Editor’s Note: RCR Wireless News goes all in for “Throwback Thursdays,” tapping into our archives to resuscitate the top headlines from the past. Fire up the time machine, put on the sepia-tinted shades, set the date for #TBT and enjoy the memories!
T-Mobile, Sprint Nextel partnerships target M2M space
T-Mobile and Sierra Wireless have agreed to partner to help develop the nascent machine-to-machine communications space, the latest in a series of tie-ups between wireless operators and technology companies. Indeed, in the United States, Sprint Nextel Corp. is the latest carrier to announce an M2M joint venture. The announcement between Deutsche Telekom’s wireless arm and Canadian-based Sierra will focus on providing M2M solutions for the automotive, fleet, navigation, utility and security markets, and initially will focus on the European market, beginning with DT’s home market of Germany. The two companies said their framework agreement recognizes that “alliances between key players will prove necessary in order to satisfy customer needs. Both companies also see the need for simplified and predefined M2M solution offerings in order to accelerate customer adoption,” according to the press release announcing the venture. … Read More
Huawei to double North American staff as it secures contracts with Clearwire, Cox
Fresh off network wins with Clearwire Corp., Cox Communications Inc. and Leap Wireless International Inc., Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. is on its way to nearly double its staff in North America by the end of the year. The Chinese infrastructure company has had a presence in North America since 2001, and has battled initial resistance from U.S. carriers that seemed wary of the vendor. However, Huawei’s self-described “patience and persistence” is starting to pay off. The company recently secured a number of significant network wins. Huawei built out Leap’s network in Chicago, which launched commercially in March, and is providing CDMA gear to Cox for its wireless buildout. Huawei cannot talk about the details of the Cox contract, except to say it is providing an end-to-end CDMA solution using Huawei’s LTE-ready SingleRAN product and its 3900 Series base stations. Cox has committed to building out its 700 MHz network using CDMA technology this year, but plans to upgrade to Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology over time. Huawei is also aiming to become a top-tier LTE supplier. … Read More
AT&T Mobility adds details to HSPA 7.2 plans: Carrier also joins off-network bandwagon
AT&T Mobility has put numbers to its plans to increase the data throughput its customers should expect to see when using its network. The nation’s No. 2 carrier said it plans to have six markets covered with its highly-anticipated HSPA 7.2 network upgrades by the end of the year. The upgrades will include both new network software as well as increased backhaul capabilities for cell sites and will support maximum downlink transmission speeds up to 7.2 megabits per second. The carrier’s current HSPA offering is capped at the older 3.6 Mbps rate. The six markets slated for the initial upgrade include Chicago; Dallas; Houston; Los Angeles; Miami; and Charlotte, N.C. AT&T Mobility said it plans to cover 25 of the nation’s top 30 markets by the end of 2010 and reach 90% of its existing footprint by the end of 2011. The additional network backhaul capacity is also expected to support the carrier’s plans to eventually rollout LTE-based 4G technology beginning in 2011. AT&T Mobility said the increased backhaul would include connections carrying traffic back to its IP backbone. … Read More
FCC to take closer look at spectrum needs for smart-grid applications
The Federal Communications Commission’s inquiry into the role communications technologies will play in developing a nationwide smart grid utilities network will take a close look at whether new spectrum is needed for developing smart- grid applications. The initiative could pit the utilities industry, which is on the record as wanting its own spectrum at 1.8 GHz, against commercial wireless carriers, which traditionally have been reluctant to encourage other entities to gain access to spectrum, especially without auctioning that spectrum. Further, commercial wireless carriers maintain many smart-grid applications can be deployed using their existing spectrum. As such, it is likely a mix of wired and wireless and private and public communications networks will be used to develop smart-grid applications. … Read More
Palm unveils Pixi: Pre’s little brother heads to Sprint Nextel ahead of holiday season
