AT&T announced plans to expand its public Wi-Fi service in NYC, while industry veteran Craig McCaw was set to resign from Clearwire … 6 years 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 Mobility expands Wi-Fi initiative
AT&T Mobility announced plans to expand its Wi-Fi “hotzones” offering in New York City as well as plans to move the program out west to San Francisco. Networks in both markets have been singled out by company executives as having the most trouble handling customer traffic. AT&T Mobility launched the Wi-Fi program earlier this year in a couple of markets – Times Square; downtown Charlotte, N.C.; and Chicago’s Wrigleyville – as a way to offload cellular traffic onto Wi-Fi networks in select, high-density locations. While the service is dependent on consumer knowledge of the offering as well as them then choosing to activate the Wi-Fi capabilities of their device, AT&T Mobility claims that more than 350,000 connections have been made at the three initial launch spots. The service is free to AT&T Mobility customers with qualifying wireless data, LaptopConnect and High Speed Internet plans. … Read More
McCaw to resign as chairman of Clearwire
Wireless industry pioneer Craig McCaw is set to resign his current position as chairman of the board of directors at Clearwire Corp. effective today, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing from the carrier. Clearwire noted that McCaw informed the company of his decision on Dec. 29 of his intentions. Looking to discourage anyone reading too much into the announcement, Clearwire noted in the filing that the move was “not due to any disagreements with the company on any matters relating to the company’s operations, policies, or practices.” … Read More
MHL Consortium aims to connect mobile devices, high-definition TVs
A new consortium is planning to connect high-definition TVs with mobile devices via a thin cable that will optimize audio and video collected on mobile devices to be viewed on TV displays and at the same time charge the mobile device. And while the mobile device is charging, the consumer can use the TV’s remote control to operate the smart phone, or the person can use the smart phone to work the remote control. The MHL Consortium (Mobile High-Definition Consortium) was formed in April and is supported by TV and mobile device manufacturers Nokia Corp., Sony Corp., Samsung Corp., Toshiba and silicon chip provider Silicon Image Inc. Along with the founders, a number of companies are adopting the standard. … Read More
Ruckus targets mobile operators with Wi-Fi solutions
Wi-Fi technology, which used to be the red-headed step child of wireless operators, is getting renewed interest from those operators as carriers look to offload traffic from their 3G networks onto Wi-Fi systems, a move welcome by Ruckus Wireless, a six-year-old private company that makes smart Wi-Fi solutions. The company, which counts $42 million in venture-capital funding from VC firms including Sequoia Capital, Sutter Hill, T-Ventures, WK Technology Fund, and Motorola Ventures, says it has built the largest Wi-Fi-based mesh network in the world, with India’s Tikona. The network is comprised of 40,000 indoor and outdoor nodes, serving residential and small business customers in 29 cities in the country, said Selina Lo, Ruckus CEO and president. Ruckus also outfitted Germany’s Hamburg Sports Club’s soccer arena with an 802.11n wireless LAN system, covering 57,000-plus seats. These types of deployments offer wireless operators new revenue opportunities, Lo said. … Read More
Clearwire expands WiMAX service to Bay Area
Clearwire Corp. made good on its promise to launch its WiMAX network in the San Francisco area before the end of the year by flipping the switch on the network and endowing more than four million people in the area with access to the mobile broadband offering. The company said the network covers San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose and the 680 corridor from Concord to Pleasanton. To promote its Clear-branded offering, Clearwire also said it would offer customers in the area a 50% discount on their service for the first two months and free overnight shipping and no activation fee if they sign up for service through the company’s website. … Read More
Alcatel-Lucent pays $137M to settle bribe accusations
Alcatel-Lucent has agreed to pay $137 million to put a series of criminal and civil investigations to rest. Earlier this week the vendor was charged with violating rules of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The Paris-based company is accused to paying bribes in Costa Rica, Taiwan and Kenya. As part of the settlement, three subsidiaries will also plead guilty to antibribery rules. Alcatel-Lucent will pay a $92 million criminal penalty and $45 million to settle civil charges brought on by the Securities and Exchange Commission. … Read More
Nokia Siemens’ Motorola acquisition pushed to early 2011
The closing of Nokia Siemens Networks pending $1.2 billion acquisition of Motorola Inc.’s public carrier wireless network infrastructure assets has been pushed back to the first quarter of next year due to still to be completed regulatory and antitrust clearance. NSN said the deal, which was originally announced in July and set to close by the end of this year, was still waiting for regulatory approval from Chinese authorities and antitrust clearance from the United States, European Union, Brazil, Japan, Russia, South Africa, Taiwan and Turkey. … Read More
Leap completes Denali acquisition
Leap Wireless International Inc.’s subsidiary Cricket Communications Inc. completed its acquisition of Denali Spectrum L.L.C., providing the carrier with “ownership and control” of Denali’s Chicago and southern Wisconsin markets. Leap had previously announced plans to acquire the 17.5% controlling interest in Denali it did not previously own from Denali Spectrum Manager L.L.C. The acquisition included approximately $53 in cash; a five-year, $45.5 million promissory note and Cricket agreeing to pay approximately $11 million to the Federal Communications Commission in “unjust enrichment payments.” … Read More
LTE to play key role in 2011 vendor outlook
Each and every jump from one network technology to another presents wireless infrastructure vendors with a chance for new business. And sure enough, changes are afoot in the infrastructure space again today as mobile operators make their climb to fourth-generation networks. While recent newcomers are making significant wins outside the United States, it’s mostly the incumbents that are winning the biggest network contracts here in a country that has arguably become the early leader in 4G technology deployments. … Read More
MetroPCS picks up remainder of Royal Street
Regional wireless provider MetroPCS Communications Inc. said it has closed on its acquisition of the remaining 15% and controlling “limited liability” interest in Royal Street Communications L.L.C. As a result of the acquisition, Royal has been renamed MetroPCS Networks L.L.C. and is now a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of MetroPCS. Financial terms of the deal were not released. … Read More
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