Verizon activated 4.5 million LTE devices in the third quarter, an increase of 1.3 million over Q2. While the iPhone 5 was introduced only 10 days before the close of the quarter the new LTE-powered Apple phone contributed to that growth. Read more »
In two years, Verizon has signed up 11 million LTE customers, but those customers account for more than a third of all mobile data traffic. With LTE iPhone 5 sales getting into full swing, Verizon expects more than half of traffic to be on 4G soon. Read more »
A new survey explains that the no. 1 frustration on tablets and smartphones is the slow loading of web pages. That shouldn’t surprise, but the preferred activities for a smartphone and a tablet just might, suggesting that we’re not ready to dump the phone just yet. Read more »
Sprint isn’t holding anything back when it comes to supporting its MVNO partners. Ting will not only get access to a device Sprint started selling only last month, but it will gain immediate entry onto Sprint’s brand new LTE network — permissions other carriers would never grant. Read more »
Despite Verizon’s evangelizing push to convert its subscribers to 4G LTE, the 3G iPhone remains king at the country’s largest operator. At its second-quarter earnings call on Thursday, Verizon reported selling 2.7 million iPhones, compared to 2.5 million 4G Android phone sales. Read more »
Mobile data gateway maker Stoke already has some impressive investors from the telecom world, Japan’s NTT DoCoMo and India’s Reliance Communications, but it’s adding a third. Samsung is making a $5 million strategic investment, betting that its LTE triage and security technology has a bright future. Read more »
Pioneer Cellular has added a small but notable entry to the growing list of LTE networks in the U.S. Telecompetitor reports Pioneer’s LTE service has gone live in six counties in Oklahoma, making it the first of Verizon’s “LTE in Rural America” partners to launch. Read more »
LightSquared’s lenders view the company’s CEO and principle financial backer Philip Falcone as the biggest threat to whatever remains of LightSquared’s chances to get its nationwide LTE network. To remove that threat, Falcone is removing himself as CEO, according to the Wall Street Journal. Read more »
Verizon Wireless plans to launch 27 new LTE markets on Thursday and has been expanding its mobile broadband footprint in cities where it already offers 4G. All of that activity will amount to only 9 million new people covered, but it represents a massive geographical expansion. Read more »
For most people, 4G feels a little faster, but not anything close to the 10 times we were promised. What’s going on here? Ed Robinson of Riverbed Technology thinks we’ve made websites so obese that the networks can’t keep up. Read more »
Instead of providing a stand-alone smartphone, FreedomPop plans to sell a WiMAX modem shell, which customers can fit over their iPhones. Getting the iPhone itself appears to be the customer’s concern, but Freedom may convince them with one 1 GB of free data. Read more »
LightSquared has asked the FCC n to impose future standards on GPS device design, claiming such requirements would allow GPS and its LTE network to co-exist peacefully. While LightSquared would appear to be taking the middle path, the proposal smacks of a political stunt. Read more »
After its failed merger with AT&T, T-Mobile’s break-up fee included some choice 4G spectrum it will use to bulk up its HSPA+ network. In a map submitted by a GigaOM reader, you can see exactly where T-Mobile gains new airwaves and how much. Read more »
Verizon plans milk as much revenue off of its 3G and LTE networks as possible, becoming the “premium” mobile data operator, but its plan could backfire. Despite the increase in 4G sales, Verizon is still primarily a 3G operator, and 3G doesn’t justify its steep prices. Read more »
The ITU has approved the LTE-Advanced standard, and the web understandably got excited, proclaiming the arrival of ‘5G’. We’re also pretty amped up about LTE-Advanced and the huge gains in speeds, capacity and network efficiency it will deliver, but we also think the party is a bit premature. Read more »
