AT&T received government approval to acquire DirecTV for $48.5B, while Sprint stock plunged on competitive concerns … 1 year ago this week
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!
AT&T purchase of DirecTV garners FCC approval
AT&T finally received official approval from the Federal Communications Commission on its $48.5 billion acquisition of DirecTV, ending more than a year of consideration by the government regulator. In giving its official approval, the FCC stuck AT&T with a handful of conditions designed to “address potential harms presented by the combination of AT&T, one of the nation’s largest telephone and Internet service providers, and DirecTV, the nation’s largest satellite video provider. … Read More
T-Mobile US targets Apple with latest offers
T-Mobile US has targeted Apple iPhone users with what it said is the final move in its latest round of promotions. First, T-Mobile US is bolstering its recently launched iPhone 6 promotion by letting customers upgrade to Apple’s expected next model iteration for no charge by the end of the year. Customers taking the promotion will be able to lock in the same $15 per month price for the basic iPhone model as well as garner “priority” access to the next iPhone model if they place an order within the first 48 hours of availability when it’s unveiled. … Read More
Sprint stock plunges on competitive concerns, Fiat Chrysler hack link
Sprint continued to suffer a rough ride on Wall Street as the beleaguered telecom operator witnessed its stock price dip nearly 10% on Monday after having dropped nearly 11% last week. Sprint’s stock closed on Monday at a new 52-week low of $3.10 per share, dropping the company’s market capitalization to just over $12 billion. Japanese telecom giant Softbank, which controls around 80% of Sprint, in 2013 purchased a controlling stake in Sprint for $21.6 billion. The latest drop was in the shadows of relatively robust performances posted by rivals Verizon Wireless,AT&T Mobility and T-Mobile US, which have all reported at least partial second-quarter results. Sprint is scheduled to release its fiscal Q1 results on Aug. 4. … Read More
Sprint presses open Internet, wireless competition
Sprint, in a heated battle with AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile US and Verizon Wireless for market share, has been a strong advocate for competition in the domestic wireless space and, in a new blog post, details the importance of a truly open Internet. Chief Network Officer John Saw wrote that an open Internet is “vital, fostering competition and innovation throughout the wireless ecosystem. And Sprint is proud to play its part with a content-agnostic network that gives businesses and consumers access to the online content and services they want and need.” … Read More
Verizon explains rollout of small cells
Verizon Wireless said it negotiated the right to place small cells on 400 San Francisco light poles and utility poles by moving “the brains of the network” to remote locations. “What’s unique to this deployment for us is that it’s going be a C-RAN-type configuration,” said Jake Hamilton, engineering director for Verizon Wireless’ Northern California region. “Our baseband units, or the brains of our network, will be remotely housed in hub locations and we use dark fiber to connect out to the city … poles on the streets. That really allows us to minimize how much equipment we put on the poles, which was kind of a requirement from … the planning department.” … Read More
Motorola unveils new flagship smartphones
Motorola this week held simultaneous events in New York, London, Mexico City and Sao Paulo to unveil the latest flagship smartphones, the Moto X Style and Moto X Play. The Moto X Play will hit stores in August, although it won’t be available in the U.S., followed in September by the Moto X Style. … Read More
Google contract workers look to unionize
Google Express workers in the Bay Area are putting the wheels in motion to unionize. Labor organizers and the Teamsters Union are preparing to represent 140 low-wage warehouse workers employed by Adecco, a temp agency that provides delivery services for Google Express. “The reports we have received from workers at Google Express paint a bleak picture,” International VP and Local 853 principal officer Rome Aloise said. “It is surprising that Google, a company that prides itself on the treatment of its workforce, would allow this behavior to continue at Adecco.” … Read More
AT&T fighting $100M data throttling fine from FCC
AT&T Mobility is fighting a $100 million fine levied last month by federal regulators charging the carrier with throttling data speeds to unlimited data customers, according to a July 17 filing with the Federal Communications Commission. In June the FCC announced plans to fine AT&T Mobility $100 million for misleading customers about its unlimited data plan offering. Specifically, FCC investigators allege that AT&T “severely slowed down the data speeds for customers with unlimited data plans and that the company failed to adequately notify its customers that they could receive speeds slower than the normal network speeds AT&T advertised.” … Read More
SK Telecom, Ericsson look toward 5G network slicing
SK Telecom and Ericsson plan to tap virtualized network software to support “network slicing” technology in the core of the telecom operator’s “5G” network plans. The two firms said the memorandum of understanding covers work on network slicing as well as continued work on a joint 5G testbed. SK and Ericsson last year signed an agreement to conduct joint research on “5G-related technologies” geared toward demonstrating 5G services during the 2018 Winter Olympic Games scheduled to be held in Pyeongchang, South Korea. … Read More
Will Nokia return to smartphone market?
With building speculation, a Nokia spokesman addressed rumors about the Finnish networking gear – and former device – powerhouse returning to the lucrative smartphone market. Last year Nokia sold its smartphone market for $9.5 billion. Fast-forward to earlier this month; Microsoft cut nearly 8,000 former Nokia jobs. This move raised questions about Nokia’s future in the device space, which Nokia Technologies spokesman Robert Morlino addressed in a July 13 corporate blog post. … Read More
Check out RCR Wireless News’ Archives for more stories from the past.
