Nokia said today it would receive an up-front payment and royalties from Blackberry-maker Research In Motion (RIM) for use of its wireless technology patents. Nokia said RIM has renewed a multi-year patent license agreement with it, but declined to comment on the size of the payments. The deal covers use of GSM, WCDMA and CDMA2000 patents. "Today's announcement demonstrates the success of Nokia's increased focus on patent out-licensing" said Ilkka Rahnasto, Nokia's Vice President in charge of in...

AT&T today announced it would eliminate 12,000 jobs, or about 4 percent of its total workforce, to cope with an economic downturn that has exacerbated a decline in traditional phone sales. AT&T said it will cut the jobs in December and throughout 2009, and take a charge of about $600 million in this year's fourth quarter for severance. The carrier company attributed the job cuts to economic pressures, a changing business mix and a more streamlined organizational structure. The company al...