Looking to ride the success of its highly touted if not hot selling Pre device, Palm Inc. this morning announced plans to launch a follow up device dubbed Pixi. The device, which like the Pre will be initially available exclusively through Sprint Nextel Corp., is expected to go on sale before the holiday shopping season and slot in below the price of the Pre, which in connection with the Pixi unveiling saw its full rebate price cut by $50 to $150 by Sprint Nextel. The Pixi will sport the same WebOS operating system as the Pre, but will differ in form factor as its embedded keyboard will be on the face of the device below a smaller 2.6-inch touchscreen. The Pixi will include 8 gigabytes of internal memory and support for CDMA2000 1x EV-DO Revision A wireless technology, but lack the Wi-Fi available on the Pre. The new device will be the first device to run Qualcomm Inc.’s MSM7627 chipset. … Read More
A new hero?: Palm Pre’s tenure as top dog at Sprint Nextel could be short lived
Palm Inc.’s Pre has been a qualified success for both Palm and its exclusive launch partner Sprint Nextel Corp. (I say “qualified” because as the phone has sold in the hundreds of thousands and been lauded with glowing reviews, it has been overshadowed by the millions of iPhone 3GS’ sold by rivals Apple Inc. and exclusive partner AT&T Mobility.) However, the Pre’s reign as the “it” handset at Sprint Nextel could be coming to an end as the carrier is set to launch its first Android-based device next month in HTC Corp.’s Hero. Sprint Nextel announced late last week that it would launch the Hero on Oct. 11 at the fully subsidized price of $180. The Hero is schedule to be the carrier’s first Android-powered device nearly two years after signing on as an initial supporter of the Google Inc.-developed platform. … Read More
Canadian carriers adopt code of conduct: More competition coming to nation
While the Federal Communications Commission probes whether the U.S. wireless industry is competitive, Canadian wireless companies are responding to reports that that market is not competitive with a new code of conduct. The code of conduct is designed to help wireless subscribers understand their bills better, including terms of service, contract agreements and advertising. A typical cellular subscription in Canada is three years, rather than the two-year contract U.S. carriers push. … Read More
Is the FCC drawing a new regulatory map?
On the surface, there isn’t much to suggest that this newly Democratic-led FCC will make any radical regulatory changes in the wireless industry. There is a loud camp cheering for new FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski to take a more heavy-handed approach in wireless affairs, but popular opinion inside the Beltway paints a different picture. While the President Obama appointee is digging into wireless matters such as competition, innovation and third-party application control perhaps more swiftly (and publicly) than his predecessor, the Federal Communications Commission is only asking questions at this point. Questions are cheap. Policymaking is an entirely different matter that must measure political fallout against results. And more important: the nation is still digging out of the greatest economic challenge since the Great Depression. … Read More
Leap stock rises on buyout rumors
Leap Wireless International Inc. saw its stock rise yesterday as speculation mounted that AT&T Mobility may want to add the flat-rate carrier to its stable. Leap’s stock jumped nearly $2 a share from $16.07 to $17.84 on the rumors, before settling down to $17.24 this morning. Leap has been the subject of acquisition fodder before, but most often with fellow flat-rate competitor MetroPCS. MetroPCS tried to buy Leap in 2007, but the deal fell apart when the two couldn’t agree on a price. … Read More
CDMA specs will squeeze more capacity out of voice networks
Even as the wireless industry moves ahead to LTE technology, the CDMA Development Group is aligning its efforts to make sure that CDMA technology can coexist with the developing fourth-generation standard. The CDG announced last month that specifications for CDMA2000 1X Advanced had been published by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP2). Operators that implement this technology can theoretically quadruple the voice capacity on their 1X networks. The group also introduced a device enhancement called simultaneous 1X Voice and EV-DO Data (or SVDO) that will allow CDMA2000 devices to access EV-DO-based data services while callers are in an active 1X voice call. In simple terms, this will enable a caller to perform a packet-data function, like downloading a file, while they are on a voice call. … Read More
Check out RCR Wireless News’ Archives for more stories from the past.
