Sprint’s CEO Dan Hesse talks about how AT&T’s attempted acquisition of T-Mobile set off all sorts of alarms, and made him realize just how tenuous the competitive situation in the U.S. wireless industry is. 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 »
Republic Wireless is dropping the “so-called” from its so-called unlimited data plan, revealing that it has lifted all restrictions on smartphone Internet use. While Republic’s customers are sure to be happy, let’s see how long it lasts. Unlimited is a hard business model to make work. Read more »
LightSquared isn’t just fighting the government and the GPS industry for the right to build its nationwide LTE network; it’s also fighting the clock. In a financial statement released to Reuters, LightSquared revealed it may run out of cash early next year. Read more »
One of the most audacious and controversial mergers in mobile history is dead, and give AT&T (NYSE: T) at least a little credit for understa… Read more at paidContent »
Google announced that last year’s Nexus S handset will start to get Android 4.0; the GSM models first over the coming month. Those who can’t wait for Android 4.0 on a CDMA smartphone can get one as Verizon’s Galaxy Nexus with LTE support launched this week. Read more »
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 »
One day after announcing the final details to its public offering, Clearwire has closed on the stock deal, raising $734 million in equity investment from new investors and principle shareholder Sprint. The next step? Build a big fat LTE network, of course. Read more »
Carrier IQ has released the most detailed assessment of what its controversial software can and can’t do on your mobile phone, weeks after i… Read more at paidContent »
In documents released late Monday, Carrier IQ revealed its phone monitoring software isn’t just sending same generic performance and network metrics from every device. Operators could use Carrier IQ’s platform to perform research on their unwitting customers, recruiting their phones into virtual focus groups. 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 Carrier IQ scandal is still unfolding, and all parties involved are trying to spin their side of the story pretty heavily. Meanwhile, the software, which monitors users’ keystrokes and text messages and can see passwords and other vulnerable information, is said to be on more than 141 million devices. So it’s worth looking at the various players to understand who is hurt and who is helped by the kerfuffle around surreptitious smartphone data collection. This brief research note tackles the question of what the Carrier IQ case means for consumers, device makers and, perhaps most important, the operators. Companies mentioned include AT&T, Research in Motion and Sprint. For a full list of companies, and to read the full research note, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Update: YouMail’s app is back in the Android Market after some more communication between the voicemail company and T-Mobile. That revealed… Read more at paidContent »
The U.S. MVNO market is now largely a niche where a handful of companies provide phones and services on the cheap. But several notable new players are joining the space next year and will provide a different, more-specialized kind of service; network operators could benefit in ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
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 »
The launch of the iPhone 4S was a little more interesting than other iPhone launches because for the first time three carriers were on board… Read more at paidContent »
Clearwire plans to issue new common stock worth $300 million, which would give it half the capital it needs for the first phase of its new LTE network. As for the other half, Clearwire is looking to primary owner and investor Sprint to chip in. Read more »
As children get smartphones at an earlier age, there are dangers ranging from inappropriate content to texts from strangers. Sprint Mobile Control, a $4.99 monthly service, help parents manage their kids’ smartphones and help control usage as well as communications from unknown contacts Read more »
There is no question that we love our mobile devices. There’s also no question that we are paranoid about how much of ourselves we pour into… Read more at paidContent »
A big move for Verizon Wireless (NYSE: VZ) today, and something of a seismic shift for the cable industry as it moves away from its fixation… Read more at paidContent »
The swirling controversy over a company that reportedly installed tracking software on users’ mobile phones has already produced its first t… Read more at paidContent »
With AT&T’s proposed deal to purchase T-Mobile now effectively dead, consumers have won, right? Yes and no. There’s much cause for consumer rejoicing, but the U.S. is still pro-carrier because we can’t easily use our phones on different networks. We really don’t have true carrier competition. Read more »
Sprint (NYSE: S), HTC, and Carrier IQ–the companies at the heart of a growing tempest over privacy rights on smartphones–have broken their… Read more at paidContent »
Clearwire (NSDQ: CLWR) will live to fight on thanks to a cash infusion from its good buddy (or frustrated spouse, depending on how you see t… Read more at paidContent »
Apple admitted on Thursday it has used and supported in the past CarrierIQ software, but it says it hasn’t used it for tracking keystrokes or messages. The company says it stopped supporting this software “in most” of its products with iOS 5. Read more »
Carrier IQ is feeding Sprint generalized data about how its customers’ smartphones perform on its network, Sprint has confirmed, but it said it does not snoop into the private contents of those phones. Sprint claims its using that information primarily to optimize its network. Read more »
We can stop wondering if Clearwire will default on its loan payment. Sprint has stepped up with a plan to spend $1.6 billion over the next four years that will help Clearwire stay solvent, and Clearwire said it would make its $237 million debt payment. 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 »
Call this one a not-so-sweet release for AT&T (NYSE: T). The Federal Communications Commission has said has let AT&T drop its FCC applicatio… Read more at paidContent »
Clearwire has to decide if it will make a $237 million interest payment on Thursday, a decision with big repercussions for the rest of the industry. If it skips the payment, it can build its LTE network, but if it defaults, it threatens its benefactor Sprint. Read more »
AT&T’s proposed acquisition of T-Mobile seems all but dead. If the deal falls through mobile operators stand to gain or lose depending on which of side of the battle lines the stand. The biggest losers, however, aren’t necessarily AT&T and T-Mobile. Read more »
Today, on a public holiday in the U.S., AT&T (NYSE: T) and Deutsche Telekom (NYSE: DT) issued a statement saying they would be withdrawing t… Read more at paidContent »
Verizon dodged a bullet on Tuesday when the FCC denounced AT&T-Mo. No conditional approval means no new regulations to haunt Verizon’s own consolidation plans in the future. Now Verizon needs its archival AT&T to throw in the towel before it can do any more damage. Read more »
The unlimited mobile data plan is going the way of the dodo. Bring-your-own-phone carrier H2O Wireless canceled its unlimited smartphone plan after just two months. How long before Sprint and the rest of the holdouts are forced to do the same? Read more »
Clearwire is hinting it may default on loans to save cash, which could be the first step toward bankruptcy. If that happens, Sprint stands to lose the most. Not only is it Clearwire’s largest shareholder, but Sprint’s 4G strategy is tied up in Clearwire’s spectrum hoard. Read more »
According to an extensive comparative study of iPhone 4S performance across all three major U.S. carriers, AT&T offers by far the best data performance on paper, and also performs nearly as good or better than both Sprint and Verizon in terms of call quality and reliability. Read more »
Sprint is calling foul on AT&T’s attempt to sell off mobile broadband licenses while simultaneously arguing the need to acquire T-Mobile’s spectrum. Sprint’s been plenty right in its criticisms of the AT&T-Mo deal in the past, but this time Sprint’s wrong. Read more »
After an abysmally slow start with numerous hiccups and strategy changes along the way, Cox Communications is giving up on wireless completely. On March 30, Cox is turning off the mobile service it offers through Sprint, making it the latest cable wireless venture to fall flat. Read more »
When the cable operator Cox launched its “unbelievably fair” wireless service in the U.S. a year ago, we asked right off whether the company… Read more at paidContent »
