Before we turn the page on 2014, we thought we would take a look back at the past 12 months by highlighting what we felt were the top 100 stories across the mobile space. Since it would be foolish to rank these in order of “importance,” we have instead laid them out in chronological order. Please check back tomorrow for the next round of stories that shaped the wireless world in 2014.
Also, please make sure to check back beginning Jan. 5 as we begin posting predictions for 2015 from executives across various channels of the mobile space.
Jan. 3:
AT&T goes on the offensive, targets T-Mobile US switchers
Following months of pointed bards from rival T-Mobile US, AT&T Mobility is looking to take the offensive in what has become a heated battle between two of the country’s largest wireless operators. AT&T today said it would begin offering T-Mobile US customers up to $450 per line to switch their allegiance. The savings requires T-Mobile US customers to trade-in their current phones with AT&T for a credit of up to $250 that can be used towards AT&T products or services. Those customers will also be eligible for a $200 credit per line whey they transfer their T-Mobile US phone number and select one of AT&T Mobility’s Next rate plans. Those plans require customers to pay full price for a device or activate a device compatible with AT&T Mobility’s network. Read More
Brazilian telcos reach LTE goals for World Cup headquarters
December marked a milestone for LTE coverage in Brazil, with carriers hitting the deadline for providing LTE services in both FDD and TDD modes in all 12 cities that will serve as the headquarters for the FIFA World Cup. LTE services have been active since April in all the city headquarters of the Confederations Cup. All four of the Brazilian telecom operators that acquired LTE licenses — Vivo, Oi, TIM and Claro — reached the goal of covering the 12 cities that will host the World Cup soccer games. As of Dec. 27, Oi still lacked coverage in four cities (Cuiabá, Manaus, Porto Alegre and Natal), according to the consulting firm Teleco. However, on Dec. 30, Oi launched LTE services in 16 more cities, reaching the goal to deploy the network in all World Cup headquarter cities. … Read More
Jan. 6:
T-Mobile US goes low, Verizon Wireless high in spectrum swap
T-Mobile US may be known as the “un-carrier,” but just like regular carriers it needs spectrum to operate. To fulfill that need, the carrier this morning announced a deal with Verizon Wireless to acquire highly-coveted low-band 700 MHz A-Block spectrum licenses for $2.365 billion and the transfer of some 1.7/2.1 GHz and 1.9 GHz spectrum licenses that T-Mobile US valued at $950 million. The two carriers also noted that they would “realign spectrum blocks in certain markets, primarily in northern California and the Atlanta area.” T-Mobile US noted that the deal will result in the carrier controlling sub-1 GHz spectrum licenses in 21 of the nation’s top 30 markets and approximately 158 million potential customers. T-Mobile US had previously controlled a 700 MHz A-Block license covering Boston, and with the new deal adds coverage to New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Washington D.C., and Detroit. … Read More
Jan. 7:
Convergys to acquire Stream, form second-largest global customer management company
Two major customer management services will join forces as Convergys Corp. (CVG) acquires Stream Global Services Inc. for $820 million, creating the second-largest such company in the world, after Amdocs. Convergys clients include AT&T and Comcast and Stream’s customers include Microsoft and Salesforce. The two companies have a definitive merger agreement, and Convergys said it expects the complementary transaction to “expand and strengthen its U.S. and global presence,” as well as add about 35 cents in diluted earnings per share (EPS) in the first 12 months after it closes. Total company revenue is expected to be more than $3 billion post-merger. Stream serves technology, computing, telecom and financial services companies, among others, with business process outsourcing for sales, customer care and tech support. Convergys said that the company’s “marquee client list” is complementary and that Stream’s expertise in technical support services should strengthen its position in the tech industry. … Read More
Jan. 8:
T-Mobile US entices family-plan switchers
If 2013 was the fight against service contracts and device subsidies, 2014 is shaping up as the battle over family plans across domestic mobile operators. The latest to join the fight is T-Mobile US, which announced it would provide up to $650 in credits per line to customers switching family plan lines from rival operators. T-Mobile US’ offer targets current customers of its three larger rivals – Verizon Wireless, AT&T Mobility and Sprint – offering first up to $300 in instant credit for the trade in of their current device. The remainder of the eligible credit comes once the customer receives their early-termination fee from their current carrier, with T-Mobile US offering to pay up to $350 per transferred line. Carriers currently charge up to $350 in ETFs for customers that break a contract that supported a subsidized smartphone, though those charges are also pro-rated based on the term of the remaining contract. … Read More
Jan. 14:
Verizon wins partial victory on net neutrality
