Editor’s Note: Wireless operators are a busy bunch, and as such RCR Wireless News will attempt to gather some of the important announcements that may slip through the cracks from the world’s largest carriers in a weekly wrap-up. Enjoy!
–The Federal Communications Commission has accepted a filing from regional wireless operator Cleveland Unlimited, which operates under the Revol Wireless brand, to transfer 12 spectrum licenses in the 1.9 GHz band to Sprint for an undisclosed amount. The licenses cover portions of Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania. The deal would not include any of Revol’s current customer base.
The filing notes that the licenses include between 10 and 16.4 megahertz covering 56 counties in 23 cellular market areas, and that post-transaction Sprint would hold a maximum of 129.5 megahertz of spectrum in those markets. A vast majority of those holdings are in the 2.5 GHz band, which Sprint recently gained control over through its acquisition of Clearwire.
Sprint recently announced it would not participate in the FCC’s planned auction of 10 megahertz of spectrum in the 1.9 GHz H-Block, which is scheduled to begin in January. Sprint was expected to be an player in that auction as the H-Block was situated next to the 10 megahertz of G-Block spectrum Sprint is currently using to power its LTE network. Sprint earlier this year closed on a $480 million acquisition of a handful of markets from regional carrier U.S. Cellular, including operations in Chicago, St. Louis and a handful of markets in the Midwest and spectrum assets in the 1.9 GHz band.
–Speaking of spectrum deals, Verizon Wireless and Stelera Wireless had an application accepted by the FCC that looks to transfer 15 full and a trio of partial 1.7/2.1 GHz spectrum licenses to Verizon Wireless for an undisclosed amount. The licenses include between 10 megahertz and 40 megahertz of spectrum covering 114 counties across portions of 19 CMAs in Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico and Texas.
Verizon Wireless has been aggressively snapping up 1.7/2.1 GHz spectrum licenses, including a $3.9 billion deal with a handful of cable operators, in an attempt to bolster its LTE network. If approved, Verizon Wireless would control between 20 megahertz and 50 megahertz of spectrum in the 1.7/2.1 GHz band across the markets involved in the latest deal and a total of between 87 megahertz and 132 megahertz.
Stelera, which picked up 42 licenses covering parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, Colorado, Kansas, Arizona, New Mexico and Oregon during the FCC spectrum auction in 2006 for nearly $7.5 million, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this year.
–Value-based mobile virtual network operator FreedomPop announced this week that it would begin allowing customers to bring Sprint devices onto its service offering as well as a new smartphone priced at below $100. FreedomPop’s service runs across Sprint’s network.
The “bring-your-own-device” move will allow customers to activate a Sprint device and have access to FreedomPop’s service plans that begin at free for 200 voice minutes, 500 text messages and 500 megabytes of “4G” and 3G data. Customers can upgrade to 500 voice minutes, unlimited text messages and the same 500 Mb of data for $8 per month; or upgrade to unlimited voice calling and text messaging for the $11 per month. FreedomPop does not charge for data overage, with additional data priced at 2.5 cents per megabyte.
The new device available directly from FreedomPop is the HTC Evo 4G, which joins the previously launched HTC Evo Design. Both devices retail for $99, a price point FreedomPop has said was possible as those devices are a generation or two old. The Evo 4G was a flagship device for Sprint when it launched in mid-2010, bolstered by its ability to connect to the carrier’s WiMAX-based “4G” service. Both the Evo 4G and Evo Design being offered by FreedomPop are limited to Sprint’s WiMAX and CDMA-based 3G service, though the company recently announced it would expand service to Sprint’s LTE network.
—China Unicom, which is that market’s second largest operator behind China Mobile, said it would expand its presence in North America with a new “point-of-presence” data center based in Seattle. The expansion will be made through the carrier’s China Unicom (Americas) Operations subsidiary.
China Unicom noted that the Seattle location was “ideal” due to its proximity in extending data networking services to customers across North America. The CUA subsidiary provides international solutions supporting various bandwidth requirements and physical interfaces, ranging from T1/E1 up to 10G waves. The company said it also provides network diversity via multiple transpacific network routes, and offers the fastest latency route from the United States to China utilizing the Trans-Pacific Express submarine cable system.
China Telecom, which is China’s No. 3 operator in size, also has a presence in the United States through a “full-service” office in Chicago and a data center in Los Angeles.
—LightSquared late last week filed a lawsuit against suitor Dish Network and its chairman Charlie Ergen accusing the brash executive of illegally attempting to accrue a majority of LightSquared’s debt in order to gain control of the company and its spectrum holdings. LightSquared is currently in the midst of bankruptcy proceedings that began in May 2012 after it was prevented from gaining access to its 1.6 GHz spectrum licenses due to interference concerns with some ground-based GPS systems.
The latest legal meanuver follows on the heels of a report that LightSquared had contacted more than 90 potential interested parties looking for a partner to invest in the bankrupt company, according to a Bloomberg report. The story indicated that LightSquared was seeking an alternative to the $2.2 billion cash offer on the table from Dish Network, which has drawn scrutiny tied to Dish Network Chairman Charlie Ergen’s perceived conflict of interest in the matter. LightSquared owner Harbinger Capital filed a lawsuit in August claiming Ergen has enacted a fraudulent scheme in attempting to acquire LightSquared’s debt and thus assume control over its operations.
A bankruptcy auction of LightSquared’s assets is scheduled for Dec. 6.
–Regional operator C Spire Wireless launched a device upgrade program allowing customers to pick up a new device every year. The program, dubbed Percs Upgrade, calls for customers to make a $20 per month payment for 12 months at which point they can receive 30% off the full price of a new device without having to trade in their old device, or trade in their old device and receive up to $300 in credit towards the new device.
The program builds on the carrier’s Percs rewards program, with the amount of discount available on a new device tied to a customer’s status level in the program. Elite members receive a 30% discount; Premier members receive a 20% discount; Priority members receive a 15% discount; and Plus members receive a 10% discount. The upgrade offer is for smartphones only and requires a customer to initially be on a two-year contract.
Device upgrade programs have become the rage this year as carriers look to unhook device subsidies from rate plan contracts.
–Rural wireless operator Blaze Wireless expanded its service area with the deployment of four new cell sites covering portions of Furnas and Red Willow counties in Nebraska. The carrier currently offers service in the communities of Bartley, Cambridge, Indianola and McCook, and offers nationwide roaming through agreements with larger operators.
Funding for the expansion came through a 901 reverse auction process conducted by the FCC this past summer in a move to expand wireless 3G coverage to underserved markets. Blaze said it was awarded $585,000 as part of the program, adding that the new 3G sites can also be upgraded to “4G” services.
—ClearSky Technologies, which provides hosted telecommunications core services, said it has signed Nebraska-based Great Plains Communications to its LTE Service Suite offering. Great Plains is set to offer LTE services to Custer County, Neb., by mid-2014.
Additional carrier news can be found on the RCR Wireless News “Carriers” page.
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