Editor’s Note: Wireless operators are a busy bunch, and as such RCR Wireless News will attempt to gather some of the important announcements that may slip through the cracks from the world’s largest carriers in a weekly wrap-up. Enjoy!
–SK Telecom unveiled recipricol LTE data roaming services with Japan’s Softbank, allowing customers to roam on SK Telecom’s LTE-Advanced network in South Korea and Softbank’s LTE network in Japan.
To take advantage of the roaming possibilities from this deal SK Telecom customers will need devices that support the 1.8 GHz or 2.1 GHz band used by Softbank in Japan, while Softbank customers will need a device compatible with both LTE-A and SK Telecom’s 1.8 GHz spectrum band.
SK Telecom also announced it had “achieved interworking of 1.8 GHz FD-LTE and 2.6 GHz TD-LTE trial networks” in Saudi Arabia with Mobily. The carrier noted that the work is expected to soon lead to the launch of an “international auto roaming service that operates on two different standards (FD-LTE and TD-LTE) of LTE technology.”
–Leap Wireless’ Cricket brand bolstered its unlimited international long distance service that now allows its domestic customers to make unlimited calls to Mexico. The enhancement joins its previously offered unlimited international long distance service that included calls to landline phones in more than 90 countries and unlimited international messaging. The feature runs $20 per month on top of Leap’s current flat-rate, unlimited service offerings.
Leap is currently in the process of being acquired by AT&T.
–Regional telecommunications provider Atlantic Tele-Network, which operates wireless services under the Alltel brand, announced a quarterly dividend of 27 cents per share to be payable on Oct. 7 to all common shareholders as of Sept. 30. The company noted the move was the fifteenth consecutive increase in its dividend payment, with the latest an 8% increase over the previous quarter.
ATN is in the process of selling its wireless operations to AT&T for $780 million, though the Federal Communications Commission late last month stopped the clock on its review of the transaction pending the filing of more information about how AT&T plans to transition these customers from Alltel’s CDMA network to AT&T’s GSM/LTE network.
Additional carrier news can be found on the RCR Wireless News “Carriers” page.
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