RCR Wireless News articles from November 2008

RCR Wireless News archives from November 2008

Nokia's N-Gage gets a vote from EA Mobile.
November 3, 2008... EA Mobile said it will expand its support for Nokia Corp.'s N-Gage platform with nearly a dozen new titles over the next year. EA Sports FIFA 09, Spore Origins and Monopoly Here & Now: The World Edition will launch in time for the holiday...

Sprint Nextel drops child locator price.
November 3, 2008... Byline: COLIN GIBBS Sprint Nextel Corp. is targeting parents of trick-or-treaters by halving the price of its GPS-based child-locating service. Sprint Family Locator, which allows parents to view the location of their children from a...

NAD: Flaws in AT&T ads.
November 3, 2008... Byline: ALLIE WINTER AT&T Mobility is ignoring recommendations from the National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus to modify or discontinue two of its "More Bars in More Places'' TV commercials. Verizon...

Transport sector to lead mobile ticketing.
November 3, 2008... More than 400 million mobile users will use their phones for ticketing services by 2013, according to a new report from Juniper Research. The market is facing a variety of near-term challenges, including bar code reading issues, lack of...

Rural providers likely losers after FCC meeting.
November 3, 2008... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The nation's top wireless and high-tech companies appear poised to be big winners Nov. 4, with Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin seemingly on track to secure votes that will result in further...

CWA sues AT&T over benefits.
November 3, 2008... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The Communications Workers of America has sued AT&T Mobility and other subsidiaries of the telecom giant over what it calls corporate shell games to avoid providing benefits to employees. The lawsuit, filed in the...

Wireless providers protest backup-power reporting regs; T-Mobile USA says it's "recordkeeping for recordkeeping's sake'.
November 3, 2008... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The cell-phone and tower industries urged the Bush administration to reject backup-power reporting requirements, arguing the Federal Communications Commission grossly underestimated time, operational and financial...

Autumn's chill: Handset sales out in the cold.
November 3, 2008... Byline: PHIL CARSON The handset market has been unseasonably chilly this fall. Where the third quarter typically reflects a ramp-up for the holiday spending orgy, it appeared from the metrics that the togas may remain in the closet...

Policy landscape likely to shift with Tuesday's races.
November 3, 2008... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The wireless industry faces a policy landscape whose evolving contours could be significantly shaped in coming years by the outcome of the Nov. 4 elections. On the surface, it would appear industry has plenty of...

The house that Andy built.
November 3, 2008... Byline: Jeffrey Silva These are interesting times for WiMAX. One might even say the moment of truth has arrived. Indeed, Nov. 4 is also decision day for WiMAX in the United States. If a high-powered Sprint Nextel Corp.-Clearwire Corp....

An ownership society.
November 3, 2008... Byline: Tracy Ford Is the Google Android operating system a game changer? The answer to that question may determine the answer to one of wireless's biggest questions: Who owns the customer? From the time the first cellphone call was...

...ETC...
November 3, 2008... Bird's eye view Wildtones.com is offering the Peterson Mobile Field Guide to Backyard Birds for bird watchers. The product provides bird information specific to the mobile phone user's geographic area. The company categorized 900 North...

4 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK.
November 3, 2008... A new No. 1 wireless carrier was formed when the government OK'ed Cingular Wireless L.L.C.'s $41 billion acquisition of AT&T Wireless Services Inc. Moody's Investor Services immediately downgraded the long-term debt of the carriers and its...

"Patrons and politics'; Mobile OS choices raise questions.
November 3, 2008... Byline: PHIL CARSON News last week that Motorola Inc. had settled on Windows Mobile and Android as handset platforms in an effort to simplify, focus on innovation and manage costs underscored the unknowns involved in such choices. ...

Sprint Nextel says yes to iDEN; Acquiesces on termination fees, gets rebanding extension.
November 3, 2008... Byline: ALLIE WINTER AND JEFFREY SILVA Sprint Nextel Corp. has decided to continue its commitment to its iDEN network. After much speculation that Sprint Nextel was lining up buyers for the network, the company announced an extended...

