12 people busted in $250 million cell-phone cloning scheme 

A dozen people were charged Wednesday in a $250 million scam in which New York-area cell phone customer accounts were pilfered to clone cell phones. Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said “tens of thousands” of customer accounts were stolen and used in the lucrative black market international calling scheme.

Review: Republic Wireless and its $19/month cell service

Republic Wireless is an upstart taking on some of the biggest behemoths in American industry—the major cell carriers—armed with WiFi as its main weapon. Republic keeps costs low by encouraging the use of WiFi on cell phones, though customers can still access 3G voice and data services, if needed. Though the service has some drawbacks, including a high startup cost, the previously limited service ...

Sprint launches rugged Kyocera DuraPlus with push-to-talk

Sprint expanded its push-to-talk lineup today with the rugged Kyocera DuraPlus cell phone. Unlike most push-to-talk phones, which have a flip form-factor, the DuraPlus sports a candy bar design. Read the full story here.

Sprint to Require Green Certification for All Cell Phones

The pair, along with cell phone manufacturers and other industry players, began developing the first environmental standard for wireless handsets last year. The 30 to 40 models Sprint sells each year may not achieve certification out of the gate, but their makers must now go through the process.

Bill could prevent secret monitoring by cell phone companies

Legislation aimed at letting consumers know what information their cell phone service provider is collecting from their phone and why could be introduced soon. The legislation could require companies to let subscribers opt-out of the monitoring.