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!
Spectrum auction slows, 5G plans ramp and MWC preview
On this week’s “Carrier Wrap” we speak with Dan Hays, partner at PwC’s Strategy& division, to discuss the wind down of the Federal Communications Commission’s 600 MHz incentive auction proceedings, get his views on the pace of development and deployment of carrier “5G” plans and a preview of what to expect from the upcoming Mobile World Congress event. The FCC auction recently hit a significant milestone with potential winning bids in the forward auction process hitting targets set by television broadcasters in the reverse auction proceedings. This means the auction itself is now down to just forward bidding and is set to come to a conclusion during the current round. Hays said the auction itself could last for another few weeks as bidders work through lining up their demand for licenses with supply. The auction will then move towards the allocation phase where license winners will work through bidding on which blocks of spectrum they will be awarded in each market. All in, Hays said he expects the process to finish up sometime in March. This of course does not take into account any potential impact from new leadership coming into the FCC. … Read more
Sprint, ARM boost SoftBank earnings … is Sprint now for sale?
SoftBank said operating profits surged 71% in its most recent fiscal quarter, and trumpeted a turnaround at Sprint as a contributor to the company’s strong results. “Sprint is no longer the bottleneck of SoftBank,” SoftBank Chairman Masayoshi Son told investors, according to analyst Jennifer Fritzsche of Wells Fargo. Although Sprint is not yet profitable, the company has narrowed its losses and is now growing both its revenue and its subscriber base. Son also spoke about revisiting the idea of a Sprint merger with T-Mobile US, a SoftBank plan that did not succeed two years ago when Son first broached the topic with U.S. antitrust regulators. With a new administration now in place, Son said the idea is still out there, but might look a little different from a financial perspective. Sprint might not be the buyer if it ends up merging with another company. …. Read more
Intel to add 3,000 jobs in Arizona, invest $7 billion
Intel CEO Brian Krzanich held a press conference in the Oval Office to announce the company’s plan to invest $7 billion in its Fab 42 factory in Chandler, Arizona. Krzanich said Fab 42 will employ about 3,000 people in new, high-tech, high-paying jobs, while an estimated 10,000 additional jobs in the Chandler area will support the factory. President Donald Trump said Krzanich wrote to him several weeks ago to ask for the press conference. Krzanich told reporters he wanted to make the announcement in the Oval Office “in support of the tax and regulatory policies that we see the administration pushing forward,” adding “regulatory and tax policies have disadvantaged us in the past relative to the competition we have across the world.” Krzanich said the factory has been in the planning stages for some time, but Intel “held off doing the investment until now.” Nonetheless, Intel has continued to be a major creator of U.S. jobs, particularly in Arizona and Oregon. … Read more
Kagan: Sprint targets Verizon Wireless in Super Bowl ad
This year’s Super Bowl had all sorts of funny television commercials including one from Sprint attacking Verizon Wireless. This is a bold new move from Sprint and it comes at the beginning of a healthy turnaround. Sprint is growing once again and now they are fun to watch as well. The spot shows a dad with his kids. He is pushing his car over a cliff until it hits the ground and explodes. This is supposed to represent how difficult it is to break a contract with Verizon Wireless and it is an explosive television commercial, pardon the pun. That’s when actor Paul Marcarelli jumps in talking about how easy it is to switch to Sprint from Verizon Wireless. … Read more
From Korea to Kansas City, 5 smart city case studies
The United Nations predicts that, based on an ongoing wave of global urbanization, 70% of the world’s population will live and work in urban areas by 2050. As such, smart city technologies, from public Wi-Fi to facilitate access to city services to smart parking application designed to combat congestion and pollution, are gaining traction around the world. Here we take a look at five smart city projects that are taking shape. Kansas City has partnered with Cisco, Sprint and ThinkBig on a smart city program, which aims to make the city the most connected city in the world and attract the technology, innovation and entrepreneurial community. The initiative’s goals include enhanced internet availability, energy savings, new revenue streams, and improved connectivity with citizens, including efforts to bridge the “digital divide”. In the process, the connected city will also produce vast amounts of data, which will serve as a “living lab” for Cisco, Think Big Partners and other entrepreneurs. The city has adopted a public-private partnership approach, whereby Kansas City will invest $3.8 million over the next 10 years, an investment which Cisco, Sprint, ThinkBig and their partners will match with nearly $12 million. Sprint is investing around $7 million and Cisco around $5 million, according to Startland News. … Read more
Ericsson and IBM announce 5G base station chip
Ericsson and IBM said they have created an integrated circuit designed for use in future “5G” base stations. The companies announced the first reported silicon-based millimeter wave phased array antenna module operating at 28 GHz. The 28 GHz band is being used by both AT&T and Verizon Wireless for fixed wireless tests that are expected to lead to the first commercial 5G deployments. A 5G standard is not expected by the Third Generation Partnership Project until late this year or early next year, but the 28 GHz and 39 GHz bands are widely expected to be a part of that standard. Both AT&T and Verizon Communications have recently purchased companies that hold spectrum licenses in these bands. IBM and Ericsson said they have been working together for two years to develop a 5G chipset. The companies said IBM contributed expertise in highly integrated phased array millimeter wave integrated circuit and antenna-in-package solutions, which Ericsson combined with its own core competence in circuit and system design for mobile communications. … Read more
Check out the RCR Wireless News Archives for more stories from the past.
