2012

News that Sprint Nextel is talking to Japan’s Softbank about a possible buyout is bad news for investors who’ve been holding onto their MetroPCS shares in hopes that the nation’s third largest carrier will swoop in with an offer.

If Japan’s Softbank wants to take over Sprint Nextel, it could be in part because the Japanese carrier wants access to more cutting edge devices like the ones unveiled today by its biggest rival, NTT DOCOMO.

Wireless carriers seem to be in an “eat or be eaten” state of mind as a wave of industry consolidation has again gripped the domestic market. The latest to fall under the spell is Sprint Nextel, with published reports this …

RIO DE JANEIRO – TIM Brasil, which belongs to Telecom Italia, and Brazilian state-owned telecommunications provider Telebras have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on providing fiber optic capabilities to portions of the country in order to improve Internet …

RIO DE JANEIRO – Infrastructure vendor Alcatel-Lucent is looking to get back into the Brazilian market, having sat out the 3G evolution. The company was a significant player in deploying 2G networks and is hoping to become a player again …

RIO DE JANEIRO – The Latin America region is expected to grow from 130 million mobile broadband connections today to 300 million by 2015, according to GSMA Chairman Franco Bernarbè. During a speech at this week’s Futurecom event, Bernarbè highlighted …

RIO DE JANEIRO – Brazilian operator Claro is looking to get the upper hand in its battle with over-the-top players by rolling out a streaming movie service that offers on-demand content. The offering, dubbed Claro Video, is part of the …

The mobile industry continues to be a beacon of opportunity for workers, with a new report sanctioned by Antenna Software finding 74% of enterprises surveyed were currently looking to fill mobile positions. The survey, which tapped into human resource managers …

RIO DE JANEIRO – It has not been an easy year for TIM Brasil, the Brazilian wireless unit of Telecom Italia. Earlier this year its (now) former CEO, Luca Luciani, resigned following a scandal involving the exaggeration of the carrier’s …

RIO DE JANEIRO – One of the biggest challenges facing LTE deployments in Brazil is the large number of sites required to provide coverage bumping up against laws restricting the installation of new towers. This will be especially apparent as …

Almost every presentation at the conferences this year includes the “tsunami chart.” You know the one: It shows growth of mobile data demand, doubling every year.

RIO DE JANEIRO – While Chinese telecom equipment vendors hit a snag this week in the United States with the House Intelligence Committeeadvising American companies not to buy network gear from Huawei or fellow Chinese vendor ZTE, Telefónica announced it has …

Considered by some – and self-proclaimed – worldwide leader in LTE, Verizon Wireless is looking to maintain the momentum that begun with its initial network rollout nearly two years ago. The carrier announced today during a press conference at the …

Sprint Nextel announced plans to add four new LTE-equipped devices to its portfolio, including a tablet, a pair of smartphones and a wireless modem. Launch details and pricing of the new devices were said to be coming at a later …

The prepaid wireless space continues to witness innovative offerings designed to provide a unique experience for consumers. The latest to take that approach is Prepayd Wireless that said it will begin allowing customers to bring Sprint Nextel devices onto its …

RIO DE JANEIRO – Brazil’s public authorities claimed this is the right time to deploy LTE and move onto the next telecommunication technology, during the opening session of the Futurecom event (read all pieces), held this week in Rio de …

Looking to tap into the growing mobile enterprise landscape, which is predicted to surge from an average of 2.8 devices per worker this year to 3.3 devices by 2014, Verizon Communications announced the expansion of its enterprise mobility as a …

Editor’s Note: Welcome to our weekly Reality Check column. We’ve gathered a group of visionaries and veterans in the mobile industry to give their insights into the marketplace. It’s true in Brazil, across Latin America, in fact everywhere in the world: Everyone wants …

As subscribers become more demanding of their mobile devices, including robust Internet access and real-time, rich multimedia communications, the need for wireless network operators to add capacity and multimedia support features is no longer a “nice-to-have;” it is an imperative. …

Sprint Nextel expanded its support of mobile virtual network operators with the launch of its Mobile Broadband on Demand service that will allow partners to rent devices compatible with the carrier’s 3G and WiMAX-based networks to consumers. The carrier noted …