AT&T has turned on its 4G LTE service in 11 new markets, but that expansion may not be quite so big as it appears. AT&T is only covering large cities like San Francisco and New York partially, explaining why it’s only reached 74 million in coverage. Read more »
While 2011 was a busy year for the tech industry, don’t expect things to slow down in 2012. We’ve rounded up some of GigaOM’s biggest stories of the year with a bit of insight on what each will mean for 2012. Read more »
Best Buy has a good deal on iPhones this weekend: It is offering buy-one-get-one-free pricing on the 32 GB iPhone 4, on either Sprint or AT&T with new 2-year contracts. Basically, it means you get a 32 GB iPhone 4 for the price of the 8 GB version. Read more »
Delivering on a promise, HTC is offering a software tool to unlock its Android devices that launched after Sept. 2011, allowing users to install custom software. The supported phone list doesn’t include AT&T or Verizon models, but the tool is working on some from these carriers. Read more »
The past year in mobile has been even more eventful than most of us would have predicted. Our appetite for mobile data grew dramatically; Google’s Android continued its march to worldwide dominance; Amazon joined the tablet bandwagon; and AT&T tried and failed to acquire T-Mobile USA, among many other things. All of that activity lays the groundwork for a very promising — and very challenging — 2012. This research note serves both as a review of the major trends and events of 2011 as well as a forecast for the coming year. Companies mentioned in this report include Millennial Media, Quattro Wireless and Samsung. For a full list of companies, and to read the full research note, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
The FCC approved Qualcomm’s sale of its 700 MHz spectrum to AT&T. The deal is striking for two reasons; it closes a big chapter in the history of mobile TV and the FCC said it will look at interoperability in LTE bands next year. Read more »
In a consolidation of content delivery network players, Akamai is buying rival Cotendo. The $268 million cash deal is expected to close in the first half of 2012. Akamai is the legacy power in CDN, while Cotendo was seen as a leaner upstart. Read more »
In the wake of its failed acquisition of T-Mobile USA, analysts are speculating where AT&T can find enough spectrum to keep pace with Verizon Wireless. But instead AT&T should be scrambling to ensure that it makes the most of the spectrum it does ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
The business model for standalone wholesale wireless network operators is broken. But in the coming year a new and ultimately more successful model is poised to emerge, transforming the entire communications landscape as we know it Tim Farrar of Telecom, Media, and Finance Associates, Inc. explains. Read more »
AT&T has thrown in the towel on its acquisition of T-Mobile, which kept the mobile industry stalled through much of 2011 as experts, executives and consumer organizations waited to understand what a deal would mean. Now the industry can return to solving the spectrum question. Read more »
AT&T said it will drop its planned acquisition of T-Mobile and take a $4 billion charge against its earnings. This paves the way for new partners to emerge for T-Mobile and means AT&T will have to build its LTE network without taking out a competitor. Read more »
Early adopters with a Galaxy Nexus can add Google Wallet software without rooting their handset. Wallet is gaining the spotlight for two reasons: both the convenience factor and the debate over whether Verizon is violating open-access requirements by not including the software on its Nexus. Read more »
Between the collapse of AT&T’s proposed $39 billion merger with T-Mobile and the death throes of a proposed wholesale 4G network created by a satellite company and now-broke hedge fund, the wireless industry has generated a lot of stories but no real change in the past ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Though most U.S. operators use Carrier IQ’s handset monitoring software in some form, they’re not all using it to the same degrees. Sprint turns out to be Carrier IQ’s biggest fan, installing its software on half of all devices while AT&T uses it much more sparingly. Read more »
AT&T is scrambling to make huge concessions to gain approval of its proposed acquisition of T-Mobile USA. Approval now looks highly unlikely, and the fallout could change the mobile landscape in a big way. Here’s who might ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
