mixed first quarter, with gross additions and wireless revenues up compared to the same period last year. However, merger-and-integration and marketing costs pulled down the company's...

Regional carriers enjoy strong quarter, despite customer growth struggles.(News)
May 1, 2006... Byline: KELLY HILL A slew of first-quarter earnings announced last week reflected a generally upbeat quarter for regional wireless carriers. U.S. Cellular Corp. relieved some pressure, having finally released operating results from the...

Rural wireline carriers count mobile threat.(News)
May 1, 2006... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER Customers of at least one rural telecommunications cooperative are cutting the cord at the rate of five to 10 per month, J. Frederick Johnson, executive vice president and general manager of Farmers...

Tower sector improves, more buyouts expected.(News)
May 1, 2006... Byline: JONI MORSE Following several years of lean results, tower companies appear to be righting their ships thanks to network expansions and new technology investments. Indeed, Mark DeRussy, analyst with Raymond James Equity...

Fast Fact.(Wireless Metrics)
May 8, 2006... Asian mobile subscribers posted a 20.5-percent increase in 2004, with 3G subscribers achieving a 57.3-percent increase. At that rate, forecasts for mobile penetration could reach 50 percent by 2010. 3G penetration at that time should be just...

Helio joins MVNO youth movement.(News)
May 8, 2006... Byline: KELLY HILL Helio L.L.C. made its long-awaited debut in the wireless marketplace last week with two high-end handsets linked to social networking site MySpace.com and plans to have its services available through 1,000 retail...

Study: Photo messaging lags due to customer ignorance.(Wireless Metrics)
May 8, 2006... Carriers may not be earning the additional revenue they expected from the popularity of camera phones, according to new research from The NPD Group Inc. In less than four years, camera phones have found their way into the pockets and...

Stevens' bill targets white spaces, interoperability; backs off net neutrality.(News)
May 8, 2006... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, went to the Senate Floor May 1 to announce he was introducing "the Communications Act of 2006.'' The 135-page bill combines many...

Wireless Internet.(Wireless Metrics)
May 8, 2006... Despite recent inroads into the wireless Internet space by major Internet players, a poll of RCRNews.com readers found that a majority think wireless operators will fend off those well-heeled challengers and continue to "own'' wireless Internet...

What's in a name? For handsets, plenty.
May 8, 2006... Byline: PHIL CARSON The reason a wireless handset becomes successful in the marketplace remains something of a mystery. Everyone knows it must depend, in part, on a winning combination of many factors-brand, price, style, features, the...

Dobson treks out to Deadhorse, Alaska.(News)
May 8, 2006... Dobson Communications Corp. said last week it launched service in Deadhorse, Alaska. The launch extends the carrier's GSM/GPRS/EDGE network into the North Slope region along the coast of the Arctic Ocean, an area that contains one of the...

Fueled by Danish acquisition, Motorola hints at future plans.(News)
May 8, 2006... Byline: PHIL CARSON Motorola Inc.'s announcement last week that it plans to acquire a Danish research-and-development facility and team of product-development engineers appeared routine at first blush: global juggernaut rolls up modest...

Visto sets its sights on RIM patent infringements.(News)
May 8, 2006... Byline: COLIN GIBBS Mobile e-mail continues to be a largely untapped market, but the patent litigation industry in wireless is alive and well. Visto Corp.'s lawyers mobilized once again last week as the developer set its sites on...

WDIG pushes into Indian market.(Global Wireless)
May 8, 2006... The Walt Disney Internet Group late last month scored its first content deal with an Indian carrier, partnering with Airtel to launch mobile ringtones, images and games. Disney Mobile Theatre also is expected to offer video clips including...

Alcatel continues to defend acquisition of Lucent against security concerns.(News)
May 8, 2006... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA Alcatel SA and Lucent Technologies Inc. have been forced to defend their proposed trans-Atlantic merger after a key lawmaker raised security concerns about the deal in a letter to President Bush. "I have several...

AOL to sell Internet access over Clearwire's wireless broadband network.(News)
May 8, 2006... AOL L.L.C. is teaming with Craig McCaw's Clearwire Corp. to offer high-speed wireless broadband access. The service, which is available starting for $26 a month, has been deployed in three mid-sized Clearwire markets in California and...

Universal dives deeper into wireless as Congress wrestles with DRM issues.(News)
May 8, 2006... Byline: COLIN GIBBS, HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER Universal Studios is the latest mainstream media giant to go wireless in a big way, establishing a division dedicated to mobile content. Universal, which already has more than 60 licensing...

