Huawei surges; FCC moves on USF and 5G leadership, while scoring open internet victory; and Sprint pockets cash.
Editor’s Note: Before we turn the page on 2016, we thought we would take a look back at the past 12 months by highlighting what we felt were the top 100 stories over the past year across the mobile space. This list is culled from more than 2,500 stories posted to the RCRWireless.com site in 2016, and since it would be foolish to rank these in order of “importance,” we have instead laid them out in chronological order. Enjoy!
Brocade to buy Ruckus Wireless
Brocade Communications has agreed to buy Ruckus Wireless in a deal worth $1.2 billion, which the companies say will create a “pure-play networking company.” The goal is to deliver products and solutions that span the continuum from the heart of the data center to the edge of the network. Brocade sells routers and switches and is focused on storage area networking, software-defined networking and network functions virtualization. Ruckus sells Wi-Fi access points and routers and is focused on cloud-controlled service provider Wi-Fi solutions. … Read More
Huawei passes Ericsson, Nokia with $60.8B in 2015 revenue
Huawei recorded CNY 395 billion ($60.8 billion) in 2015 revenues, climbing 37% year-on-year. Net profit for the year was reported at CNY 36.9 billion, a 33% increase compared to the previous year. … Read More
FCC moves on USF reform, promises $20B over next 10 years with strict rules
The Federal Communications Commission approved what it’s calling modernization and reform of its universal service program in a rare unanimous vote. … Read More
Cell Tower News: Sprint, American Tower make $2 billion moves
American Tower continues its investment in Indian telecom infrastructure, committing to invest an additional $2 billion. This news came from a meeting this week between American Tower CEO James Taiclet Jr. and India’s minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. It was not disclosed yet what the $2 billion would be spent on. … Read More
Sprint to snag $2.2B in network equipment sale, lease
Sprint and parent company SoftBank moved on previously announced plans to set up a separate entity designed to acquire Sprint network assets for $2.2 billion, and then lease those assets back to the carrier. The deal is said to allow Sprint to meet upcoming debt maturities, which published reports indicated included $34 billion in outstanding debt, which is more than twice its current market capitalization, and the need to meet $2.3 billion in debt payments this year. … Read More
Verizon to drop $300 million on Boston fiber build
In a somewhat surprising move, Verizon announced this week it would invest $300 million to deploy a fiber-based network in Boston, Massachusetts, meant to set the stage for future smart city initiatives as well as 5G mobile services. … Read More
Intel to cut 12,000 jobs; focus shifting to the cloud
Intel CEO Brian Krzanich on Tuesday told employees a company-wide “restructuring initiative” will involve cutting some 12,000 jobs, 11% of the company’s global workforce, by mid-2017 as part of a shift away from the PC business to focus on the Internet of Things and data center ambitions. … Read More
Ericsson reorganizes, shuffles executive team
Ericsson reported another quarter of disappointing financial results and said that it will reorganize and change parts of its executive leadership team. Hans Vestberg will remain CEO of the company, Jan Frykhammar will continue as CFO, and Ulf Ewaldsson will remain the CTO. Other executives are changing their roles somewhat because of Ericsson’s new structure. … Read More
Sprint scores $3.1B in cash through second MLS deal, bank loan
Sprint is set to receive more than $3 billion in new liquidity tied to its device leasing entity and a short-term financing deal with a Japan-based bank. … Read More
Sprint projects steep drop in capital spending
Sprint plans to invest $3 billion in network equipment and other capital goods during fiscal 2016, which started for the company on April 1. That’s down from $4.7 billion during fiscal 2015 and $5.4 billion in 2014. … Read More
Charter completes $60 billion buy of Time Warner Cable
Facing numerous regulatory challenges before finalization, Charter Communications finalized its $60 billion acquisition of Time Warner Cable to become the second biggest cable operator in the United States. Comcast remains No. 1. … Read More
Microsoft cutting 1,850 jobs from smartphone division
In a notice to investors sent out on Wednesday, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said the company will cut 1,850 jobs as the company rethinks its smartphone hardware business unit. … Read More
Verizon tests wireless delivery of home broadband service through 5G
