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Stardate 20021005.2128 (On Screen): As I think many of my readers know, I used to work for Qualcomm designing cell phones. Qualcomm is the company which invented CDMA, and made it practical, and made it into a market success, and it now dominates the American market, where Verizon and Sprint both use it. There are two other nationwide cellular systems: AT&T currently uses IS-136 TDMA, which is obsolete and has no upgrade path. Cingular uses GSM, a more sophisticated form of TDMA from Europe. And right now I'm basking in the evil glow of a major case of schadenfreude. The...

Excerpt - A federal agency on Thursday barred the import of new models of cell phones that contain semiconductors made by Qualcomm Inc., because the chips violate a patent held by a rival, Broadcom Corp. The U.S. International Trade Commission's decision represents a compromise between a ban on all phones with Qualcomm chips, as Broadcom requested, and a ban only on the chips themselves, as recommended by an ITC administrative law judge late last year. ~ snip ~

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Fox News has rolled out a new service that will let anyone with a cell phone access an audio feed of the cable channel. The live feed will be available 24/7 by dialing "#FOXN" on a mobile phone. The service, which will start with Cingular, costs $2.99 a month plus applicable per-minute airtime charges. Fox News has partnered with Single Touch Interactive, an Encinitas, Calif., company that has existing deals with BET and Univision. But Fox News will be the first news channel to have a Single Touch audio stream, said Jeremy Steinberg, vp digital...

(AP) The Federal Communications Commission has unanimously approved AT&T's takeover of BellSouth.

(CBS4) BOSTON -- Picking a cell phone service can be pretty confusing. They all offer deep discounts and big promises but which one will really work when you need it? Consumer Reports just tested the biggest cell phone service. It's an ongoing battle. Cell companies are going head to head claiming to be the best. Rosalind Tordesillas says a recent survey by the Consumer Reports National Research Center shows one in four people are looking to change their cell service providers. The survey asked almost 43,000 subscribers in 20 major cities about the five major carriers. "Poor phone service, like...

The big deal isn’t the iPhone itself, which is what the mainstream investment, gadget and tech media is focusing on. It’s the way that it will fundamentally challenge how carriers have coupled services with connectivity with a hardware distribution monopoly. There never has been ‘net neutrality’ when it comes to mobile phone hardware. The Apple iPhone would be the first big test. The new (rumored) iPhone will be sold (rumored) directly from Apple and (rumored) require the user to pull the GSM SIM card from their device (only T-Mobile or Cingular use GSM domestically) and insert it into the...

Apple and Cingular have signed an agreement that will make the US' largest cell phone provider the exclusive carrier of Apple's forthcoming phone, sources report. Apple's iPhone remains on track for an early 2007 release. As previously reported, Apple's phone will feature a candy-bar design with a 2.2-inch display and 3 megapixel camera. Robust iTunes and iSync support will also be delivered with the phone. Apple's exclusive contract with Cingular is said to be good for the first six months, sources report, meaning other providers will be able to sell the phone in the second-half of 2007. Cingular had an...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Cingular Wireless, a venture of AT&T Inc. and BellSouth Corp., said on Monday it would start charging customers with older phones an extra $4.99 monthly fee as early as September unless they upgrade their phones as it moves toward using a single network technology. The biggest U.S. wireless service, said the fee would apply to about 4.7 million subscribers, or about 8 percent, of its 57.3 million customer base unless these users upgrade their phones. It is part of Cingular's plan to phase out phones based on older TDMA and analog technology, the technical standard for...

SEATTLE (AP) -- Cingular Wireless Corp. promised to provide uninterrupted service to AT&T Wireless customers when it acquired that company in 2004, but instead it nickel-and-dimed them and degraded their reception in an effort to persuade them to sign new contracts, a federal lawsuit said Thursday. The lawsuit, which alleges breach of contract and violations of consumer protection laws, seeks class-action status on behalf of the more than 20 million customers AT&T Wireless had at the time of the merger. Many paid $18 "transfer" fees to switch to Cingular plans and were required to buy new phones or pay other...

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - AT&T plans to abandon the Cingular brand name for its cell phone service as early as 2007, according to a magazine report. The company says it is making the change to reduce customer confusion about its brands, and will rename the division "AT&T Wireless," according to Advertising Age. AT&T wants to sell customers bundled landline, Internet and wireless services under the same brand. Advertising experts say the move could bring heavy marketing costs, as much as $500 million each year for several years, the report said. AT&T first announced plans to shed the Cingular name after...

