Not completely unexpected, Virgin Mobile USA has today announced that it will indeed be taking over Helio. The MVNO joint-venture between SK Telecom and Earthlink has struggled to find even a modicum of success in a competitive and cut-throat US wireless market. And, it seems that Helio's financial troubles have finally come to a head with [...]

While no official announcement has yet been made, the Financial Times is reporting that a source close to the situation has indicated that a tentative agreement has been struck between Virgin Mobile USA and Helio. The deal would have Helio essentially being absorbed within Virgin Mobile USA's larger wireless network. Virgin Mobile USA and Helio have [...]

What's this? A recent interview with Alltel CEO Scott Ford has revealed that prior to getting prepped as Verizon's $28 billion meal, Alltel tried to buy one of the Big Three US wireless carriers. Apparently, Alltel made a bid to takeover Sprint not once, but three times. Talk about gung-ho dedication. AT&T and T-Mobile were even [...]

Sprint's in trouble, and they know it. It's not like anybody can ignore the kind of financial hardships that Sprint has been living recently, and the recent launch of Sprint's "Simply Everything" plan is evidence that Sprint knows they have to take drastic measures. Now, with Sprint in a weakened condition and the crap-poor valuation [...]

Add Samsung to the list of mobile phone manufacturers that are unwilling to buy Motorola's ailing handset division. Sony Ericsson doesn't want anything to do with it, LG is staying away, and now Samsung's announced that they don't want to take a bite of Motorola's profit-free concoction. Choi Gee-sung, head of Samsung's mobile phone unit, told [...]

Qualcomm is clearly one of the mobile industry’s leading chipmakers, but that doesn’t mean they can sit back and let the revenue from their 3G technologies roll in. The San Diego-based chipmaker seems to be taking a new approach to the mobile chipset market - integrating noise-reduction technology into their chipsets. Qualcomm has just snatched up SoftMax, a privately-held firm that specializes in noise-reduction technology. SoftMax develops algorithms that aid in signal separation, echo cancellation, and signal processing - allowing voice to be separates from background and ambient noise. Interestingly, Broadcom, Qualcomm sparring partner of late , recently debuted a new Bluetooth headset platform that utilizes SoftMax’s noise reduction algorithms. The BCM2047 Bluetooth headset from Broadcom uses a dual-microphone setup for noise reduction and echo cancelation. “The acquisition of SoftMax will allow new opportunities for our customers to differentiate themselves by providing a superior level of voice quality to end users,” said Sanjay Jha, chief operating officer of Qualcomm and president of Qualcomm CDMA Technologies, in a statement. So, Qualcomm’s got another piece of the IP-pie in their pocket. Another way to grab extra revenue from competitors that will need to start incorporating noise-reduction technologies into their mobile chipsets if they want to stay competitive. A good move on Qualcomm’s part indeed. [Via: InformationWeek ] ---Related Articles at IntoMobile:Sensear: Noise-cancelling, Voice-amplifying hands-free systemNokia and Qualcomm in a nutshellQualcomm's New MVNO - For Healthcare ProfessionalsQualcomm and Nokia: Eternal enemiesMotorola debuts the Motorola MOTOPURE H12 Universal Bluetooth headset

Nokia made waves with their recent announcement that they wanted to acquire navigational-map maker Navteq for the right-old sum of $8.1 billion . Of course, the deal was subject to shareholder approval, and it looks like Navteq investors have just greenlighted the deal. With federal regulators already on-board with the buy-out deal, the shareholders’ thumbs-up was the last obstacle to Nokia’s acquisition of Navteq. An “overwhelming majority” approved the deal today at a special shareholder meeting. This acquisition is a large part of Nokia’s new push to offer services for the mobile market, and could anchor Nokia’s effort to demand revenue kickbacks for services from wireless carriers - much like Apple already demands for iPhone-related revenue. Navteq and Nokia together - they’ll likely define the future of positional mapping services for the mobile market for the next few years. And, with services like “ Comes with Music ” and Ovi already offered out-of-the-box, Nokia’s stance as a service-provider will probably the business model that major manufacturers will be looking to mimic. That is, as long as these services gain enough momentum to become a true competitor to incumbents like Google and iTunes. [Via: Yahoo ] ---Related Articles at IntoMobile:Finland's Nokia will buy US-based Navteq for $8.1 billionBrief: Garmin decides not to buy Tele Atlas, renews contract with NokiaNokia inks video content deal with CNN, SonyPrivate Investment Firms Buy-Out Alltel for $27.5 BillionAlltel gets FCC approval for private acquisition deal worth $24.7 Billion

