RCR Wireless News articles from November 2006

RCR Wireless News archives from November 2006

San Fran's muni Wi-Fi project in fog; City rethinks awarding EarthLink, Google bid.(News)
November 6, 2006... Byline: JONI MORSE If aliens were to land on our planet, the first thing they would probably notice is our addiction to Wi-Fi networks. Indeed, a new report from ABI Research indicates that in 2006, the number of commercial Wi-Fi...

Plaxo inks synch pact with Verizon Wireless.(News)
November 6, 2006... Byline: COLIN GIBBS Digital networking company Plaxo Inc. stepped onto the wireless playground last week, inking a deal to allow Verizon Wireless subscribers to update contact information on their handsets over the air. The software...

Virgin Mobile USA invigorates messaging.(News)
November 6, 2006... Virgin Mobile USA L.L.C. announced two new services that incorporate audio and messaging. "Txt Tones'' will allow users to link musical tones to text messages instead of rings. The three- to five-second sound clips can be used as an alert...

Embarq launches PTT, parental control service.(News)
November 6, 2006... Embarq Corp. plans to offer its wireless customers push-to-talk services and parental controls on a Sanyo Corp. 2400 mobile phone. Embarq, which has a mobile virtual network operator relationship with Sprint Nextel Corp. after being spun...

For a good time, call Luke Johnson's mobile.(News)
November 6, 2006... Byline: KELLY HILL Ordinary people like Luke Johnson sit at the intersection of social networking and the cell phone. Searching for something new that he could do involving video-sharing site YouTube.com, Johnson woke up one night with an...

Boost goes a little bit country.(News)
November 6, 2006... Byline: KELLY HILL Boost Mobile L.L.C. is bringing its pay-as-you-go service to rural areas, after traditionally concentrating on urban strongholds. Boost, which is a division of Sprint Nextel Corp. and runs on the carrier's iDEN...

Verizon Wireless: No. 1 in revenue.(News)
November 6, 2006... Byline: KELLY HILL Verizon Wireless continued its domination of the postpaid wireless market and outpaced larger rival Cingular Wireless L.L.C. in net customer additions during the third quarter. Verizon Wireless said it brought in 1.9...

Rogers plans HSDPA launch.(News)
November 6, 2006... Rogers announced it launched Canada's first HSDPA network in the greater Toronto area and laid out plans to expand the network to the country's top 20 markets throughout next year. Along with voice services, the HSDPA network offers...

A glance inside the handset: keeping it simple.(News)
November 6, 2006... Byline: PHIL CARSON A mobile phone runs on the chips inside it, if an over-generalization may be permitted for simplicity's sake. And the basic functions of a basic phone rely on four types of chips: the power amplifier, the RF...

What is a chip?(News)
November 6, 2006... Byline: Phil Carson Silica is a chemical that, in its manufactured, crystalline form, is ideally suited for use as a semiconductor. A semiconductor, a device made of silica, partly conducts and partly insulates-thus its name-and is...

New group proposes standard for wireless high-def in the home.(Focus)
November 6, 2006... Byline: JONI MORSE The wireless industry was graced with the presence of yet another standardization initiative last week. Naturally, backers of the new movement launched their plan with all the gusto and enthusiasm of well... every other...

Court sides with FCC on reciprocal compensation; Ruling underscores trouble assessing telecom subsidies.(News)
November 6, 2006... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA A U.S. appeals court in St. Louis last week reaffirmed federal telecom rules governing how mobile-phone and rural telephone carriers are paid for carrying each other's traffic, a favorable wireless ruling on an aspect...

DEs: Rule changes justify throwing out auction results.(News)
November 6, 2006... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA Council Tree Communications Inc. and other parties challenging changes to small-business bidding rules again hammered away at the Federal Communications Commission, telling the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that...

6 years ago this month...(Metrics)
November 6, 2006... Cingular Wireless gained a much-needed foothold in the New York market by agreeing to swap spectrum with VoiceStream Wireless, which bartered for spectrum in California and Nevada. AT&T Wireless and Sprint PCS also announced a spectrum swap at...