Ntelos posts strong wireless growth, financials.(News)
May 8, 2006... Regional telecommunications operator Ntelos Holdings Corp. posted an 18-percent jump in wireless revenues during the first quarter, from $65.6 million in 2005 to $77.6 million this year. The growth was boosted by a 25-percent increase in...

Zoove looks for new groove with improved short codes.(News)
May 8, 2006... Byline: COLIN GIBBS It's no secret that short codes have failed to gain traction among mass-market wireless subscribers in the United States. Tim Jemison thinks he knows why-and how to cash in. Jemison is the chief executive officer...

Battle continues for control of Motient.(News)
May 8, 2006... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA Motient Corp. last week said company Chairman Steven Singer and four other directors would not seek re-election at the wireless company's annual meeting, a development that comes at a time when Highland Capital...

FTC files suit against five data brokers.(News)
May 8, 2006... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER The Federal Trade Commission last week filed civil complaints against five data brokers, urging the court to find that the data brokers violated the FTC Act and that they must give up any money they obtained...

Rain of gold?(Opinion)
May 8, 2006... Byline: Jeffrey Silva The advanced wireless services auction is scheduled to begin in less than two months. The filing deadline for short-form applications is Wednesday. The upfront payments deadline is three weeks later. And yet the...

5 years ago this month...(Wireless Metrics)
May 8, 2006... RadioShack Corp. finalized a deal to sell Verizon Wireless' service through a store-in-a-store format in its retail outlets nationwide. Last year, RadioShack and Verizon Wireless ended their agreement, and RadioShack signed an agreement to sell...

Step 3: Profit.(Opinion)
May 8, 2006... Byline: Mike Dano I'm seriously thinking about launching my own MVNO. I mean, how hard can it be, really? All the mobile virtual network enablers out there keep telling me it's quick, easy and cheap, so why not? I'd call it Mike's Awesome...

Voce launches trial of high-end service.(News)
May 8, 2006... Byline: KELLY HILL Voce, the luxury mobile virtual network operator, has begun offering its services on a small scale in the L.A. area. Steve Stanford, Voce's chief executive officer, described the quiet start as an invitation-only...

Industry consolidation challenges carrier billing methods.(Focus)
May 8, 2006... Byline: KELLY HILL Within the past two years, the number of national carriers in the U.S. has gone from six to four. Between Cingular Wireless L.L.C.'s acquisition of AT&T Wireless Services Inc. and Sprint Corp.'s acquisition of Nextel...

Health lawsuit seeks to delay AWS auction.
May 8, 2006... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA A health-related lawsuit that sought to block the June 29 start of the advanced wireless services auction was abruptly withdrawn last week after the Justice Department challenged a U.S. District Court's jurisdiction...

CALEA rules for broadband Internet seem headed back to the FCC.
May 8, 2006... Byline: HEATHER FORSGREN WEAVER A federal appeals court appears willing to agree with the Federal Communications Commission that Voice over Internet Protocol technology substantially replaces standard telecommunications services-but at...

Sprint Nextel's wireline business Embarq to become official May 17.(News)
May 8, 2006... Sprint Nextel Corp. said it expects to complete the spinoff of its local telecom business, dubbed Embarq Corp., on May 17. That day, Sprint Nextel expects to distribute to its shareholders all of Embarq's shares as a stock dividend, based...

With help from Alaska Native, Leap expands into San Antonio.(News)
May 8, 2006... Residents of San Antonio will be able to add Cricket to their list of wireless service choices. Leap Wireless International Inc. and Alaska Native Broadband 1 License L.L.C. said they plan to begin offering Leap's Cricket service with four...

DE rule changes could draw legal challenge.(News)
May 8, 2006... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA Three groups this week could file a lawsuit in federal appeals court to stay the June 29 start of the advanced wireless services auction if the Federal Communications Commission does not agree by today to drop changes...

Regional carriers post mixed 1Q.(News)
May 8, 2006... Byline: KELLY HILL Wireless drove revenue growth at Alltel Corp. and aided Qwest Communications International Inc. with success in bundling services in the first quarter of 2006, but regional wireless operator SunCom Wireless Holdings Inc....

Industry-low churn powers Verizon Wireless' 1Q results.(News)
May 8, 2006... Byline: KELLY HILL Verizon Wireless continued its run of strong quarterly results, boosting its service revenues by double-digits and squeezing its churn rate below 1.2 percent. The company's results "just [keep] getting better,''...

