Although it claims the move “isn’t about subsidies”, O2 is effectively moving away from the traditional model where carriers subsidize the phones they sell up-front, then bury the real cost in a combined monthly tariff. Read more »
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States has become the latest and final regulator to give the nod to the merger, although the resistance of some shareholders may still stand in the way. Read more »
Apple stole the spotlight in the third quarter with the release of its iPhone 5, Amazon pursued the tablet market aggressively with a new line of tablets, and Microsoft prepped to launch Windows 8 and the highly anticipated Surface tablet. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
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 »
Smartphone sales surged both in the U.S. and worldwide, carriers struggled to cope with the ever-increasing consumption of mobile data, and the fight for spectrum remained front and center in the first quarter. Our latest quarterly wrap-up analyzes these trends and more. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
T-Mobile may soon begin restricting roaming data usage to cut down on the amount of packets its customers consume off the carrier’s networks. If true, the new caps could affect many of T-Mobile’s customers, though the size of the impact on each customer may be small. 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 »
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 »
A bold proposal from Reinhard Clemens, CEO of Deutsche Telekom’s T-systems group. He would like certifications to enable the creation of super-secure clouds in Germany to slake pent-up demand among customers that don’t want to expose their data to U.S. government, Patriot Act scrutiny. Read more »
The Justice Department’s effort to block AT&T’s acquisition of T-Mobile USA has sparked a flurry of stories claiming the smaller carrier will be living on borrowed time if the deal isn’t approved. CNNMoney claims that T-Mobile without AT&T “is a wireless white elephant,” StreetInsider.com says failure to ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Carriers are struggling to address the gap between mobile data usage and revenues even as their networks approach capacity. Here’s how they can innovate to better monetize in the era of the ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Carriers are struggling to address the gap between mobile data usage and revenues even as their networks approach capacity. But those willing to embrace new business models and innovative services still have a chance to thrive in the era of the superphone. Read more »
If you are a T-Mobile subscriber and use one of the mobile phones that support UMA, now all your calls made over the Wi-Fi are free. Earlier, all WiFi-based calls counted towards your minute plan. This is a great move for T-Mobile, which is bleeding customers. Read more »
T-Mobile’s latest quarterly earnings aren’t pretty, and there’s a chance its acquisition by AT&T won’t survive the federal scrutiny that begins this week with congressional hearings. So what should the nation’s fourth-largest carrier do if the deal is scuttled? Here are a few ideas. Read more »
Carriers no longer dominate the mobile world thanks to the emergence of Apple, Google and the rise of third-party app stores. But they can retain — or even increase — their relevance by leveraging a few important things. Read more »
The always-unpredictable mobile space enters 2011 at a particularly dynamic time. Carriers are now bringing 4G networks online, even as their definitions of “4G” vary. Meanwhile, mobile data consumption is exploding and the FCC trying to settle on policies both to regulate the industry and to ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
This weekend Verizon Wireless, one of world’s largest carriers will turn on its next generation wireless broadband network. That is fun, but one has to remember that only 14% of global mobile subscribers use 3G. As more sign-on, their impact on the web will be huge. Read more »
The U.S. wireless data market grew 25 percent in the third quarter of 2010 versus the third quarter of 2009. The market gained 7 percent over the second quarter of 2010 to hit about $14 billion. Data will bring in over $54B in revenues for 2010. 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 »
The fast growing sales of Android-based smartphones and Apple’s iPhone means that the onus is on Nokia and Research In Motion to come up with compelling and competing products says Neville Ray, chief technology officer of T-Mobile USA. Read more »
The third quarter saw the continuation of important trends in mobile, from the astounding growth of Android to soaring sales of Apple’s iPad. Perhaps the biggest trend, though, is the march towards 4G, which will have a tremendous impact on the industry in the coming months. Read more »
T-Mobile USA says it will be launching UMA-based Wi-Fi calling on a select few Android handsets in coming days. Unlike in the past, Andorid phones will use an App for Wi-Fi calling. T-Mobile’s myTouch and new Motorola’s DEFY are likely to support UMA-based calling features. Read more »
T-Mobile USA said its new pricing for business-to-consumer text messages won’t affect companies like Facebook and Twitter, which have direct relationships with the carrier. For countless others who use messaging aggregators, though, the pricing change will go ahead as planned. Read more »
ChaCha said it will stop delivering text messages to T-Mobile USA customers if the carrier moves ahead with a plan to charge businesses for texts. ChaCha probably won’t be the last company to take such a drastic step in response to the proposed toll. Read more »
In a move that could impact text messaging offerings like tweets, bank alerts and sports scores, T-Mobile USA is planning to charge an additional toll to businesses to send texts. The charges could begin on Oct. 1 and cost a quarter of a penny per text. Read more »
The prepaid market continued to expand in the fourth quarter of 2009 thanks to a price war that seems to get more brutal by the week. Meanwhile, AT&T and Verizon Wireless built on their dominance with postpaid subscribers. Read more »
My favorite time of the week is here for the 77th time! That’s the time I get to share the happenings at my home office, Mobile Tech Manor (MTM). Gmail was updated in a good way, and a couple of new programs entered the Manor. Read more »
Rumors of a merger between Leap Wireless and MetroPCS are flying once again, signaling a rush to consolidation among the second- and third-tier players in the space. But is T-Mobile USA a better fit for MetroPCS than its prepaid rival? Read more »
A lack of discoverability continues to plague the mobile app space as storefronts become increasingly crowded with a glut of titles. Collaboration between carriers and developers is one way the industry can help users cut through the clutter and find what they’re looking for. Read more »
Nokia has extended support for the Ovi Store to the N900, its impressive — but pricey — Maemo-baed flagship device. Could that help score a much-needed subsidy deal with T-Mobile USA? Read more »
T-Mobile USA lost 77,000 customers and saw revenue continue to slide in the third quarter even as its operating profit margin increased two percentage points. But the nation’s fourth-largest carrier continued to enjoy a surge in mobile data uptake and said it will continue to aggressively […] Read more »
There are no longer any doubts that T-Mobile has hitched its smartphone bandwagon to Google’s Android operating system. The company today said that it will be selling four Android-powered handsets to its (current and potential) customers during the vital holiday season. It is clear T-Mobile is […] Read more »
Cole Brodman, chief technology and innovation officer at T-Mobile USA, provided details on the company’s continuing plans for the open-source Android operating system in a keynote address at Open Mobile Summit today in San Francisco. In the company’s fourth-quarter lineup – a period that promises to […] Read more »
Are you a multitasker that wants to dabble in two operating systems at one time? On a Mac, that generally means using virtualization software, which is what I do. Currently, I’m using Parallels Desktop 4 for Mac, but I’m looking to upgrade in the near future. […] Read more »
What a Monday it is turning out to be for the mobile industry — one major news announcement after another. Three of the most notable include: BlackBerry 5.0, the latest operating system update for RIM devices, is out. James Kendrick from jkOnTheRun has the details. From […] Read more »