Data mining techniques not an exact science.(News)
November 6, 2006... Byline: COLIN GIBBS In these early days of mobile data, the wireless industry is scrambling for timely, accurate data about consumer behavior. But it's finding that such information can be difficult to come by. Mobile content...

FCC postpones AT&T merger decision.(News)
November 6, 2006... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The Federal Communications Commission will not act on the $79 billion merger of AT&T Inc. and BellSouth Corp. until after the Nov. 7 midterm elections, scrapping a Nov. 3 scheduled vote on the deal due to Chairman...

In search of the mobile shopper.(News)
November 6, 2006... Byline: PHIL CARSON Pssst... if you're looking for that elusive quarry-mobile handset consumers-you'll find them in abundance online. They're not only researching purchases in cyberspace, but increasingly making them over the Internet as...

New handset movie: The Replacements; Emerging markets upgrade phones.(News)
November 6, 2006... Byline: PHIL CARSON As a consensus of forecasts converge on the magical billion mark for handset shipments this year-although with some dissenters-attention has focused on several dynamics at play. The upshot? Watch the market for...

Sizing up the semiconductor beast; It may not be the cookie monster, but it's close.(News)
November 6, 2006... Byline: PHIL CARSON Trying to form a sense of the sprawling chip market for mobile phones is akin to getting a tape measure around an elephant's waist. With dozens of players and product types, the chip industry that enables the...

Hedgehogging.(Briefs)
November 6, 2006... hedge*hog*ging v. Interrupting conversations in an office environment by poking your head over the top of the cube Good news! In hedgehogging this week, we found a lot of positive things to say about new apps and devices. And you thought we...

Infrastructure Awards.(Metrics)
November 6, 2006... The following contracts were announced in October: Alcatel China: With China Mobile subsidiaries Shaanxi Mobile Communication Co. Ltd. and Jiangsu Mobile Communication Co. Ltd. to expand the carriers' GSM and GPRS networks. Value:...

Etc.(Briefs)
November 6, 2006... The Palms Hotel and Casino is now accepting live wagers on mobile betting devices, according to Progressive Gaming International Corp., which developed the system. The Rapid Bet Live Wireless technology was tested during last week's Monday...

Leap unites markets with unlimited in-network roaming.(News)
November 6, 2006... Byline: KELLY HILL Leap Wireless International Inc. said it will allow its Cricket customers to roam in Cricket markets across the country without paying an additional fee. The carrier also announced a new WAP-based wireless portal and a...

The next net neutrality debate.(Opinion)
November 6, 2006... Byline: Jeffrey Silva There's much discussion here and overseas-especially overseas-about Internet governance, a succinctly ambiguous description apt to be at the core of controversy for years to come. The Internet governance issue has...

FCC airs Cyren Call proposal; Controversial measure would take 700 MHz out of commercial play.
November 6, 2006... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The debate is officially on. And the clock is ticking. Six months after receiving Cyren Call Communications Inc.'s plan for a public-safety wireless broadband network the private sector would build and share with...

InfoSpace kills direct-to-consumer content biz.(News)
November 6, 2006... Byline: COLIN GIBBS InfoSpace Inc. reported a net loss for the third quarter and announced plans to halt investment in its direct-to-consumer content business, including its recently launched Moviso storefront. Instead, executives said,...

Wi-Fi scores victory at Boston airport; Continental can continue offering Wi-Fi in President's Club lounge.(News)
November 6, 2006... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The Federal Communications Commission said Continental Airlines Inc. can offer free Wi-Fi access at Boston-Logan International Airport, ruling the Massachusetts Port Authority's attempt to shut down the airline's...

Report: Cingular network spending slows with Carrier Access.(News)
November 6, 2006... Byline: JONI MORSE A report from ThinkEquity Partners L.L.C. said that AT&T Inc.'s pending acquisition of BellSouth Corp. has affected their wireless affiliate Cingular Wireless L.L.C.'s spending on its network infrastructure, and that...

