telecom industry

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McCain Denies Lobbyist Scandal, Attacks Times

Candidate slams article, 'smear campaign'

(Newser) - John McCain’s camp came out swinging at the New York Times last night, calling a “hit and run smear campaign” a report alleging that the senator had been involved in an improper and possibly romantic relationship with lobbyist Vicki Iseman eight years ago. “The New York Times...

'Kosher' Phones Block Porn
'Kosher' Phones Block Porn
Feb 4, 2008 5:37 PM CST

'Kosher' Phones Block Porn

Rabbis sign off on no-call list in Israel

(Newser) - Israel’s top phone company is betting that its most orthodox customers need less temptation in their lives. Bezeq Israel Telecom launched a “kosher” phone service yesterday that will block calls to and from “improper” numbers, such as porn lines. In true kosher fashion, Israel’s top rabbis...

Porn Moves Toward Bold, Tiny New Era

Adult entertainment, already huge overseas, aims for US cellphones

(Newser) - Porn is setting its sights on the small screen—the really small screen. As both mobile phone screens and internet capabilities expand, pornographers see American opportunity in a trend that's already sweeping Europe, Reuters reports. “It will be impossible to stop the adult business exploitation of mobile entertainment,”...

Sprint Plans Major Asset Write-Off
Sprint Plans Major Asset Write-Off
Feb 1, 2008 12:27 PM CST

Sprint Plans Major Asset Write-Off

So much for goodwill: $31B in losses pegged to Nextel merger

(Newser) - Sprint Nextel says it may write off up to $31 billion related to the merger that created the combined company. The move comes just after a regime change at the company, which has struggled since the 2005 merger, and lost about 1 million customers last year. The write-off, accounting for...

Verizon Sues Alltel Over Guinea Pig Ad

Wireless giant says claims made in commercial are untrue

(Newser) - Verizon Wireless is suing rival Alltel for false advertising over a television commercial featuring a vicious guinea pig, the Register reports. In the ad, a caged rodent named Alice is compared to Verizon customers who lack the freedom to change calling plans without extending their contracts. Released from her cage,...

As Razr Loses Edge, Motorola Could Cut Itself

Top investor wants the struggling company to break up

(Newser) - In an era of rampant telecom convergence, Motorola may be headed the other way. With its once-popular Razr phone leading a money-losing cellphone business, Carl Icahn, the company’s No. 3 shareholder, thinks slicing up the company would create $20 billion in shareholder wealth. The math works, the Wall Street ...

India and China Drive Mobile Growth
India and China Drive Mobile Growth
Dec 12, 2007 12:20 PM CST

India and China Drive Mobile Growth

Big developing markets adopt most phones, text the most

(Newser) - Telecom companies must be brushing up on their Hindi. India doubled its cell phone user population in 2006, adding more subscribers than Britain had total, according to a new international communications report. The 150 million Indian phone-toters represent just 14% of the population. China meanwhile sent 429 billion text messages,...

AT&amp;T Disconnects Pay Phones
AT&T Disconnects
Pay Phones
Dec 3, 2007 12:12 PM CST

AT&T Disconnects Pay Phones

Call a friend on your cell to report end of 129-year-old business

(Newser) - In 1878, one of AT&T’s ancestors introduced the first pay phone—an ordinary phone with an attendant nearby to take callers’ cash. Now the company is discontinuing its pay-phone operations, it announced today, 129 years later. With roughly 80% of Americans owning cellphones, pay phones had shrunk to...

Struggling Sprint Rejects $5B Offer
Struggling Sprint
Rejects $5B Offer
Nov 30, 2007 4:57 AM CST

Struggling Sprint Rejects $5B Offer

Former CEO's Nextel legacy remains divisive

(Newser) - A bid by SK Telecom and Providence Equity to invest $5B in Sprint Nextel and install former Sprint chairman Tim Donahue as the company CEO has met with swift rejection from the Sprint board. The move comes as Sprint, which has seen its stock plumet 36% since June, searches for...

FCC is Broken, Cable Group Chief Argues

Says government plays favorites, backs policies dooming his industry

(Newser) - The head of a cable television trade group bashed the head of the FCC today, accusing him of backing policies that “hurt the (cable) industry.” The issue causing most of the fuss, Broadcasting and Cable reports, is the proposed to mandate an a la carte pricing system, which...

EU Eyes Single Telecom Market
EU Eyes Single Telecom Market
Nov 14, 2007 8:25 AM CST

EU Eyes Single Telecom Market

European Commission considers EU-wide rules to break up national monopolies

(Newser) - Europe would be a single telecom market under a plan proposed by the European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, which argues that cheaper broadband and phone service is being held up by conflicting legislation and national monopolies in member countries. Under the plan, a regulatory body would oversee...

More Losses at Alcatel, and More Layoffs

French-American telecom giant still sputtering 18 months in

(Newser) - Alcatel-Lucent, the troubled Franco-American telecommunications company, announced yet more job cuts yesterday as the company posted its third consecutive quarterly loss. Alcatel had already planned to downsize by 12,500 employees, but another 4,000 will lose their jobs to reduce costs. 18 months after the French takeover of Lucent,...

FCC OKs $24.7B Alltel Buyout to Private Group

But wireless carrier's new owner faces "unnecessary" restrictions, commish says

(Newser) - The FCC approved a $24.7 billion takeover of Alltel yesterday, but not without imposing some restrictions on the deal and criticism from two of its top officials. Alltel, the nation’s fifth-largest wireless carrier, will now transfer its licenses to TPG Capital and GS Capital Partners, a subsidiary of...

Mergers Can't Keep Telecom From Free Fall

As multiple companies post losses, problems spread across sector

(Newser) - This quarter was supposed to see the start of a fightback for the beleaguered telecommunications industry. But the bad news keeps coming: Ericsson has warned investors to prepare for a sharp drop in profits, Nokia is still losing money and firing thousands of workers, and Alcatel-Lucent is already seeking a...

Vonage Shares Soar 76% on Sprint Deal

$80M patent settlement licenses tech, curtails rising legal costs

(Newser) - Vonage shares saw their biggest-ever bump today, after the company announced it has settled its patent lawsuit with Sprint for $80 million. In addition to cutting its legal losses, Vonage gains a license to use the disputed tech. “It's good in that things could have gotten worse,” one...

More Americans Go Wireless
More Americans Go Wireless
May 15, 2007 11:10 AM CDT

More Americans Go Wireless

Landline use falls; one-eighth of US households rely on cellphones only

(Newser) - More and more Americans are bypassing landlines and using only cellphones, a new CDC survey says. The trend encompasses people of all ages and incomes, and it's especially pronounced among the young and the poor. One-eighth (12.8%) of all households use only a cellphone—up from 3.2% in...

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