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 RCRWireless.com to rant and rave about whatever rubs us the wrong way....
More than two dozen mobile operators and spectrum license holders have banded together to form NextGen Mobile L.L.C. The organization hopes to pool efforts to launch GSM-based, next-generation networks covering small and rural markets.The organization said 28 companies have joined what grew out of...
Editor's Note: This is one of a series of stories examining the current economic downturn and how it affects the wireless industry. For more on this topic, visit RCRWireless.com/EconomicDownturn.As Washington, D.C., continues its efforts to bailout Wall Street and stabilize the economy, analysts expect...
So it was, according to a new intriguing lawsuit, that Verizon Wireless was approached via e-mail by an Arkansas businessman in early February about "an arbitrage opportunity" that could potentially accomplish the same objective as one announced months later when the No. 2 cellphone...
Machine-to-machine companies around the world have banded together to form an alliance geared at providing a unified, seamless network across the globe for delivering applications created by providers in the emerging technology.Announced today, the m2mGlobal Alliance consists of M2M providers in North America, Australia,...
It's become quite clear which technology the top four carriers have sided with in the next-generation debate between WiMAX and Long Term Evolution. Sprint Nextel Corp. is the lone supporter for WiMAX; Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility Inc. made public their plans to deploy...
When Qualcomm Inc. talks, people listen. So when Qualcomm recently announced that its "Gobi" embedded connectivity module had been certified by AT&T Mobility for the latter's network and that Hewlett-Packard Co. and Panasonic had signed on to include Gobi in some of their new...
T-Mobile USA Inc. officially took the reigns from SunCom Wireless Holdings Inc. The nation's No. 4 carrier launched its branded service in former SunCom markets across North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands last week. T-Mobile USA announced...
SAN FRANCISCO -- The first day's keynote ended with a trip back in time with two wireless veterans reminiscing about an industry they helped mold 25 years ago. Craig McCaw, current chairman of Clearwire Corp., and John Stanton, founder of Trilogy Partnership, have more...
We've all seen coverage maps. Whether it be a section in a carrier's brochure, a poster hung up in a mobile operator's retail store, or even an interactive map online, coverage maps play an important role when it comes to buying a cellphone and...
Roaming - until recently a backburner, stand-alone issue - suddenly has emerged as a potential pivot point in the Federal Communications Commission's consideration of two major transactions and competition policy in general for a wireless sector that has experienced relentless consolidation during the past...
As Verizon Wireless works to purchase the carrier, Alltel Communications L.L.C. announced the addition of 319,687 customers in the second quarter, showing it is still thriving even as its potential end draws near.Verizon Wireless said in June that it would acquire Alltel in a...
A handful of rural operators again raised concerns over future roaming capabilities in filing a petition to deny Verizon Wireless' attempt to acquire the nation's No. 5 operator Alltel Communications L.L.C.In a filing with the Federal Communications Commission yesterday, more than a half dozed...
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin said he wants action before month's end to relax roaming rules and freeze further licensing of wireless microphones in the 700 MHz band as regulators explore policy options to address potential inference from allegedly illegal operation of wireless...
Just like Ronald Reagan claimed with his trickle-down economic plan, wireless customers are beginning to see unlimited offerings filter down to cheaper price points and in some cases to offerings that do not require a cumbersome contract.Last week Tracfone Wireless Inc. subsidiary Net10 jumped...
The Federal Communications Commissions gave the green light to Verizon Wireless' $2.67 billion purchase of Rural Cellular Corp., with the transaction and a separate pending deal involving the No. 2 mobile-phone operator bringing to the forefront a number a key policy issues.The FCC, like...
Just in time for the 2008 Olympics set to kick off in China later this week the nation's two largest carriers expanded their international data plans.AT&T Mobility introduced two new plans, one for smartphone users and one for PC card users. The new smartphone...
Satellite communications company TerreStar Networks Inc. said it signed a nationwide reciprocal roaming agreement with AT&T Inc.TerreStar is developing an all-IP integrated satellite-terrestrial communications network. The company plans to target its service at commercial, government, rural and public-safety users in North America.The company is...
SPRINT NEXTEL CORP. AND CLEARWIRE CORP.'S CAMPAIGN to win government approval of a their national WiMAX plan is drawing static from AT&T Inc. and rural cellular operators on key unsettled wireless policy issues, but the deal has picked up backing from many educational and...
Verizon Wireless, positioning itself to regain the top spot in the mobile-phone industry, agreed to initial divestiture requirements by the Department of Justice and offered roaming concessions in hopes of winning government approval of its proposed $28 billion purchase of Alltel Communications L.L.C. But...
Could the CDMA camp be losing a pair of stalwarts? According to a report released this morning by UBS Investment Research, Canada's two largest CDMA operators Telus Mobility and Bell Canada are set overlay their current CDMA-based networks with W-CDMA/HSPA technology."Based on our industry...
In recent weeks, almost every carrier has made some sort of announcement claiming its network is fastest, largest or best. So who's the winner? ; 3G; cdma; verizon; sprint; gsm; AT&T; Welcome to our weekly RCR Wireless Newscast....
The crackdown on mobile in Europe continued this week as the European Union said it will continue to investigate hundreds of content storefronts for breaching consumer rules.The organization said an investigation into more than 500 mobile content Web sites found that 80% of the...
The Federal Communications Commission said it plans an Aug. 1 vote on Verizon Wireless' proposed $2.67 billion purchase of Rural Cellular Corp., a controversial transaction that consumer advocates and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) have argued should be blocked unless conditions are attached to safeguard...
