Cellular

Is Sprint Nextel getting ready for a fire sale?

It sure looks that way following speculation around Wall Street on Monday of a possible sale or breakup of the beleaguered wireless operator. First, The Wall Street Journal reported that German phone company Deutsche Telekom was considering buying the company. Later the same day, another Wall Street Journal article cited sources who said Sprint Nextel is considering unloading its Nextel assets, a move that might make the $22.3 billion wireless operator more attractive to potential buyers.

While a Deutsche Telekom sale seems like a long shot, it's not surprising … Read more

Remember last October when T-Mobile launched the Samsung SGH-T639? Though the carrier lacked a 3G network at the time, the SGH-T639 debuted with support for 3G UMTS services. When we asked T-Mobile what was up, a representative responded by saying that the SGH-T639 "is positioned to be among the first devices to take advantage of a future UMTS network." No, we weren't satisfied with that answer, either.

But starting Monday, that time has come. Less than an hour ago T-Mobile announced it was launching its long-anticipated 3G network in New York City. More markets are expected later … Read more

T-Mobile USA said Monday that it's finally launching its long-awaited 3G wireless network.

New York will be the first city to use the new network, which will initially use a technology called UMTS, or Universal Mobile Telecommunications System, but will eventually use an even faster technology standard called HSDPA, or High-Speed Downlink Packet Access. T-Mobile will continue rolling out the network across other major cities throughout the year. By the end of the year, the company expects that its high-speed data network will be up and running in most major metropolitan areas.

T-Mobile, which is a distant fourth place … Read more

NEW YORK--Verizon Wireless wants to make music.

Or at least it wants to help record labels and artists make music. More importantly, it wants to provide new, innovative ways for them to make money from the music they create.

"Artists are frustrated with the traditional music-producing model, which is broken," said Ed Ruth, director of digital music for Verizon. "They are frustrated that labels aren't innovating. And we think we can help. We think we can bring some innovative approaches to the whole process."

In addition to its music store, V Cast Music, which is … Read more

The Federal Communications Commission capped a subsidy program that helps fund cell phone coverage in rural areas.

In a 3-2 vote on Thursday, the FCC said it would limit payments to wireless carriers seeking funds from the Universal Service Fund to help subsidize the cost of providing cell phone service in rural areas. The USF, which is supported by a tax on long-distance and regular subscriber line charges paid by wireless, Internet, and traditional phone customers, has been temporarily capped after the program paid nearly $1.12 billion last year to phone companies operating in rural areas. In 2001, the … Read more

Hey now! There's an interesting story coming out the Boy Genius Report (BGR) that's creating a lot of buzz among the cell phone community. According to BGR, Research in Motion will release a BlackBerry, codenamed "Kickstart," with a flip design and has some hands-on photos of the smartphone as well as another shot of the device with T-Mobile branding.

It's said that the Kickstart will have a monochromatic external display with a "color glow" border around it, while the inside will feature a 320x240 resolution, color display, standard BlackBerry shortcuts and trackball navigator, … Read more

Research in Motion is teaming up with SAP to integrate key enterprise software onto its Blackberry devices in a move that could mobilize business applications in the same way it did for corporate e-mail.

The two companies said Friday at a joint press conference in New York City that SAP's customer relationship management software will be natively integrated into BlackBerry devices. This means that sales professionals will be able to access their CRM application as readily as they get e-mail on their BlackBerrys.

RIM and SAP had already offered customers a browser-based solution for accessing CRM applications. But this … Read more

Sprint Nextel on Thursday announced that is has tapped former Eastman Kodak executive Robert Brust, 64, to be its next chief financial officer.

The beleaguered wireless carrier, which hired a new CEO at the end of last year, has made several management changes as it tries to get its business back on track. It has been struggling to retain customers since its 2005 merger with Nextel.

In January, Sprint said it was searching for a new finance chief. Company controller William Arendt has been acting as interim CFO since Paul Saleh left that position in January.

Brust has a long … Read more

AT&T Mobile TV will debut on Sunday, along with the LG Vu and the Samsung Access phones.

As reported a month or so ago, AT&T Mobile TV is the carrier's new live mobile TV service that will broadcast television shows to compatible phones via Qualcomm's MediaFlo network. At launch, the service will offer eight channels of programming--CBS Mobile, Comedy Central, ESPN Mobile TV, Fox Mobile, MTV, NBC 2G0, NBC News 2GO, and Nickelodeon--as well as two AT&T-exclusive channels called PIX and CNN Mobile Live. PIX will have shows from Sony Pictures Television … Read more