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 expands WiMAX offering, stock upgraded
Sprint Nextel Corp. expanded its mobile WiMAX service to San Antonio and Austin, Texas, marketed under the Sprint 4G brand. The service runs off of Clearwire Corp.’s network and provides network speeds up to 10 times faster than the carrier’s CDMA2000 1x EV-DO Revision A-based 3G network. Sprint Nextel earlier this year launched its 4G service in Dallas and Ft. Worth; Abilene; Amarillo; Corpus Christi; Killeen and Temple; Lubbock; Midland and Odessa; Waco; and Wichita Falls, Texas. The carrier now offers service in around 30 markets with plans to expand into Honolulu and Maui, Hawaii; Salem, Ore.; and Seattle later this year. Sprint Nextel last week invested more than $1.1 billion in Clearwire to help aid the company’s buildout plans through the end of 2010 that are expected to include coverage of approximately 120 million potential customers. … Read More
Clearwire gets more funding from Sprint, other investors: Meanwhile, Sprint announces more layoffs
Clearwire Corp. confirmed it would gain another $1.564 billion in funding from its existing partners to help it continue to build its nationwide WiMAX network. Sprint Nextel Corp., which owns 51% of Clearwire and is struggling with its 3G subscriber base, will contribute the most money, $1.176 billion. In a separate announcement, Sprint said it plans to lay off between 2,000 and 2,500 employees to save about $350 million a year. Other contributors are Comcast Corp., which said it will contribute $196 million; Time Warner Cable Inc., putting up $103 million; Intel Corp., offering $50 million; Eagle River Holdings L.L.C., contributing $20 million; and Bright House Networks L.L.C., which is giving $19 million. Clearwire said it will receive about $1 billion in the next few days, with another $440 million coming at closing of the deal, expected to happen by the end of the year. The remaining funds will be contributed in the first quarter of 2010. … Read More
Spectrum demand to hit “crisis” level by 2015
The wireless industry’s need for additional spectrum to support the growing demand of consumers is set to skyrocket, according to a recent report from investment firm Canaccord Adams entitled: “A bandwidth crisis on the horizon?” Citing a number of recent reports and wireless carrier comments, Canaccord Adams forecasts that the industry’s two largest operators, Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility, could require 720 megahertz and 640 megahertz of spectrum respectively by 2015. These operators currently control on average less than 80 megahertz of spectrum with little additional spectrum support expected in the near term. The claim is based on a report from Cisco Systems Inc. that said mobile data traffic in North America will double every year and reach 66 times the levels seen in 2008 by 2013, with a doubling in growth year-after-year into 2015. … Read More
Telecom sector employment flat, analyst says worst is over for mobile
As nationwide unemployment inched up to 10.2% in October, employment in the telecommunications sector remained flat from month to month, while employment in the computer and electronic products sector was down about 6,300 jobs from September to October. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the sectors hit hardest from September to October were construction, manufacturing and retail trade. “In October, the number of unemployed persons increased by 558,000 to 15.7 million. The unemployment rate rose by 0.4 percentage point to 10.2%, the highest rate since April 1983. Since the start of the recession in December 2007, the number of unemployed persons has risen by 8.2 million, and the unemployment rate has grown by 5.3 percentage points,” the bureau said. Healthcare continues to be a bright spot, actually adding 597,000 jobs since the start of the recession. … Read More
Big box stores ring up carrier deals: Retail outlets increase focus on mobile
Big box retailers have made comparing cellphone plans and pricing much quicker by putting most of the options under one roof. So the real question is who has what? Best Buy Co. Inc. sells more than 90 different handsets across nine prepaid/postpaid carriers through its rapidly expanding Best Buy Mobile operations. Wal-Mart has recently begun to hone in more closely on the wireless space, offering 60 different handsets. Target enlists a larger prepaid offering, and also sells some limited postpaid services as well. RadioShack Corp. famously ditched Verizon Wireless several years ago in favor of AT&T Mobility to complement its offerings from Sprint Nextel Corp. and a handful of prepaid providers. … Read More
North America becomes Ericsson’s largest sales region: And second-largest employment region
North America has become Ericsson’s largest sales region and its second-largest employment region with the just completed acquisition of Nortel Networks assets and the recent outsourcing win from Sprint Nextel Corp. Ericsson’s $1.13 billion purchase of bankrupt infrastructure vendor Nortel, which was finalized Nov. 13, includes substantially all of Nortel’s CDMA assets and certain LTE assets, as well as more than 2,500 Nortel employees. That, combined with the 6,000 employees Ericsson acquired as part of its network outsourcing deal with Sprint Nextel, gives the infrastructure giant about 14,000 employees and about 2,000 more contract employees in North America, said Angel Ruiz, head of Ericsson’s North American operations. … Read More
Android 2.0 healthy competition for Apple
Google Inc.’s Android operating system, already out in its second version, is likely to take market share from its competitors, but not likely to impact Apple Inc.’s proprietary OS, upon which the popular iPhone runs. Verizon Wireless and Google formally announced the Droid smartphone from Motorola Inc. yesterday, and all three companies are betting heavily on the new device. Verizon Wireless and Google in October said they had a joint effort to exploit the power of the Android platform on Verizon Wireless’ 3G network, and would put significant marketing and technical muscle behind the initiative. The early fruits of that effort can be seen already as the Droid smartphone is receiving praise from a lot of analysts, and a massive marketing campaign is on display as the companies prepare to launch the device Nov. 6. … Read more
Moto’s Droid on sale at Verizon starting Nov. 6
Verizon Wireless and Motorola Inc. officially unveiled the Droid today, announcing the device will be available Nov. 6. The smartphone, Verizon Wireless’ first product using Google Inc.’s Android operating platform, has been advertised heavily recently in a somewhat stealth “iDon’t” campaign. The partnership between Verizon, Google and Motorola is challenging AT&T Mobility’s exclusive partnership with Apple Inc.’s iPhone, which has been wildly successful, contributing heavily to AT&T’s third-quarter record subscriber gains. The handset costs $200 after a $100 mail-in rebate with a new, two-year contract. It generally has been well received by the analyst community. A Boy Genius Report posted Oct. 19 praises the Android-based device. … Read More
DAS networks gain traction among carriers
Distributed antenna systems are gaining traction as an alternative way for service providers to fill in coverage or add more capacity to the wireless network when macro cell sites are not an option, as well as a way for smaller carriers trying to get to market quickly. However, these small antennas that usually sit on top of utility poles face their own challenges in an unsettled regulatory environment. Outdoor DAS networks generally employ a group of smaller, line-of-sight antennas deployed on existing utility poles, which are at a lower height than traditional cell towers, and are connected through fiber at the pole that connects to a transceiver base station hub. The RF signal is transformed to an optical signal as it runs through the fiber to the hub, where it is again converted to an RF signal. … Read More
Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel set for new smartphone launches: Storm 2, Pixi receive debut dates
With the holiday shopping season fast approaching, Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel Corp. announced additions to their handset portfolios. The new CDMA-based smartphones follow recent launches from their GSM-based counterparts AT&T Mobility and T-Mobile USA Inc. highlighting the increasing emphasis carriers and device manufacturers are placing on the growing space. … Read More
Check out RCR Wireless News’ Archives for more stories from the past.
