Without a doubt, wireless data network devices and applications are growing rapidly. Heavy hitters like Cisco and Ericsson predict there will be 50 billion devices connected by 2020, quite a jump from 14 billion devices in 2013. Of the connected devices, Gartner estimates that...
Telecom regulator ARCEP expects to award the spectrum by year end
France formally launched plans toward auctioning 700 MHz spectrum band licenses, according to local press.
Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron and Secretary of State Axelle Lemaire are said to have approved telecommunications regulator ARCEP's proposed conditions...
T-Mobile US announces no-cost North America roaming plan; counters AT&T’s Mexico venture
T-Mobile US continues to update its “Un-carrier” promotions, with the latest move expanding services across North America.
T-Mobile US announced that beginning July 15, postpaid and prepaid customers will be able to place calls,...
FirstNet envisions a nationwide public safety network built on same LTE standards used by commercial carriers
As Minnesota officials consider how to proceed with a statewide upgrade to the public safety broadband infrastructure, the state Department of Public Safety has requested information from potential partners...
New Helio offers ‘unlimited’ service, but stuck with 2G speeds
Perhaps showing that at least names never go out of style, the Helio brand is re-entering the domestic mobile virtual network operator market thanks to South Korean telecom provider UBI Telecom.
Helio-branded services are now being...
New report from Juniper Research predicts 55% increase in adult video consumption by 2020
Adult video content is set to explode across the mobile space, with a new report suggesting each smartphone user that accesses such content will watch nearly one adult video each day...
Although the telecom industry is still a few years away from establishing a standard for 5G mobile networks, research and development is happening in earnest. The latest action in that space comes from Samsung and South Korean operator LG Uplus; on June 25 the...
While presenting on the topic of “5G” recently, I was asked: “Why are we making everything so complicated?” In that moment, as I surveyed the audience of principally telecom industry types – of which I proudly count myself as a member for the last...
This week marks the launch of Apple Music, the long-rumored streaming music and radio platform from Apple. First previewed at WWDC 2015, the service aims to compete with Spotify, Tidal, Pandora and other streaming music services. It’s also arguably the biggest software launch from...
Softbank deploys Procera platform in move to enhance LTE services
Procera Networks scored a significant carrier deal, announcing Japan’s Softbank had deployed its PacketLogic platform in order to enhance LTE services.
Procera said it secured the deal by providing “subscriber experience” visibility on top of...
1-year deals valued at $1.3B; include NFV, SDN and cloud support
Alcatel-Lucent signed a pair of contracts with China’s largest mobile operators to support the rollout of network functions virtualization, software-defined networking and cloud technology.
The one-year deals are valued at $727 million with China...
Sprint eliminated video-streaming limitation, though states it will still ‘manage the network’
Connected with its recently launched “All-In” rate plans, Sprint this week also said it is removing its previous policy to limit video-streaming services to 600 kilobits per second, though it will still “manage...
Unlimited data rate plans have been officially off the market for some time, but the reality is that the biggest mobile operators still offer them to customers who insist. We have heard stories of existing customers demanding – and getting – a new smartphone while...
AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson met with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto last Thursday and announced that the company would be investing approximately $3 billion to bring the new AT&T network up to global standards (full announcement here). Contained in the announcement are some specific...
As LTE World Summit comes to a close this week, this is the last go round for this event and location. Next year it’s moving to London and shifting the focus to be primarily 5G. Goodbye LTE World Summit and hello 5G World. I...
AT&T has $3B investment plan on top of $4.4B spent on acquiring Iusacell, Nextel Mexico
AT&T said it plans to invest $3 billion to expand “high-speed, mobile Internet service” to 100 million people in Mexico by the end of 2018.
The announcement was made by AT&T...
AT&T, T-Mobile US argue over pending 700 MHz license deal
AT&T and T-Mobile US continued to spar over spectrum licenses, with the latest match concerning AT&T’s pending plans to acquire a trio of 700 MHz licenses covering portions of Kentucky, West Virginia and Ohio.
T-Mobile US...
IMT-2020 adopted as official name and date for global 5G process, but rumors of 20 Gbps baseline speeds are exaggerated
The International Telecommunications Union always brings a dose of sobriety to a new standards party. Amid the escalating claims about when “5G” equipment will be...
Deployment of small cell technology is an important part of a hetnet solution to expand network coverage by mobile network operators, but finding "real estate" to deploy small cells is not always easy. Due to a lack of space and cost of utilizing the space, obtaining...
Verizon closes on AOL, plans for added digital content delivery
Verizon Communications closed on its $4.4 billion acquisition of digital content provider AOL. The deal was consummated June 22, with Verizon announcing it had purchased outstanding AOL shares for $50 per share, with AOL now...
A software update to Vodafone's mobile network will enable simultaneous operation of FDD-LTE and TDD-LTE, starting in Portugal. Vodafone said it is the first mobile operator to implement FDD-LTE/TDD-LTE carrier aggregation in a commercial network. Carrier aggregation is the combination of different spectrum bands...
Report notes Sprint slashes data speed throttling on unlimited plans tied to FCC net neutrality rules
Sprint has told the Federal Communications Commission it has stopped throttling data speeds for consumers on “unlimited” data plans.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Sprint late last week stopped...
New service combines LTE and Wi-Fi technologies
South Korean mobile telephony operator KT announced it will commercialize the world’s fastest mobile network, branded GiGA LTE, which combines LTE networks with Wi-Fi connections.
The operator said that the new network service offers a maximum download speed of 1.17...
MVNO looks to hit nearly 1M customers by year end
Mobile virtual network operator FreedomPop said it has scored $30 million in financing in a move to boost growth and scale operations. The company said the financing comes “following months of speculation.”
The series B...
