The number of smartphones like the iPhone, sold by AT&T Inc. in the U.S., may more than double globally by 2013, according to researcher IDC. Verizon Wireless, the largest U.S. mobile carrier, and T-Mobile USA Inc. both said this week they will offer the Nexus One, which lets users run multiple programs at once and upload high-resolution videos to the Web.
AT&T, which says it has more than twice as many smartphone customers as Verizon, has already faced complaints over dropped calls as iPhone traffic flooded parts [...]

Verizon, the biggest U.S. mobile-phone service, will introduce the models this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, said the person, who declined to be named because the announcement hasnt been made public. The Pre and Pixi, currently sold in the U.S. only by Sprint Nextel Corp., will include some changes such as additional memory, the person said.
“This is Palms second chance to shine after whats been a real lackluster performance,” said Maribel Lopez, founder of Lopez Research LLC, a San Francisco-based consulting and [...]

The Federal Communications Commission will consider an order to close to the so-called “terrestrial loophole,” which allows cable companies to get around access requirements in a 1992 federal cable law by distributing programming over landlines rather than satellite connections.
Cable TV operators including Cox Communications Inc., Cablevision Systems Corp. and Comcast Corp. have relied on the loophole to deny programming to competitors such as DirecTV Inc., Echostar Corp.s Dish Network, AT&T Inc.s U-Verse video service and Verizon Communications Inc.s FiOS video service.
Cox, for instance, denies AT&T access to San Diego Padres games. Cablevision wont let AT&T and Verizon carry the high-definition [...]

In November, the carrier hiked the maximum early contract termination fee for smart phones to $350 from $175. Like other carriers, Verizon subsidizes the cost of the devices for contract-signing customers, then expects to make that money back in service fees over the term of the contract.
“Smart phones quickly became a major part of our business and cost us a whole lot more,” Verizon spokesman Jeffrey Nelson said.
The FCCs letter to Verizon asks how consumers will know whether the increased fee applies to their phone, and whether its spelled out anywhere except in the formal customer [...]

The device will take night photos, have replaceable batteries, and physical keyboard and will run applications simultaneously, according to an advertisement on Verizons Web site. Verizon spokesman Jim Gerace said the company will likely have more to say next week and declined to comment further.
Verizons Android phone is being advertised as a pocket- sized “robot sidekick.” The Web address for the ad mentions Motorola Inc. A person familiar with Verizons plans said last month that the company is planning a phone made by Motorola and based [...]

In a joint hearing involving a video link between courtrooms in Wilmington and Toronto, where Nortel Networks Corp. is based, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross and Canadian Justice Geoffrey Morawetz approved the sale of Nortel Enterprise Solutions to New Jersey-based Avaya Inc. for $900 million in cash and a $15 million contribution to a Nortel employee retention program.
The hearing followed an auction that concluded early Monday and resulted in privately held Avaya agreeing to pay almost double the amount of its “stalking horse” bid of $475 million for the Nortel unit, which supplies phone systems and other communications equipment to [...]

The device will be available from Verizon in the fourth quarter, said the person, who declined to be named because the agreement isnt public.
Motorola, the biggest U.S. mobile-phone maker, introduced the Cliq phone yesterday, its first based on Android. T-Mobile USA Inc. will distribute that device in the U.S. Motorola said it would introduce a second phone with a different U.S. carrier, without saying which one.
Brenda Raney, a Verizon spokeswoman, declined to [...]

Verizon, the second-biggest U.S. carrier, doesnt have any major purchases on the horizon, Chief Financial Officer John Killian said in an interview yesterday. The January takeover of Alltel Corp., partly funded by $22.2 billion in debt, pushed interest costs to almost double in the first half.
“We have more debt pay-down ahead of us, not debt raising,” said Killian, 54. He took over as finance chief in March, more than a year after the start of a U.S. recession that has grown into the worst since at [...]

Verizon Communications Inc. will “likely not” seek funding under the program, said Alberto Canal, a spokesman. Federal officials extended the deadline to seek funds to Aug. 20 after applicants encountered slow computers.
The program, which aims to build more connections for high- speed Internet known as broadband, is part of the $787 billion stimulus package Congress passed in February. AT&T, Verizon and cable companies had argued against program rules that demand equal treatment for Web traffic. Such requirements could deter investment and hinder operators ability to manage [...]

Verizon Wireless is striking back at AT&T Inc., which challenged Verizons advertising with the National Advertising Division of the Council for Better Business Bureaus on July 1. AT&T said Verizons claims that it runs the best and most reliable third-generation wireless networks are false and unproven.
In filing with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Verizon Wireless said AT&Ts challenge with the NAD “invented a new formula for calculating reliability and claims that by applying this newly concocted formula its 3G wireless network has superior reliability.”
Verizon Wireless, a joint venture of New [...]