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 of 2014 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 Pt. 1, Pt. 2 and Pt. 3.
Also, please make sure to check back beginning Jan. 5 as we begin posting predictions for 2014 from executives across various channels of the mobile space.
Oct. 1:
LatAm: Lack of competition, no premium, no new entrants define Brazil’s 700 MHz auction
As opposed to the country’s 2.5 GHz spectrum auction, Brazil’s 700 MHz auction had almost no premium over the set minimum prices and the government raised much less than it expected. Also, the proceedings resulted in no new entrants into the country’s hotly contested mobile market. The auction, which was held on Sept. 30, resulted in only four of the six licenses being purchased by telecom operators. Those four included Claro, TIM, Telefonica and Algar. Auction proceeds came in at $2.38 billion (R$5.851 billion), well below the $3.34 billion (R$8.2 billion) expected by the government. The absence of Oi, which announced last week that it would not participate in the auction, appeared to have curtailed the total amount raised. However, analysts say that it wasn’t the only reason. … Read More
Oracle’s blitz of new mobile offerings
Oracle has used the spotlight of its OpenWorld conference to launch a flurry of new offerings, many of which focus on incorporating mobile and big data analytics for application development. The “brand new, majorly upgraded platform-as-a-service,” in the words of Larry Ellison, now chairman and CTO of the company, focuses on integrating mobile, social, and big data capabilities. … Read More
Verizon Wireless pulls LTE ‘network optimization’ plan
Verizon Wireless has decided to not implement a controversial “network optimization” program across its LTE network that would have limited network speeds for customers with “unlimited” data plans in some instances. The plan was initially set to begin today, and would mimic a similar program the carrier has set up for its legacy CDMA-based 3G network that impacts all users when a specific cell site experiences congestion issues. Verizon Wireless recently stated that 76% of its total data traffic is now traversing its LTE network. … Read More
Oct. 3:
HP to cut 5,000 jobs, break apart company
HP CEO Meg Whitman has switched gears and now says that spinning off the company’s computer and printer businesses is the right move after all. In the process, HP will let another 5,000 people go. That brings HP’s total announced layoffs to as many as 55,000. The company employs roughly 300,000 people worldwide. Whitman has resisted a breakup of the company, but now that HP’s turnaround is underway she says a breakup is “definitely the right tactic.” She will become CEO of Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, which will include enterprise hardware and services. Independent director Patricia Russo will be chair of the new company. … Read More
Oct. 8:
PCIA to set wireless training standards
PCIA has won a $750,000 grant from the Department of Labor to establish standards for wireless training programs, and certifications to enable workers to meet those standards. The grant is part of the federal government’s broad initiative to fund job-specific training, a program which includes more than $5 million for wireless training programs. “These training programs will prepare workers for jobs that are open right now,” said PCIA president and CEO Jonathan Adelstein. “I think we won the grant because it fits exactly with what the Administration is talking about.” … Read More
Oct. 13:
Iliad backs away from T-Mobile US bid
France’s Iliad Group has put to rest its attempt to acquire a stake in U.S. operator T-Mobile US, citing a lack of interest from T-Mobile US parent company Deutsche Telekom. Iliad said the move follows “exchanges” with DT and “selected” T-Mobile US board members “who have refused to entertain” Iliad’s offer. Iliad’s initial offer included plans to purchase a 56.6% stake in T-Mobile US for a reported $15 billion. DT shot down the offer, which was set at $33 per share, noting later that it was looking at a minimum of $35 per share for a stake in T-Mobile US. At the time of its initial offer, Iliad was offering a 42% premium over T-Mobile US’ trading price. T-Mobile US’ stock was trading down just over 2% on Monday at around $27 per share. … Read More
Oct. 22:
NetScout’s big buy
The news that network performance monitoring company NetScout is buying $2.6 billion worth of network testing, monitoring and security assets from international tech and science conglomerate Danaher sets the network-monitoring ecosystem up for substantial change. The move essentially triples NetScout’s workforce, and is being accomplished through a swap of $2.6 billion in NetScout common stock that will be extended to Danaher in order to pay for the assets of Tektronix Communications, parts of Fluke Networks, and network security company Arbor Networks, which were all operating as entities under the umbrella of Danaher’s communications business. NetScout’s most recent fiscal year revenues were $397 million, compared to the Danaher operations’ $836 million. … Read More
Oct. 24:
FCC pushes 600 MHz incentive auction to 2016
The Federal Communications Commission’s ambitious plan to auction off 600 MHz spectrum licenses returned by broadcasters has been pushed until at least 2016. The FCC was looking to hold the auction proceeding in mid-2015. In a blog post, Gary Epstein, chair of the FCC’s Incentive Auction Task Force, cited the complexity of the proceedings as well as a recent court challenge brought about by the National Broadcasters Association, which claimed the FCC in its 600 MHz incentive auction rulemaking changed the “methodology used to predict local television coverage areas and population served, which could result in significant loss of viewership of broadcast TV stations after the FCC ‘repacks’ TV stations into a shrunken TV band.” … Read More
