Hello! And welcome to our Thursday column, Worst of the Week. There's a lot of nutty stuff that goes on in this industry, so this column is a chance for us at RCRWirelessNews.com to rant and rave about whatever rubs us the wrong way....
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION CHAIRMAN KEVIN MARTIN said it will be hard to hold either the D-Block re-auction or advanced wireless services-3 bidding this year because of intense controversy over rules. Thus, competition for two valuable blocks of public airwaves likely will play out under...
Editor's Note: RCR Wireless News has teamed up with the Yankee Group to conduct a series of market surveys of RCR Wireless News' subscribers to gauge their thoughts on technology issues impacting the wireless ecosystem.Those of you who respond to the survey will get...
The Federal Communications Commission is seeking feedback on new options to auction a nationwide wireless broadband license with requirements to provide free Internet service, content filtering and open access to third-party devices and applications.While the agency's move is not apt to assuage fierce critics...
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION CHAIRMAN KEVIN MARTIN APPEARS DETERMINED to win approval for a free, family-friendly national wireless broadband plan, despite being forced to delay an upcoming vote on the measure after concerns were raised about potential interference to mobile-phone systems and about a content-filter...
Industry Canada's ongoing advanced wireless services spectrum auction hit a bit of a milestone as the average price per megahertz per potential customer covered eclipsed the 54 cents per MHz/pop generated during the U.S. AWS auction, which was held in 2006. The Canadian licenses...
Vodafone Group plc will say goodbye to its fearless leader. After five years as CEO, Arun Sarin announced last week that he is retiring as head of one of the wireless industry's largest operators, and minority-interest holder in Verizon Wireless, at the end of...
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin scheduled a vote on rules for another major spectrum auction, one that would encompass 25 megahertz in the 2155-2180 MHz advanced wireless services band and require the winning bidder to offer free broadband service under an aggressive build-out...
Leap Wireless International Inc. said it will launch its Cricket service in Las Vegas tomorrow using the advanced wireless services spectrum it won during the Federal Communications Commission's Auction 66 in 2006. Leap has previously launched service using its AWS spectrum in Oklahoma City...
T-Mobile USA Inc. officially launched its first 3G network in New York City, the company announced. The nation's No. 4 carrier said the UMTS/HSDPA network uses the advanced wireless services spectrum it acquired during the 2006 auction for $4.2 billion.The carrier has been...
Recent events in the wireless industry underscore the disconnect between regulatory processes that lag far behind the technology and business decisions they are supposed to guide. This gap is apparent in the government's views on the D-Block auction, the so-called "spectrum screen" and even...
Federal Communications Commission member Robert McDowell said he supports imposing an interim cap on high-cost universal service funds primarily benefitting wireless carriers that serve rural areas, paving the way for agency approval of a policy that the mobile industry and some lawmakers assert is...
T-Mobile USA Inc. plans to officially launch its 3G network starting next week. The launch comes about two years after the nation's No. 4 carrier paid $4.2 billion for advanced wireless services (AWS) spectrum in the Federal Communications Commission's Auction 66, spectrum the carrier...
Federal Communications Commission member Robert McDowell said he supports imposing an interim cap on high-cost universal service funds primarily benefitting wireless carriers serving rural areas, paving the way for agency approval of a policy that the mobile industry and some lawmakers believe is technologically...
WHILE THE DOMINANCE of AT&T Mobility and Verizon Wireless in the 700 MHz auction has renewed debate about whether a spectrum cap should be reinstituted, it appears concerns may have been overstated about the number of markets where the nation's two largest cellular operators...
By most accounts -- mine included -- this year's CTIA Wireless in Las Vegas bore a striking resemblance to February's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona (the show formerly known as 3GSM). To be sure, there were clear differences outside the convention center: cava...
THE NATION'S TOP TWO CARRIERS plan to deploy Long Term Evolution network technology over their recent spectrum winnings. However, Verizon Wireless executives said an LTE rollout won't happen until 2010 at the earliest, while those from AT&T Mobility pegged a rollout date as far...
The nation's top two carriers plan to deploy Long Term Evolution network technology over their recent spectrum winnings. However, Verizon Wireless executives said an LTE rollout won't happen until 2010 at the earliest, while those from AT&T Mobility pegged a rollout date as far...
Jim Orr is a principal network architect in the wireless market development group at Fujitsu Network Communications.Q: It seems the infrastructure market has experienced some turbulence over the past several years. How do you view the strength of the infrastructure market today?A: We are...
Leap Wireless International Inc. is kicking off the second quarter with the launch of two new phones that will work on the spectrum the carrier purchased during the Federal Communications Commission's Auction 66, held in 2006. Leap and its designated-entity partner, Denali Spectrum Co.,...
Sprint Nextel Corp. and Clearwire Corp. are in discussions with the nation's two largest cable providers -- Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Cable Inc. -- to fund a nationwide WiMAX venture, according to the Wall Street Journal. Intel Corp., Google Inc. and Bright House...
Almost 18 months after the advanced wireless services spectrum auction wrapped, carriers are on the verge of commercially launching networks and devices that make use of the recently cleared 1.7/2.1 GHz spectrum bands.Although the carrier hasn't launched any AWS markets yet, Leap Wireless International...
The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the small-business bidding suit against the Federal Communications Commission remains intact, an action with potential implications for two major spectrum auctions. The 3rd Circuit, while declining to force the FCC to rule on a...
Perhaps taking a cue from "Lord of the Rings: Return of the King," the Federal Communications Commission's 700 MHz auction is teasing us with the potential that it could all be over very shortly. New bids dropped to double digits during the three opening...