A federal appeals court has sided with Verizon Communications in the company’s net neutrality fight, saying that Internet service providers are not subject to rules that require them to deliver all content at the same speeds. The decision is not final as the FCC could rewrite its rules. The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia said that it made the ruling because the FCC had failed to classify Internet service providers as “common carriers.” The net neutrality rules apply to common carriers and are meant to insure that a service provider does not limit or control the content available to its subscribers. … Read More
Jan. 17:
FCC implements lower 700 MHz interoperability plan
The Federal Communications Commission has put the finishing touches on ensuring interoperability across the lower 700 MHz spectrum band, announcing a modification to AT&T’s lower B- and C-Block licenses to require interoperability with the adjacent A-Block. The modification call for the inclusion of AT&T’s deployment of a multi-frequency band indicator software feature and to the carrier’s transition to Band Class 12 capable devices. “We find that modifying AT&T’s licenses in this manner will serve the public interest by enabling consumers, especially in rural areas, to enjoy the benefits of greater competition and more choices, and by encouraging efficient use of spectrum, investment, job creation, and the development of innovative mobile broadband services and equipment.,” the FCC noted in its order of modification. … Read More
Jan. 23:
Sprint set for more job cuts
Sprint is looking to cut more jobs in an attempt to shore up its bottom line at a time when the carrier’s competitive position has come under attack. The carrier noted in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that the “workforce reduction plan” is designed to cut costs and “better meet the changing dynamics of the marketplace.” The cuts are set to include “management and non-management positions,” and be completed by mid-year. Those cuts are expected to cost Sprint $165 million in charges for the recently completed fourth quarter of 2013. The costs are associated with severance packages and related costs, though it added that “additional material charges are expected in future periods associated with this plan.” Those additional costs are expected to results in further charges through the end of this year. … Read More
Jan. 27:
Ericsson, Samsung settle lawsuits
Ericsson (ERIC) has ended a major patent dispute with Samsung in an agreement that the company hopes will set a precedent for the wireless industry. “We feel that this is a very important agreement to be viewed as a precedent for other companies, to see that FRAND licensing actually works,” said Kasim Alfalahi, chief intellectual property officer at Ericsson. FRAND means “fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory,” and patent holders typically agree to license patents within the FRAND framework when they are approved by a standards body like 3GPP. These lawsuits dealt primarily with “standards essential patents” covering technologies needed to make devices operate on cellular networks. The cross license agreement covers patents relating to GSM, UMTS, and LTE standards for both networks and handsets. In 2012, Ericsson sued Samsung, saying that the two companies had been unable to renew an agreement related to patents Ericsson initially licensed to Samsung in 2007. Samsung also holds some standards essential patents, and Ericsson said the conglomerate was unwilling to license those on fair and reasonable terms. … Read More
Jan. 30:
Google to sell Motorola handset business to Lenovo
Google is selling the Motorola Mobility handset business to China’s Lenovo at a fraction of the price it paid for the company less than two years ago. But Google will keep most of Motorola’s patents. Lenovo will pay $2.91 billion for Motorola’s mobile device unit, which Google bought along with Motorola Mobility’s intellectual property for $12.5 billion in 2012. The deal marks the end of a busy month for Lenovo, which said last week that it will buy IBM’s low-end server business for $2.3 billion. Under Google’s leadership, Motorola has introduced the first smartphone to be made in America, the customizable Moto X. It also launched the Moto G smartphone, which just recently hit the U.S. market. Both of these smartphones have been somewhat lackluster sellers, and Google has kept the Motorola brand quite separate from its own Nexus mobile device brand. The Nexus smartphones are manufactured by South Korea’s LG but are branded as Google smartphones. … Read More
Feb. 3:
India puts wireless spectrum licenses up for auction
India reduced the minimum price for airwave access in an attempt to sell mobile wireless service spectrum in a recent auction. This is the second time airwave access has been put up for auction in India, as the first sale in 2012 saw few takers. The sale was prevented in the first instance due to bidders being hesitant over high floor prices set by the Indian government. However, country officials have higher hopes for the current auction, where response is expected to be “measured,” Gartner research director Kamlesh Bahtia told ITNews. Bahtia stated that the India mobile voice market has hit a plateau, while data services have been sensitive to prices. Additionally, some telcos have current financial debts that will most likely prevent them from investing in service spectrum at this time. … Read More
Feb. 4:
Report indicates FCC ‘skepticism’ over Sprint/T-Mobile US merger
Rumors of Sprint’s interest in acquiring smaller rival T-Mobile US seem to be hitting a regulatory wall as reports indicate little support for such action from government officials. Reuters reported that current Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler has “expressed expressed his skepticism about a potential merger” between the nation’s No. 3 and No. 4 carriers in meetings with Sprint Chairman Masayoshi Son, citing an FCC official. Son, who is also chairman and CEO of Japan’s Softbank, picked up a controlling stake in Sprint last year. The Reuters story notes that Son and Sprint CEO Dan Hesse recently met with Wheeler on the matter. … Read More