Oct. 28:
Verizon, AT&T to partner on VoLTE interoperability
Voice over LTE services are set to receive a significant boost as a pair of unlikely partners announced plans to enable VoLTE interoperability beginning in 2015. Today, Verizon Communications and AT&T announced plans to allow their respective customers to conduct VoLTE calls between their two networks. The companies noted that their respective engineers are working through requirements, beginning with lab tests and plans to move towards field trials. … Read More
Nov. 4:
Sprint plans 2,000 additional job cuts in attempt to find balance
As part of its latest quarterly financial release, Sprint announced plans to cut an additional 2,000 jobs. A company spokesman said Sprint had not yet decided from which parts of the organization the cuts would come, but that they would likely be companywide. Sprint had approximately 33,000 employees at the end of its second fiscal quarter ended Sept. 30, which was down from around 36,000 employees earlier in the year. … Read More
Nov. 10:
Iusacell deal throws light on AT&T’s future plans
AT&T is looking to expand its empire south of the border, announcing late Friday that it plans to by Mexican mobile carrier Iusacell for $2.5 billion including the assumption of debt. The deal is set to close following Grupo Salinas, which is the current owner of 50% of Iusacell, closing on its acquisition of the remaining stake in the carrier it does not current own. In 2011, Mexican media company Televisa purchased a 50% stake in Iusacell for $1.6 billion. Iusacell’s headquarters are slated to remain in Mexico City following closing on the deal. … Read More
Telecom operators threaten legal action in net neutrality feud
The already contentious net neutrality issue became even more so this week as the president laid out his thoughts on the subject, which drew threats of legal action from at least one telecom company. President Barack Obama this week seemingly threw his support behind the Federal Communications Commission’s moving forward with bringing Internet access under the 1996 Telecommunications Title II regulations, which would mean the FCC could regulate Internet services as a public utility. The FCC is currently in the process of wading through millions of public and industry comments on the topic, with the most recent chatter indicating the agency has pushed off a final decision until next year. … Read More
Nov. 13:
Auction 97 generates $1.8B in opening-round bids
In just the first round, the Federal Communications Commission quickly garnered nearly 20% of what it was hoping to generate from Auction 97, with more than 1,000 licenses attracting bids totaling nearly $1.8 billion. As is customary in spectrum auctions, the bigger markets generated the most financial interest with a J-Block license covering the New York City area attracting eight bids during round one and a top bid of $105.9 million. An H-Block license covering the same geographic location received six bids with a high bid of $48.5 million, while an I-Block license in the same location received seven bids with a high bid of $44.1 million. … Read More
M2M offerings expand with Kore acquisition of Raco Wireless
Machine-to-machine provider Kore Wireless Group, fueled by a majority interest purchase by investment firm Abry Partners, announced an all-cash acquisition of M2M and “Internet of Things” services company Raco Wireless. Kore focuses on machine-to-machine connectivity using GSM, HSPA, CDMA2000 1xEV-DO, LTE and satellite services to industry customers that include health care, utility, enterprise IT, fleet management and financial transaction processing. … Read more
Nov. 20:
Report: DT CEO names potential buyers for T-Mobile US
The CEO of Deutsche Telekom said this week that selling T-Mobile US could still be an option, but that the German carrier is not looking for a “fire sale.” Timotheus Hoettges named Comcast, Dish Network and América Móvil as potential acquirers, but said he is not in active talks with any of them. Deutsche Telekom owns 74% of T-Mobile US (TMUS). This is the second time this month that a possible purchase of T-Mobile US by América Móvil has made headlines. Earlier this month, a consulting firm run by Alex Besen said that América Móvil will make an offer for T-Mobile US. His prediction came on the heels of AT&T’s news that it will buy Mexico’s Iusacell, which competes with América Móvil. More specifically, América Móvil owns prepaid provider Tracfone, and T-Mobile US has become a major force in the U.S. prepaid market since its purchase of MetroPCS. … Read More
Dec. 1:
American Tower looks set to continue spending spree
American Tower is reportedly preparing to spend up to $1 billion to buy 51% of India’s Viom, a tower company controlled by Tata Teleservices. According to reports, American Tower wants to merge Viom’s estimated 42,000 towers with the 12,000 towers it already owns in India. This news follows two reports last week of major international purchases by American Tower. The company is spending $1 billion to buy 4,800 towers in Nigeria, adding more African towers to its current holdings in Ghana, South Africa and Uganda. American Tower is also buying more than 6,400 towers from Telecom Italia’s TIM Cellular for roughly $1.2 billion. … Read More
Sprint targets Verizon, AT&T with new promotion
Sprint continues to aggressively target its larger rivals, announcing this morning a new promotion that promises to slice in half the current monthly bill for customers of Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility. Sprint said the promotion, cleverly dubbed the “Cut Your Bill in Half Event,” will provide current Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility customers with unlimited voice calling and text messaging and match their current data allotment for half the price they are currently paying. In addition, Sprint said it will also provide up to $350 in a Visa prepaid card to help cover the cost of buying out a customer’s current contract from either rival. … Read More
