Network access

Correction, 2:38 p.m. PST: This story initially gave an incorrect name for the firm that released the report. It is Strategy Analytics.

Samsung Electronics became the top mobile phone provider in the U.S. during the third quarter, unseating longtime rival Motorola, according to a report Friday by Strategy Analytics.

Samsung grabbed 22.4 percent of the market share based on U.S. shipments in the quarter, compared with Motorola, which was slightly more than 1 percentage point away, and LG Electronics which was a close third.

Samsung and LG, which have been rapidly closing the gap on … Read more

Correction: This post incorrectly stated the number of hot spots Wayport would contribute to the AT&T network, as well as the overall pricing for use of those hot spots. Including Wayport, AT&T will now operate approximately 20,000 hot spots in the United States, free only to customers of certain plans.

AT&T announced plans on Thursday to acquire Wi-Fi network provider Wayport in a $275 million cash deal.

The acquisition will expand AT&T's network of U.S. hot spots, adding locations at hotel chains such as Wyndham, Marriott Vacation Club, and … Read more

What if Digsby and Skype merged into one seemingly all-powerful VoIP and messaging communications tool? It's a question which, according to San Diego-based telephone company TelCentris, can be answered by VoxOx.

VoxOx, currently for Windows and Intel-based Macs with plans for Linux and PowerPC Mac versions to be released within six months, incorporates features that have not yet been seen all rolled into one package. It's got multi-protocol chat abilities, bolstered by messaging support on the most popular social-networking sites and support for short Web mail reading and writing. It offers a telephony service that includes call encryption; … Read more

Free Wi-Fi for Apple's iPhone users is finally available from AT&T.

After two false starts, this time the notice posted on AT&T's Web site is accurate. The company is indeed allowing all iPhone users to access its 17,000 Wi-Fi hot spots around the country for free.

Earlier this year, the company inadvertently published information on its Web site telling customers that they could access AT&T's hot spots for free. But this time it's true. I double-checked with AT&T's public relations team myself.

The free Wi-Fi will … Read more

Verizon Wireless subscribers who get spotty cell phone coverage at home or in the office could soon have a solution as the company rolls out a new service that will improve indoor coverage.

A Verizon Wireless spokesman confirmed a story on the Web site Unstrung that stated the company expects to introduce its first femtocell product early next year. Femtocells are compact wireless base stations that boost cellular signals indoors to provide enhanced coverage up to 5,000 square feet. A single device can typically handle up to three calls at a time.

The way the device works is that … Read more

Cable company Cox Communications will add cell phone service to its service bundle starting in 2009.

The cable operator announced Monday that it will initially partner with Sprint Nextel to resell its wireless service to customers in its cable territory. Cox already bundles high speed Internet, telephony, and TV service. And soon it will add wireless service for a quadruple play offering.

"Wireless service will be a key driver to Cox's future growth," Cox President Pat Esser said in a statement.

But Cox isn't stopping with just reselling Sprint's wireless service. It also plans to … Read more

New mobile app stores launched by Apple, Google, and Research In Motion could shift the balance of power in the mobile market away from wireless operators and toward device and platform developers.

Until recently, wireless operators served as the gatekeepers of what content and applications made it onto mobile phones. Now mobile platform developers such as Apple, Google, and Research In Motion are providing marketplaces where consumers can get access to thousands of new applications tailored specifically for each of these device platforms.

On Tuesday, Research In Motion, the maker of the BlackBerry smartphone, became the latest device maker to … Read more

A number of Telstra's major broadband rivals have said they have no immediate plans to follow the telecommunications company's lead and use the Twitter microblogging service to monitor service outages and contact customers about support plans, though a closer look shows Optus to be one of the only large carriers not using the tool.

Telstra launched the offering over the past several weeks, garnering a mixed response from Australian users of the service, but rivals Optus, iiNet and Internode said they weren't as keen to offer an official Twitter-based service.

iiNet did admit that it had already … Read more

BALTIMORE--Executives from Sprint Nextel and its ecosystem of partners ceremonially cut the broadband cord here on Wednesday with the launch of the first mobile WiMax network in the U.S.

Executives also showed off several new laptops that will have embedded WiMax chips, and they announced that Sprint will be offering dual-mode 3G/4G products by the end of the year. The introduction of new devices and integration with Sprint's existing cellular network could help lay to rest worries about the company's initial strategy. But it's still very early days for Xohm and for WiMax in general. … Read more