Mobile data efficiency isn’t a sexy feature that moves a lot of apps and devices, but it’s increasingly going to be a selling point, as mobile consumers look for savings in an data-capped world. Onavo says it can save iPhone users about $1 billion a year. Read more »
The Federal Communications Commission said it would combine the review of AT&T’s purchase of spectrum from Qualcomm with the agency’s review of Ma Bell’s $39 billion purchase of T-Mobile. Is the FCC worried about consolidating so much spectrum into the hands of one company? Read more »
Clearwire’s shift to LTE is not just a move away from WiMAX, but it cements Clearwire’s shift in strategy from being a retail operator to a wholesale provider – a change that has been coming for a while.What must it do to make this transition pay off? Read more »
Novatel’s second quarter results Thursday included a 50 percent rise in overall revenue and showed off the tight relationship between better mobile broadband, Wi-Fi and consumers toting multiple broadband-enabled devices. But how will carriers and customers react to downloading more content at faster speeds? Read more »
A survey from British telecom regulator Ofcom paints smartphones as addictive, but smartphones are just a symptom in the spread of broadband across society. Instead of smartphone addiction, let’s talk about how broadband is changing society and creating new business opportunities. Read more »
Sprint reported record low churn rates and its highest average revenue per user yet, but lost $847 million. Why? Although 1.1 million new subscribers were added, all were from wholesale and pre-paid customers. Postpaid subscriber numbers may turn around in the future though, thanks to LTE. Read more »
Another hurdle was removed today for “Wi-Fi on steroids,” as the IEEE published a wireless standard that could bring high-speed broadband to rural areas. The so-called white-space networks use unlicensed spectrum freed up from old television channels and could send fast wireless signals across 100 kilometers. Read more »
AT&T’s solid second quarter results were driven by wireless, but its wireline business was nearing growth again — a success for the carrier as it nears the completion of its U-Verse deployment. But amid the cheering for U-verse, the DSL network was getting kicked to the curb. Read more »
AT&T activated 3.6 million iPhones during the second quarter, with Android and BlackBerry devices making up the remaining 40 percent of Ma Bell’s smartphone sales. Those high-end handsets are generating more money for AT&T in other ways — such as increasing texting and MMS revenue and usage. Read more »
Starting on July 24, T-Mobile customers can take advantage of new plans saving more than $800 per year over service from rival carriers. Two phones on a Value plans with unlimited voice, messages and 2 GB of 4G data is as low as $99 per month. Read more »
It took me 25 minutes to download OS X Lion at home, but using LTE mobile broadband service, you could do the same in a few hours. I wouldn’t recommend it, but it’s amazing when you realize 3G networks, like OS X, launched 10 years ago. Read more »
AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson spoke Tuesday at the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners summer meeting in Los Angeles, where he called DSL “obsolete.” Since AT&T still provides and profits from DSL, this is a surprising admission. Read more »
Technology used by ISPs as well as regulatory decisions have shaped the Internet. The New America Foundation sees danger in the current evolution of the Internet as the web becomes segregated by what people are allowed to access and the cost of that access. Read more »
Attending Keith Urban’s concert in Philadelphia last night, my wife and I were lucky in our seat selection as near the end of the show, the country superstar serenaded our section. What was nearly everyone’s first reaction? Whip out the smartphone, take pics and get sharing! Read more »
Daniel Ek, co-founder of Spotify talks to me about Apple, Android and his service on consumer devices and in cars. More importantly he shares his vision about the company and what he wants it to be when it grows up in a couple of years. Read more »
AT&T is getting ready to launch its LTE network, and the first two devices that can use it have been introduced. One is a mobile hotspot, while the other is a USB data stick, but both should handle seamless transitions between 3G and 4G networks. Read more »
Now that the two largest mobile operators in the U.S. have abandoned unlimited data plans for new customers, understanding how much mobile broadband different activities use, is even more important. Here’s a list of guidelines to get you started, as well as a few online resources. Read more »
The worldwide mobile industry should bring in $1.3 trillion in 2011 and will represent about 2 percent of global gross domestic product, according to data released today by analyst Chetan Sharma. But despite rocketing growth, carriers are having to keep an eye on their margins. Read more »
Verizon stops offering unlimited plans on Thursday for new customers, and much like when AT&T halted its unlimited plans last June, the world will not end. However, it will get more confusing for both consumers and developers. What else could Verizon have done? Read more »
Google updated its Maps for Android software Wednesday, bringing a new feature for those who take public transportation, as well as some additional functions for everyone. But a Labs feature can help smartphone owners on limited data plans: downloadable maps for offline use are available. Read more »
On Tuesday, iPass introduced a new Wi-Fi roaming service that is one of many data points in Wi-Fi’s slow transition from home networking tech for geeks to must-have for every mobile device to perhaps another source of carrier revenue. Will carriers charge for Wi-Fi? Read more »
