Verizon Wireless, frustrated by the failure of Amp’d Mobile LLC to line up a bankruptcy loan, wants to disconnect the startup carrier from its cellular network.
Verizon Wireless said Amp’d has been burning though cash since filing for bankruptcy in June, racking up charges of $370,000 a day to Verizon alone.
The company said Amp’d Mobile is almost out of cash, and it wants to pull the plug unless the Los Angeles company obtains a “debtor-in-possession” loan to finance its Chapter 11 case.
Amp’d Mobile doesn’t have its own cellular network but buys network capacity on a wholesale basis from Verizon Wireless. Since filing for bankruptcy, it has racked up $15.6 million in charges for use of the Verizon network. That’s in addition to the $41 million Amp’d owed the company before seeking Chapter 11 protection. Amp’d Mobile will have just $9,000 in cash as of next Monday, Verizon Wireless said.
PC shipments rise in 2Q on Asian demand
Worldwide shipments of personal computers rose strongly in the second quarter because of growing demand in Asia and unexpected strength in the U.S., two research companies reported Wednesday.
IDC estimated that 58.8 million PCs were shipped in the April-to-June period, up 12.5 percent from the same quarter last year. Gartner Inc., which uses a somewhat different methodology, counted 61.1 million units, for a growth rate of 11.7 percent.
Hewlett-Packard Co. kept its position as the world’s largest maker of PCs and extended its lead over Dell Inc., which was the largest until late last year.
IDC put HP’s worldwide market share at 19.3 percent, while Gartner had it at 18.2 percent, while the firms put Dell at 15 percent to 16.1 percent, respectively.
Dell remained the largest maker of PCs for the U.S. market, with a 28.4-29.9 percent market share, but the number of units sold declined 11 percent, while HP’s rose 26 percent.
— From wire reports.
