Editor’s Note: Wireless operators are a busy bunch, and as such RCR Wireless News will attempt to gather some of the important announcements that may slip through the cracks from the world’s largest carriers in a weekly wrap-up. Enjoy!
—AT&T Mobility this week announced a deal with Scanbuy to power the carrier’s Mobile Barcode Services offering. The carrier noted the QR Code campaign is designed to allow business customers to create mobile barcodes within different media that are accessible through mobile devices. That information can then be analyzed in real-time allowing a company to examine demographic and device information to tailor additional services.
AT&T Mobility also announced this week that it expanded LTE coverage to six new markets, including Jackson, Tenn.; Kalamazoo, Mich.; Napa and Santa Rosa-Petaluma, Calif.; Orangeburg, S.C.; and Rocky Mount-Wilson, N.C. The carrier noted the expansion pushes its LTE coverage to 182 markets on its way to 250 markets covered by the end of summer. AT&T Mobility added that it expects to have 250 million potential customers covered by year end, with 300 million pops covered by the end of 2014.
–Sprint Nextel’s prepaid divisions bolstered their offerings over the past week, with one targeting international users while the other targeted the competition.
Boost Mobile said customers on its monthly unlimited plan can now add unlimited calling to all phones in Mexico for $15 per month. The feature includes unlimited calls to both landline and mobile phones throughout Mexico; unlimited calls to landlines in more than 45 countries throughout Latin America and the Caribbean; unlimited calling to Canada, except for the 867 area code covering the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Yukon; and unlimited international text messaging from within the United States.
Compatriot Virgin Mobile USA said it would offer $100 credits to customers switching to its service from T-Mobile USA. The move comes on the heels of T-Mobile USA rolling out no-contract rate plans that include the ability for customers to roll the cost of unsubsidized devices into a two-year payment plan.
Sprint Nextel also announced a deal with machine-to-machine solutions provider Multi-Tech Systems to migrate current M2M customers using the carrier’s iDEN network to its CDMA-based network. As part of the migration, Multi-Tech said its MultiModem Rcell Intelligent Wireless Router has been pre-approved for use on Sprint Nextel’s CDMA network. Sprint Nextel has said it plans to shutter its legacy iDEN network by mid-2013 in an attempt to free up spectrum assets for its CDMA and LTE networks.
—Bloomberg reported late last week that Telecom Italia was looking at possibly merging operations with Hutchison Whampoa’s H3G operations. Both companies confirmed that they were looking at a possible partnership, with Telecom Italia expected to discuss the option at a board meeting this week. Telecom Italia is currently Italy’s largest operator with around 32 million customers, while H3G is one of the smallest with just under 10 million customers.
–Turkey’s largest wireless operator Turkcell said it has been selected as a technology partner by the United Nations , which cited the operator’s network initiatives following a destructive in Van, Turkey in 2011. The U.N. also cited Turkcell’s “Money-Box” text messaging campaign initiated with Turkey’s Ministry of Education and the Turkish Education Foundation.
—Vodafone said it has signed an agreement with China Mobile to bid on a spectrum license in Myanmar. Vodafone explained that the Myanmar telecom sector was set to hit a period of “rapid structural expansion as the government seeks to increase the number of mobile operators from two to four while taking measures to encourage and support the development of mobile network infrastructure across the country.” As such, the government is set to put two licenses up for bid to encourage new competitors.
Vodafone’s Indian operations also reported a deal with Aepona for a platform to serve as a central access point for Vodafone’s business partners, including independent software vendors, application developers, web-based service providers and enterprises. Aepona said the platform will provide partners with access to Vodafone’s nationwide telecom and IT capabilities via APIs, enabling the external partner ecosystem to deliver relevant services to Vodafone’s subscribers. The platform is expected to be available across all 23 circles in India to serve the carrier’s more than 147 million wireless customers.
–French operator Bouygues Telecom is reportedly set to begin offering LTE services using 2.6 GHz spectrum assets across a handful of markets by later this year. The carrier recently was allowed to re-use some of its 1.8 GHz spectrum holdings initially set aside for 2G services to support LTE services as well.
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