Backhaul can be a major gating factor in a carrier's analysis of potential small cell deployments, especially in outdoor venues where Ethernet is not an option. Chipmakers see opportunity in the wireless backhaul market, and are addressing the need with a variety of solutions.
Broadcom...
Facebook (FB) is set to buy the mobile messaging app firm WhatsApp for $19 billion. The Wall Street Journal reports this is the largest-ever buyout of a company backed primarily by venture capital.
What is WhatsApp?
WhatsApp acts as an alternative to text messaging. The app lets users send photos,...
The Federal Communications Commission looks set to propose new rules designed to ensure unfettered access to the Internet while also complying with a recent court decision tempering the government agency’s ability to regulate access to the Internet.
“I intend to accept that invitation by proposing...
Software is becoming an increasingly important component of wireless network deployments as mobile operators look to trim the billions spent on rolling out advanced, next-generation networks. One of the ways carriers are looking to cut costs is through the use of virtualization, software-defined networks...
A number of telecommunications and technology companies underwent employment changes this month, including Syniverse, Lantiq and Extreme Networks. Texas Instruments also named a new vice president, a new head of education technology, and bid goodbye to a retiring individual.
In the middle of discussions over TIM’s future, Telecom Italia CEO Marco Patuano visited Brazil and announced investments of around $1.68 billion per year through 2016. Patuano also used his visit and meeting with communications minister Paulo Bernardo to send a message for those...
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...
Could the end of Auction 96 finally be near?
Following a lackluster day of bidding, the Federal Communications Commission’s spectrum auction of 176 economic area licenses in the 1.9 GHz band looks to have perhaps found itself about to call it a day. Through nine...
Software is becoming an increasingly important component of wireless network deployments as mobile operators look to trim the billions spent on rolling out advanced, next-generation networks. One of the ways carriers are looking to cut costs is through the use of virtualization, software-defined networks...
Welcome to this week's edition of cell tower industry news, brought to you by Towercrews.net.
Ever since the fatalities a few weeks back, the tower industry has been very quiet. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) used the radio silence to write an open...
Rackspace (NYSE: RAX), listed as one of Forbes' Top 25 Fastest Growing Tech companies and one of Money Magazine's 100 Best companies to work for, is exploding like wildfire in the cloud-sharing workforce landscape.
"Rackers" in high demand
Employees at Rackspace are known as "rackers" within...
Software-defined networking technology can offer a number of benefits for telecommunication service providers beyond the ability to provide best-in-class services to their customers.
Top stories:
Alcatel-Lucent virtualizes EPC, IMS and RAN
Alcatel-Lucent today announced its portfolio of virtualized mobile network functions including the ... Read More
Softbank sells distribution unit to Brightstar
The integration of Softbank, Brightstar and Sprint continues as the Japanese giant moves its distribution unit into Brightstar....
Canada’s telecom regulator Industry Canada is set later today to announce the winners of that country’s 700 MHz spectrum auction. The auction is assumed to have wrapped up sometime in the past five days as Industry Canada said before the auction began that it...
Setting itself up to garner leadership in network function virtualization for telecom, Alcatel-Lucent today announced its portfolio of virtualized mobile network functions including the Evolved Packet Core (EPC), IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) and the radio access network (RAN).
Alcatel-Lucent said it is already working with...
A new report on mobile video quality of experience examined the causes of stalls during mobile viewing, as well as the strain that video puts on the mobile network.
The study from Allot Communications was based on 300,000 video detail records randomly selected from hundreds...
Network policy control solutions provider Sandvine announced that hosted infrastructure and managed services provider ClearSky Technologies will tap into Sandvine’s virtualized Policy Traffic Switch platform. Let’s just call it “hosted squared.”
The agreement calls for ClearSky to use Sandvine’s products to enable carrier customers to...
Orange, France's largest carrier, is looking to take over the triple play provider Jazztel, sources told Bloomberg News. The mobile operator Yoigo, currently owned by Stokholm-based TeliaSonera is also a potential target. The moves by Orange follow earlier reports that U.K.-based Vodafone had bid for...
Softbank, majority owner of Sprint, is moving $3 billion in annual revenue into Brightstar, its other major American holding. Brighstar is a leading distributor of mobile devices and components, and last year Softbank agreed to buy 57% of Brightstar for $1.26 billion. Now Softbank...
HTC says it will challenge industry standards by launching HTC Advantage, a program that allows customers in the United States to receive bonus assets after a smartphone purchase.
Benefits of the HTC Advantage program will include one free cracked-screen replacement, a commitment to Android updates,...
Given the ever-changing conditions of the telecom industry, it's wise to stop and take a look at the sector's capital markets activity, as stock fluctuations can provide a good indication of which way a particular company is trending. Here are a few of the most noteworthy events to occur recently within telecom capital markets.
Editor’s Note: The RCR Wireless News Time Machine is a way to take advantage of our extensive history in covering the wireless space to fire up the DeLorean and take a trip back in time to re-visit some of the more interesting headlines from...
Following a long weekend and with an increase in the number of bidding rounds per day, the Federal Communications Commission’s Auction 96 continued to generate wild fluctuations in bids per round and roll up funds for the country’s treasury.
Before the day began, the FCC...
Telecoms and government institutions frequently find their paths crossing one another, as a bevy of networking issues often requires the oversight or intervention of a federal institution. This week saw many such instances, ranging from federal officials investigating complaints lodged against one of the nation's largest telecoms to the U.S. government flexing its muscle on the use of Chinese equipment overseas.