Qualcomm raises forecasts, announces Microsoft deal.(News)
May 8, 2006... Qualcomm Inc. raised its revenue estimates for its third quarter ending in June, indicating it expects revenue at or slightly above earlier forecasts of $1.77 billion to $1.87 billion based on strong demand for its chipsets destined for both...

ATI, Nokia team for multimedia.(News)
May 8, 2006... ATI Technologies Inc. and Nokia Corp. announced that the two firms have entered a long-term strategic partnership to enable multimedia experiences such as 3D gaming and mobile TV on the Finnish vendors' handsets. The partnership will...

Music sweet music: projections for 2006 handset shipments tweaked upwards.
May 8, 2006... Byline: PHIL CARSON Be astonished (the layperson), be jaded (the analyst) or be jubilant (the handset vendor), but most will have some reaction to the growing chorus of industry players who've raised their forecasts for this year's handset...

Muni Wi-Fi projects skitter toward finish line.(News)
May 8, 2006... Byline: JONI MORSE News continued to churn out of the various municipal Wi-Fi projects gaining steam across the country, as one city's Wi-Fi contract made its way to a politically charged city council for a vote and another swirled in...

Apple patents show wireless iPod plans.(Late News)
May 8, 2006... Apple Computer Inc. is attracting attention with two new patent applications that outline plans for a wireless iPod. The application, filed 18 months ago but only recently published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, describes a...

EA Mobile heads stagnating wireless gaming market.(News)
May 8, 2006... Byline: COLIN GIBBS Electronic Arts Inc. has bought its way to the top of the mobile game-making industry. Thanks to its recent acquisition of Jamdat Mobile Inc., EA's Mobile division owns the two most downloaded mobile games in the...

Nortel's financial filings nearly up-to-date.(News)
May 8, 2006... Byline: JONI MORSE Nortel Networks Ltd. late last month restated its much delayed financial results for 2003, 2004 and the first nine months of 2005, though analysts seemed indifferent to the impact. Daniel Longfield, industry analyst...

.11n standard falls far short of approval.(News)
May 15, 2006... Byline: Colin Gibbs, Joni Morse The IEEE 802.11n working group earlier this month voted down draft 1.0 of the proposed standard for higher throughput improvements, sparking debate about whether the vote was a dramatic defeat or an expected...

DSP market change.(Wireless Metrics)
May 15, 2006... After three down quarters, digital signal processor shipments to Japan were up nearly 28 percent in the first quarter of this year, while the entire DSP market grew 4.3 percent to $2.04 billion. The overall DSP market was up 10 percent over the...

Fast Fact.(Wireless Metrics)
May 15, 2006... Market Intelligence Center (MIC) reports by 2010 the global share of GSM subscribers (including W-CDMA, GPRS and EDGE) is expected to climb to 85 percent from the current rate of 80 percent. CDMA subscribers (including cdmaOne, cdma 2000 1x and...

Fast Fact.(Wireless Metrics)
May 15, 2006... Vivo, Brazil's largest mobile operator, reported accumulated losses of $1.5 billion in 2005 and 1Q 2006 losses of $86.4 million. Vivo's management says it will incorporate its 13 subsidiaries into Global Telecom and rename it Vivo SA. The plan...

Brightpoint posts bright earnings.(News)
May 15, 2006... Brightpoint Inc. reported that its net income more than tripled during the first quarter from $2.9 million last year to $8.9 million this year. The company also announced plans for a 6-to-5 stock split at the end of this month. ...

AT&T's Whitacre details WiMAX expansion plans, satellite offerings.(News)
May 15, 2006... WiMAX and other fixed wireless technologies will be getting increased attention at AT&T Inc., according to Edward Whitacre, chief executive officer of the company. Whitacre, delivering a keynote address to the Detroit Economic Club,...

Europe's replacement market linked to contract expirations.(Wireless Metrics)
May 15, 2006... More than one-quarter of all European mobile subscribers replace their handsets every year, and 60 percent replace after two years, according to San Francisco-based Telephia's first-quarter report on the subject. Purchase rates are highest at...

Cloning: Ignoring the elephant in the wireless room.
May 15, 2006... Byline: PHIL CARSON Remember the old adage about the weather? Everyone's talking about it, but nobody's doing anything about it. Well, the opposite is true of handset or even wireless service clones: Few are willing to talk about it,...

MVNO Total Call uses Sprint Nextel for international calling.(News)
May 15, 2006... So you've been thinking about launching a mobile virtual network operator service for multi-cultural ethnic groups in the United States that features prepaid and postpaid plans, and affordable international calling? After all, America is a...