Mobile coupons are coming to mega-retailer Target, which will allow shoppers all over the U.S. to use their mobile handset to get discounts on all kinds of products.

The bar-coded coupons are available now. Shoppers interested in getting the mobile coupons must "opt in" and register on Target's Web site. They can also text the word "COUPONS" to 827438.

Once consumers are registered they will get text messages on their phones with links to a Web page that features various coupons. The program works with any phone that has a mobile browser and data … Read more

U.S. mobile operators, , in letters sent to the Federal Communications Commission earlier this week, defended their use of early termination fees and explained how they are informing consumers about their policies.

In January, the FCC asked each of the four major wireless carriers, AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel, and T-Mobile USA, along with Google to detail how they inform customers of their fees in statements on corporate Web sites, in brochures and sales scripts, and in monthly bills. The companies had until February 23 to respond. Earlier this week, they filed their answers to the FCC's … Read more

T-Mobile USA gained ground in signing up new subscribers during the fourth quarter, but much of the surge came from its prepaid business.

T-Mobile USA parent company Deutsche Telekom reported earnings on Thursday. The U.S. carrier, the smallest of the big four nationwide carriers, said it added a total of 371,000 new subscribers in the fourth quarter. This is an improvement over customer losses from the third quarter. But it's still lower than customer gains the company saw in the fourth quarter of 2008.

In total, T-Mobile USA now has 33.8 million subscribers, up from 33.… Read more

The city of Wilmington, N.C., and the surrounding county of New Hanover, N.C., are among the first communities to test wireless applications using TV white space technology.

The city and county have partnered with TV Band Service and Spectrum Bridge to launch a new experimental network that uses white space spectrum to provide wireless connectivity to surveillance cameras and environmental sensors in a "smart city" deployment.

TV white spaces are the unused TV broadcast channels made available by the recent transition from analog to digital TV. In 2008, the Federal Communications Commission unanimously agreed to open up this unused broadcast TV spectrum … Read more

Clearwire saw a huge uptick in 4G wireless subscribers in the fourth quarter, which helped the company narrow its losses.

The company, which is building a nationwide 4G wireless network, added 87,000 new subscribers in the fourth quarter, it reported Wednesday. This is up from the 5,000 it signed up in the fourth quarter of 2008. Clearwire ended the year with a total of 688,000 customers.

These subscribers also included wholesale customers, which use the Clearwire service through one of its partners, such as Sprint, Comcast, or Time Warner Cable. Clearwire said that its wholesale subscribers jumped … Read more

BARCELONA, Spain--Google CEO Eric Schmidt extended an olive branch to wireless-network operators as he took the stage Tuesday afternoon here at the GSM Association's Mobile World Congress.

Schmidt delivered his speech hours after the CEO of the world's largest mobile operator, Vodafone, suggested in his own keynote address that Google was getting too powerful in the mobile value chain. Earlier in the day, Vittorio Colao warned the telecommunications industry that companies controlling 70 percent to 80 percent of a market, such as Google in mobile search, should raise the attention of regulators.

Schmidt, whose company has had a … Read more

BARCELONA, Spain--Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao warns fellow telecom executives that Google--and other companies that dominate parts of the mobile ecosystem--could be getting too powerful and suggests regulators need to get involved.

Speaking at the GSM Association's Mobile World Congress here Tuesday, Colao urged European and U.S. regulators to help ensure more competition at all levels.

Showing a slide of competitors throughout the mobile market, Colao indicated that Google and Yahoo alone control search and advertising. He asserted that "70 percent to 80 percent, maybe more" concentration of control in any market should be scrutinized more intensely … Read more

BARCELONA, Spain--Verizon Wireless is on track to offer its 4G wireless service later this year, the company's chief technology officer said here Monday.

Dick Lynch, an executive vice president and CTO for Verizon Communications, said during a press conference here that Verizon Wireless is on track to launch its commercial LTE (long-term evolution) service this year. The gathering was hosted by the GSM Association, which puts on the Mobile World Congress.

Lynch said Verizon Wireless is in the final testing phase, or "Phase 4," of its LTE technology. Within 60 days he said he expects testing to … Read more

BARCELONA, Spain--Steve Ballmer hopes "7" will be Microsoft's lucky number as the company restarts its mobile business with the release of Windows Phone 7.

On Monday, the CEO of Microsoft and his team of Microsoft executives took the wraps off the latest version of the Windows Mobile operating system at a press conference here at the Mobile World Congress. The new Windows Phone 7 is a fresh start for the company in mobile.

"There's no question that a year and a half ago we had to rethink everything," Ballmer said.

Instead of revamping Windows … Read more