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 those sepia-tinted shades, set the date for #TBT and enjoy the memories!
The world’s five largest carriers, 2015 edition
The world’s five largest wireless carriers account for roughly 2 billion mobile connections, according to the latest data from the World Cellular Information Service. China Mobile leads with 816 million customers, making it the world’s largest wireless carrier by far. The World Cellular Information Service said that proportionate subscriptions are calculated based on the company’s equity ownership and the subsidiaries’ total subscriptions. The proportionate subscriptions show below reflect what share of the total subscription base is actually owned by the operating group. China Mobile (626.2 million subscriptions) reportedly added more than 17 million 4G subscribers in the month of May alone, bringing its total number of 4G connections to 170 million. The world’s largest carrier got an earlier start on LTE than its competitors. The first licenses awarded by the Chinese government were for TD-LTE, and China Mobile’s TD-SCDMA 3G network is more compatible with that standard than are the WCDMA 3G networks operated by its rivals. Vodafone Group (403 million subscriptions) has operations in 21 countries around the world. Vodafone is based in the U.K., but it is not the leading mobile operator there. The merger of O2 and Three and the purchase of EE by BT have resulted in a British mobile landscape that is dominated by three major players, with Vodafone currently in third place. Bharti Airtel (303 million subscriptions) is based in India but has operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa, and its networks cover 1.85 billion people. The company said it has the largest geographical footprint of any operator in Africa. … Read more
Connectivity sabotage in California
The FBI is investigating at least 11 incidents in California where an unknown person or persons are sneaking into unmonitored underground vaults and severing high-capacity Internet cables. The disruptions have all taken place in the last year and range from the San Francisco Bay Area to Sacramento, according to a USA Today report. The latest attack disrupted service to various businesses and residents around California’s capital city. The fiber-optic cables in this case were used to carry data between hubs before being distributed to homes and small businesses. Mark Peterson, a spokesman for a local Internet provider in the area who’s customers were affected by the outage, said he characterized the attack as “coordinated.” According to reports, the cable-snipping saboteur(s) generally attacks concealed locations that are not monitored by security cameras. “When it affects multiple companies and cities, it does become disturbing,” said FBI Special Agent Greg Wuthrich. “We definitely need the public’s assistance.” … Read more
Bharti Airtel sells African towers
Indian telecommunications group Bharti Airtel has obtained nearly $1.3 billion from the sale of its telecommunication towers in five African markets. In a note to the National Stock Exchange of India, the company said the proceeds from the transactions will be used to reduce the operator’s debt. According to local press reports, the Indian telecom firm has already completed the sale of its towers in Nigeria, Uganda, Ghana, Rwanda and Congo Brazzaville. Bharti Airtel also expects to complete the sale of towers in another six African markets in the coming months as part of its plans to divest tower assets in 13 African countries. Bharti Airtel recently announced the termination of agreements with Helios Towers Africa for the sale of towers assets in Chad and Tanzania. The company has also signed deals to sell towers in its African markets with Eaton Towers, American Tower and IHS. On July 1, American Tower said it has closed its previously announced acquisition of approximately 4,700 communications sites in Nigeria from Bharti Airtel. … Read more
Apple Music launches
This week marks the launch of Apple Music, the long-rumored streaming music and radio platform from Apple. First previewed at WWDC 2015, the service aims to compete with Spotify, Tidal, Pandora and other streaming music services. It’s also arguably the biggest software launch from Apple since Apple Maps. As previously stated, Apple Music puts one of the biggest companies in the world into the music streaming business. But that’s just one component of the overall picture. In addition to having a vast streaming music catalog similar to Spotify, there is also a worldwide, 24-hour radio station that broadcasts live, an area of recommended playlists boasting real human content curation based on your preferences, and a section for artists to share custom video and music content directly with listeners. The messaging so far is trying to separate itself from the sterile warehouse of music that some services like Spotify can feel like. Instead, Apple Music wants to be likened to walking into an independent record store where there’s joy in discovery and recommendations from other music enthusiasts, not recommendations based on an algorithm. … Read more
Microsoft restructures phone biz to absorb Nokia device unit
Microsoft announced it will layoff 7,800 employees as it restructures its phone business to accommodate the $7.6 billion acquisition of Nokia Devices and Services. In an e-mail to employees, Microsoft CEO Sataya Nadella said the move was in effort to “focus our talent and investments in areas where we have differentiation and potential for growth, as well as how we’ll partner to drive better scale and results.” The layoffs are expected to take place over the “next several months.” “I don’t take changes in plans like these lightly, given that they affect the lives of people who have made an impact at Microsoft,” Nadella said. “We are deeply committed to helping our team members through these transitions.” The restructuring comes with a steep price tag. Nadella’s e-mail said the restructuring will cost somewhere between $750 million and $850 million. The Microsoft head honcho said the company’s focus will be to reinvent itself in the mobile device market. “We need to focus our phone efforts in the near term while driving reinvention,” Nadella explained. “We are moving from a strategy to grow a standalone phone business to a strategy to grow and create a vibrant Windows ecosystem that includes our first-party device family,” Nadella said. … Read more
Helio, revived (sort of)
Perhaps showing that at least names never go out of style, the Helio brand is re-entering the domestic mobile virtual network operator market thanks to South Korean telecom provider UBI Telecom. Helio-branded services are now being offered for $29 per month, which includes unlimited domestic calling, domestic and international text messaging and low-speed data services. The price includes taxes, taking a page from other prepaid offerings that look to remove the tax variable. The service runs natively on Sprint’s CDMA network, with a Verizon Wireless roaming deal that lets Helio boast of having superior network coverage when compared to Sprint’s Virgin Mobile USA and Boost Mobile prepaid plans. The comparison to Virgin Mobile USA is somewhat ironic as the initial Helio brand was purchased by Virgin Mobile USA in 2008 for $39 million. Sprint subsequently acquired full control of Virgin Mobile USA, where it continues to reside. Helio claims it has access to Sprint’s LTE network, but also notes that all data speeds are limited at 128 kilobits per second regardless of device used to access services. … Read more
Check out the RCR Wireless News Archives for more stories from the past.