Feb. 12:
NSN and Huawei sign OSS deal
Huawei and NSN have signed a cross-licensing agreement for OSS (Operations Systems Support), following up on the plan the two infrastructure giants announced last spring. Ericsson is also expected to cross license its OSS system with Huawei and NSN, according to a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by all three companies last May. “The MoU set the general guiding principles of the initiative,” Huawei said in a statement. “Huawei and NSN [have now]reached an agreement on the technical details of configuration, performance, and fault northbound interfaces for Radio Access, Circuit Core and Packet Core.” As a next step Huawei and NSN plan to extend the scope of the bi-lateral license agreement to include more network nodes and interfaces. … Read More
Feb. 13:
Comcast looks to dominate cable space with TWC bid
Following months of rumors, cable television giant Comcast announced plans to acquire fellow cable provider Time Warner Cable for more than $45 billion. The deal would combine the nation’s No. 1 and No. 2 cable providers into a new “super No. 1” with more than 30 million customers and nearly half the domestic market. The proposed deal would see a swap of shares valuing TWC at around $159 per share and would leave current TWC shareholders with a 23% stake in the new operations. In addition to a larger customer base, the deal will provide Philadelphia-based Comcast with access to the New York City market and 19 of the nation’s 20 largest markets. … Read More
Feb. 14:
Report: Verizon Wireless to close 5 call centers, consolidate 7 locations
Published reports indicate Verizon Wireless is planning to close five call centers and consolidating seven other facilities across the country. The moves are expected to impact around 5,200 employees, according to the Los Angeles Times. The report notes the closures will include facilities in California, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Connecticut, with approximately 3,000 employees impacted by the cuts. Those employees will be offered a $10,000 package to relocate to one of Verizon Wireless’ other call centers, apply for a different position at the company or take a severance package. Verizon Wireless will also provide up to $500 for employees to visit other locations before making a decision. Call center consolidation will see employees moved to nearby offices, which the report indicated would impact up to 2,200 employees. … Read More
Feb. 20:
Canada’s 700 MHz spectrum auction raises $4.8B, but few new entrants
The Canadian government’s plans to introduce competition into that country’s wireless space through stringent spectrum rules met with limited success as results from its auction of 700 MHz spectrum licenses were announced. The country’s three dominate players, Rogers Communications, Telus and Bell Canada, all gained spectrum licenses across most of the country, while most regions witnessed just one bidder outside the large three pick up a license. Industry Canada, which conducted the auction, tried to put a positive spin on the outcome, proclaiming: “First and foremost, at least four wireless players in every region of the country now hold high-quality spectrum.” In all, the auction included 108 rounds of bidding that ran from Jan. 14 though Feb. 13. A total of 97 licenses were awarded to eight companies participating in the proceedings, with total bids nearing $4.8 billion, which Industry Canada noted was the most generated by the country through a spectrum auction. Canada’s 2008 auction of licenses in the 1.7/2.1 GHz (AWS) band generated $4.25 billion in revenues. … Read More
Feb. 25:
Wireless task force launches 100% tie-off campaign for tower safety
An industry safety task force is kicking off an education campaign this week aimed at increasing the safety of tower climbers by urging them to tie-off 100% of the time. Todd Schlekeway, executive director of the National Association of Tower Electors, called the campaign “an extremely high priority” for the organization, which is holding its annual conference this week in San Diego. NATE is one of the members of the Wireless Industry Safety Task Force. A tie-off refers to attachment to the tower via safety gear, to provide protection against falls. … Read More
Samsung launches Galaxy S5
Samsung finally unpacked its long-awaited Galaxy S5 yesterday, launching a flagship that is perhaps the inverse of Apple’s iPhone 5S in more ways than one. While Apple has stubbornly refused (so far) to enlarge the iPhone screen size, Samsung is boosting the display dimension on its newest phone to 5.1 inches. While Apple resisted the “more cores” trend by launching the 5S with a dual-core processor (64-bit), Samsung is fully on board the quad-core bandwagon with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor inside the S5. (Of note, Samsung’s own Exynos processor was not inside the S5 models sent to reviewers.) Perhaps the most striking difference between the two flagship smartphones is their use of fingerprint sensor technology. Samsung’s inclusion of a fingerprint sensor appears to be something of a “me-too” move, as the sensor requires a full swipe of the finger and, for most users, a rotation of the phone. … Read More
March 3:
Dish Network picks up all H-Block spectrum licenses; what’s next?
