Google Fiber plans in flux; 5G progress and standards challenges; and M&A activity highlight final round of RCR Wireless News top 100 stories of 2016.
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!
Google closes on Webpass deal, maintains hybrid deployment plans
Google’s plans to tap wireless technology for its broadband deployments continues to gain steam as the company this week announced closing on its acquisition of fixed wireless broadband provider Webpass and fleshed out more details on its network plans. … Read More
ETSI open source MANO work launches Release One stack
The European Telecommunications Standards Institute’s Open Source MANO initiative continued to feed software into the management and orchestration community with the launch of its OSM Release One stack. … Read More
AT&T unveils IoT pricing, plans LTE-M trial in San Francisco
AT&T’s plans for the “internet of things” continues to evolve, with the carrier launching mobile-specific IoT rate plans and a scheduled trial of enhanced Machine Type Communication technology in San Francisco next month. … Read More
US carriers stop sales of Samsung Note 7
After debuting its high-end new Note 7 smartphone in August, Samsung issued a recall on Sept. 1 and began sending out replacements in response to reports of the phones exploding, catching fire and injuring users. … Read More
Sprint spectrum tapped as collateral in $3.5B funding plan
Sprint continued its unique funding measures, announcing plans to raise $3.5 billion in debt backed by 14% of its total spectrum holdings on a megahertz-per-potential customer covered basis. … Read More
Report: AT&T has $85B deal in place to acquire Time Warner
Following up on chatter from earlier today, new reports now suggest AT&T has reached terms on a possible acquisition of Time Warner valued at around $85 billion. … Read More
Qualcomm to buy NXP for $39B as chip industry consolidation continues
Pending regulatory and closing machinations, San Diego-based Qualcomm announced today it will pay $39 billion to acquire Dutch semiconductor manufacturer NXP. Qualcomm is a leader in chips for smartphones and other wireless communications technology, while NXP produces solutions for automotive, security and radio frequency. … Read More
Google Fiber pauses operations, loses CEO and cuts 9% of workforce
Google Fiber will be halting its operations in 10 “potential Fiber cities” while it refines its approaches, according to a blog post by Craig Barratt, SVP of Alphabet and CEO of Access. In yesterday’s post, Barratt stated Google Fiber must make changes to focus on its business and product strategy, and look at new technology and deployment methods. Barratt also announced in the post that he will be stepping down from his position as CEO of Fiber, and taking on an advisory role. In response to these changes, the company will be trimming down its efforts, laying off or reassigning about 9% of its staff, according to Ars Technica. … Read More
CenturyLink says merger with Level 3 will bolster enterprise connectivity
Confirming widespread speculation, CenturyLink today announced plans to acquire Level 3 in a cash and stock transaction worth $25 billion, according to the companies. … Read More
Ericsson appoints new CEO, faces uphill battle to right ship
The Ericsson board of directors has appointed Börje Ekholm to be president and CEO of the company effective Jan. 16, 2017. Ekholm will also remain a member of the board. … Read More
Ruckus back on the block as Broadcom buys Brocade
Ruckus Wireless is back in play thanks to another wireless technology merger. Broadcom Limited is looking to acquire Brocade Communications for $5.9 billion, with plans to divest Ruckus, which Brocade purchased for $1.2 billion this spring. … Read More
Samsung buys Harman to expand IoT, connected cars footprint
Samsung yesterday announced it will acquire audio giant Harman for $112 per share in cash, or total equity value of approximately $8 billion. Samsung is set to use Harman as a platform to expand its presence in the large and rapidly growing “internet of things” and connected cars market, an industry expected to grow to more than $100 billion by 2025. … Read More
FCC ditches USF, BDS, VoLTE roaming reform following Trump election
In the wake of the somewhat surprising presidential election results, the Federal Communications Commission has dropped plans to tackle a trio of telecom related topics at the behest of legislators and as the FCC is likely to see new leadership in the coming weeks. … Read More
Microsoft joins The Linux Foundation in coup for open source community
The Linux Foundation recently scored a significant new member in Microsoft, which joined the open source-focused organization as a “Platinum” member. The coup was announced by Microsoft at its recent Connect developer event. … Read More
AT&T looks to be frontrunner for FirstNet deal as Rivada files protest
AT&T is reportedly in the driver’s seat in winning a network service contract with the federal government’s First Responder Network Authority initiative as one of the other entities attempting to win a piece of the contract filed a protest over its exclusion from the process. … Read More
U.S. government blocks chip merger, cites security concerns
The White House blocked the sale of a California maker of gallium nitride technology to a company partly controlled by the Chinese government. Gallium nitride is a power-efficient alternative to silicon that is being used to make chips used for envelope tracking for LTE base stations, as well for DC-DC converters for telecom equipment. It is also used for light distancing and ranging. … Read More
Is a Sprint merger with T-Mobile back on the table?
SoftBank Chairman Masayoshi Son, who also holds the same title at subsidiary Sprint, said the Japan-based telecom giant plans to invest $50 billion in the U.S. and create 50,000 new jobs. … Read More
Verizon scores $3.6B from data center sale to Equinix
Verizon Communications has moved on plans to unload some of its data centers, announcing plans to sell 24 locations to Equinix for $3.6 billion. … Read More
AT&T exec Ralph de la Vega to retire at year-end, Arroyo to step in
Long-time AT&T executive Ralph de la Vega is set to retire from the telecommunications giant as part of a broader shake up of the company’s executive ranks. … Read More
Ericsson reorg set to cut 1,600 jobs by year-end, accelerate costs
Ericsson has moved on eliminating more than half of the 3,000 jobs it said was necessary as part of an ongoing global cost and efficiency program as the vendor looks to stabilize operations. … Read More
Sprint LTE coverage set for device jolt, touts NYC small cell gains
Sprint is looking to shore up some of the deployment shortcomings of its 2.5 GHz spectrum band, announcing plans to tap into a range-extending standard recently certified by the Third Generation Partnership Project. … Read More
FCC Chairman Wheeler to step down Jan. 20
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler announced plans to leave the agency on Jan. 20, the same day President-elect Donald Trump is scheduled to be sworn into office replacing current President Barack Obama, who had initially appointed Wheeler to the post in 2013. … Read More
Nokia, Cisco, Ericsson and Huawei partner on NFV interoperability
A cadre of high-level telecommunication vendors formed the NFV Interoperability Testing Initiative in a move to conquer continued multivendor interoperability testing challenges for network functions virtualization deployments. … Read More
5G standards timing battle continues following latest 3GPP event
The push to accelerate the “5G” standards process looks to have hit a temporary snag as the topic was put on hold following the recent Third Generation Partnership Project Plenary meeting in Vienna, Austria. … Read More
Nokia files fresh patent lawsuits against Apple
One year after settling an international patent dispute with Ericsson, Apple is now being taken to task by Nokia over alleged patent infringements. … Read More
Make sure to check back on previous entries here, here and here .