Partisan politics.(Opinion)
November 6, 2006... Byline: Tracy Ford In this election season, the wireless industry stands as an Independent. Indeed, CTIA has been run successfully over recent years by Steve Largent, a Republican, and Tom Wheeler, a staunch Democrat. Wireless crosses...

Sprint Nextel hypes NFL content with AirPlay.(News)
November 6, 2006... Sprint Nextel Corp. and mobile application developer AirPlay are targeting football fans with an interactive offering that allows users to predict plays during NFL games. The carrier launched an NFL-licensed, downloadable application,...

EA, Gameloft show mobile gaming increases.(News)
November 6, 2006... Shares of Electronic Arts Inc. jumped after the game-making behemoth reported increased mobile sales and surprisingly good overall quarterly revenues. The company rang up $35 million in mobile game sales, up slightly from the previous...

Cingular no Sinatra; Carrier gives users music 'their way'.
November 6, 2006... Byline: COLIN GIBBS While Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel Corp. lumber around the nascent mobile music playground looking to "own the customer,'' Cingular Wireless L.L.C. hopes to attract music lovers by playing nice. The nation's...

VCs pour more money into content firms, even as established players hit bumps.(News)
November 6, 2006... Byline: COLIN GIBBS For mobile content players, these are either the best of times or the worst of times. Or, in some cases, both. Investment money continues to flow into wireless content and marketing. Thumbplay Inc., a...

Google pushing easier mobile access to Gmail.(News)
November 6, 2006... Google Inc. is offering a download that is designed to make mobile access to its free Gmail service faster, and Sprint Nextel Corp. is making the download available from its mobile Web home page. The download is free, other than data...

Qwest turns profit, Rogers posts better ARPU, SunCom challenged.(News)
November 6, 2006... Byline: KELLY HILL Qwest Communications International Inc. reported a profitable third quarter with net income of $194 million, reversing a $144 million loss the company reported in the same quarter last year. Further, Qwest said the...

AMERICA SUPER-SIZED; Cingular leads in subs, but Verizon Wireless counts more retail users.
November 6, 2006... Byline: KELLY HILL Two years after Cingular Wireless L.L.C. acquired AT&T Wireless Services Inc. and drove Verizon Wireless out of its spot as the largest U.S. wireless carrier, Verizon Wireless' performance has allowed the carrier to...

Andrew to buy EMS Wireless for $50.5M.(News)
November 6, 2006... Consolidation among communications vendors continued as Andrew Corp. announced plans to spend $50.5 million in cash to buy the wireless division of EMS Technologies Inc. Georgia-based EMS Wireless racked up revenues of $28.5 million during...

Late News.
November 6, 2006... Byline: COLIN GIBBS Developer Volantis aims to create content buzz with white-label app Mobile data software developer Volantis is targeting carriers with an application that delivers updated, personalized Internet information to...

Copps slams FCC for ignoring bird-tower clashes; Agency to probe if towers are killing migratory birds.(News)
November 6, 2006... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The Federal Communications Commission launched a rulemaking to determine whether rules are necessary to reduce the number of migratory bird collisions with cell-phone towers and other telecom antenna structures,...

Motorola on offensive against counterfeit handset accessories.(News)
November 6, 2006... Byline: PHIL CARSON Motorola Inc. reiterated its concern over a proliferation of counterfeit accessories, particularly Bluetooth headsets, purported to be made by Motorola and reaching consumers in the United States. Motorola warned that...

Helio plans more handsets for holidays.(News)
November 6, 2006... Helio L.L.C., the self-proclaimed mobile virtual network operator for the young and hip, will launch additional handsets this year and next, according to Rick Heineman, the company's head of media relations. Heineman promised to give more...

Stock Watch: October 26-November 2.(Metrics)
November 6, 2006... table: Stock Watch: October 26-November 2 * 3 graphs: Market Diary * Indices * RCR Index: see print copy.

