June 27 - 11:10am EDT   Virgin Mobile today shook up the American wireless business with news that it would acquire Helio for $39 million in share equity, merging the latter into Virgin's mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) business. The deal also has Virgin absorbing some of Helio's debt and also gives the carrier Helio's 170,000 customers in the US, with the latter ending its brand in the US. The deal should be completed during the summer pending US government approval, according to the two companies. [full story]

June 25 - 1:20am EDT   Last reported in May, Virgin Mobile USA is set to absorb SK Telecom-owned Helio in a deal said to approach the former paying the Korean telecommunications firm almost $50 million, leaving SK holding 20-percent of company holdings. The Financial Times writes that the MVNO will dissolve its identity in favor of the more recognizable Virgin Mobile brand, and integrate its 200,000 users into Virgin's customer base of 5.1 million mobile users. [full story]

June 20 - 1:45pm EDT   The mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) market in the US may be on the verge of collapse with Helio about to scale back or shut down entirely, according to a rumor circulated by Engadget. The provider is allegedly telling store managers that it will shut down at least some of its retail shops in possible preparation for a takeover by Virgin Mobile. No information has yet appeared to suggest that Helio is withdrawing support for the service itself. [full story]

June 20 - 10:00am EDT   Over one million units of Samsung's Soul designer phone have sold since it went on sale a month ago, the company says. Although limited to just Europe for its initial launch, the device has been one of the most popular phones in recent weeks and has sold better in this early stage than the iPhone managed in the first quarter of the year, when Apple sold 1.7 million units in three months. [full story]

May 14 - 12:00pm EDT   Virgin Mobile USA today confirmed that it was in the early stages of talks with SK Telecom to investigate "strategic opportunities" between the two companies. The revelation partly rebuffs denials by SKT of involvement with Virgin but doesn't provide more details as to the nature of the talks beyond the statement. There are no guarantees that anything will result from negotiations, Virgin claims. The company adds that it has no plans to add more detail unless any deal is struck. [full story]

May 12 - 4:35pm EDT   SK Telecom has no plans to merge Helio with Virgin Mobile to create a major new carrier, the Korean company says. SKT spokeswoman Mina Ryu rejects reports of discussions and claims there aren't "any sort of talks" to either merge its Helio brand with Virgin or else buy out Virgin directly. The rumors are "groundless," Ryu says. [full story]

May 8 - 3:30pm EDT   SK Telecom may create a new, large carrier in the US by folding Virgin Mobile and Helio together, according to an alleged source for mocoNews. Earthlink's withdrawal from Helio is said to have pushed Helio's Korean parent, SK Telecom, towards a buyout of Helio's larger competitor Virgin Mobile to ensure it has a larger presence in the US. Such a takeover would give SK Telecom enough clout to merge both Helio and Virgin together. [full story]

April 11 - 12:35pm EDT   Unlimited cellular plans, and particularly data plans, are liable to create severe pressure on the providers that host them even as the make new features available, says a new study from ABI Research. Analysts at the group warn that the promise to carriers of new subscribers through mostly or completely unlimited plans from AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon may be offset by the need to support very likely spikes in network traffic. Providers are likely to spend extra to make sure their networks can handle the load, ABI says. [full story]

April 7 - 9:15am EDT   Samsung on Monday boosted the Internet speed of its phones with the launch of the M470. One of the few phones to be based on HSUPA (High Speed Upload Packet Access), the slider's upstream connection runs up to 2Mbps. This lets users send videos and other files roughly six times faster than the more widespread HSDPA (Download) format, by Samsung's estimates. A Wi-Fi connection provides similar or better speed at hotspots when the cellular access isn't readily available. [full story]

February 29 - 2:50pm EST   MVNO carrier Helio has posted a net loss of $326 million for 2007, an official announcement reveals. Although the carrier's revenue grew to $171 million last year from $46 million in 2006, the company has also been facing mounting costs, such as an advertising budget that rose from $21.6 to $47.5 million. Recent losses are notably out of proportion to those from 2006, which were only $192 million. [full story]

December 21 - 9:25am EST   Helio on Friday took the unusual step of launching the Samsung Mysto first for Korean-language users of its US-based service, taking advantage of the company's roots in Korea's SK Telecom. Believed to have its roots in the U600, the thin slider shares the features of Helio's more recent phones, including its 2-megapixel camera, true GPS with a Buddy Beacon feature to locate Helio-using friends, and a heavy emphasis on its 3G Internet access. Users can both stream videos and upload them through YouTube, though the device is not believed to run the same YouTube app as the Pantech-made Ocean. [full story]

December 11 - 1:10pm EST   Four Asian companies appear to be getting involved with the FCC auction for the 700MHz wireless spectrum, the Wall Street Journal reports. The biggest is Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo, which may put forward a bid worth $5 billion or more to expand its business internationally. The company already has a minor presence in the US, but does not sell any of the phones or advanced cellular services it is famous for in Japan. The company's main rival -- KDDI -- is likewise rumored to be interested in greater US access, since it is already testing a cellular service in the northeast. [full story]

November 30 - 3:45pm EST   Sprint has rejected a bid from Korean telecom provider SK Telecom, say reports. The American provider has reportedly declined a $5 billion investment in exchange for sharing the same phones and network knowledge. The change would have resulted in a change of management, however. This potential investment is widely believed to be connected to SKT's controlling stake in Helio, the latter of which piggybacks on Sprint's network for its youth-oriented phone service. [full story]