Apple’s unveiling of its latest iPhone 6 and 6 Plus devices last week drew strong launch support from the nation’s regional and rural operators, all intent on offering the iconic smartphone line. The nation’s five largest operators all announced plans to begin offering the devices beginning Sept. 19.
Some of those smaller carriers that announced launch plans included Bluegrass Cellular and Ntelos Wireless. Bluegrass said it plans to begin selling both iPhone models beginning Sept. 26. Pricing was not announced, though Bluegrass had previously offered its iPhone products at a $50 less expensive price point than its larger rivals.
Ntelos joined Bluegrass in announcing a Sept. 26 launch for its iPhone 6 and 6 Plus products, as well as announcing a price cut for the current iPhone 5S and 5C models. The 5C 16 GB model is being offered for $30 with a two-year service agreement, while the iPhone 5S 16 GB is priced at $50 and 32 GB model at $100 with a contract. No word from Ntelos on pricing for the latest iPhone models.
—At an investor conference last week, Verizon Communications CEO Lowell McAdam hinted that the company would be interested in selling its tower assets, though it would be looking for a specific price. McAdam noted that deals were offered two years ago, but that they were not considered by the company.
“Two years ago, the deals that were offered, it was very easy to say no way, not interested,” McAdam said at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference. “I think those deals are coming to us a little bit more now. Still not where we would want them. There are some very key terms that we won’t compromise on, but if an opportunity presented itself to generate shareholder value around towers, I would do that.”
McAdam was questioned about Verizon looking to generate cash in light of its $130 billion purchase of the 45% stake in Verizon Wireless previously controlled by Vodafone. A number of wireless operators in recent years have sold tower assets to generate cash needed to help fund network technology upgrades and spectrum purchases. AT&T last year sold lease rights to 9,700 towers to Crown Castle for $4.85 billion. T-Mobile US in 2012 sold lease rights to 7,200 towers to Crown Castle for $2.4 billion.
—Sprint further blurred the lines between its various prepaid offerings, announcing the expansion of rate plans available through its Sprint Prepaid branded service that it said mirror the three-tiered platform of its Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile USA offerings.
The new pricing begins at $35 for unlimited domestic voice calling, text messaging and one gigabyte of data; ramps up to $45 for 3 GB of data; and tops out at $55 for 6 GB of data. Like its other no-contract offerings, data speeds are throttled once the allotted data cap is reached and video streaming services “may be limited to 3G speeds.”
The previous Sprint Prepaid plans included two smartphone options beginning at $45 per month for unlimited domestic voice calling, text messaging and data only via a Wi-Fi connection, no cellular data. For $60 per month, Prepaid customers could have 2.5 GB of LTE data before speeds were throttled. Feature phones were offered a pair of options beginning at $35 per month for 500 calling minutes, and unlimited text messaging and data; and $50 per month for unlimited voice calling.
Sprint earlier this year revamped its branded prepaid offering, replacing the previously offered “As You Go” service with lower priced rate plans. Sprint’s prepaid brands, which also includes the government-subsidized Assurance Wireless offering, lost 542,000 customers during the carrier’s most recent financial quarter.
—AT&T Mobility announced that its previously launched single SIM solution targeting multinational companies and designed to support connected and machine-to-machined devices, now meets GSMA specifications for multiprofile SIMs.
The platform was initially launched in 2012, and now includes support for GSMA’s specifications for remote provisioning. AT&T Mobility said the SIM platform continues to provide support for global service management using diagnostic tools, smart process automation, machine monitoring and alert/response capabilities; and global wireless M2M connectivity through roaming agreements.
—Bluegrass Cellular President and CEO Ron Smith was recently elected chairman of wireless trade association CTIA’s board of directors for 2015.
“I am truly humbled and honored to have been selected for this important role,” said Smith. “As chairman, I will work to ensure our industry remains competitive and innovative, and that wireless companies — large and small — carriers, manufacturers, suppliers and developers — have an opportunity to speak with a united voice in the face of the significant challenges and opportunities facing our industry. I look forward to working with such a distinguished group of colleagues, and I’m eager to see what opportunities lie ahead in 2015.”
Smith previously served on CTIA’s executive committee in 2013 and 2011, and on its board in 2012. Smith and Bluegrass have also been longtime members of the Competitive Carriers Association and its previous iteration as the Rural Cellular Association.
Additional carrier news can be found on the RCR Wireless News “Carriers” page.
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