Top 10 selling phones, October:.(Metrics)
November 6, 2006... 1. (1) Sony Ericsson K790i/K800i 2. (2) Sony Ericsson K750i/D750i/W800i 3. (-) Nokia 6233/6234 4. (-) Sony Ericsson K610i/K618i/K610im/V630i 5. (10) Motorola Krzr K1 6. (7) Nokia 5500 7. (6) Nokia N73 8. (-) Qtek...

RCRNews.com.(News)
November 6, 2006... Need to do some research on your rivals? Visit www.RCRNews.com/search.cms to search through 12 years of RCR stories-the most complete wireless news database in the industry.

Disney Mobile holiday promo: cheaper phones, free month of service.(News)
November 6, 2006... Byline: Kelly Hill Disney Mobile is trying to lure customers to sign up for its service during the holiday season by lowering the cost of its handsets and offering a month of service for free, according to promotions on the mobile virtual...

Ultimate Electronics drops T-Mobile USA in favor of competitor Verizon Wireless.(News)
November 13, 2006... Western U.S. consumer electronics retailer Ultimate Electronics has dropped T-Mobile USA Inc. in favor of Verizon Wireless. The retail chain said it will offer Verizon Wireless phones and services in 29 of its 32 stores in Colorado,...

The Holiday Outlook: Big carriers, big handset brands, low prices.(Focus)
November 13, 2006... Byline: PHIL CARSON The fourth quarter typically is the most robust for device sales and, as the final quarter to the calendar year, prognostication for 2006 is in its end game. Will the industry sell a billion handsets this year?...

America's most reliable voting machine.(Opinion)
November 13, 2006... Byline: Mike Dano I watched some of the midterm election coverage last week on a cell phone. My wife had taken over the TV on Tuesday to watch one of her dancing or singing shows (I'm not sure which one it was, they're all pretty similar),...

Opera upgrades Mini to maximize market opportunities.(News)
November 13, 2006... Byline: COLIN GIBBS Opera Software ASA is looking to maximize its Mini. The Norwegian developer this month plans to launch the third version of its mobile browser for mass-market phones, promising to enhance security and increase...

Late News.
November 13, 2006... MMA updates ad rules for wireless Web The Mobile Marketing Association expects to release updated guidelines this week, outlining technical requirements and establishing rules for wireless Web advertisements. The 18-page document,...

Wireless fertile ground for Yahoo in battle with Google.
November 13, 2006... Byline: COLIN GIBBS Yahoo Inc. is hoping wireless users can give it a much-needed boost against rival Google Inc. The Internet giant stepped further onto the white-hot mobile marketing playground, launching a "graphical advertising...

Sun uses GPL to open Java.(News)
November 13, 2006... Byline: COLIN GIBBS That Sun Microsystems Inc. is finally taking Java open source isn't likely to surprise anyone. What's surprising is how they're doing it. The software developer this week should announce that it is releasing its...

Amp'd bundles music content.(News)(Sound recording review)
November 13, 2006... Amp'd Mobile has added two music-centric multimedia bundles to its services, offering full-length tracks and "studio sessions'' recorded at its in-house studio. According to Amp'd, the Studio Sessions packages cost $4 to $5 depending on...

MasterCard, Nokia again team for NFC payment tests.(News)
November 13, 2006... Another trial of near field communication for contactless payment has begun in Dallas. The trial will include up to 500 participants and will last six months, according to participants MasterCard, Nokia and 7-Eleven. This is the latest...

Centennial launches unlimited local plan in Puerto Rico.(News)
November 13, 2006... Centennial Communications Corp. introduced an unlimited local calling option for its customers in Puerto Rico. For $50 per month, Puerto Rico wireless customers will get unlimited inbound and outbound local calling and have the option to...

Motorola strips iTunes from newest Cingular Razr.(News)
November 13, 2006... A new Motorola Inc. Razr V3 "R'' phone shipping to Cingular Wireless L.L.C. stores is equipped with MP3 capabilities, but not Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes platform, a Cingular spokesman said. "This would be in line with our strategy of...

