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!
Apple buys Beats
While Google and Samsung have been busy looking for breakthrough wearable technology, Apple has been listening for it. Yesterday the company confirmed that it will buy Beats Electronics and Beats Music for $3 billion. Beats Electronics is the maker of the iconic headphones, while Beats Music is the streaming music service that is familiar to most AT&T Wireless customers thanks to a co-marketing deal between the two companies. “Apple’s Beats acquisition is no doubt largely because of the hardware business rather than the fledgling music service,” said Strategy Analytics’ David MacQueen. The Beats hardware gives Apple an entry into a market that may explode under its direction, much as the mobile phone market did. Ever since the launch of the first Macintosh 30 years ago, Apple has been making computing more and more personal. The move into headphones should be the next step. Headphones can be even more closely connected to us than smartphones, and they can also be connected to wireless networks. Coupled with Apple’s Siri for voice control, headphones could eventually replace the handset as the device of choice for voice calls. Headphones also offer Apple the chance to create a wearable device that will deliver contextual information in real time. Wearables that rely on a user’s vision can create a virtual reality that competes with actual reality, but audio input may be easier for many people to process without alienating those around them. … Read more
Ericsson builds a Silicon Valley campus
In wireless infrastructure company news this week, Ericsson is building a major Bay Area campus, and Dragonwave and Allot both announced new contracts. Ericsson’s Silicon Valley campus will include 400,000 square feet of operational space in two buildings at a new development called Santa Clara Square. Roughly 2,000 Ericsson staff will be dedicated to research and development in IP, TV and media, software-defined networking, network function virtualization and mobile innovation. “Our company has a growing need for software engineers and employees with a technology savvy skill set who can partner, create, learn, sustain and innovate; helping us move toward what Ericsson calls the ‘networked society,’” said Ericsson SVP Bina Chaurasia, chief human resources officer and head of group function human resources. Chaurasia will relocate to the Bay Area in the near future. Ericsson joins other wireless infrastructure companies, including Nokia and Samsung, in efforts to tap Silicon Valley’s software talent base. … Read more
Rumors: Softbank will buy T-Mo to combine with Sprint
Sprint’s pursuit of rival T-Mobile US appears to be moving forward unabated as reports have surfaced that Deutsche Telekom has accepted an offer by Softbank for their respective subsidiaries to merge. Reuters reported that Japan’s Kyodo news service, citing industry sources, claims Softbank Chairman Masayoshi Son proposed terms at a meeting with DT management earlier this month, which has since been accepted by the German telecom giant. Financial terms were not reported. DT currently owns a controlling stake in T-Mobile US, which was diluted last year following T-Mobile US’ acquisition of MetroPCS. DT had for years cited its U.S. operations as core to its international business, but has since wavered a bit on that support. T-Mobile US has become the leadership of charismatic CEO John Legere. Son’s Softbank acquired control of Sprint last summer, with Son in recent months aggressively lobbying for an acquisition of T-Mobile US in order to gain greater scale in competing against larger rivals Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility. Sprint has struggled operationally over the past several years as it undergoes its Network Vision program that will see the carrier streamline network operations, but has also caused service disruptions. A combined Sprint/T-Mobile US, which has been rumored for years, would nearly match the more than 100 million customers currently served by both Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility, with Son claiming once he has the scale, he would unleash a pricing war on the market. … Read more
Network decommissioning and M2M
The wireless industry is quickly heading towards relying on LTE-based next-generation networks that offer superior performance and efficiency compared to legacy 2G and 3G systems. However, in order to fully support those LTE efforts, wireless carriers are beginning to seed the need to turn down their legacy networks in order to free up precious spectrum resources in order to fortify their LTE networks. These network decommissioning efforts have already begun with some carriers and are beginning to pick up momentum at others. One market segment set to be significantly impacted by network decommissioning efforts is the machine-to-machine space, which has come to depend heavily on the coverage and predictability of 2G and 3G services. This space has seen increased attention as of late due to the growing push behind the “Internet of things” heading that will see a growing number of electronic devices connect to the Internet using wireless technology.
A recent report from Infonetics Research noted that the M2M segment has become a fast-growing revenue driver for wireless carriers, thus the need to make sure that those customers are not left behind. In 2013, Infonetics found that the global M2M module market totaled $1.4 billion in sales, up 6% from the previous year. More importantly for decommissioning plans, 2G modules continued to account for a majority of units shipped, though the firm expects 3G module shipments to account for 67% of module revenues by 2018. “The services built upon mobile [M2M] modules, such as fleet management and connected car, are already a sizeable business and are growing much faster than traditional business lines,” explained Godfrey Chua, directing analyst for M2M at Infonetics. … Read more
ALU evolves as LGS Innovations
Former Alcatel-Lucent subsidiary LGS Innovations is in its early days of new ownership, and CEO Kevin Kelly is ready to expand the company’s reach. LGS, headquartered in northern Virginia, was formed during the Alcatel and Lucent merger to serve the telcom needs of the U.S. federal government. The company focuses on secure communications and networking, as well as research and development in photonics, remote sensing, microtechnology and cybersecurity. But LGS faced some restrictions due to limits on foreign ownership and investment, as well as not conflicting with business operations of its parent company. With the recent sale of LGS to investor groups Madison Dearborn Partners and CoVant for $200 million, the company now has domestic ownership and a free hand to enter new markets. “I think this is a liberating event,” said Kevin Kelly, CEO of LGS Innovations. “We have brand new fields in play that are now open to us.” LGS continues to have a tight relationship with Alcatel-Lucent. It remains the exclusive reseller of ALU products and services to the federal government, and to resellers for whom the federal government is the end customer. “The relationship with ALU has been wholly beneficial to our company. They’ve been a longtime supporter of our mission, and frankly, an investor and a very friendly owner of the business,” Kelly said. “At the same time, being a subsidiary of theirs, we had certain restrictions that were basic business rules and charter agreements that kept us out of each others’ way.” That included Alcatel-Lucent addressing states and local jurisdictions while LGS exclusively served the federal government. … Read more
HP cuts jobs as it focuses on software
HP will cut more jobs as it works to turn its hardware businesses around and grow its software business. 11,000 to 16,000 more jobs will be eliminated, on top of the 34,000 already announced. HP employs between 250,000 and 300,000 people worldwide.
Employees in HP’s server, storage, PC and software divisions may all be candidates for cuts, but CEO Meg Whitman said that research jobs will not be eliminated. The company continues to increase its R&D spending. Yesterday HP reported quarterly revenue of $27.3 billion, down 1% from the year ago quarter. Revenue rose for the PC and printer group, which accounted for about half of HP’s first quarter sales. But the enterprise and enterprise services groups saw revenue decline slightly. The software group had less than $1 billion in quarterly sales, which were basically flat from the year-ago quarter. Net earnings were up 18%, a sign that Whitman’s cost cuts are having an impact. Mobile operators buy HP servers and blades for use in data centers, and the company is working hard to develop compelling software solutions for service providers. Its platform focuses on making an operator’s network accessible to third-party application developers through the use of Java APIs. Earlier this month HP announced a bold initiative to invest in OpenStack software, which has the potential to supplant both its servers and its proprietary software. … Read more
Check out the RCR Wireless News Archives for more stories from the past.
