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 »
Super Bowl 46 is around the corner, and Verizon is taking huge steps to ensure the mobile broadband flows as fast the beer at Lucas Oil Stadium. Here’s a video look at the effort, which includes a 600 antenna Wi-Fi system for up to 28,000 people. Read more »
The impending SOPA and PIPA bills have the Internet in a tizzy, but Congress has a lot more to think about than just intellectual property. The issues at play in the SOPA debate have broad effects that span everything from the digital divide to international commerce. Read more »
Virgin Mobile will begin to reduce the mobile broadband speeds of smartphone users on March 23, following a similar path as T-Mobile, AT&T and others who have offered unlimited plans. Facing huge demand for mobile data, the days of truly unlimited plans appear numbered. Read more »
At CES, T-Mobile launched the Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G which can take full advantage of the operators HSPA+ 42 Mbps speeds. I sat down with T-Mobile CTO, Neville Ray, to discuss the operators 4G network of today as well as it’s plans for the future. Read more »
In 2012, a “turbo” button will appear on mobile phones, making it the first of many new options that allow customers to customize their data plans by quality of connection, rather than megabytes consumed. We may even see the resurgence of the unlimited plan, with a catch. Read more »
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 »
Sprint has given its partner LightSquared 30 days to get regulators to green-light the launch of its controversial 4G service, but it may not be enough. If Sprint pulls out of the network-sharing deal, LightSquared’s costs multiply, almost certainly killing its rollout plans. Read more »
As expected, the past year was an exciting one for mobile tech. I did reasonably well on my 2011 predictions, but now it’s time to power up the crystal ball and gaze at what 2012 will bring. Here are my 16 predictions for the new year. Read more »
Deutsche Telekom has revealed the details of its breakup fee now that the merger of AT&T and T-Mobile is officially dead. T-Mobile gets: one check for $3 billion, one nationwide roaming agreement, and 128 individual spectrum licenses — everything it needs to build a better HSPA+ network. 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 »
While mobile device usage has been steadily growing for years, 2011 was the year that mobile took over the world. This two-minute video from MobileFuture illustrates this view, recapping key mobile datapoints: 8 trillion texts this year and 26 Instragram photos shared every second, for example. Read more »
The spectrum bill that passed the House last night will make any technologist weep. I know the tech community is upset over the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), but this bill represents a somewhat geekier threat–killing more unlicensed spectrum. Read more »
Verizon’s LTE rollout has passed the 200-million-pops-coverage mark, extending the new ultra-fast mobile broadband network’s umbrella to nearly two out of every three Americans. Verizon’s 4G footprint is now three times larger than archrival AT&T’s own LTE coverage, but it’s doubtful Ma Bell cares. Read more »
Wi-fi has shown a remarkable ability to evolve, to meet increasingly higher expectations and requirements, and to become pervasively adopted in mobile devices. All of these factors are highly prized by the enterprise and public and safety agencies, as well as health and educational institutions that are increasingly deploying larger, high-performance and high-capacity Wi-Fi networks that have become fully integrated within the IT infrastructure. This paper follows the ascent of Wi-Fi and looks at how its expanding role within the enterprise drives more-advanced requirements. We also examine how these requirements will be met by further expansion in the Wi-Fi standards and by a new generation of Wi-Fi equipment and devices. And we discuss how the enterprise can benefit from the evolution of Wi-Fi by deploying future-proof networks that will organically improve performance. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
The National Transportation Safety Board on Tuesday recommended that states ban all driver use of cell phones and other portable electronic devices, except in emergencies. What will this mean for connected cars, Pandora and the dying GPS market if states decide to get tough? Read more »
Clearwire is raising another $52.5 million in its public offering. That’s hardly big money in the world of telecom finance, but it happens to be the exact amount Clearwire needs to reach its $400 million target, triggering an investment by Sprint and kickstarting its LTE rollout. Read more »
LightSquared is fighting for the life of its LTE network, as a government report emerging later this week questions if there’s any way its 4G network can coexist with millions of GPS devices. If the report’s findings stand, the repercussions could be felt throughout the industry. Read more »
The judge hearing the Department of Justice’s lawsuit against AT&T’s planned takeover of T-Mobile has agreed to give the two parties a month to figure out if they can salvage the $39 billion deal. The court will revisit the case on Jan 18. Read more »
Nokia Siemens Networks said it will sell its wireline broadband assets to ADTRAN for an undisclosed amount. The deal is the second in as many months for NSN, which had previously been hoping to find a buyer for the whole business. Read more »
