Carrier Wrap: TeliaSonera IC expands N.A. fiber presence; AT&T prices GM telematics service

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!
–Sweden-based TeliaSonera International Carrier said it has further expanded its fiber-backbone network in the United States, recently adding capacity in the Dallas and Washington, D.C. areas. The company said its North American network now includes nearly 15,000 miles of fiber.
—AT&T announced that owners of select General Motors vehicles will be able to add telematics services for $10 per month to a Mobile Share rate plan. The telematics service will take advantage of a customer’s bucket of data for access 2G, 3G or LTE service.
AT&T announced last year a deal to provide telematics services through GM’s OnStar service, swiping the contract away from long-time OnStar service provider Verizon Wireless. AT&T said at that time that its service would include voice calling, streaming audio, Web access, applications and video for backseat passengers as well as powering GM’s planned in-vehicle Wi-Fi hotspot offering.
–Prepaid service provider Straight Talk updated its rate plans, providing more non-throttled data for its $30 and $45 plans. The $30 plan now includes unlimited text messaging, 1,500 voice minutes and 100 megabytes of data. The $45 plan continues with its unlimited voice calling and messaging, but has bumped its un-throttled data bucket from 2.5 gigabytes to 3 GB. Network speeds are curtailed once a customer exceeds the monthly allotment.
Straight Talk service is provided by TracFone Wireless and offered exclusively through Walmart locations.
—Fierce Wireless reported this week that Sprint has agreed to sell AT&T all of its 2.3 GHz spectrum holdings, which include 19 licenses in the WCS band. Financial terms of the transaction were not released.
The move would further bolster AT&T’s spectrum position in the 2.3 GHz band, which the carrier has build out over the past several years. That included the 2012 acquisition of NextWave Wireless for $650 million that included spectrum in the 2.3 GHz and 1.7/2.1 GHz bands.
AT&T also worked out a deal with satellite radio operator Sirius XM to re-configure the 2.3 GHz band in a move that provided the carrier with access to more spectrum in that band.
The FCC originally auctioned off the 2.3 GHz spectrum in 1997, with results falling short of expectations. Total bids came in at just $13.6 million, or less than one-tenth of the significantly lowered estimate of the Congressional Budget Office. Those license winners eventually coalesced around the WCS Coalition organization that originally was looking to deploy WiMAX services across that band.
–Globecomm reported that rural telecom operators Adams NetWorks and Chariton Valley have launched commercial LTE services using Globecomm’s hosted LTE platform.
The Adams NetWorks deployment covers parts of Illinois, tapping into Globecomm’s “hosted hybrid model, with Globecomm hosting the core equipment at its Hauppauge, N.Y., facility and Adams NetWorks hosting the converged packet gateway solution.
Chariton Valley’s deployment uses the carrier’s 700 MHz spectrum and Globecomm’s hosted LTE solution. Globecomm said its work with Chariton includes support for a CDMA underlay for the carrier’s partnership in Verizon Wireless’ LTE in Rural America program and circuit-switch fallback of Verizon Wireless customers that roam onto the Chariton Valley network.
Additional carrier news can be found on the RCR Wireless News “Carriers” page.
Bored? Why not follow me on Twitter