Unlike the first installment of this series, Globalstar's sequel may have a happy ending. Globalstar's low-power Wi-Fi plans don't have the interference problems of LightSquared's LTE network. The FCC also let Dish repurpose its spectrum.…
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What’s next for Dish? It’s got a lot of options centered around broadband
With the three tie-up between Sprint, Clearwire and SoftBank now final, Dish Network is left empty handed. But Dish's chairman Charlie Ergen is hatching other plans, some of which he's already set in motion.…
Read MoreSprint says its weighing Dish’s offer but presses FCC to approve Softbank deal
Sprint is juggling its two competing buyout offers. It's appointed a special committee to evaluate Dish's proposal on one hand, but it's not delaying its wedding date with SoftBank on the other.…
Read MoreWhy DISH should be negotiating with Clearwire rather than bidding for Sprint
DISH Network’s bid for Sprint could result in a revolutionary combination of video and mobile delivery and wireless broadband. But DISH needs Clearwire’s spectrum more than it needs Sprint’s network.…
Read MoreIs Cisco stacking the deck with its mobile data numbers?
To hear Cisco tell it, the world is quickly running out of wireless spectrum. Tim Farrar, of TMF associates, says a look at the numbers shows that Cisco first overstated them, then revised them, and is now overstating them again.…
Read MoreSprint discussed deals with 4 other companies before picking Softbank
According to a regulatory filing, Sprint entertained four possible M&A deals in the last two years apart from Softbank. Dish and MetroPCS are obvious candidates, and the other two could have been T-Mobile and the cablecos.…
Read MoreDish challenges Sprint’s takeover of Clearwire with unsolicited bid
Dish Network isn't taking Sprint's takeover of Clearwire lying down. The company has submitted a bid to acquire all or part of Clearwire at a price 11 percent higher than Sprint is offering. Are we witnessing a bidding war or two telecom giants posturing?…
Read MoreSprint, Clearwire, Softbank, Dish: Who’s playing whom?
If Sprint really wants to buy Clearwire, why did it low-ball its offer, and why is Softbank reportedly choking off Sprint's bargaining power? Analyst Tim Farrar thinks there is more to this deal, and many other related ones, than meet the eye.…
Read MoreThe myth of the wireless spectrum crisis
The CTIA says wireless providers are in a desperate race against the clock and need more spectrum, yet their very own numbers reveal a different story. Tim Farrar of Telecom, Media, and Finance Associates, says wireless data growth is actually slowing.…
Read MoreHow Iridium took a chance on SpaceX and won
Today SpaceX is an aerospace sensation, but several years ago the prospects of the fledgling space travel startup weren't so certain. That's when satellite communications provider Iridium decided to place a huge bet on SpaceX, handing it the single biggest commercial launch contract in history.…
Read MoreIt’s official: LightSquared goes bankrupt. What’s next?
Hours away from defaulting on debt, LightSquared filed for bankruptcy protection. The company has said it would use the shelter of Chapter 11 to buy time in its fight to build its nationwide LTE network, but this could just be a prelude to a liquidation of assets.…
Read MoreWhat does a bankrupt LightSquared have to offer? Not much.
LightSquared's backer, Philip Falcone, explained on Thursday his rationale for a voluntary bankruptcy filing for the planned wholesale LTE network, but given the paucity of actual assets in LightSquared, and the fact that Falcone has invested billions so far into LightSquared, this is almost a no-brainer.…
Read MoreFCC puts the kibosh on LightSquared’s LTE plans
After a year of LightSquared fighting GPS industry and government agencies over whether its network would interfere with GPS receivers, the Federal Communications Commission dropped the hammer Tuesday evening, saying it would revoke the would-be carrier’s terrestrial network waiver.…
Read MoreAT&T & Dish fight over spectrum, but will either build a network?
Report after report points to AT&T marrying Dish Network after Ma Bell’s forced break up with T-Mobile, but given the companies’ increasing belligerence, you wouldn’t think that was the case. What we’re witnessing here is some very cynical pre-nuptial gamesmanship.…
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