To the surprise of few, Dish Network walked away with all 176 licenses up for grabs during the Federal Communications Commissions’ recently completed H-Block spectrum auction. The auction ended last Thursday after more than a month of bidding that raised just over $1.5 billion for the national treasury. Dish Network participated in the auction under its American H Block Wireless bidding entity, and in the end out-bid the 22 other qualified participants for the 10-megahertz of spectrum in the upper 1.9 GHz band. Qualified bidders include a number of entities labeled under the names of individuals as well as a handful of established telecom operators like Ntelos, NE Colorado Cellular and Puerto Rico Telephone Co. Most of the wireless industry’s larger players passed on the H-Block, instead focusing their efforts on the upcoming AWS-3 and 600 MHz incentive auction. … Read More
March 7:
Sprint shakeup – Azzi out, Saw promoted
Sprint’s operational transformation has taken a few scalps as a couple of key network executives ere leaving the carrier. Bob Azzi, SVP of networks at Sprint, and president of network operations Steve Elfman are both set to depart. Fierce Wireless first reported this week that Azzi was set to leave the company next week, with Steve Elfman on tap to exit the carrier at a later date. Sprint confirmed the changes, noting that Azzi’s departure was a mutual decision, while Elfman’s departure was not expected in the near term. John Saw, SVP of technical architecture at Sprint, is being promoted to chief network officer, where he will be reporting directly to Sprint’s CTO Stephen Bye. … Read More
March 12:
Son claims Sprint can turn around US inferior broadband service
Following a week of build up, Sprint and Softbank Chairman Masayoshi Son took to the stage in front of the Washington D.C. Chamber of Commerce in a presentation detailing where the United States is falling behind in terms of broadband service, but decidedly absent of any talk regarding a potential Sprint offer to acquire smaller rival T-Mobile US. Son used a number of charts and graphs to highlight where the United States ranked among other countries in offering high-speed broadband services, while also pointing out the leadership position of his home country of Japan. In terms of wireless performance, the United States was shown to be far down the list, offering averaged weighted download LTE speeds of 6.5 megabits per second. By comparison, Son’s Softbank operations, which were the only separate company on the chart comparing countries, posted a speed of 21.3 Mbps, while the entirety of Japan was at 11.8 Mbps. … Read More
March 18:
ETSI, Open Networking Foundation partner on NFV specs
The network functions virtualization market received a boost today as the European Telecommunications Standards Institute and the Open Networking Foundation announced a strategic partnership to further the development of NFV specifications. The organizations noted that the agreement will focus on how software-defined networking can enable forwarding-plane support for some NFV use cases. … Read More
March 27:
Sprint/Softbank’s Son offers financial assistance to rural carriers
Sprint Chairman Masayoshi Son took to the stage during a keynote address at this week’s Competitive Carriers Association event to reiterate his stance that the U.S. wireless market is broken citing the extreme dominance of Verizon and AT&T and appeared willing to put money in the hands of rural carriers in order to strengthen the fight against that dominance. The tone of Son’s comments were similar to those he made during a speech earlier this month in front of the Washington, D.C. Chamber of Commerce where he pressed the case that the U.S. broadband market was stagnating under the overwhelming control of the nation’s two largest wireless operators. That message resonated well in front of CCA members who operate on a daily basis against Verizon and AT&T. … Read More
March 31:
FCC lays out partial AWS-3 rules to the cheers, jeers of an industry
To the cheers and jeers of an industry, the Federal Communications Commission announced licensing rules for its highly anticipated AWS-3 spectrum auction that appears to cater to concerns of smaller carriers and consternation of larger operators. In its notice of proposed rulemaking, the FCC has moved forward with plans for a total of 65 megahertz of spectrum in the 1.7/2.1 GHz band to be auctioned later this year for commercial purposes. The spectrum license will include four paired options: three 5×5 megahertz options, leaving just a single 10×10 megahertz license covering the country. While the FCC release did not specify the size of geographic size of those licenses, comments indicated that the 5×5 megahertz licenses would include two sized to economic area dimensions and one sized to commercial market area dimensions. … Read More
Unlicensed, Wi-Fi services set for 100 megahertz boost
Unlicensed wireless services, including Wi-Fi, is set to receive a spectrum boost as the Federal Communications Commission has moved forward with plans to free up 100 megahertz of spectrum in the 5 GHz band for unlicensed use. The FCC adopted a Report and Order that modified rules for unlicensed spectrum use that it said will streamline the use of spectrum in the 5 GHz band. Unlicensed spectrum uses are currently tied to 555 megahertz in the 5 GHz band, though there are limitations for indoor use only. The Wi-Fi usage in that band is typically signified by the 802.11a standard. … Read More
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