Editor’s Note: RCR Wireless News goes all in for “Throwback Thursdays,” tapping into our archives to resuscitate the top headlines from the past. Fire up the time machine, put on the sepia-tinted shades, set the date for #TBT and enjoy the memories!
MWC 2012: Nokia Siemens focused on North American growth
Nokia Siemens Networks is looking to increase its presence in the North American wireless market, despite its current worldwide position as the No. 2 supplier of infrastructure equipment. The company, which missed out on a number of large-scale LTE network deployments currently being undertaken by Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility, has managed to nab some deals in Canada and sees continued evolution to the mobile broadband standard and rush to deploy smaller cells as a way to garner a broader foothold. During a question and answer session at this week’s Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona, Spain, NSN President of North America, Ricky Corker, explained that the company has placed a strong emphasis on regaining its place in the North American market, which it explained was necessary to show its leadership position in the mobile broadband space. … Read More
MWC 2012: Emerging markets scream for affordable smartphones
Emerging markets and the carriers that serve those areas took center stage, literally, during day two of this week’s Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona, Spain, as leaders from India’s Bharti Airtel, Telefonica’s Latin American operations and VimpelCom talked about the challenges and opportunities present in their respective markets during a keynote address. The three leaders included Sunil Mittal, chairman and managing director at Bharti Airtel; Santiago Fernandez Valbuena, chairman and CEO of Telefonica Latin America; VimpelCom CEO Jo Lunder. While all three provided insight into various emerging markets with minimal overlap, all seemed to indicate that while growth in those markets appears limitless, economic challenges remain. … Read More
MWC 2012: Smartphones from HTC, Sony and Samsung focus on media
More and more smartphone owners are using their devices as entertainment systems and cameras, and at Mobile World Congress it is clear that smartphone makers get the picture. HTC Corp. is unveiling three new Android 4.0 phones, all of which feature its proprietary ImageChip for photos and Beats Audio as a universal feature. Sony’s newest offerings, the Xperia P and Xperia U, both allow users to access the camera directly from sleep mode with one touch, and offer direct access to Sony’s vast library of music and movies. And Samsung says its newest phone, the Galaxy Beam, can display an image onto a screen up to 50 inches wide with its built-in projector. … Read More
Reaction rolls in to reported Sprint Nextel/MetroPCS deal
Recent press reports that Sprint Nextel’s board prevented a potential acquisition of rival MetroPCS garnered headlines over the weekend and reaction from the analyst community early this week. Reports suggested that the proposed deal, that was reportedly spearheaded by Sprint Nextel CEO Dan Hesse and valued at around $8 billion, appeared set to move forward before a last-minute balk by the carrier’s board of directors. Many noted that the deal made sense for Sprint Nextel in that it would have removed a no-contract provider from the mix, supplied some additional spectrum assets along with compatible network technology and that MetroPCS had a relatively unleveraged balance sheet seen as important considering Sprint Nextel’s current financial concerns. Wells Fargo Securities noted that MetroPCS’ leverage ratio at the end of 2011 was 1.9x, versus 4.5x at Leap Wireless. … Read More
Ahuja steps down as LightSquared CEO
LightSquared’s convoluted path continued to twist today as the company announced its CEO Sanjiv Ahuja was leaving stepping down from that position, though was continuing as chairman of the board. Current chief network operator Doug Smith and CFO Marc Montagner were tapped to be interim co-CEOs while the company looks to find a new leader. LightSquared also announced that chief financial backer Philip Falcone has been appointed to the company’s board. Ahuja took the stage at the CTIA show last year to tout LightSquared’s plans for launching a wholesale LTE network, noting the carrier would likely need $14 billion in funding through the end of the decade. … Read More
LightSquared continues satellite support; Sprint Nextel deal reportedly dead
Perhaps looking for at least some bit of positive news, LightSquared reported that its satellite operations will remain intact despite the dim prospects that it will be bolstered with a terrestrial-based component. LightSquared said that it has extended the “emulation” phase of its current voice and mobile data services that run through its SkyTerra-1 satellite network through the end of 2015, with plans to evaluate an extension of those services as it works on plans for “next generation satellite services.” The Boeing-made SkyTerra-1 satellite was launched in late 2010 from Kazakhstan’s Baikonur Cosmodrome, and suffered an initial glitch in one of its antennas that was quickly remedied. … Read More
AT&T Mobility selects 3 GB as new throttle limit
AT&T Mobility continued its attempts to explain its limiting of network speeds for customers on unlimited data plans noting that it will now limit speeds to those customers once they exceed 3 gigabytes of data transmission in a single billing cycle. This supersedes is previous policy that called for throttling of the top 5% of data users, which in some reported cases seemed to kick in at around 2 GB of data transmission. AT&T Mobility’s new policy aligns with the carrier’s current capped data package that provides customers with 3 GB of data transmission per billing cycle for $30 that is the same amount legacy unlimited customers are paying. The carrier also offers a $50 per month plan that includes 5 GB of data transmission, with capped plans charging $10 extra per gigabyte of overage. … Read More
Sprint brings free TV to iPhone
Sprint Nextel has launched its Sprint TV App in the iOS app store, enabling millions of iPhone owners to watch free TV on their phones. Powered by MobiTV, the Sprint TV App will be free with Sprint’s unlimited data plans. Free channels will include the three major broadcast networks as well as ESPN, Disney, and The Weather Channel. For $10 a month, customers can add FOX News, MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and ABC Family. Free TV has been available for Android devices for some time, but so far no major carrier has offered an app that consolidates mainstream television offerings. Hulu Plus offers a wider variety of content for mobile devices, but charges $8 a month. … Read More
Apple unveils New iPad, literally
Apple (AAPL) finally set the record straight on its latest iPad device, with a majority of pre-launch predictions falling flat as usual. The new model, dubbed the “New iPad,” will begin shipping on March 16. Apple’s new tablet device will look very similar on the outside to the current iPad 2 and its predecessor iPad. The device will continue with a 9.7-inch screen and a near identical footprint that is just a touch thicker and a hair heavier. All that talk of different sizes did not come to pass, perhaps a sign of good news for consumers with current devices covered with their favorite cases. Once beyond the physical shape of the device, Apple upgraded just about every aspect of the tablet. … Read More
Samsung and Android maintain solid lead in smartphone market
Almost one in three Americans now uses a smartphone, and 3 out of 4 have at least one mobile device. According to ComScore’s quarterly report on the mobile phone industry, Samsung remains the top handset manufacturer with 25.4% of the market, followed by LG with 19.7% and Motorola with 13.2%. The iPhone 4S helped Apple increase its market share to 12.8% for the three months ended in January, up from 10.8% for the previous three months. LG and Motorola both saw market share declines during the same period. Despite market share losses for some Android phones, Google’s operating system remains the top smartphone platform – its market share increased from 46.3% to 48.6%. Google apparently believes that Android is now well enough established to forego its own storefront for apps — yesterday the search engine giant merged its Android Marketplace into Google Play, a new marketplace that offers music, books and movies as well as Android apps. … Read More
Check out RCR Wireless News’ Archives for more stories from the past.