Moto's slow turnaround; A difficult maneuver takes time, innovation.
November 3, 2008... Byline: PHIL CARSON Turning around Motorola Inc. will be akin to making a K-turn in a stretch limo on a frontage road. You gotta downsize to a vehicle that's easier to maneuver. Many passengers will have to get out, while new...

CenturyTel, Embarq combo lacks wireless; MVNO, backhaul may be options for growth.
November 3, 2008... Byline: ALLIE WINTER Even as CenturyTel Inc.'s board of directors gave the company the green light to acquire Embarq Corp. in a projected $11.6 billion transaction, an Ovum analyst questions whether the new entity can be successful without...

Bang & Olufsen drops handsets.
November 3, 2008... Byline: PHIL CARSON Bang & Olufsen, the Danish maker of high-end audio and video products, is getting out of mobile phones to focus on its core competencies, the company said. B & O originally had partnered with Samsung Electronics Co....

CONTRACTS.
November 3, 2008... The following infrastructure contracts were announced in October: Alcatel-Lucent Armenia: With iCON Communications to design and deploy a commercial WiMAX 802.16e-2005 (Rev-e) network. Value: Undisclosed South Africa: With...

Online research leads to handset purchases; Tech-savvy consumers research online first, spend more later.
November 3, 2008... Byline: PHIL CARSON Well-informed consumers looking for a new handset typically turn to online research first, using search capabilities and often searching for a specific handset, according to a new study of online shopping behavior. ...

Regional carriers eye visual voicemail as differentiator.
November 3, 2008... Byline: ALLIE WINTER Visual voicemail is still in its infancy it's only available on a handful of devices from the nation's top four carriers but as the service becomes more prevalent, smaller wireless providers may see it as a way to...

Economic uncertainty could weigh down mobile ad experimentation; MMA updates marketing guidelines, prepares for annual event.
November 3, 2008... Byline: COLIN GIBBS Wondering whether the ripples from the Wall Street implosion will rock the wireless world? They already are, according to Laura Marriott. "We definitely are seeing a decrease in, or a halt to, discretionary...

iPhone rise spurred by less wealthy.
November 3, 2008... While 43% of Apple Inc.'s iPhone users earn more than $100,000 a year, a new study from ComScore Inc. found that iPhone adoption since June increased 46% among people who made between $25,000 and $75,000 per year. "As an additional...

Correction.(Correction notice)
November 3, 2008... In the Oct. 27 issue of RCR Wireless news, "Glass Half Full or Half Empty'' on page 7, Paul Palmieri's quote regarding 60% fill rates referred to online advertising.

VZW posts strong subscriber growth, but higher churn.
November 3, 2008... Byline: ALLIE WINTER Verizon Wireless added 2.1 million customers during the third quarter, just slightly behind numbers posted by rival AT&T Mobility. In organic growth, Verizon added 1.5 million retail net customer additions,...

Cable firm Cox to build wireless network by 2009; Teams with Sprint Nextel to expand reach.(Company overview)
November 3, 2008... Byline: ALLIE WINTER AND MIKE DANO After several failed attempts to offer a wireless play, Cox Communications announced its most ambitious wireless blueprint to date: The cable company said it plans to build its own network with the $500...

OS market shares shifting.
November 3, 2008... Byline: PHIL CARSON The "OS wars,'' as some would have it, are alive and well at least in the data on the various contenders' shifting market share. "Symbian is still by far the most popular operating system for smartphones, with...

Sites turn to mobile for election coverage.
November 3, 2008... Byline: COLIN GIBBS The presidential contest that will almost certainly be decided this week may be remembered as the point where politics collided with mobile. And I'm not talking just about Barack Obama's text-message campaign. A...

The 2008 presidential race: A baseline for the future of wireless campaigns.
November 3, 2008... Byline: GARY E. SALAZAR This year's presidential election is significant in more ways than one: It marks the year that text messaging and the mobile Web became political battlegrounds, and serves as a benchmark in the amount of money spent...

