Connected tablets will certainly show off the capabilities of the 4G deployed by operators, but the big profits will come from elsewhere. For example? Your medicine cabinet, where a new bill bottle cap sends 20 kilobytes of data per day while costing $15 per month. Read more »
A plan to bring a nationwide wholesale LTE network to the U.S. is in trouble. LightSquared has a troubled private equity backer and may be losing ground in Washington as it seeks a way around regulations that are making its planned network a long shot. Read more »
The next generation of wireless network is coming, and it will be fast. We’ve been excited about LTE networks and their speed gains for years, and now it’s close. For more on the technology and how it will affect you, check out our handy infographic. Read more »
Verizon Wireless is widely expected to announce a version of the Apple iPhone for Verizon customers tomorrow, ending more than three years of official U.S. iPhone exclusivity on AT&T. Here’s why the onslaught of iPhones won’t hurt Verizon’s data network in contrast to AT&T’s struggles. Read more »
Now that Verizon Wireless has a speedy 4G network in 38 markets, what will consumers do with it? The company announced 10 new LTE devices — handsets, tablets, wireless hotspot devices, and notebooks — that will become available over the next six months. Read more »
With 4G now a battle cry taken up by all the major U.S. wireless carriers, it’s not surprising that consumers are generally aware of the term. But according to a Nielsen Company survey, consumers are not quite clear on what this 4G talk is all about. Read more »
AT&T laid out plans today for an accelerated race to LTE while bulking up its existing network to handle 4G speeds. The No. 2 wireless carrier said it will begin deploying LTE by mid-year and plans on having the network “largely complete” by 2013. Read more »
MetroPCS’s discounted 4G LTE mobile broadband plans, announced yesterday, weren’t just the beginning of a possible price war. It represented a long-talked about tactic of ISPs charging for content at different rates and potentially favoring their own services while charging more for access to rivals. Read more »
The wildest week in consumer electronics gets underway this week with the Consumer Electronics Show, or CES, in Las Vegas. Sure there will be tablets and 3-D TVs galore, but I expect several other products to make a splash on the mobile world this week. Read more »
Japan joins the LTE party courtesy of NTT DoCoMo, who just launched a fast 4G network in major urban areas of the country. The carrier says outdoor downloads are up to 37.5 Mbps, while indoor areas, such as Tokyo International Airport, will enjoy double those speeds. Read more »
Once an isolated world dominated by network operators and their manufacturer partners, mobile is now a space where “outsiders” are some of the most powerful players. In 2010, companies like Google, Apple, MetroPCS, Huawei and Foursquare were among those who made the most impact in mobile ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
It’s been a great year for gadgets and connected devices that let users access their favorite online video services in the living room and on the go. Today we present our top five gadgets for online video viewing, just in time for Christmas. Read more »
It looks like multiple Verizon LTE handsets will be shown off at CES from the likes of Motorola and HTC. But, faster networks mean more network usage, so while the phones sound interesting, I’m wondering what it cost to use Verizon’s speedy network on a phone. Read more »
WiMAX might have had a head start when it comes to the next generation wireless broadband sweepstakes, but it’s feeling the heat from Long Term Evolution aka LTE. New data shows that by 2015, LTE will have seven times as many users as WiMAX. Read more »
FLO TV, Qualcomm’s mobile video network is expected to be shut down in March 2011. The San Diego-based chip maker is selling the 700 MHz spectrum that propped up the nationwide mobile video network to AT&T for $1.925 billion, a move that help AT&T’s 4G efforts. Read more »
Although LTE networks are appearing around the world, the U.S. will push LTE faster than most others, says HTC CEO Peter Chou. His company plans to bring LTE phones to the U.S. soon because of the perfect storm brewing with smartphones and fast wireless networks. Read more »
Grid Net, the smart grid software maker, has officially moved beyond the wireless standard WiMAX and this morning announced that its software now supports the 4G wireless standard LTE (Long Term Evolution), the dominate next-gen wireless standard embraced by U.S. telcos. Read more »
As next-generation wireless data networks roll out in the U.S., get ready to face more choices: Do you want speed, coverage, low price or unlimited use? Since we can’t have it all, here’s a rundown on which “4G” service is best for different reasons and uses. Read more »
High-quality online video playback works flawlessly on Verizon’s new 4G LTE service, enabling users to watch content from YouTube, Hulu and Netflix without any stuttering or slowdown. But watch out for usage caps: you only get 5 GB of data for $50 under Verizon’s data plan. Read more »
Verizon, one of world’s largest wireless carriers, today launched its LTE network, being the latest in a series of carriers who are spreading the LTE revolution across the world. So we decided to put together a handy snapshot of LTE across the planet and its future. Read more »
