U.S. carriers like working out exclusive handset deals with hardware makers – such as the Lumia 920 with AT&T — but who benefits? Consumers really don’t, hardware makers might, but it’s the network operators that benefit most. Here I thought competition in the U.S. was good! Read more »
AT&T is now Bloom Energy’s largest corporate customer and has doubled its previously announced fuel cell deal. The news is the latest win for Bloom Energy as it continues to brings in tech customers that want to power facilities and data centers. Read more »
More than 64 percent of broadband subscribers in the U.S. have a cap on their usage. Are you one of them? This story shows which ISPs are capping your broadband, the structure of those plans and explains why caps are a big business. Read more »
Broadband caps are spreading like Kudzu but the FCC has no oversight of how ISPs implement them or who they affect. While, the agency is showing signs of waking up to the problem, we’ve laid out three areas where it needs to take action. Read more »
Mobile data will grow 18 times over the next five years. To successfully address the shift from voice-to data-centric usage models, operators need to act on multiple fronts, because no single solution will be sufficient in isolation. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Skyfire is announcing a new mobile browser extension called Horizon that will be implemented by carriers in stock browsers. The browser offers some usefulness but may also be seen as an intrusion by operators into the browsing experience. Read more »
The next generation MiFi device from Novatel Wireless doesn’t just create a 4G hotspot for 10 devices for a few hours; it provides 11 hours of continuous use, has a touchscreen for configuration and doubles as a media server for smart televisions and other DLNA devices. Read more »
AT&T wants to rejigger a useless hunk of airwaves for LTE use, but to do so it needs special dispensation from the FCC. Today chairman Julius Genachowski signed off its plan and officially set the ball rolling toward opening the WCS band for 4G. Read more »
Many interested in deploying software defined networks are eager for the agility and programmability they can provide. But the fear of breaking their network means IT is leery of deploying SDNs. Apigee has updated its API management products to work on SDNs to alleviate those fears. Read more »
In the past, you may have considered swapping out the SIM cards to swap numbers during an upgrade. The iPhone 5 uses a nano-SIM card, however, and the older SIM card that comes with previous model iPhones will not fit. Read more »
Whether it’s the iPhone 5, the importance of LTE, or BYOD trends disrupting the enterprise, there are always technologies, trends, and companies changing the way we define mobile. Here are some noteworthy segments to watch in the coming months, from location-based shopping to apps to wireless networks. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Comcast is bringing its 305 Mbps service to more places in the Northeast. But in the Southwest it launched its second trial of new caps — one that gives users up to 600 GB per month on the fastest tiers and sticks slower users with 300 GB. Read more »
Open Internet groups plans to complain to the FCC about AT&T’s decision to limit Apple’s FaceTime video calling application to its cellular network for certain customers. The groups view the limits as a violation of the network neutrality rules the FCC implemented in 2010. Read more »
The wave of orders for Apple’s latest smartphone have far outstripped the supply Apple will have ready to deliver on Sept. 21. The 2 million preorders in one day doubled the record for fastest-selling iPhone set by the iPhone 4S last year. Read more »
U.S. carriers have a love-hate relationship with the iPhone and an analyst downgrade for AT&T and Verizon after the iPhone 5 went on sale illustrates why. Carriers may get customers, but they also have to shell out hundreds on a subsidy that cuts into their margins. Read more »
Barclaycard US is the latest card issuer to back Google Wallet. The company also backs Isis, the mobile payment joint venture between Verizon Wireless, AT&T and T-Mobile, illustrating that not even the traditional banking companies know yet which mobile payment standard will be successful. Read more »
Here’s our daily pick of stories about Apple from around the web that you shouldn’t miss. Today’s installment: the best use case for major U.S. 4G operators selling the iPhone 5, Sprint won’t have “wideband audio,” crunching the iPhone 5 rollout numbers, and more. Read more »
Carriers are struggling to match the demand for data with pricing plans that keep their profits up. Over the top services like Viber and WhatsApp are causing even more pain, but 3 Hong Kong may have found a solution that would work for everyone. Read more »
In the year 2020, today’s smartphones will like the glorified PDAs of the last decade, according to AT&T SVP Jeff Bradley. What should consumers expect? Handsets with nearly 30 GHz of processing power, terabytes of internal storage and half-gig connections to the mobile network. Read more »
Sprint’s timetable is vague, but Monday it listed the 100 cities that will soon have LTE service. The carrier had an early 4G advantage if you count WiMAX in 2008, but has been lapped since then. Unlimited data is nice, but customers want more speed. Read more »
