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 those sepia-tinted shades, set the date for #TBT and enjoy the memories!
Google, Verizon bet on the Droid smartphone and Android
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 Wirelesds’ 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
Disney.com takes content to iTunes
Disney.com scurried to the iTunes App Store with new content and applications specifically tailored to the Apple iPhone and iTouch. The company is just one of the latest large media brands to design applications specifically for the iPhone. CNN launched an iPhone app in late September priced at $2. The Disney app is designed to appeal to children and their families, featuring an array of characters, games, music and video, the company said. “The new Disney App will also offer innovative features including ‘Click2Life’ which allows iPhone users to take pictures of images from the online version of Disney.com with their device that will then come to life within the app and turn into a 3D image. Additionally, the Disney App will automatically discover other Disney apps and games available through the App Store, organizing all Disney-branded content within one destination on each device so users can easily access their favorite games and entertainment content.” The new Disney.com app is free, but also connects users to other Disney paid and free content on iTunes. Disney.com said it is the No. 1 mobile entertainment site. … Read more
DAS gains traction
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 cellsites 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. As a rule of thumb, it takes between three and five DAS nodes to equal the coverage carriers can get from one cellular macro site. DAS networks are generally more expensive to build than traditional cellular towers, said Gerard Ainsztein, senior VP of DAS Solutions at American Tower Corp., because they require more nodes to get the same amount of coverage. Plus, even though only a few utility poles hold DAS nodes, the tower company may have to run fiber through 10 times as many poles to reach the base station hub. … Read more
Taking stock of the Canadian telecom market
Often overlooked when discussing North American telecom markets, Canada is more than a smaller clone of its southern neighbor. Challenged by a land mass greater than the U.S., but with one-eighth the population, Canada’s wireless operators have still managed to cover more than 99% of the country’s population with wireless service and become a robust segment of the country’s economy. Canada’s wireless industry employs more than 25,000 employees, and according to the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association, generated more than $15.9 billion in revenues in 2008. Similar to the U.S. market, the Canadian wireless market is dominated by a handful of nationwide operators and further fleshed out with a smattering of regional players. The country’s nationwide players include Rogers Wireless, which operates a GSM-based network serving more than 8 million customers; Bell Wireless, which uses CDMA and beginning later this year HSPA technology to serve its 6.6 million customers; and Telus Mobility, which uses CDMA, iDEN and plans to roll out HSPA technology this year to serve its 6.3 million customers. Rogers garnered a significant boost in 2004 when it acquired upstart Microcell Telecommunications Inc. for $1.1 billion. … Read more
India set to start 3G auction
India said Saturday a long-delayed auction of radio bandwidth for third generation (3G) telecommunications services will start in January and will be open to foreign companies. The auction will start January 14, 2010 with bids to be submitted by December 21, the Department of Telecommunications said … Read more
MetroPCS launches ‘Flirtomatic’ app
MetroPCS Wireless Inc. is targeting the youth market with a new flirting application that has been pretty successful in the United Kingdom. “At its core, we’ve taken dating and reinvented it for a younger generation,” said Gary Cohen, VP and general manager of North America. This is Flirtomatic’s first partnership in the United States. Flirtomatic is a free service targeting people from 18 to 30 and will be available on the MetroPCS mobile Web portal. The service allows people to SMS other people who have signed up for the service, and also to send virtual gifts by purchasing FlirtPoints. “The core of the service is free. We charge for what I consider to be fun around the edges,” Cohen said. Flirtomatic counts 1.5 million registered users and is available in the U.K., Germany and Australia. Flirtomatic’s users log in about seven times a day and send about 30 messages a day. The company said it is the second most used mobile Web site by volume in the United Kingdom. Flirtomatic is seeing those U.K.-paying customers spend about $10 in average monthly revenue per unit, buying virtual gifts or to get alerts when a certain subscriber has entered the portal. … Read more
Clearwire plans WiMAX expansion
With LTE networks set for commercial launches in the coming months, Clearwire Corp. is ramping up the launches of its commercial mobile WiMAX services. Clearwire said it was set to launch its network in 11 new markets by the end of the year. The network expansion will serve both Clearwire’s Clear customers, Sprint Nextel Corp.’s 4G customers and in a limited number of markets Comcast Corp.’s High-Speed 2Go customers. The new markets serving all three companies will include Philadelphia, which is set to launch in the coming weeks, Chicago beginning in November and Seattle/Tacoma in December. Clearwire and Sprint Nextel will also begin offering service in Charlotte, Greensboro and Raleigh, N.C.; Austin, Dallas/Fort Worth and San Antonio, Texas in November; and Maui and Honolulu, Hawaii in December. Clearwire’s WiMAX network is on schedule to cover more than 30 million potential customers in 25 markets by the end of the year. … Read more
Check out the RCR Wireless News Archives for more stories from the past.