Thumbplay tunes into full-track downloads.
November 3, 2008... Thumbplay Inc. bulked up its library of off-deck goodies with a full-track mobile download service. The New York-based wireless content company launched a beta version of the offering, which delivers DRM-free tunes directly to MP3-enabled...

Scorecard wins Cellular One business.
November 3, 2008... MTPCS L.L.C., which operates under the Cellular One brand name, has chosen reporting and analysis solutions company Scorecard Systems Inc. to provide a detailed subscriber and service analysis capability across its operations. Cellular One...

Wi-Fi Alliance reaches product milestone.
November 3, 2008... The Wi-Fi Alliance said 5,000 consumer and enterprise products have now been Wi-Fi certified since the testing program started in 2000. The group said more than 1,000 of those certifications have been issued since September, 2007. Growth is...

Lucent, NSN struggle post-merger; Lucent CEO to unveil turnaround plans next month.
November 3, 2008... Byline: GARY E. SALAZAR The top three companies in the wireless infrastructure market all posted revenues in the billions, but only one came out on top in turning a profit for the third quarter. The world leader in market share, L.M....

Home automation market to take off.
November 3, 2008... Home automation applications powered by broadband and wireless service providers have the potential for broad market appeal, according to research from ABI. The firm said home automation, both through standardized technologies or through...

Moving toward free laptops? AT&T cuts $150 off ThinkPad price tag; While Euro carriers fully subsidize cost of laptops, Lenovo, Ericsson team with AT&T to cut prices.
November 3, 2008... Byline: ALLIE WINTER AT&T Mobility, computer-maker Lenovo and L.M. Ericsson announced a teaming to knock off $150 from the price of 3G-capable laptops, with an eye toward enticing customers to mobile broadband. The new offer...

N.C. Alltel store says business as usual until merger.
November 3, 2008... Byline: ALLIE WINTER Editor's Note: In this monthly feature, RCR Wireless News talks to retail managers across the country to get a first-hand view of what's hot in wireless. Alltel Communications L.L.C stepped on the scene in the...

Frustrated with tracking capabilities, father forms LBS company.
November 3, 2008... Byline: GARY E. SALAZAR Craig Harper went from trying to keep track of his daughter to launching his own company that aims to help businesses keep track of their mobile workforce and be more productive. In 2006, Harper bought his 9-...

3G iPhone growth strongest among those with modest incomes.
November 10, 2008... Byline: PHIL CARSON The strongest growth in Apple Inc. 3G iPhone sales is occurring among consumers who earn below the median household income, according to comScore/M:Metrics. While nearly half of iPhone owners earn more than $100,000...

In the race to 4G, LTE takes upfront lead; Too early to call?
November 10, 2008... Byline: ALLIE WINTER The ever-evolving nature of the wireless market has its eyes set on so-called 4G technologies. These are expected to be higher-capacity networks based on Internet Protocol standards that will support wireless broadband...

Broadcast-based mobile TV closer to reality.
November 10, 2008... Byline: COLIN GIBBS It seems all the pieces are in place for traditional television broadcasters to tap the perennially hyped mobile video space. Well, all the pieces except the business models, anyway. An association representing more...

Questions loom whether FCC will address USF vote before new administration takes over.
November 10, 2008... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin last week scratched a planned vote to reform the universal service fund and intercarrier compensation regimes, providing a temporary reprieve for small- and...

Velocita, SkyTel set to tackle M2M space.
November 10, 2008... Byline: GARY E. SALAZAR Two companies with lengthy wireless histories have merged into one entity that is geared to tackle the machine-to-machine market. Velocita Wireless L.L.C. and SkyTel are launching their new business plan this...

Wireless under the Dems to bring about change.
November 10, 2008... Byline: Jeffrey Silva With Democrats capturing the White House and strengthening their control of Congress on the same day that federal regulators approved two major telecom deals, wireless policy changes could be in store as lawmakers,...

