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!
T-Mo, MetroPCS in merger talks
Deutsche Telekom says it is in talks to merge its T-Mobile USA unit with regional carrier MetroPCS (PCS). MetroPCS, based near Dallas, has about 9.3 million subscribers nationwide, so the deal would increase T-Mobile USA’s subscriber base by about 28%. It would also give the nation’s fourth-largest carrier an LTE network. T-Mobile USA has not yet begun to roll out LTE, but last week the company announced a deal to raise $2.4 billion for network upgrades and debt retirement by leasing towers to Crown Castle. The company is also sitting on $3 billion in cash that it won as a breakup fee after the Justice Department denied its attempt to merge with AT&T. … Read more
Will Google surpasses Microsoft?
A milestone for financial markets: at the close of trading in New York on Monday, Google (GOOG) was the world’s second-largest technology company based on its market capitalization, temporarily stealing that honor from Microsoft (MSFT). Both companies are worth just under $250 billion, although Microsoft remains the bigger company by revenue (Microsoft had about $18 billion in revenue last quarter, Google $12 billion). Of course both companies are still behind Apple, which booked $35 billion in revenue last quarter and is currently valued at almost $620 billion. (Market value is determined by multiplying a company’s stock price by the number of shares it has outstanding.) Google’s rise not only consolidates the ascension of the Internet, it also highlights a new era in which the dominance of the PC industry is threatened by mobile devices and web-based applications. … Read more
LightSquared continues to pursue LTE network dreams
LightSquared is not giving up on its dream of launching a nationwide LTE network. The company is now asking the Federal Communications Commission to let it share some of the spectrum that the federal government uses for weather balloons. The satellite operator has already won approval to build an LTE network, but still needs to secure spectrum. Earlier this year, LightSquared tested its service using the spectrum it has already licensed, and the FCC said it was interfering with GPS signals. The government banned LightSquared from moving forward with its spectrum, and the company filed for bankruptcy protection.Mobile network operators who had hoped to buy LightSquared’s wholesale LTE service have turned elsewhere; this week FreedomPop launched its free mobile broadband service on Clearwire’s network after abandoning plans to work with LightSquared. But LightSquared is determined to find a way to launch its network. … Read more
FreedomPop launches WiMAX service on Clearwire’s network
FreedomPop has launched the public beta version of its free mobile broadband service on Clearwire’s WiMAX network. While there is no charge for the wireless access, customers will have to invest in accessories in order to get the service. FreedomPop will be selling iPhone 4/4S and iPod sleeves that will enable those devices to connect to the network, as well as a USB modem for portable computers and a hotspot for other mobile devices. The pre-order page for these accessories is not yet live, and the company says the iPhone sleeves will not be available for another 4-6 weeks. Once they get their accessories, beta users will be able to log onto the free mobile broadband service wherever Clearwire’s network is available. Customers in the Boston-Washington corridor and in northern Florida should have pretty good luck; coverage in other parts of the U.S. is spottier. … Read more
US government warns against use of Huawei, ZTE equipment
Doing business with one of the world’s largest telecom equipment vendors is about to get a little trickier. Today Congress released a report that warns U.S. companies they could jeopardize American security by working with China-based Huawei. Last night CBS’s 60 Minutes aired a scathing story on the Chinese conglomerate, focusing on the company’s alleged intellectual property theft and its close relationship with the Chinese government. Today’s report comes after the House Intelligence Committee capped off a year-long investigation by questioning senior executives from both Huawei and ZTE in public hearings on Capitol Hill. Members of Congress asked both companies how they would respond if the Chinese government told them to use their networks to intercept American communications. Speaking through interpreters, the executives from both companies said that they would refuse to compromise their networks in this way. But members of the House Intelligence Committee believe that if the Chinese government actually asked Huawei for information, the company would have to comply. Their belief is echoed by Jim Lewis, a former State Department official who spoke to CBS’s Steve Kroft for last night’s 60 Minutes report. “In China a company is a chia pet,” he said. “The state tells them what to do and they do it.” In response to the Congressional investigation, both ZTE and Huawei have reportedly issued statements to China’s Caixin Newsletter. ZTE said that any further investigation would prove ZTE is a “law-abiding company and a trustworthy business partner to its American clients.” Huawei reportedly said it would welcome further investigation as long as it was “public and justified.” … Read more
Dish ponders carrier partnerships
Orlando, Fla. – Dish Networks’ plans for the cellular space continued to solidify this week as company co-founder and chairman Charlie Ergen spoke during a keynote session at the PCIA Wireless Infrastructure Show. Those plans are likely to involve a partnership with an established carrier that to this point has been hindered by an inability to receive full government approval for access and use of its 2 GHz spectrum holdings. Dish’s partnership possibilities took a bit of a hit this week as T-Mobile USA announced a merger of sorts with MetroPCS, which solidifies each operator’s spectrum position for at least the short term. Dish had been reportedly talking with T-Mobile USA about a spectrum sharing deal. Ergen noted that while the deal did curtail some of its options, Dish still had a number of other strategies on the table. “We wish we had access to our spectrum before this had happened,” Ergen noted, citing both the T-Mobile USA/MetroPCS deals as well as Verizon Wireless’ recent purchase of 1.7/2.1 GHz spectrum from a handful of cable operators. Ergan added that while the company’s 40 megahertz of spectrum in the 2 GHz band along with a handful of megahertz in the 700 MHz band were a good starting point for services, he thought in the long run that Dish would need access to more spectrum. He had cited the fact that many large operators had access to more than 100 megahertz of spectrum in some markets. … Read more
Backhaul issues are front and center
The evolution from 3G to LTE networks challenges wireless telecom operators as it represents changes such as moving to all IP traffic and a direct communication from the eNodeB to EPC, having no distributed controller in aggregation as with 2G or 3G networks. In addition, carriers have specific areas to consider such as bandwidth, security, delay and sync. “They all have to address these needs in a very efficient way. Otherwise, carriers won’t achieve expected results from LTE,” said Alberto Barriento, VP for Latin America and the Caribbean at Tellabs, during a press conference held in São Paulo and ahead of next week’s Futurecom event (read more stories). During the meeting, Barriento emphasized operators’ backhaul challenges. Those include having to continue supporting 2G networks across Latin America, the continued growth of 3G and, when deploying LTE, carriers will need more traffic and network capacity. “2G, 3G and LTE networks will coexist, so mobile backhaul needs to support all of them at the same time,” Barriento said. This has been a topic on Tellabs’ agenda for the past several years. The company claims carriers need to rely on a more optimized and intelligent network in order to reduce complexity and improve customers’ experience. “Carriers need a single mobile backhaul solution that addresses 2G, 3G and LTE at the same time,” Barriento pointed out. … Read more
Check out the RCR Wireless News Archives for more stories from the past.