AT&T is on the rise again. A 20th century industrial icon, the company once known as American Telephone & Telegraph was chopped into pieces in the 1980s and then withered into a bite-size company that was easily swallowed up by one of its offspring last year. A proposed $67 billion deal to acquire BellSouth Corp., perhaps the biggest merger ever in the telecommunications industry, will restore some of AT&T’s lost heft, making it the local phone service provider in 22 states and giving it a workforce of more than 300,000 people. But for all its size the new AT&T is...

Excerpt - AT&T Inc. is nearing the acquisition of BellSouth Corp. for roughly $65 billion, people familiar with the situation said Saturday evening. A deal could be announced as early as Monday, these people said. ~snip~

Washington DC, Dec. 09, 2005 (CNA) - Intervening in the heated debate about the mention of Christmas on the public square, Concerned Women for America (CWA) presented a first Christmas list showing which businesses are honouring the Reason for the Season (the birth of Jesus), which ones are not, and which have mixed records. It first lists the corporation ‘Nice’ or friendly to the Original Christmas tradition.  This year Macy's joins the NICE list because it has returned the explicit mention of Christmas and Merry Christmas to its stores and its ads. L.L. Bean, on the other hand, just barely...

Cingular Wireless and Motorola (MOT) Thursday are expected to unveil an always-on data service that will send scrolling text and images to the bottom of cell phone screens. Cingular, operated by SBC Communications (SBC) and BellSouth, (BLS) will sell the service under the Live Ticker name. The feature will work with a new phone from Motorola. The move is part of a broader upgrade of Cingular's wireless portal — the screen that guides mobile phone users to entertainment and products. The company aims to make mobile Web browsing easier and quicker, and boost its revenue in the process. The Live...

Apple and Motorola Inc. are expected to team up with Cingular Wireless LLC next week to introduce an iTunes mobile phone that can store and play digital music. The companies are likely to announce the long-awaited device on Sept. 7, according to telecommunications analyst Roger Entner of Ovum Ltd., as well as published reports. Apple has said it would make a major product announcement at an event in San Francisco that day. Representatives of Apple, Motorola and Cingular all declined to comment. The phone most likely will have storage capacity similar to the iPod Shuffle, which is available with as...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Cingular Wireless, the No. 1 U.S. mobile service, is considering selling a Motorola Inc. cell phone that can play music using Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes music service, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday. "Motorola and Apple have been talking to Cingular about it using the iTunes phone," according to one of the sources, who asked not to be named. RBC Capital analyst Mark Sue said in a recent research note that Apple and Cingular were working out final details on revenue sharing. Cingular spokeswoman Jennifer Bowcock and Apple representative Natalie Kerris declined comment. Apple...

This past saturday I went to the local Cingular Store to change my account from Sprint (due to poor coverage).

NEW YORK - Your cell phone company knows you hate it. Mobile phone service was the second-lowest ranked industry — beating only cable providers among the 40 rated — in the University of Michigan's newest customer satisfaction index. And there's more: mobile companies were the No. 2 sector in complaints last year to Better Business Bureaus, dropping from first place in 2002. Only auto dealers did worse. "The industry claims that people love their cell phones and they're very happy with the service," said Carl Wood, a commissioner on the California Public Utilities commission who fought the industry for four...

ATLANTA - Cingular Wireless won the bidding war to acquire AT&T Wireless Services for nearly $41 billion in cash, a deal that would create the nation’s largest cell phone company. The merger between the second and third largest U.S. wireless companies was announced Tuesday as Britain’s Vodafone Group PLC withdrew from the contest after four days of rising bids.

LONDON (Reuters) - Cingular, the second-largest U.S. mobile phone company, has clinched AT&T Wireless, its smaller rival, after outbidding Vodafone Group Plc with a $15-per-share offer, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters. The bid values AT&T Wireless Services Inc., the third-largest U.S. mobile phone group which put itself up for sale on January 22, at about $40.7 billion. "That's what we've been told, but it's a fluid situation," the source said. AT&T Wireless and Cingular are planning to host a morning press conference in the U.S., the source said. Cingular and Vodafone declined to comment, while AT&T...