NTP sets sights on Palm.(News)
November 13, 2006... Byline: KRISTEN BECKMAN Patent-holding company NTP Inc. said it filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Treo maker Palm Inc. that claims the company's mobile e-mail products infringe on NTP's patents. NTP filed the claim in the...

Tektronix acquires Minacom for $27M.(News)
November 13, 2006... Test and measurement company Tektronix Inc. said it signed a definitive agreement to acquire Minacom for $27 million. Montreal-based Minacom provides active probe test solutions used by telecom carriers, cable operators, wireless and Voice...

Nortel posts smaller loss, moving ahead with reverse stock split.(News)
November 13, 2006... Byline: KELLY HILL Nortel Networks Ltd. narrowed its overall loss for the third quarter to $99 million and said that it would go ahead with a plan to consolidate its shares on a 1-for-10 basis. Nortel had reported a $136 million loss...

Rural carriers record better data ARPU.(News)
November 13, 2006... Byline: KELLY HILL Rural carriers saw an increase in roaming revenues during the third quarter as minutes of use increased, despite slides in per-minute prices-and for Rural Cellular Corp., data roaming revenues exploded by 405 percent...

Syniverse moves into the black.(News)
November 13, 2006... Syniverse Holdings Inc. swung to a profit in the third quarter, but the news didn't seem to satisfy the company's investors, who sent Syniverse's stock down more than 3 percent to $14.24 per share. Syniverse reported a net income of $17.6...

Send in the clowns.(Opinion)
November 13, 2006... Byline: Jeffrey Silva Losing Congress and easy access to corporate political money is bad enough, but surrendering the House to the woman they fashioned as the poster child of ultra-left looneyism must be awfully hard to swallow for...

Motorola finds Good in e-mail vendor assets.
November 13, 2006... Byline: COLIN GIBBS The field of mobile e-mail startups is thinning faster than Lindsay Lohan. Motorola Inc. last week stepped up its efforts to deliver e-mail to wireless users, announcing plans to acquire privately held wireless...

Firefly, Warner Bros. to sell Tweety, Superman, Supergirl devices.(News)
November 13, 2006... Firefly Mobile, which develops and markets mobile phones for children, announced a licensing agreement with Warner Bros. Consumer Products that will allow it to launch new line of mobile phones that feature Tweety, Superman and Supergirl. ...

CheckFree, Firethorn team on mobile banking.(News)
November 13, 2006... CheckFree Corp. and Firethorn Holdings L.L.C. said they are teaming up to deliver mobile banking and bill payment services to financial institutions. The exclusive partnership agreement between the two companies calls for Firethorn to...

Tower Results.(Briefs)
November 13, 2006... American Tower warns on stock options BOSTON-American Tower Corp.reported only partial results for the third quarter that showed rising revenues, but the company also disclosed troubling details of its investigation into its stock-option...

Qualcomm earnings solid as Nokia dispute continues to depress stock.(News)
November 13, 2006... Byline: PHIL CARSON In a fourth-quarter earnings call last week, Qualcomm Inc. President Steve Altman stirred the stew of issues facing the company when he said the company's negotiating team doubts it can renew a cross-licensing agreement...

Wireless messaging critical for deaf community; Devices figured in recent, successful student protests.(News)
November 13, 2006... Byline: PHIL CARSON The advent of interactive pagers and the march of wireless technology for text-based applications since that seemingly distant time have been a boon for the deaf community, though technology useful to the deaf continues...

Etc.(Briefs)
November 13, 2006... Cowboys in Chicago? A variety of companies and groups have teamed up to encourage cell-phone recycling by sending teams of cowboys out onto the streets of Chicago Nov. 15 to collect used cell phones and pass out literature. The effort is part...

Wall Street celebrates Brightpoint's third quarter, HTC handset contract.(News)
November 13, 2006... Investors applauded Brightpoint Inc., sending the company's stock up more than 15 percent, after the mobile-phone distributor posted third-quarter profits and revenues that reached record levels. Brightpoint's revenues totaled $633.7...

