GigaOM

If you’re like me, sick of the double-crossing, bandwidth-capping ways of the in-the-red Sprint, it’s time for you to start thinking about other mobile broadband options. Of course, you can sign up for Verizon and pay premium dollars for the same 5 GB-a-month download cap and restrictions over their EVDO network. Or simply switch technologies and go to AT&T’s 3G Network, which is getting speedier and is as widely available as those offered by Sprint and Verizon.

AT&T said today that over the next month it will deploy High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA) technology in the six remaining markets across its 3G footprint, leaving it able to deliver 1.4 Mbps down and 800 Kbps upstream speeds. This will be an improvement over HSDPA technology (High Speed Downlink Packet Access), which is slower.

HSUPA puts AT&T on near-equal footing with EVDO-based mobile broadband sellers Sprint and Verizon. And it’s not stopping there — the company also plans to graduate to HSPA+ and then to LTE (Long Term Evolution) technology to offer even higher speeds for mobile broadband.

There are enough signs that Apple’s iPhone, the fast-growing mobile device from the Cupertino-based consumer electronics and computing giant, will give the still-emerging business of mobile video a turbo boost. Here’s why: Continue »

In what looks like yet another blow to Sprint, Qwest said today it will resell/re-offer Verizon Wireless’ services to its customers in a four-play package. Residential customers will be able to choose wireless only and be billed directly by Verizon Wireless, or include Verizon Wireless service as part of a Qwest bundle with their home phone, Internet and video services and receive one bill from Qwest for all of them.

When I asked Qwest CEO Ed Mueller back in March if they would buy a wireless operator like Sprint, his answer was no. “All we want to do is partner with a national wireless player where we can rebrand and remarket their service to our customer base. We are ambivalent about the technology but we want a partner with retail presence,” he had added. The quid pro quo of the deal: Verizon and Qwest will partner up and bid for government contracts, a very lucrative business indeed.

T-Mobile USA, the company known for its ultra-affordable voice plans, is launching its 3G Network in New York City, ushering in what we hope will be competition in the market leading to the lowering of 3G data costs for mobile phone users.

For now, the new UMTS/HSDPA network is available only in New York, but there are plans to roll out the network in other cities later this year. The company is being vague about in which cities it will launch the network. There are four handsets that can be used with this network: Nokia 3555, Nokia 6263, Samsung t819 and Samsung t639.

T-Mobile claims that AWS spectrum effectively doubles their spectrum and makes it easy for them to manage future growth. The network operates over 1.7 and 2.1 GHz bands. T-Mobile had spent a total of $4.2 billion in the AWS spectrum, and there are rumors that the company might look at buying even more AWS spectrum from Nextwave. We had reported earlier that Ericsson and Nokia were equipment suppliers for the network that was originally supposed to launch in 2007. Continue »

I’m no fan of the phone companies’ tactics of stifling competition in broadband through the strategic deployment of lobbyists in Washington. Thanks to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, they have gotten what they needed. Perhaps that’s why I was struck by this Ars Technica headline: “Grab your wallet: Qwest wants release from line-sharing rule.”The Ars report points to a study by QSI Consulting which concludes that: “Qwest’s bid for local deregulation will unleash $1.14 billion in higher charges annually for customers in four major Western markets if approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).” Wow, that’s sure to get everyone’s attention — especially mine, since I’ve been watching the slow asphyxiation of the 1996 Telecom Act for some time now. (I should note, however, that I also am skeptical of claims made by the study, mostly because QSIConsulting counts XO Communications as a customer and the study was commissioned by XO.)

If Qwest gets its way, it won’t have to provide its lines (and facilities) on a wholesale basis, which essentially means there is no way independent companies can exist unless they build their own facilities. And that, of course, is why XO Communications is up in arms. The arguments to deny Qwest’s request are many and valid. Verizon also wants to back away from giving wholesale access to its competitors. I think this is a crummy move by the phone companies. They got everything they ever could have wanted out of the 1996 Act; any concessions they had to made they’ve since sneakily reneged on. XO is right.

Broadband service providers looking for ways to upsell higher-speed (more expensive) connections now have the perfect come-on: same-day downloads on Apple’s iTunes store from most of the major Hollywood studios.

While the news doesn’t cover rentals, it’s good enough. Others, like VUDU, are already offering similar same-day download services. Given its history, the odds of Apple replicating the success it’s had with music in the movie download business are pretty high. The near ubiquity of its iTunes software and easy download process render it a good candidate for making a habit out of downloading movies. There is, of course, one problem when buying and download movies online: It takes forever. Continue »

AT&T, after months of waiting, is finally launching its MediaFLO mobile broadcast television service. The Vu service, which is based on Qualcomm’s MediaFLO technology, will roll out May 4th in 58 cities across the country. Much like Verizon’s V-Cast service, which is based on the same technology, AT&T’s service will require new handsets capable of receiving the broadcast signals. AT&T will launch with two.

The need for additional hardware — and the additional fees, which range from $13 to $25 per month — may be what’s keeping MediaFLO down in the U.S. While neither Qualcomm nor Verizon break out numbers for the service, data from firms such as M:Metrics and Qualcomm’s financials indicate that the adoption rate so far is slow.

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