Network carriers are notorious for slinging mud in their rivals’ direction at any opportunity. It’s a dog-eat-dog business world, after all. So, what’s the only thing that can get the two biggest rivals in the US wireless market to work together? Mutually beneficial business arrangements, of course. You see, the FCC laid down a couple ground-rules when they approved AT&T’s acquisition of Dobson Communications for a cool $2.8 billion . AT&T had to agree to forgo rights to the Cellular One brand name that was previously controlled by Dobson Communications - they’ll be selling that brand-name to Trilogy Partners. Additionally, the FCC is requiring that AT&T offload some of recently acquired Cellular One’s rural-market assets. So, with Verizon Wireless’s planned acquisition of Rural Cellular Corporation for $757 million in mid-2008, AT&T and Verizon Wireless have agreed to tap each other’s, ahem, assets - by which we mean the two companies will be selling each other a portion of their recently acquired assets (what did you think we meant?). Verizon will be selling a portion of Rural Cellular’s licenses and network infrastructure (and the subscribers that come with those assets) to rival AT&T. On the flip-side, AT&T will be selling about 10Mhz of formerly Dobson-owned frequency spectrum to Verizon Wireless. Interestingly, AT&T will also be giving Verizon Wireless some additional cash - in the consumer world, we call this a “rebate.” It’s not clear just how big a rebate Verizon Wireless will get from their 10Mhz spectrum purchase - but it makes sense, seeing as how AT&T will net about 133,000 subscribers from this swap, while Verizon Wireless will only net approximately 100,000. Isn’t it nice to see network operators get in bed together? Just ignore the fact that AT&T basically had to pay Verizon Wireless to play their little game. [Via: EETimes ] ---Related Articles at IntoMobile:Verizon buys Ramcell network in Oregon and Kentucky - expands rural network coverageMastercard PayPass trials new mobile Tap N Go system in NYCVerizon XV6800 available for online/phone ordersAmp'd mobile is finally dead, selling assetsVerizon: We don't need no iPhone "killer" - we have better services!

No, this has nothing to do with AT&T’s EDGE data network. It seems that AT&T has decided to pull the trigger and fully take over Pacific Northwest wireless carrier Edge Wireless. Now, AT&T already had a minority (35.7%) stake in the small-time network operator, but that just wasn’t enough for the nation’s largest carrier. Continuing the No. 1 US carrier’s spending spree (they just plunked down $2.8 billion to buy Dobson Communications ), AT&T presumably wanted access to Edge Wireless’s 172,00-strong subscriber base by folding Edge’s operations under the Big Blue umbrella. The move, if approved by the Feds, will give AT&T a wider GSM network to push its flagship handset - the iPhone. AT&T must have some massive cash on hand. They’re going through greenbacks like there’s no tomorrow - and the 700Mhz frequency auction is still on the horizon. We’re sure AT&T’s already considered their maximum bid and set aside a healthy chunk of change for the auction, but it’s still amazing to see just how much money the carrier has been spending recently. [Via: Electronista ] ---Related Articles at IntoMobile:Verizon buys Ramcell network in Oregon and Kentucky - expands rural network coverageAT&T announces International Calling for AT&T Unity customersCalling all Apple iPhone owners - is your AT&T EDGE network still down?AT&T launches Sierra Wireless USBConnect 881 HSUPA USB modemSierra Wireless Apex 880 USB HSPA modem gets official

AT&T’s little acquisition deal to buyout Dobson Communications back in July has finally gotten the go-ahead from the FCC overlords. The $2.8 billion buyout will net AT&T all of Dobson’s wireless licenses and the carrier’s 1.6 million-or-so rural wireless subscribers - firmly securing AT&T Mobility’s position as the leading US wireless carrier. The FCC has stipulated that AT&T Mobility will have to forgo rights to Dobson Communication’s Cellular One brand and offload assets in a couple rural markets in Pennsylvania and Texas. Some of the commissioners dissented to parts of the deal, citing concerns over the condition of the wireless market as we approach the 700Mhz frequency spectrum auction early next year.  With AT&T spending gobs of cash prior to the 700Mhz frequency auction , we can’t see them securing the winning bid this coming January. AT&T might regret letting the likes of Apple or Google buying the high-sought spectrum - especially since the 700Mhz band has been globally adopted as the home to next-gen mobile broadband services. [Via: RCRNews ] ---Related Articles at IntoMobile:AT&T buys Dobson Communications for $2.8 BillionAT&T Vu, Sony Ericsson K850i, iPhone Business Edition coming soonAlltel gets FCC approval for private acquisition deal worth $24.7 BillionFCC approves the Nokia E51FCC to change rules for upcoming 700Mhz frequency spectrum auction