CenturyTel and Embarq today announced the completion of their $11.6 billion merger, which results in a phone company that will serve 7.5 million customers in 33 states. The combined company will now be known as CenturyLink — and the aging copper-based DSL lines it offers to […] Read more »
Ivan Seidenberg, the CEO of Verizon, appeared on “The Charlie Rose Show” yesterday talking about the communication company’s plans for global growth, network neutrality and the role of government. For the record, Verizon plans to build out its wireless business internationally within the next 5-10 years, […] Read more »
Verizon today boosted its upload speeds across its FiOS fiber-to-the-home broadband packages, which leads me to wonder if upload speeds are the new download speeds in a saturated market for broadband. Om and I both have complained about anemic upload speeds, which are becoming more of […] Read more »
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[qi:gigaom_icon_mobile] FCC acting chairman Michael Copps said yesterday afternoon that the agency would investigate exclusivity deals between carriers and handset makers, and “take action” if they were found to cause harm to consumers. While the largest cellular carriers are protesting the probe, consumer advocates are thrilled. […] Read more »
Some folks spend a lot of time looking for free stuff — those contests and surveys that have a payoff at the end of a little bit of effort. It’s a bigger trend than you might think. I recently saw a news program devoted to explaining […] Read more »
Twice in the last week, I’ve received images of broadband speed tests from my colleagues that show how fast their networks are, especially on the upload side. I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of envy when I checked out Kevin’s symmetrical 20 Mbps FiOS connection […] Read more »
As many in the U.S. rush to snap up the Palm Pre that runs on Sprint’s 3G network or the new iPhone 3G S coming on June 19, it may be hard to realize that we’re still living in a world where most people aren’t on […] Read more »
Updated: Comcast will drop the price of its ultrafast 50 Mbps up down/10 Mbps down up broadband to $99.99 per month with the purchase of one other Comcast service. That’s almost 30 percent less than the original price of $139.95 per month. The new pricing takes […] Read more »
Qwest may be desperately looking for a way to ignite growth in the face of its stagnating land-line business, but it’s not yet desperate enough to accept a too-low offer for its long-distance network. The company said today that it’s completed the strategic review of its […] Read more »
Updated: After writing extensively about how cell phone providers want to boost their business by offering wireless access for emerging devices, such as electric meters or e-readers, I decided to check with the nation’s four largest carriers to see what they consider to be some of […] Read more »
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I’m working in the local coffee shop with the Viliv X70EX UMPC as a little laptop. I have my portable keyboard in front, and today I am adding the mouse I just picked up. The Microsoft Arc Mouse is not new, but I finally picked one […] Read more »
NVIDIA is all over the news today — and not just for the new Tegra devices. The Computex show is under way in Taiwan, and today NVIDIA announced that its Ion chipset is rolling out in 21 computers soon. Ion provides high-quality graphics in low-cost computers […] Read more »
[qi:___wimax] Juniper Research issued a report this morning noting that growth in WiMAX networks has been slower than anticipated, but revenue from WiMAX 802.16e broadband subscribers will exceed $15 billion globally by 2014. Before we get all excited over the prospects for Clearwire, to put that […] Read more »
NebuAd, the company that planned to enable Internet Service Providers to offer behavioral advertising based on a person’s web surfing history, has shut its doors, according to MediaPost, which cites court documents. The controversial service, which is akin to Phorm in the UK, had conducted advertising […] Read more »
[qi:gigaom_icon_lte] UPDATED: Verizon Wireless plans to launch its LTE networks commercially in the second half of 2010 and finish its deployment by 2014, according to comments made by Lowell McAdams, president and CEO of Verizon, on a conference call earlier this week. That’s slower than its […] Read more »
Updated: Cisco said today it’s won a contract to supply equipment for Clearwire’s WiMAX network deployment, but buried in that release was a one-line sentence announcing a mobile WiMAX device that the networking giant plans to release later this year. According to Cisco spokesman Kevin Petschow, […] Read more »
[qi:086] What a deal! Verizon Communications today unveiled plans to dump roughly 14 percent of its expensive copper lines in exchange for $8.6 billion from Frontier Communications. The transaction, which is expected to close within the next year, will make Frontier the nation’s fifth-largest incumbent local […] Read more »
Are you one of those poor souls who kind of want an iPhone, but just can’t bear the thought of the AT&T network? If so, I’m thinking that if you combine an iPod Touch with the upcoming Verizon MiFi modem, add a VoIP client and a […] Read more »
Vodafone today has followed in the footsteps of other carriers concerned about becoming a dumb pipe by unveiling plans for an application store. But the details provided by Reuters have me questioning the success of the venture. First, Vodafone is taking a 30 percent cut of […] Read more »
AT&T said Friday afternoon that it bought some of Verizon Wireless’ rural spectrum and assets for $2.35 billion as part of mandated divestitures associated with Verizon’s acquisition of Alltel. Customers will have one year to give up their CDMA-based phones, and AT&T will spend about $400 […] Read more »
