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!
Sprint Nextel begins selling HTC Evo, a 4G handset first
Sprint Nextel Corp.’s HTC Evo 4G handset went on sale today, accompanied by an advertising campaign that focuses on “first” inventions, starting with the wheel and including gramophones, trains, planes, rocketships, TVs, laptops and of course, cellphones. The dual-mode smartphone, built by HTC Corp., works on partner Clearwire Corp.’s WiMAX network where coverage is available and drops down to Sprint’s CDMA EV-DO network when coverage is not available. Since Clearwire, Sprint and the cable companies formed their partnership and began rolling out standardized WiMAX technology, the companies selling the service have been touting it as a mobile DSL replacement. However, Sprint has been advertising the Evo under its “What can you do with 4G?” marketing campaign in anticipation of the Evo launch. WiMAX coverage is available in 34 markets. … Read More
Sprint Nextel backs off original Evo 4G sales claims
Sprint Nextel Corp. yesterday backed off previous claims that sales of the HTC Corp. Evo 4G device on its launch day of June 4 were three times higher than the combined sales of the carrier’s previous best sellers, the Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. Instinct and Palm Inc. Pre, over their first three days. The carrier said it erred in that comparison and that in fact launch day sales of the Evo 4G were six times higher than launch day sales for the Instinct and nearly twice the launch day sales of the Pre. In effect launch day sales for the new device were in line with combined sales of the other two devices over their first three days on the market. … Read More
Apple holds firm to leader status with iPhone 4
Although millions of fanboys and industry watchers have already seen what turned out to be the new iPhone 4 today, Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs still had a few surprises up his sleeve to share during his keynote at the company’s annual developer gathering. If there is any less excitement or anticipation for Apple’s game-changing mobile device, that sure wasn’t apparent this morning. Lines began forming around the building at 6 a.m. this morning and when the gates to the main hall were finally raised for Jobs’ keynote there was a mad dash for seats (press included). The whole experience felt very rock concert in typical Apple fashion. Jobs commands a crowd like no other executive in technology (or any other industry for that matter). But he can always be faulted for burying the lead. He kicked the event off with a series of updates to the iPad and some recent statistics from the App Store.
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Amid FCC survey on broadband speeds, associations quick to point out satisfaction statistic
The Federal Communications Commission is attempting to educate consumers about broadband speeds, and at the same time, is seeking comment on how mobile broadband speeds should be measured. Broadband access, including mobile broadband connections, are coming under increased scrutiny in Congress and at the FCC as data connectivity continues to grow and voice penetration rates near saturation. The agency yesterday issued a press release titled, “FCC survey finds 4 out of 5 Americans don’t know their broadband speeds,” but the survey also found that 91% of people surveyed were either very or somewhat satisfied with their broadband connections at home and 71% are satisfied with their mobile broadband speeds. … Read More
AT&T Mobility adjusts smartphone data caps, prices
AT&T Mobility this morning made a bold step in announcing plans for reducing the data usage cap and price on its mandatory smartphone data packages. The carrier said it will now offer two “options” for smartphone customers that include a 2 gigabyte monthly cap for $25 or a 200 megabyte option for $15. The carrier previously required smartphone users to pay $30 per month for unlimited data access. In addition to smartphone packages, AT&T Mobility is now replacing the $30 per month “unlimited” offering for Apple Inc.’s iPad 3G with the new 2 GB package. The carrier did say that the new packages only pertain to new customers, though existing customers can switch to the new offerings without extending their current contracts. … Read More
Indian CDMA lobby supports snubbed Chinese operators
The Indian CDMA lobby, Association of Unified Telecom Service Providers of India, has come out in support of Chinese vendors Huawei and ZTE in the wake of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India decision not to include them in 2G spectrum meetings. TRAI was supposed to have called the Chinese vendors for a meeting scheduled for June 5 to discuss issues pertaining to the recently held 2G spectrum pricing and allocation, but did not. Companies like Ericsson, NSN, Qualcomm and even academics from premier technology schools had been invited by TRAI. … Read More
Telecom sector down 47,800 jobs from one year ago
The telecommunications sector had 4,600 fewer jobs in May than in April, employing 929,500 positions in May. However, the year-over-year employment figures show a loss of 47,800 jobs since May 2009 – a nearly 4.9% increase, according to new U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Drilling down a little further, it appears that most of those job losses occurred in the wireline segment. From April 2009 to April 2010, 60,000 jobs were lost in the wireline category. (Those statistics lag a month behind the overall category segment so April statistics are the most recent available. Also, the figures are not seasonally adjusted.) In the wireless subsector, 200 jobs were lost from April 2009 to April 2010. The wireless sector accounted for 194,200 jobs in April 2010. … Read More
LTE on track for 22 deployments by year-end, 45 by 2012
The Global mobile Suppliers Association said that it expects 22 LTE networks to be up and running by the end of this year with an additional 23 networks operational by the end of 2012. The GSA added that 80 operators have made “firm commitments to deploy LTE networks in 33 countries,” an increase from 64 network commitments two months ago, and that 110 operators in 48 countries are “currently investing in LTE networks.” Spurring the deployment plans were the recently completed spectrum auctions in Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands. Spectrum being looked at for LTE deployments around the world include 700 MHz in the Americas, and 800 MHz, 1.8 GHz and 2.6 GHz in Europe. … Read More
Leap cautious on LTE
Leap Wireless International Inc. has plans, and a small test in place, for LTE service, but the carrier is looking to take a steady approach to rolling out the technology that could help the carrier reduce the cost of deployment in the long run. Speaking at the Sanford C. Bernstein Strategic Decision Conference this week, Leap’s president and CEO Doug Hutcheson said the carrier has started to put some pieces on place for an eventual LTE rollout. Those pieces include overlaying some of its current markets with 10 megahertz of clean spectrum needed to deploy an LTE network, which Leap expects will be enough to support services for the next decade. Hutcheson also said the carrier is running a “small 4G “ network in one of its markets and expects to have a trial network in one of its markets later this year. … Read More
T-Mobile USA clarifies data pricing, prepares for new devices
Lost in the shuffle of AT&T Mobility’s announcement this week that it was now limiting previous smartphone data plans to 2 gigabytes of data transmission were changes rival T-Mobile USA Inc. quietly made to its data packages last weekend. The nation’s No. 4 carrier equalized what it charges for its WebConnect wireless data offering across its Even More and Even More Plus rate plans. The service is now $40 per month for 5 GB or $25 for 200 megabytes of data transmission on both plans. Both plans include unlimited access to the carrier’s Wi-Fi service. … Read More
Check out RCR Wireless News’ Archives for more stories from the past.
