Sprint’s timetable is vague, but Monday it listed the 100 cities that will soon have LTE service. The carrier had an early 4G advantage if you count WiMAX in 2008, but has been lapped since then. Unlimited data is nice, but customers want more speed. Read more »
Thinking of dumping your phone for an iPod touch with the FreedomPop WiMAX sleeve? Sounds like a good plan unless you happen to encounter something unplanned: An emergency. The device doesn’t support 911 calling and the company hasn’t yet figured out an alternative solution. Read more »
Clearwire lost subscribers for the first time in the second quarter as a result of Sprint discontinuing new contract WiMAX device sales. Sprint has tied its star to LTE, and Clearwire would like to follow, but if the 4G carrier may have already reached its apex. Read more »
Finding a better, low-power way to send data over long distance is crucial for tracking and conserving energy. On-Ramp Wireless is tackling this challenge and now aims to raise nearly $30 million to commercialize this technology. Read more »
Sprint is cramming an awful lot of radios into its latest hotspot. On May 18, Sprint will begin selling the Sierra Wireless Tri-Fi hotspot, which customers can immediately connect to its 3G and WiMAX networks but will eventually support Sprint’s planned LTE network. Read more »
Sprint doesn’t plan to dump WiMAX entirely after it takes its LTE live this summer. Instead, it plans to reposition the older 4G technology as the network for its prepaid customers. Sprint will begin selling WiMAX devices next quarter under the Boost and Virgin brands. Read more »
Sprint customers holding out hope for new WiMAX smartphones can officially consider such hopes dashed: no additional WiMAX phones will be launched. The carrier’s LTE tests are wrapping up and on track for a mid-year launch; we may see Sprint LTE phones sooner than later. Read more »
Clearwire has had a frustrating year so far. For every step it takes forward it seems to be forced a step a back, but CEO Erik Prusch said he is plenty confident that Clearwire can overcome those setbacks to get its LTE network built. Read more »
Five key technology sectors are enabling the smart city: smart grids, smart transport, smart water and waste management, smart building systems, and the enabling ICT platforms for the smart city. Key players like IT companies, telcos and utilities must learn how to harness those technologies, and quickly. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
The industry has moved beyond starry-eyed soothsaying about a world of 50 billion connected devices to start talking about how these mammoth networks of objects and appliances would actually work and how they would be managed. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
We’ll have to wait another year for the LTE network Clearwire has long been promising. At its quarterly earnings call on Wednesday, Clearwire CEO Erik Prusch said the WiMAX carrier’s first batch of 5,000 LTE cell sites will be switched by June of 2013. Read more »
FreedomPop plans to give away mobile data access to most of its customers for free, charging only premium users a monthly fee. If can it can make the math work, it could potentially shake up the wireless market, extending mobile data to broad swathes of the population. Read more »
This year’s CES was the biggest in the show’s 44-year history. It boasted 15 miles of exhibit hall aisles, 3,100 booths and 153,000 attendees. It is easy to be jaded by the endlessly repetitive products, but the thousands of innovations point toward a future of connectivity. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
If you’re like many of us, you’re already thinking over some New Year’s resolutions that will make you a better “you” in 2012. But how are the tech industries’ thought leaders approaching the new year? We asked 12 of them for their resolutions. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Not all cellular network traffic comes from our cell phones and gadgets; a growing amount will come from machines using these networks to communicate, including the utilities that provide you with power and water. Spring announced a host of new smart grid partnerships on Thursday. Read more »
Networking giant Cisco held a press event on Tuesday morning showing off a couple of new products for its smart grid initiative, but mostly emphasizing an overall design and architecture for how Cisco sees the entire smart grid network for its potential utility customers. Read more »
The number of mobile subscribers is growing steadily across the globe, but each continent tells a different story about 3G and 4G penetration, market saturation and the rate of future growth. This report looks at the global mobile landscape over the next five years, forecasting the number of subscribers and the penetration of 3G and 4G services by both continent and country. In particular we look at new markets such as China and India, possibilities in developing countries in Africa and the Middle East, and saturation in the first world. Companies mentioned in this report include HTC, Motorola and Samsung. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
Clearwire wants to simplify its pricing and remake itself as a neutral provider of excess mobile broadband capacity, but its success hinges on Sprint making a new role for itself as the mobile market consolidates. Read more »
Sprint is moving ahead with its LTE 4G plans and said it expects to upgrade to LTE-Advanced in the first half of 2013. The third-place carrier will deploy LTE-Advanced Release 10 in a 10×10 configuration, achieving downloads speeds of 12-15 Mbps. Read more »
One of Sprint’s only marketing advantages was its promise of unlimited 4G broadband. But that distinction is fading fast. Today, the carrier announced it was doing away with unlimited 4G mobile broadband for hotspots and devices and was instead instituting three new tiered data plans. Read more »
Some interesting stats out today from the NPD Group underscore just how fast-moving the evolution is in devices today. Although fast mobile… Read more at paidContent »
Some interesting stats out today from the NPD Group underscore just how fast-moving the evolution is in devices today. Although fast mobile… Read more at paidContent »
Sprint, with its network modernization announcement last week, has set the stage for one of two things: another spectacular, Nextel-style failure or a corporate turnaround for the history books. Which will it be? Read more »
The wireless industry’s fall gathering–CTIA Enterprise and Apps–will open Monday with an industry in mourning over the death of a man who… Read more at paidContent »
Sprint (NYSE: S) added a little color to its previously announced plans to embrace LTE as a next-generation wireless standard, telling finan… Read more at paidContent »
4G provider Clearwire’s stock fell 32 percent to $1.39 Friday following an announcement by Sprint Friday that it was launching an LTE network without the help of Clearwire, throwing into doubt its role in Sprint’s 4G future. The news raises more concerns about Clearwire’s future. Read more »
Sprint is launching an aggressive campaign to rollout a 4G network based on LTE that will cover more than 250 million people by the end of 2013. The third-place carrier said it will move quickly to reuse its 1900 MHz and 800 MHz spectrum for LTE. Read more »
Open Range Communications, a WiMAX network that was created to offer rural Americans broadband service, has reportedly lost its CEO and preparing for mass layoffs. The troubles at Open Range signals another failure to bring broadband to rural America. Read more »
Just ahead of the big news day from Apple (NSDQ: AAPL), one more piece fell into place in the distribution game, it seems. A report emerged… Read more at paidContent »
Sprint should be getting the new iPhone when it arrives, and according to a new report, the company is paying for the privilege. Sources close to the deal report that Sprint will pay around $20 billion for 30.5 million iPhones over the next four years. Read more »
Utilities will spend $3.2 billion this year in telecommunications services, but only a third is related to smart meters. A growing proportion will pay for mobile broadband for workers as part of a wider shift to thinking mobile broadband access is essential for productivity. Read more »
A look at some of the big stories in mobile today:
» Apple and five warning signs to watch for at the company in the next stage o… Read more at paidContent »
If the cable companies gain control of Clearwire the ISPs that control the wireline infrastructure in the country could be the same companies that control the wireless access, and their business models of delivering services, as opposed to access, will stay in place. Read more »
Clearwire, which abruptly lost its CEO earlier this year, has promoted Erik Prusch, the wireless company’s chief operating officer, to the top spot on Wednesday. Prusch replaces interim CEO John Stanton, who will assume the role of executive chairman of the board. Read more »