Next-generation LTE mobile broadband networks won’t unify global communications anytime soon, if ever. A new Wireless Intelligence report published Friday estimates more than 200 LTE networks will have launched around the world by 2015. That’s great news, but they’ll use 38 different frequencies. Fragmentation, anyone? Read more »
Verizon Wireless customers can expect data plans supporting multiple devices on a single account in 2012. It’s about time, as kids are getting smartphones and more connected devices are finding their way into our lives. One plan for all devices is a good fit for families. Read more »
Even with a new cash infusion from Sprint, Clearwire’s LTE plans remain conservative. Given their combined spectrum resources, the two operators could build the biggest, baddest 4G network in the industry. The question is do they have the ambition — and the cash — to do it? Read more »
My Galaxy Nexus smartphone is now capable of receiving free voice calls and making low-cost outbound calls on a data-only mobile broadband plan. How can you send and receive calls on a smartphone without a voice plan? Android’s native SIP integration is a big help. Read more »
The U.S. leads in LTE but not for long. In the U.K., Everything Everywhere and BT Wholesale have recently begun LTE trials and this video from T3 shows not only the speeds that the network is handling, but also how consumers are reacting to the technology. Read more »
Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Bright House Networks are selling off the spectrum remnants of their stillborn wireless venture, SpectrumCo, to Verizon Wireless for $3.6 billion. The deal allows Verizon to double up on its LTE network, while creating a new alliance between Verizon and cable. Read more »
After you buy a smartphone and data service, what you do with the device is your business, right? Maybe not. Pre-installed software from Carrier IQ can capture every activity behind the scenes. Here’s a video showing that you don’t have the privacy you thought you had. Read more »
That North America took the early lead in LTE subscribers should come as little surprise given all of the early LTE activity in the U.S. But TeleGeography found that North America is set to lose its title as early as 2013 as Asia ramps up. Read more »
Following the FCC’s decision to send the $39-billion proposed merger of AT&T and T-Mobile USA to an administrative hearing, AT&T has withdrawn its application to combine its spectrum with T-Mobile’s from the regulatory agency. Additionally, it said it will take a $4 billion charge against earnings. Read more »
Nokia Siemens Networks, the struggling telecommunications gear joint venture, announced it is cutting 17,000 jobs as it tries to restructure the company with a focus on mobile broadband. The layoffs will cut 23 percent of NSN’s workforce and will save the company about $1.3 billion. Read more »
Windows Phone owners may want to connect their device to a computer and check for updates. I just did and found a software release that added the long-awaited Internet sharing feature for my HD7 handset. So now the question becomes: MiFi or handset as personal hotspot? Read more »
A new PwC survey shows more than half of the polled smartphone owners use their handsets for three activities each day: basic communication, accessing news, weather or sports and social network usage. By 2013, more than 40 percent expect their activities to expand to other apps. Read more »
The addition of Charlotte; Indianapolis; Kansas City; Las Vegas; Oklahoma City and San Juan, Puerto Rico bring AT&T’s LTE city count to 15 — meeting its 2011 target. But feeling pressure from Verizon’s ever-growing competing network, AT&T may opt to overshoot its goal. Read more »
T-Mobile USA reported a net gain of 126,000 subscribers in the most recent quarter, marginally increasing its total subscriber base to 33.7 million customers, while data revenue per customer grew as well. Without an iPhone, the carrier is focused on value plans and fast mobile broadband. Read more »
The economics of providing mobile data don’t work, and as proof we only have to look at the death of the unlimited plan. Today only 13.5 percent of operators offer a “true” unlimited plan, while 25 percent offer an unlimited plan in name only. Read more »
Verizon is tops with 63 percent of the world’s current LTE subscriber base, according to Informa Telecoms & Media. But the U.S. carrier isn’t resting on its laurels. It now offers a promotion that doubles the monthly amount of LTE data for smartphones at no extra charge. Read more »
Republic Wireless, the division of Bandwidth.com that offers customers an Android phone with unlimited voice data and texts for $19 a month launches Tuesday. Here’s how it will work (there’s a $199 “membership” fee) and what it means for the wireless industry. Read more »
Another day, another gear maker getting into the broadband data prediction game, with Ericsson prognosticating that mobile data traffic will be 10 times what it is today by 2015 at 3.5 exabytes per month. This is about half of rival gear maker Cisco’s guesstimates. Read more »
We’re big believers in a connected world enabled by ubiquitous broadband here at GigaOM, which is why when Ericsson asked if we wanted to see a new video about the future of a connected society, we said yes. We figured you guys would enjoy it too. Read more »
Mobile handsets have a bad habit of oversharing with the networks they operate on, with some handsets being chattier than others. This signaling data, as it’s known in the industry, makes managing networks even more challenging, and Traffix wants to help operators handle it. Read more »