Verizon’s long-awaited LTE network goes live on Sunday, promising 4G speeds at 3G prices. We got a chance to test the network with an LTE USB dongle, and the mobile broadband network feels like a fast, wired network at home in every use case. Read more »
Verizon today unveiled its first LTE modems, but they won’t work with your Mac. Not if you’re using OS X, at least. The LG VL600, Verizon’s LTE launch USB modem device, is only compatible with Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7. Read more »
Verizon Wireless launched its next-generation LTE network today, promising fast mobile broadband speeds in 38 U.S. markets and 60 airports. Initially, the carrier will offer two USB data dongles for computers, but expects to follow these up with LTE-capable handsets in the first half of 2011. Read more »
MetroPCS was the first U.S. carrier to offer an LTE handset, and customers get unlimited 4G web access with their voice and message plan for $55 a month. That’s far less than other carriers’ 3G plans, so how does the MetroPCS 4G network compare? Read more »
The 2G wireless hardware market was dominated by Motorola, Ericsson & Nokia, collectively called M.E.N. Then came 3G and along with it Nortel and Lucent. With LTE wireless broadband on the horizon who is going to dominate the next generation hardware business? Find out. Read more »
Watching Sunday Night Football last night, I was as surprised as anyone to see the Verizon Wireless ‘teaser’ ads for the December launch of its initial LTE markets. But Verizon seems to be making the mistake of promising more than it can deliver — again. Read more »
There will be nearly 120 million LTE connections in the Asia Pacific region, driven by four major markets: China, Japan, South Korea and Indonesia. The race begins with the December 2010 launch of Xi, a new LTE service from Japanese mobile giant, NTT DoCoMo. Read more »
Teliasonera, the first carrier to offer LTE, is already witnessing its average customer using between 14 and 15 GB of wireless data per month, which rivals the 14.9 GB used by the average wired broadband consumer. How will carriers handle and price for such data demand? Read more »
More than 60 percent of mobile operators have congested networks with one in five describing that congestion as severe according to Amdoc a provider of billing software for the mobile industry. But if carriers are so worried about network congestion why not implement better pricing plans? Read more »
The tech world loves numbers, feature-driven marketing, and pedantic arguments over … well, technicalities, which is why the wireless debate du jour is over 4G. As operators roll out faster networks, every press release is touting 4G, but they are all pretenders to the 4G throne. Read more »
T-Mobile USA is betting its HSPA+ network will prove beefier than its WiMAX and LTE rivals. In a chat with me, CTO Neville Ray says he U.S. consumers will be disappointed by the LTE roll out, mostly because Verizon and AT&T don’t have enough spectrum. Read more »
Nokia Siemens Networks today released data showing consumer spending on mobile broadband in Europe is up 40 percent from a year ago. The data is a barometer not only for demand for mobile broadband but also the bite it will take out of consumers’ wallets. Read more »
We will soon be consuming nearly one gigabyte of data every month on our smartphones, thanks in large part to rapid improvements in technology and networks. This is a similar growth pattern we saw on wired broadband; the faster the speeds, the more data we consumed. Read more »
Nokia Siemens Networks today launched a mobile application to measure and report real-time 3G connectivity service levels. That’s similar to a crowdsourced consumer app from Root Wireless, but if NSN can embed its solution in the network equipment it provides, future data networks could be self-optimizing. Read more »
Two noted analysts are predicting good times for Qualcomm, and not just because the chipmaker provides the processing and connectivity for many of the top-rated Android handsets. Qualcomm is ready to add sales of 10 million more chips per quarter by powering the CDMA Apple iPhone. Read more »
In this second part of a three-part interview series, Sprint CEO Dan Hesse addresses Sprint’s next generation wireless broadband options, the future of Clearwire and what Sprint plans to do with the spectrum that will free up when it eventually shuts down Nextel’s iDen network. Read more »
Had someone asked me just six months ago about what data plan to buy, my answer would have been very different than it is today. Here’s what you need to know about new and improved networks coming, more prepaid options and tethering plans, before you buy. Read more »
The FCC is planning the equivalent of a “take back the airwaves” campaign to address a shortage in spectrum that will hit by 2013. Today, the agency released a paper detailing the growth of mobile broadband and its plans to get more spectrum. Read more »
Verizon today said it will roll out its new 4G wireless network in Charleston, West Virginia, making the municipality one of 38 cities where the carrier plans to deploy the Long Term Evolution network technology. Here’s why Verizon chose the state. Read more »
Clearwire showed off huge LTE speed gains using a fatter band of spectrum than those currently deployed by other operators. But is this test a real example of its potential competitive advantage or merely a giant sales pitch to boost the value of its airwaves? Read more »
