Time Trippin’: New iPhone no-show at WWDC; Ericsson buys Telcordia … 3 years ago this week

Editor’s Note: The RCR Wireless News Time Machine is a way to take advantage of our extensive history in covering the wireless space to fire up the DeLorean and take a trip back in time to re-visit some of the more interesting headlines from this week in history. Enjoy the ride!
U.S. Cellular hones in on LTE launch plans, lays out year’s device plans
U.S. Cellular Corp.’s (USM) LTE plans continue to take shape as the regional operator said it plans to roll out its first LTE equipped device in November, presumably following the launch of its initial LTE services. The carrier announced last month that it planned to launch LTE services by the end of the year, with coverage across more than 25% of its current CDMA footprint. The initial launch would include 24 markets in parts of Iowa, Wisconsin, Maine, North Carolina, Texas and Oklahoma. Markets are to include Milwaukee, Madison and Racine, Wis.; Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and Davenport, Iowa; Portland and Bangor, Maine; and Greenville, N.C. … Read More
Sprint Nextel strikes pair of M2M deals, highlights ‘open’ strategy
Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) announced a series of M2M deals around payments, video surveillance, alarm monitoring and offered some updates on its push into tele-medicine. The Electronic Payment Exchange (EPX), a financial processing network, extended its partnership with the carrier to co-market services and extend its services to Sprint business customers over Sprint’s 3G network. EPX’s encryption technology and payments platform can be applied to mobile payment units, thereby eliminating the need to strike deals with multiple third parties in the payments chain. … Read More
Public-safety one step closer to getting D-Block spectrum
The Public Safety Spectrum and Wireless Innovation Act is headed toward the full Senate for confirmation, after clearing the committee by a 21-4 vote, one more step in getting a nationwide public-safety network. Key provisions of the bill direct the Federal Communications Commission to lease the public-safety spectrum on a secondary basis and to establish an incentive auction, where companies can be paid for relinquishing spectrum to the government. The bill encompasses most of the key components desired by the Obama Administration and the FCC. Along with allocating 10 megahertz of D-block spectrum to public safety, the bill would give an estimated $10 billion in surplus revenue from auctions to the treasury for debt reduction, as well as direct the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Standards and Technology to conduct research into transformative wireless technologies. … Read More
Verizon Wireless says it is not violating C-Block provisions: Free Press files complaint over tethering on LTE network
Free Press has filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission, charging that Verizon Wireless is abusing conditions of its 700 MHz spectrum by not allowing LTE devices to be used as wireless routers. Verizon is not amused, noting that Free Press is simply looking for free press, and did not comply with FCC rules in filing the complaint. At issue are the rules surrounding Verizon’s C-Block spectrum, which has an open-access provision. The FCC mandated the open-access provision at the time (2007) by saying market forces were inadequate in giving consumers greater choice and fostering innovation on handsets and applications. Cellular trade association CTIA sued over the provision, but later dropped the challenge. … Read More
Apple debuts iCloud and finally cuts the cord in iOS 5
For the first time since 2008, Apple Inc. (AAPL) declined to introduce a new iPhone today at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco. CEO Steve Jobs and his team of executives pulled few, if any, surprises on stage, however the software and services upgrades announced today are arguably the biggest leap forward for iOS as a whole since Apple launched the App Store and opened up its platform to third-party developers more than three years ago. While Apple’s series of announcements about iOS 5 and iCloud were significant, they’re also likely to receive a tempered reception because most of the news fell in line with rumors that were in heavy circulation leading up to today. … Read More
Nokia’s Elop defends tie-up with Microsoft
Until Nokia Corp. (NOK) releases some actual equipment running on Microsoft Corp.’s (MSFT) Windows Phone operating system, signaling a return to better days and some semblance of longevity in the smartphone space, the Finnish company is going to be on the defensive. President and CEO Stephen Elop has essentially been on the defensive ever since he announced plans to partner with Microsoft, and things were no different here at his keynote at Qualcomm Inc.’s (QCOM) Uplinq conference. As he took the stage, Elop noted how it “wasn’t long ago (Nokia and Qualcomm) were beating each others brains out in the court of law.” … Read More
Clearwire offloads additional customer care services, 700 employees to be transitioned
Clearwire Corp. (CLWR) said it plans to transition more of its customer care operations to current partner TeleTech Holdings Inc. that could impact approximately 700 employees. Clearwire noted that the expansion of its current agreement calls for TeleTech to take over management of Clearwire’s day-to-day customer care services. As part of this, Clearwire said approximately 700 employees in Las Vegas and Milton, Fla., will immediately transition to TeleTech, with Clearwire retaining approximately 180 employees between both locations. … Read More
LightSquared rumored to be in network talks with Sprint Nextel, AT&T
LightSquared continues to draw media attention with competing reports this week claiming the company is close to signing network deals with Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) and AT&T Mobility (T).
Bloomberg is reporting that LightSquared is in preliminary talks with AT&T Mobility to purchase capacity on the carrier’s soon-to-launch LTE network. The potential deal, which was attributed to two people with “knowledge” of the conversation, would call for LightSquared to purchase capacity on AT&T Mobility’s network to augment LightSquared’s own LTE network plans. Those plans, which are to include both a satellite and terrestrial component, have run into a bit of a snag due to potential interference issues with ground-based GPS equipment. … Read More
BlackBerry-maker RIM hits the skids, slashes jobs and guidance
Smartphone pioneer Research In Motion Ltd. (RIMM) could use some wind in its sails. Revenue is down 12% from the previous quarter, an unknown number of job cuts are planned throughout the company and its next set of BlackBerry devices are facing more delays. After the Waterloo, Canada-based company released another round of disappointing earnings and slashed its guidance, yet again, company stock took a beating. After closing the day at $35.33 with a market cap of $18.51 billion, shares immediately dropped more than 15% in after-hours trading and stock is currently down more than 21%. … Read More
Ericsson pays $1.15B for Telcordia in all-cash deal
Ericsson (ERIC) announced it plans to acquire privately held Telcordia for $1.15 billion in an all-cash transaction, strengthening Ericsson’s portfolio of operations support systems/business support systems. Telcordia’s 2,600 employees are expected to become Ericsson employees when the transaction closes sometime in the fourth quarter. Telcordia has had a strong presence as a legacy OSS provider to the regional Bell operating companies, but has been trying to move beyond that role, partnering with third parties to offer hosted managing solutions, service delivery, real-time charging, as well as software integration and network efficiency to service providers, enterprises and governments. … Read More
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