Google has signed up 180 out of 202 neighborhoods in a pre-registration drive for its fiber-to-the-home service. That’s an amazing take-up rate, although it’s not clear what percentage of homes have signed up. But the incumbent ISPs, AT&T and Time Warner Cable, must be worried. Read more »
Although Nokia did not detail release dates when it unveiled new Windows Phones this week, reports suggest a November timeframe. Coming after the expected next iPhone, that makes Nokia’s sales challenge that much tougher, regardless of how nice the new Lumias look. Read more »
Mobile phones and the rise of broadband means that fewer and fewer people need a landline. The baby bells are feeling the impact and here are two charts that highlight this precipitous decline. Of course, cable guys are doing fine, thanks to triple play offers. Read more »
Radical virtual network operator Ting is at it again. The company with innovative cellular plans will let customers bring their own Sprint device to the service. But that’s short term; long term, Ting could add support for devices from other carriers in the U.S. too. Read more »
The FCC halted the deregulation of special access charges, prices companies like Sprint and T-Mobile pay to connect their wireless networks to the Internet. Verizon and AT&T own those circuits, and the FCC wants to know if they charge their competitors a fair rate. Read more »
In blocking Apple’s FaceTime application from its cellular network for certain customers, AT&T is trying to drive customers to new plans and change the debate when it comes to network neutrality. If Ma Bell succeeds it looks like consumers and maybe app developers could lose. Read more »
AT&T says it’s not blocking any apps and that users can still use FaceTime over Wi-Fi as before. The carrier also says there’s a place for “reasonable restrictions” on preloaded apps on the iPhone — but the definition of “preloaded” can be a bit tricky. Read more »
AT&T won’t make users pay to use Apple’s video call service over a cellular connection once that capability goes live this fall. But the carrier says this option is only available to customers who sign up for its new shared voice and data plans. Read more »
Smartphones can enable an amazing level of connectivity, but they can also allow that activity to be monitored and used in controversial ways. But for mobile marketing to realize its full potential, consumers may need to sacrifice their privacy to one degree or another. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
The decline of DSL in the US has life tough for the phone companies – who in total lost 70,000 subscribers during the second quarter of 2012. Winner: cable companies in general and Comcast in specific as 260,000 new folks signed up for broadband in the US. Read more »
Here’s our daily pick of stories about Apple from around the web that you shouldn’t miss. Today’s installment: revelations about Apple and Microsoft’s licensing agreement, the super-secure iPhone, signs point to a September iPhone launch, the mythical Apple television, and the death of optical drives. Read more »
Some of the biggest players in the mobile payment space including the four U.S. mobile carriers, Google, Isis, VeriFone and Intuit are joining a new mobile payment committee within the Electronic Transactions Association. It’s still too early to say what this cooperation will yield. Read more »
By buying NextWave, AT&T removes the biggest obstacle to its plan to convert the Wireless Communications Services band from a worthless patch of airwaves to highly valuable 4G spectrum. The deal will cost AT&T $600 million but would pay dividends in new LTE capacity. Read more »
Thinking about signing up for Google Fiber? Curious about those sleek black boxes Google is showing off? Here’s what each box does and what it looks like — the Network Box, a Storage box and optionally a TV Box if someone gets the TV service. Read more »
Google’s fiber-to-the-home network may look like a loss leader for the search engine company, but its executive teams says it’s profitable. Here are the three ways Google has managed to cut the costs of building out a network and beat ISPs at their own game. Read more »
AT&T has been reducing the number and length of calls to its call centers by relying on so-called smart videos from New York City-based SundaySky. The videos are personalized tutorials that are built on the fly using pre-scripted clips mixed with the subscriber’s own data. Read more »
AT&T confirmed it’s seeing the same trend we saw with the iPhone and Verizon last week: iPhone activations lost momentum. In a note to clients, Wells Fargo analyst Maynard Um noted that it’s the second quarter in a row that AT&T’s iPhone activations have dropped. Read more »
Apigee, a company that helps manage and monitor APIs, snagged a $20 million round of funding led by new investor Focus Ventures, with participation from current investors Bay Partners, Norwest Venture Partners, SAP Ventures and Third Point Ventures. Read more »
In the coming months you will soon start receiving unsolicited text messages when storms hit or other natural disasters are anticipated thanks to a new wireless emergency alert system signed into law this spring. Here’s what you need to know when the alerts roll in. Read more »
When it comes to speeds Cablevision and Verizon FiOS are the most likely to deliver better than advertised download speeds while any provider offering DSL — AT&T, Frontier, Windstream and CenturyLink– struggle to deliver on their promises. A new FCC report looks at how well ISPs perform. Read more »