Verizon taps SpiderCloud for enterprise small cells
Verizon Wireless said it will deploy SpiderCloud Wireless’ LTE small cell systems for select enterprise customers, boosting coverage and capacity in buildings where the carrier’s macro network cannot support the demand for mobile data. The solution is an alternative to a carrier distributed antenna system for large enterprises. SpiderCloud said its “sweet spot” is buildings that are 50,000 – 1.5 million square feet in size. Its system uses self-optimizing network technology to manage up to 100 small cells with a single services node. … Read More
Dec. 4:
Report: Verizon Wireless begins 1.9 GHz refarm to support LTE
Verizon Wireless appears to be moving forward on its previously stated plans to begin refarming 1.9 GHz spectrum to support its LTE service. According to GigaOm, a network spotter sporting a spectrum analyzer in New York City recently found a portion of Verizon Wireless 1.9 GHz spectrum supporting LTE services. The carrier has to this point used all of its 1.9 GHz spectrum to support legacy 3G data services using CDMA2000 1x EV-DO technology. A Verizon Wireless spokeswoman told GigaOm’s Kevin Fitchard that the carrier was indeed beginning to test LTE services using the 1.9 GHz band, though it did not have any additional details to provide. Verizon Communications CEO Lowell McAdam earlier this year told an investor conference that Verizon Wireless would begin looking at refarming spectrum in the 850 MHz and 1.9 GHz bands that currently support legacy CDMA services “into 2015 and beyond.” Verizon Wireless currently supports its LTE service with spectrum in the 700 MHz and 1.7/2.1 GHz bands, which in most markets totals around 40 megahertz. … Read More
Dec. 11:
Vodafone taps T-Mobile US to re-enter U.S. market
International mobile telecommunications provider Vodafone Group announced plans to re-enter the U.S. space through its Vodafone Americas subsidiary operating as a mobile virtual network operator running across T-Mobile US’ network. The service is expected to launch in late 2015. Vodafone Americas said the offering would target its more than 400 multinational customers based in the U.S., as well as another 500 multinationals based outside of the U.S. but with a “strong U.S. presence.” Vodafone Group counts more than 434 million wireless customers through its directly controlled operations across 27 countries and partnerships in an additional 49 countries. … Read More
Dec. 16:
AT&T targets 75% NFV, SDN control of network by 2020
Software is set to become a bigger focus for AT&T, with the telecom operator stating plans to virtualize and control more than 75% of its network using software architecture by 2020. This is expected to be accomplished through the use of cloud, SDN and NFV technologies. Writing on the company’s Innovation Space blog, John Donovan, SEVP of AT&T technology and operations, said the statement was an “ambitious target” connected to its network transformation plans announced earlier this year at the Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona, Spain. Those plans were launched under the carrier’s User-Defined Network Cloud initiative and are part of its broader Domain 2.0 program. … Read More
Dec. 17:
BT offers $19.6 billion for U.K. mobile operator EE
After looking into buying Telefonica’s O2, BT announced it has entered into exclusive talks to buy mobile operator EE for $19.6 billion. If successful, the deal would combine the U.K.’s largest fixed-line provider with its largest mobile network operator. Part of the proposed purchase includes shares in BT, so EE’s joint owners, Deutsche Telekom and Orange, could walk away a BT stake of 12% and 4%, respectively. … Read More
United States telecom companies allowed in Cuba
President Barack Obama made a historic announcement Wednesday by declaring that his administration is making a major shift in United States policy toward Cuba. The move will allow U.S. telecommunications companies to rollout infrastructure and provide commercial services in Cuba. “Today, we are renewing our leadership in the Americas. We are choosing to cut loose the anchor of the past, because it is entirely necessary to reach a better future – for our national interests, for the American people and for the Cuban people,” Obama stated. … Read More
Dec. 19:
T-Mobile US set to use 5 GHz band for LTE
For T-Mobile US, part of being the “Un-carrier” may include using unlicensed spectrum to offer LTE services. The company will reportedly deploy LTE in the 5 GHz spectrum band, the same band used for 802.11ac Wi-Fi. T-Mobile US CTO Ray Neville told Macquarie Securities that Wi-Fi will be complementary to LAA, or licensed assisted access. LAA is the name the wireless industry has adopted to describe LTE in unlicensed spectrum. “License assisted” means that LAA is meant to be supported by licensed spectrum, not deployed independently. … Read More
T-Mobile US scores data roaming victory
T-Mobile US appears to have scored a win in its battle to have the Federal Communications Commission take a closer look at mobile data roaming rates. In a controversial Declaratory Ruling, the FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau granted T-Mobile US’ request for stronger oversight and guidance in terms of data roaming rates provided by mobile operators. T-Mobile US had claimed that the “commercially reasonable standard” used to determine data roaming rates has led to ambiguity in the process due to a lack of access to all currently available data roaming deals, including those or resellers and mobile virtual network operators. As such, T-Mobile US claims it has been forced to cap data usage of its customers when they are roaming on a competitor’s network due to the current data roaming rates. … Read More