The Wall Street Journal today notes how the iPhone, which makes it easier for consumers to access data-intensive applications such as video, results in users consuming a lot more bandwidth than they would for texting and email. The carriers know this, which is why they’re investing in next-generation networks that will enable more data to travel more cheaply through their pipes, while at the same time offering plans and phones aimed at luring customers away from other carriers. Read more »
As it becomes ever easier to get both video and voice over a broadband connection, telecommunications providers increasingly appear to have a one-way ticket to commodity status as a dumb pipe. Consolidation of services on the part of consumers alone has the potential to reduce a […] Read more »
AT&T, with its new $3-a-day, unlimited cell phone plan, appears to have gotten the prepaid religion that’s spread among wireless companies as consumers in this uncertain economy question the high prices of cell phone contracts. But The New York Times sees a more interesting motive that I’m […] Read more »
[qi:___wifi] Qwest, the nation’s third-largest phone company, has teamed up with AT&T to offer Wi-Fi access to Qwest’s phone and broadband subscribers. Qwest is the latest ISP to add Wi-Fi to its product line, as mobile computing and connectivity become more important to consumers. AT&T has […] Read more »
[qi:083] It’s been a rough first three months of the year for the economy, but while overall subscriber growth at wireless carriers stayed pretty stable, wireless data revenue continued to climb. AT&T’s reliance on the iPhone was once again made clear, as was Sprint’s difficulty holding onto […] Read more »
[qi:107] The cable industry, in an effort to boost sales, is looking to business customers. As broadband growth slows, revenue from consumer households is fairly flat, and as a new report out today shows, most consumers aren’t willing to pay more for their Internet service, which […] Read more »
I hope broadband competition in the New York City area is the wave of the future. The region, which is densely populated, has three Internet service providers vying for customers. And since Time Warner Cable announced yesterday that it will deploy DOCSIS 3.0 to the city, […] Read more »
Comcast today reported a 5.4 percent boost in profits — to $778 million on sales that rose 5.3 percent, to $8.84 billion — and was the latest carrier to report a rise in the number of broadband subscribers over the previous three-month period. The cable provider […] Read more »
BT Group introduced packages earlier this week that add mobile broadband to home services such as voice, web and video that it provides to customers. By coming out with a combined mobile and fixed broadband package, it’s mirroring a trial plan offered by AT&T and recognizing […] Read more »
[qi:086] If you want to hear what the death of copper phone lines sounds like, don’t just listen to AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson or Verizon Communications CEO Ivan Seidenberg talk about their landline losses over the last few quarters, come over to my house and lift the receiver on my landline phone. You’ll hear the crackle of static that grossly interferes with your ability to enjoy a call. Read more »
Apple and Verizon are in talks for the carrier to distribute an “iPhone-lite” device and a “media pad,” with one of the devices to be launched sometime this summer, BusinessWeek is reporting. As a Verizon subscriber, I wish I could believe this story, but we have […] Read more »
Verizon Communications reported a strong first quarter for 2009, growing profits and sales over the previous period a year ago. The carrier reported net income of $3.21 billion and increased sales to $26.59 billion. The 12 percent boost in sales from the same period last year […] Read more »
Qualcomm and Broadcom, two of the primary communications chip firms, agreed today to end their long-standing intellectual property feud, with Qualcomm agreeing to pay out $891 million to Broadcom over four years. Qualcomm, which owns the intellectual property related to the CDMA 3G wireless standard, has […] Read more »
AT&T reported first quarter financials today with net income of $3.1 billion on revenue of $30.6 billion. The economy kept AT&T’s revenue flat from the first quarter of last year, but net income dropped by 11 percent. The wireless business (including the desirable iPhone exclusive) and gains […] Read more »
Verizon unveiled a package of incentives today that give users the triple-play bundle of voice, video and data for $100 a month. The incentives are aimed at getting customers to switch from cable bundles to Verizon’s FiOS TV, and I can’t help but compare what Verizon […] Read more »
As the Federal Communications Commission tries to formulate a National Broadband plan, wireless carriers are seeking to classify their networks as an acceptable alternative to wired broadband, especially in rural areas. At the same time, those wireless carriers are also trying to convince the FCC that […] Read more »
Verizon Wireless today issued a call for developers to attend a May 13 conference to learn how to develop devices for the fourth-generation LTE network due to roll out starting in 2010. And in keeping with the requirements set by the FCC when the carrier won […] Read more »
As super-fast, Long Term Evolution wireless networks are deployed, some are questioning whether carriers even need 4G femtocells to boost coverage in the home. A post this week over at Unstrung adds fuel to the debate by pointing out that with femtocells, bandwidth speeds are only […] Read more »
The Federal Communications Commission will open up on Wednesday a Notice of Inquiry for the forthcoming National Broadband Plan, kicking off what interim FCC chair Michael Copps calls “an open, participatory, public process.” I hope it is, but traditionally our citizens have been quicker to complain […] Read more »
Verizon has been aggressively pushing its fourth generation wireless network plans, which would bring Long Term Evolution, or LTE, to 20-35 markets by the end of 2010. But in the interconnected world of telecommunications, the desires of a vendor can be waylaid if all the pieces […] Read more »
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