Parting the waters, pummeling walled gardens.
November 10, 2008... Byline: Jeffrey Silva History-making is not apt to stop with the election of an African American to the highest office in the land. President-elect Barack Obama and his incoming administration also could break with tradition insofar as the...

Moto's path: in flux.
November 10, 2008... Byline: PHIL CARSON To observers, Motorola Inc.'s glass is either half-full or half-empty. "Ringing Start for Motorola Chief,'' declared Barron's last week after the ailing American vendor reported steep losses. Barron's had...

Nokia to cut 600+ jobs.
November 10, 2008... Nokia Corp. said it would cut as many as 615 jobs in an ongoing corporate reorganization. The bulk, 450 jobs, will be eliminated in the global handset leader's markets unit. Streamlining of the company's Nokia Research Center will...

MetroPCS expands in Michigan, plans rollouts.
November 10, 2008... Byline: ALLIE WINTER MetroPCS Communications Inc. posted its full, third-quarter earnings report, along with news that it is now up and running in new Michigan markets. The carrier, which previously announced that it added 249,000...

U.S. Cellular struggles, cites economy.
November 10, 2008... Byline: ALLIE WINTER U.S. Cellular Corp. reported losing a total of 18,000 customers during the third quarter, a significant turn-around from recent gains. John E. Rooney, U.S. Cellular president and CEO, expressed dissatisfaction. ...

Leap's loss widens, new launches pay off.
November 10, 2008... Byline: ALLIE WINTER Leap Wireless International Inc. lost nearly $50 million during the third quarter, but said it will continue to focus on growth. Leap reported a net loss of $48.8 million, which it attributed to its new...

Phoenix Stadium: built for wireless from ground up.
November 10, 2008... Byline: GARY E. SALAZAR It sits in the desert as a shimmering star, an example of state-of-the-art technology. From its retractable roof to its grass field that can roll out of the steel and concrete structure, University of Phoenix...

BY THE NUMBERS.
November 10, 2008... 200M UMDs to ship in 2013 Shipments of ultra-mobile devices, which encompass ultra-mobile PCs, netbooks and Mobile Internet Devices, are expected to exceed 200 million units in 2013, according to a recent study from ABI Research. ...

Done Deals; VZW/Alltel, SN/Clearwire transactions approved, details remain.
November 10, 2008... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The Federal Communications Commission's conditional approval of Verizon Wireless' acquisition of Alltel Communications L.L.C. and the merger of Sprint Nextel Corp. and Clearwire Corp.'s WiMAX operations could have...

Look(ing) out for No. 1.
November 10, 2008... Byline: Dan Meyer Nov. 4, 2008, will go down as a historic day both for the country as well as for the wireless industry. The impact of the presidential election is probably self-evident and better explained by those with more knowledge on...

Bullish analyst on Palm goes bear-ish.
November 10, 2008... Byline: PHIL CARSON Palm Inc. saw its stock yo-yo last week after downgrades by Morgan Keegan and Avian Securities L.L.C. The downgrade by Morgan Keegan appeared significant because analyst Tavis McCourt has been consistently positive...

Tech firms jubilant over white-spaces vote.
November 10, 2008... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The Federal Communications Commission uncorked a plethora of prime spectrum in TV white spaces for unlicensed wireless devices and services a big victory for tech companies that could also lay the foundation for WiMAX...

Samsung bests Moto for top spot in U.S. market.
November 10, 2008... Byline: PHIL CARSON Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. claimed more than 22% market share in the United States last quarter, edging out the American icon, Motorola Inc., according to data released by Strategy Analytics. Yet the top three...

Circuit City store closings to impact VZW, VM USA; Carriers to lose 143 outlets.
November 10, 2008... Byline: ALLIE WINTER Big-box retailer Circuit City said last week it will close 155 of its stores, including 143 locations that house a Verizon Wireless store-within-a-store location. The carrier has been the exclusive postpaid wireless...