Thirteen months after rival AT&T stopped offering unlimited smartphone data plans, Verizon Wireless is following. New customers on or after July 7 will choose between three tiers of monthly mobile broadband service. Are Verizon’s new data plans better than those from AT&T? That depends on you. Read more »
Could satellites help provide the fat pipes needed to meet our mobile data demand? Eutelsat’s latest bird can deliver 70 gigabits per second, but before we get out the party hats and start funding satellites, it’s worth understanding the drawbacks. Read more »
LightSquared, the company betting it all on a wholesale 4G wireless broadband network, said Tuesday it has raised $265 million from existing and new investors. None of the investors were named, but it brings LightSquared’s total funding to $2.3 billion just in the last year. Read more »
Japan’s KDDI has seen the future of cellular service and Wi-Fi (and even WiMAX) has a starring role. Its heterogeneous network is the future of mobile broadband, and could lead to lower operating costs and perhaps cheaper prices for end users. Read more »
Recent developments in the vehicle industry suggest that 2011 could be the year of the car as a major platform for apps. From BMW’s support for Apple’s iPod Out feature to the emergence of Nokia’s Terminal Mode, a system that integrates mobile applications and the car, automakers and app developers are jumping on board the in-vehicle app movement. This report examines that landscape, its major players and their offerings, and how the market is shifting from device to car and, eventually, to the cloud. Increased broadband speeds, electronic vehicles and social apps such as those powered by Twitter will play major roles on this journey. Additional companies mentioned in this report include Ford, BMW, Geely, Nissan and Google. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
LightSquared filed a reporton Thursday that shows that its planned wholesale LTE wireless network would interfere with existing GPS equipment, and suggested a three-part plan to resolve the issue. The report, filed with the FCC, could throw the operation of LightSquared’s network into some doubt. Read more »
Do we only want dumb screens: the ability to get whatever content and services you want over the web instead of locked to a device? Today, the answer is we want it both ways, but in the future, dumb terminals with one exception: the smartphone. Read more »
Skype opened up its development platform to all comers Tuesday, but it still has a disconnect between revenue generation and its platform efforts. Like many companies trying to build a dominant position in the technology ecosystem, Skype is navigating the path between dollars and devs. Read more »
Ericsson has demoed a new variant of the technology called LTE Advanced, which is ten times faster than today’s commercial LTE networks. Ericsson showed-off LTE Advanced using commercial hardware in Kista, Sweden for the Swedish Post and Telecom Agency using 60 MHz of spectrum. Read more »
Sometimes it’s not what you say, but what you don’t say that matters, and in today’s release of the annual wireless competition report, the Federal Communications Commission silence speaks volumes. The problem is, no one knows what that silence is saying. Read more »
Android may have had some major victories this past year over Apple’s iOS, but the war is far from over. In international markets like the U.K., the iPhone and iPad still account for the lion’s share of mobile connected app use and web traffic. Read more »
Nearly half of the page views from Apple iPhones come through a Wi-Fi network as does 91.9 percent of iPad web browsing. Android device users use more mobile broadband, but why? Here are four reasons that explain this broadband phenomenon, which is unlikely to change soon. Read more »
Will there be an LTE iPhone this year? A new report Thursday from T-Mobile suggests that network speed isn’t a big concern for a sizeable chunk of iPhone users, nor is official carrier support, so Apple can probably take its time with next-gen mobile broadband. Read more »
Mobile devices, led by the iPad and Android phones and tablets, have overtaken computers on Wi-Fi networks, according to a new report. It’s another sign that when it comes to getting connected, people are leaving the laptop closed and reaching for their pockets. Read more »
LightSquared, the company trying to build a wholesale 4G wireless network using a mix of FCC waivers, satellite spectrum, a to-be-built terrestrial network and a helluva lot of gumption may have signed a deal with Sprint. Read more »
Smartphone users are consuming 89 percent more data than they did last year, but the cost per megabyte has dropped to 8 cents. But these stats miss the subtle economics of running a network, and aren’t caught up with pricing changes hitting the mobile ecosystem. Read more »
More capable smartphones and tablets, combined with a growing number of online video services are heavily increasing mobile media consumption: Limelight’s data shows a 600-percent jump from the past year and that’s a bad sign for those hoping unlimited data plans will stick around. Read more »
Cablevision is now offering its cable customers cable modem speeds over its Optimum Wi-Fi network of hotspots, hitting 15 megabits per second down and 4 megabits per second on the uplink. The upgrade is a vast improvement over the previous speeds, which hit 3 mbps down and 1.5 mbps up. Read more »
New figures from analytics firm Flurry suggest that mobile users across Europe’s biggest markets are ravenously hungry for apps — and that even despite high smartphone adoption around the continent, there is still plenty of room for further growth in the coming years. Read more »