Verizon Communications is betting on a robust 5G fixed wireless solution to deliver high-speed broadband to residential customers. The company has agreements with a number of U.S. cities under which the carrier has committed to deliver broadband to homes. The company was expected to use its FiOS service to deliver on these promises, but fiber builds have not progressed as planned, and now much of the FiOS workforce is on strike. In many cities served by FiOS, coverage is well below 50%. … Read More
Verizon strike ends with 4-year deal, wireless retail employees included
Verizon Communications and unions representing nearly 40,000 striking employees have reportedly reached an agreement on a new four-year labor deal. … Read More
Mobilitie to increase transparency for jurisdictions
Mobilitie President Christos Karmis says the company plans to use its own name as it works with cities and counties to develop small cell sites, and will rely less on subsidiary names in the future. Over the past several months, attorneys who represent city governments have noticed Mobilitie conducting business under various names, most of which characterize the infrastructure provider as a utility company. … Read More
Cell Tower News: Fourth tower death this year a strong safety reminder
After three months of safe climbing, the cell tower industry suffered three deaths in May. The latest fatality is a 19-year-old tower climber in Kentucky. While completing work for S&S Tower Services (no relation to S&S Communications), which was subcontracted by Appalachian Wireless, the man slipped and fell while coming down from the tower. … Read More
Huawei subpoenaed by U.S. government
The world’s largest vendor of wireless networking gear is under scrutiny, as the U.S. Commerce Department tries to make sure Huawei did not resell sensitive American technology to Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan or Syria. A government subpoena sent to Huawei’s U.S. headquarters in Texas and shared with The New York Times demands Huawei turn over all information related to its exports to those countries. … Read More
Sprint asks Verizon, ‘can you hear me now?’
Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure, in a series of tweets Sunday night, announced a major marketing coup – the fourth-place U.S. wireless carrier hired a longtime Verizon Wireless spokesman to help win customer mindshare. … Read More
Small cell suppliers look forward to 5G
Small cells cannot proliferate without baseband processors designed to fit their power and size requirements. In recent years there has been no shortage of vendors eyeing the space. Some have approached outdoor small cells as miniature versions of macro base stations, while others have started with designs for indoor small cells and adapted those. … Read More
FCC Open Internet rule scores DC Appeals Court victory
The Federal Communications Commission scored a significant victory in its attempt to regulate internet access, with the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upholding the FCC’s Open Internet rules. … Read More
FCC Chairman Wheeler cites America’s 5G leadership as ‘national priority’
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler talked all the usual use cases for “5G” technology, including the “internet of things” and virtual reality, in announcing the government agency’s plan to circulate a petition among FCC members stipulating new rules to free up wireless spectrum support. … Read More
Verizon Telematics biz looks for boost with Telogis acquisition
In a move to expand its telematics business, Verizon Communications announced plans to acquire privately held Telogis, which is focused on software-as-a-service targeting the connected car and mobile enterprise management segments. … Read More
Google Fiber to buy ISP Webpass to speed network rollout
San Francisco-based internet service provider Webpass, according to company President Charles Barr, will be acquired by Alphabet subsidiary Google Fiber, which is the technology giant’s residential fiber internet and TV service. … Read More
Should self-driving cars save passengers or pedestrians?
Self-driving cars are coming, bringing claimed advantages such as more efficient traffic management, reduced pollution and fewer accidents. However all accidents cannot be avoided and autonomous vehicles will have to decide the schematics of those accidents and who might be injured in those incidents: passengers or pedestrians. This is a moral dilemma that needs to be programmed and resolved in self-driving cars. … Read More
Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T may need to dig deep for 600 MHz licenses
Television broadcasters set a high bar in terms of what they want for their 600 MHz spectrum licenses the Federal Communication Commission wants to in turn auction off to the commercial mobile telecommunications space. … Read More
Make sure to check back on Dec. 28 for the next group of the RCR Wireless News top 100 stories of 2016.