Big 4 - 2 = Big 2; SN, T-Mo USA falling behind larger rivals.
November 10, 2008... Byline: ALLIE WINTER With the wireless industry's nationwide players having posted third-quarter results, it appears that the market is quickly changing from a battle of the big 4 to a war between the big 2. Last week, the industry's...

Amdocs continues mobile strategy with $60M ChangingWorlds buy.
November 10, 2008... Byline: COLIN GIBBS Amdocs announced plans to expand its mobile business with a $60 million acquisition of Ireland's ChangingWorlds. ChangingWorlds targets network operators and off-deck vendors with portal-management technology that...

Game makers hope new platforms are game changers.
November 10, 2008... Byline: COLIN GIBBS There continues to be a fair amount of optimism among mobile game makers. Whether the rose-colored lenses are warranted, though, is more uncertain than ever. Gameloft last week offered a surprisingly upbeat outlook...

...ETC...
November 10, 2008... Al Gore to speak at CTIA's April event Former Vice President and Noble Peace Prize Winner Al Gore will be the Day 3 keynote speaker at the International CTIA Wireless 2009 event, set to take place April 1-3 in Las Vegas. Former VP Gore...

Motorola says it completed LTE sessions at 700 MHz.
November 10, 2008... Motorola Inc. said it completed what it termed the industry's first over-the-air LTE data sessions using 700 MHz spectrum. The Schaumburg, Ill.-based equipment vendor said it used its LTE Radio Access Test Network and its LTE eNode-B platform...

VZW unveils biz-focused static IP service; Offering targeted at secure communications.
November 17, 2008... Byline: GARY E. SALAZAR Heeding demands from its enterprise customers, Verizon Wireless recently began offering a solution that provides companies greater control and increased security for wireless devices on the network. The carrier...

HTC's Touch Diamond: Sprint Nextel adds to its high-end offerings.
November 17, 2008... Byline: PHIL CARSON The growing consumer embrace of smartphones and the willingness to pay for heavily subsidized gadgets and data plans that promise fun and functionality faces uncharted territory this holiday season. But plans for...

T-Mobile USA begins massive online marketing push for G1.
November 17, 2008... Byline: COLIN GIBBS T-Mobile USA Inc. has tapped AOL's Platform-A to promote the new G1 phone from Google Inc. The ad network was expected to deliver a billion impressions touting the G1 during a two-day campaign. The online ad...

Forecast cloudy, turbulent for gaming.
November 17, 2008... Byline: Colin Gibbs This year may well mark "a turning point in the mobile gaming industry,'' as Gameloft insisted last week. But for most wireless-game makers, there will be plenty more storm before the calm. The Paris-based publisher...

Opera Mini updated, tops 20M downloads.
November 17, 2008... Byline: COLIN GIBBS Opera Software ASA rolled out the latest version of its popular Mini Web browser offering as it boasted of the browser's 20 millionth download. The Norwegian developer unveiled a beta version of Opera Mini 4.2, an...

Qualcomm ditches UMB for LTE; Stronger focus on smartphones, netbooks.
November 17, 2008... Byline: PHIL CARSON Qualcomm Inc. publicly SAID that it was giving up on developing its Ultra Mobile Broadband evolution for CDMA, leaving the technology's upgrade path up in the air. During an analyst meeting last week, the company...

LG, others to pay $585M for fines for price-fixing LCDs.
November 17, 2008... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA A unit of LG Electronics, the South Korean-based multinational giant with a major wireless handset business, and other Asian manufacturers agreed to pay $585 million in fines and plead guilty in connection with the...

Nokia's "unsettling' warning; "Sharp pullback' in consumer spending.
November 17, 2008... Byline: PHIL CARSON Nokia Corp. delivered a sober warning Friday that a "rapid change'' in consumer spending over past weeks led the handset giant to cut its estimates for mobile device volumes in the fourth quarter and for 2009. ...