IPCS nets 61,200 new customers.(News)
November 13, 2006... IPCS Inc., a Sprint Nextel Corp. affiliate carrier, said its net loss narrowed during the third quarter. The company registered a net loss of $6.7 million, an improvement from net loss of $16.3 million during the same period last year. ...

Palm OS scores another licensee.(News)
November 13, 2006... Janam Technologies L.L.C. said it licensed Access Systems Americas Inc.'s Palm OS Garnet platform until 2011. Janam Technologies provides rugged mobile computers, and the agreement allows Janam to develop and sell application-specific mobile...

WiMAX vendors bemoan satellite radio interference.(News)
November 13, 2006... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA A group of wireless broadband companies complained that Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio Inc. should not be allowed to continue operating unauthorized and over-powered terrestrial repeaters in the 2 GHz...

Dingell sends mixed signals on AT&T/BellSouth deal.(News)
November 13, 2006... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), the incoming chairman of the House Commerce Committee, sent mixed signals about how he wants the Federal Communications Commission to proceed on AT&T Inc.'s pending $79 billion acquisition...

19 years ago this month...(Metrics)
November 13, 2006... The wireless industry reached the 1-million subscriber mark, according to figures compiled by CTIA. At the time, cellular service was available to about 65 percent of the population covering 159 cities. CTIA said it expected cellular...

Robert Redford, GSM Association back mobile film project.(News)
November 13, 2006... Actor Robert Redford's Sundance Institute is teaming with the GSM Association to promote made-for-mobile video shorts. The organizations unveiled a pilot project designed to "showcase and extend the reach'' of independent short films for...

InPhonic taps into $100M in debt financing, reports increased Q3 revenues, but greater losses.(News)
November 13, 2006... Online mobile phone retailer InPhonic Inc. announced a $100 million debt financing agreement with Goldman Sachs and Citigroup. InPhonic, which operates the Wirefly.com storefront, said it will use the capital to repay debt under its...

South America ringtone market to explode, Juniper says.(Metrics)
November 13, 2006... The ringtone market will continue to expand, thanks to strong growth in developing markets and the introduction of new personalization products, according to new figures from Juniper Research. The firm predicts a 22-percent rise in ringtone...

Reacting to rejection; Industry says Cyren Call is the wrong solution for interoperability, public safety discouraged.(News)
November 13, 2006... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The Democratic takeover of Congress could help Cyren Call Communications Inc. resurrect its toppled broadband public-safety plan, with incoming House Commerce Committee head John Dingell (D-Mich.) last week...

Shift in Congress could spell changes for wireless industry.
November 13, 2006... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The return of the House and Senate to Democrats in last week's midterm elections complicates the wireless industry's quest for legislation expanding federal pre-emption, with the altered political landscape conducive...

Huawei: More than just low-cost leader.(News)
November 13, 2006... Byline: JONI MORSE Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. is trying to discard its image as merely the industry's low-cost provider. During a corporate presentation last week as part of a press tour of the company's headquarters in Shenzhen,...

Leap surpasses 2M subs, ups ARPU, but profit sinks.(News)
November 13, 2006... Byline: KELLY HILL Leap Wireless International Inc. continued to gain momentum during the third quarter, adding seven times as many customers as it did at this time last year and increasing its revenue by 25 percent. However, the company's...

Japan's Fair Trade Commission may investigate Qualcomm.(News)
November 13, 2006... Japanese authorities may be the next to look into Qualcomm Inc.'s business practices. The chipmaker said it has been notified by the Japan Fair Trade Commission that the agency may investigate its licensing and chip business practices in...

Helio gets the drift for third handset.(News)
November 13, 2006... Byline: KELLY HILL Forget about "Tokyo Drift,'' the latest sequel to "The Fast and the Furious'' franchise. Now there's the Helio Drift, a souped-up handset from mobile virtual network operator Helio L.L.C. Subscribers will be able to...