FCC studies spy towers
No, it's not the plot of some Cold War movie from the 80s, it's the FCC's involvement in the latest development in a story we reported on back in March. To catch you up to speed, these fake cell towers for spying...
Wireless carriers cannot roll out 4G networks without the contractors and subcontractors who bring next generation networks from vision to reality. Infrastructure service providers work hand-in-hand with mobile network operators, but some of these relationships are shifting as AT&T and Verizon shift their focus...
The mobile revolution has hit HP particularly hard, but the server giant finally served up some good news for investors yesterday, posting its first year-on-year revenue increase in almost three years. HP reported third quarter net revenue of $27.6 billion, up 1% from the...
Wireless carriers cannot roll out 4G networks without the contractors and subcontractors who bring next generation networks from vision to reality. Infrastructure service providers work hand-in--hand with mobile network operators, but some of these relationships are shifting as AT&T and Verizon shift their focus...
Stadium DAS deployments continue
Infrastructure providers say the DAS RFPs keep coming from public venues, especially sports arenas. This week JMA Wireless said that Crown Castle will deploy JMA's Teko distributed antenna system at Rutgers University's High Point Solutions Stadium.
The Rutgers DAS will be ready...
A tower climber looking to upgrade his career or move to a different company has to make sure he puts his best foot forward (or up) to let employers know he is the best candidate for the position. Everybody knows to play up their strengths on...
The U.S. government is looking at a way to raise billions in tax revenue, but it could come at the expense of some tower companies. A tax reform bill drafted by the House Ways and Means Committee would change the rules companies must follow...
Recently both Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile US have said that under certain conditions they will "throttle" some customers who are on unlimited data plans. Verizon's announcement caught the FCC's attention and the throttling issue is one we are all likely to hear more about...
Verizon's network proved to be the tipping point last week when Internet traffic reached a level that caused data sets to change and impacted networks around the country. According to the Wall Street Journal, Verizon added new routes to a dataset, and the relatively...
Popular topics seem to always include LTE news, government oversight concerns (see the view in Germany) and customer service complaints. So we’ll go with these for today’s commentary.
LTE
Although it seems LTE deployments are moving slower in Europe then in the United States, there still...
Intelligent wireless routing ensures that peak demand will be met
More than 70% of mobile calls and more than 80% of mobile data usage today occurs indoors. The demand now is for reliable services and connectivity inside buildings in order to provide the same quality...
Tower safety update: The industry that is enabling the Internet of Things may benefit from IoT technology itself.
Wireless Industry Safety Task Force
The Wireless Industry Safety Task Force met in Denver last week. The group is an industrywide effort spearheaded by the National Association of Tower...
Networking pays, especially if you're looking for a job as a software engineer.
Job sites for makers of core network gear show increase in software hiring
Many of the routers and switches in wireless networks are set to eventually be replaced by software, and that means...
Sprint is expected to cut operating costs, but to continue investing in infrastructure...
Sprint Spark investment expected to continue per plan
Cost cuts and lower service revenue at the nation's third-largest carrier are not expected to impact Sprint's investment in its network. The carrier is still...
Wi-Fi is now an essential part of our smartphone and tablet-enabled lifestyle. Today, more than two-thirds of our monthly wireless data is consumed over Wi-Fi, and all signs are that this proportion will continue to grow. So while the traditional, cellular-centric view of the...
FCC streamlines antenna rules
The FCC made a decision late last week sure to make tower owners happy. Part 17 of rules and regulations for towers was streamlined, giving greater clarity to tower marking, lighting and registration. The update is intended to address what many...
Sponsored content from CommScope:
Philip Sorrells of CommScope outlined key trends that he thinks will be a focus at CTIA. Sorrells said that some of the most closely watched metrics for operators are ARPU, subscriber growth and investment. Two key themes he has identified are...
Cisco says it will end the year with roughly the same headcount it started with, but the mix will be different.
Cisco continues to realign workforce
Cisco wants to become more of a software company, and that means employees in some legacy businesses will lose their...
The Federal Communications Commission adopted rules requiring text messaging providers to support E911 text messaging, a move that builds on previous commitments from the nation’s four largest wireless providers. Carriers had initially agreed to support such services in late 2012.
The adopted rules will require...
Glow Networks has been involved in deployment and testing of thousands of base stations over the years and has seen the transitions from 2G to 3G to LTE firsthand. "We’ve been involved with the deployment of CDMA, EVDO, recently LTE and currently we’re involved...
Rackspace is managing the cloud and managing to grow, despite competition and price cuts from the mobile Internet's heaviest hitters. Google slashed prices of its cloud services this spring, but despite that the much smaller Rackspace sold $441 million worth of cloud services, a 17%...
As many long-time readers will remember, in October 2012 the I penned a column called “Dear John (Legere)” that talked about the bold, radical moves that would be necessary to change a fouth-place mentality into an innovative market leader (this also started a terrific...
New England-born and Munich-based, Claudia Bacco has joined the RCR Wireless News team as Managing Director - Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). As Managing Director - EMEA, Bacco will be responsible for expanding EMEA commercial and editorial efforts, contributing industry insights, and hosting...
The rapid growth in wireless data use is placing capacity burdens on the traditional large (macro) cell site capacity. The number of users within a cell's coverage area competing for bandwidth has prompted the growth of small cell and DAS. These systems provide similar...