Nokia scores SKU at AT&T Mobility.
November 17, 2008... AT&T Mobility began selling Nokia Corp.'s 6650 smartphone on last Friday for $70, with two-year contract and a $50 mail-in rebate. The 3G flip-style phone runs the Symbian platform and offers "industry-leading talk time,'' an HTML browser,...

Wheeler, Hundt join Obama-Biden transition team; Range of wireless veterans to aid new administration.
November 17, 2008... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA Major fundraisers who previously were highly influential in the wireless space have assumed key roles on the Obama-Biden transition team, a move that comes amid efforts by the Democratic president-elect to limit the...

Policy jam.
November 17, 2008... Byline: Jeffrey Silva The controversy turns on an objective contrary to the inherent purpose of wireless communications, cleanly getting a radio signal from point A to point B. So you might wonder why a religious war continues to rage over...

Mobile is glue connecting media screens; Brands, agencies attend annual MMF event.
November 17, 2008... Byline: TRACY FORD Adding mobility to marketing campaigns is becoming a no-brainer. Case studies from brands that use a mobile component as part of their overall marketing campaigns show that mobility enhances the overall campaign and...

VZW gets 700 MHz assets.
November 17, 2008... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The Federal Communications Commission gave final clearance to Verizon Wireless' $4.7 billion purchase of a nationwide collection of regional licenses at the 700 MHz auction earlier this year, refusing Google Inc.'s...

Facebook triples wireless subscriber base.
November 17, 2008... Byline: COLIN GIBBS Facebook is stepping up its mobile game. The wildly popular social networking site has seen the number of wireless users triple this year, exploding from 5 million to 15 million active mobile Facebookers, according...

5 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK.
November 17, 2008... Sprint launched its CDMA-based Ready Link push-to-talk service. The launched followed a similar move by Verizon Wireless and was seen as a competitive play against Nextel's envied iDEN-based PTT offering.

Martin rushes to get D-Block to vote; AWS-3, universal service reform also top his agenda.
November 17, 2008... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin, with time dwindling to move top policy priorities as a new administration prepares to assume power in January, is laying the groundwork to win approval by...

CTIA drops open-access challenge over 700 MHz C Block.
November 17, 2008... Byline: JEFFREY SILVA The mobile-phone industry has dropped a legal challenge to the open-access condition imposed on a third of the 700 MHz spectrum auctioned by the Federal Communications Commission earlier this year. Wireless...

Helio brings luck to VM USA; MVNO reverses loss with a $4.1 million Q3 profit.(Financial report)
November 17, 2008... Byline: ALLIE WINTER The mobile virtual network operator market continues to proffer a mixed bag for those that continue to dabble in its murky waters. One of the segments stalwarts, Virgin Mobile USA Inc., posted third-quarter results...

Hedgehogging; hedge*hog*ging v. Interrupting conversations in an office environment by poking your head over the top of the cube.
November 17, 2008... The holidays have been saved! Glu Mobile unveiled the follow up to its 2007 mobile game based on the movie "Transformers.'' The new title, "Transformers G1: Awakening'' is a little clumsy, but the fact that the gameplay is based on the original...

Stereo Bluetooth headsets to languish behind mono versions.
November 17, 2008... Consumers have embraced Bluetooth-enabled mono headsets for mobile phones, but getting them to accept stereo Bluetooth headsets is another story. A new study from IMS Research predicts sales of mono Bluetooth headsets will increase by 10...

S.E.'s Xperia to sell in U.S. for $800.
November 17, 2008... Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications announced its high-end, touchscreen smartphone, the Xperia X1, will be available to U.S. shoppers in time for the holiday season but the device will carry the staggering price tag of $800. The...

Acquisition frenzy continues; Centennial deal might not be last.
November 17, 2008... Byline: MIKE DANO Another regional player is set for extinction. Earlier this month AT&T Mobility announced plans to acquire Centennial Communications Corp. for $2.8 billion. The deal is expected to add approximately 1.1 million...