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Small cells: 4 reasons the outlook is changing

Small cells have been "set to take off" for several years, but many projects and deployments remain grounded. Now as carriers start to explore voice over Wi-Fi, some are wondering if small cells will ever come into their own. Key decision-makers within carrier and...

Ahead of Super Bowl, Wi-Fi upgrades for Houston

But who will pay for upgrades, which include better Wi-Fi for luxury boxes? Houston, Texas, is poised to host the Super Bowl in 2017 but, in the meantime, the NFL and local officials are trying to figure out who will foot the bill for upgrades...

Planes could be vulnerable to cyber attack via Wi-Fi

In-flight Wi-Fi could potentially open up avionics controls to hackers The U.S. Government Accountability Office on April 14 released a report detailing the potential for in-flight Wi-Fi networks to be compromised by cyber attacks. In the 56-page report, the GAO found that connectivity associated with modern...

LatAm: Brazil telco revenue tops $77B; Chile Internet access grows

The Brazilian telco market had total revenue of $77.24 billion in 2014, an equivalent of 4.2% of the country's GDP. All together, telco operators invested $9.57 billion last year; if the acquisition of spectrum licenses is concluded, the total rises to $11.42 billion. The country ended 2014...

Cell tower removed over health concerns

Thai villagers to force True Corp. to take down tower Residents of Khiriwong, a subdistrict of Krabi in Thailand, voted in an April 10 referendum to require True Corp. to remove an area cell tower due to fears of radiation. A report in the Bangkok Post also notes...

Paying for Wi-Fi: Airlines, banks and advertisers open their checkbooks

Wi-Fi this week Wi-Fi is on the minds of airline executives and the people who sell to them. This week at the Hamburg Aircraft Interiors Expo, in-flight Wi-Fi pioneer Gogo faced competition from multinational corporations including Panasonic and ViaSat. Panasonic said it now has 46% of...

Feds want input on tower safety

OSHA seeks public comment on how to reduce accidents at tower sites Federal safety regulators are seeking public input on how to best protect the men and women who work on telecommunications towers from injury or incident. Published on April 15, the Occupational Safety and Health...

Nokia and Alcatel-Lucent poised for $16.5B merger

The rumors about these two companies coming together have been heard around industry conferences and water coolers for years now. It seems there’s a good reason for that. As shared in this morning’s press conference, they aren't rumors any longer, which supports the old...

Eye on the ball: Stadiums and service providers focus on livestreamers

What does sports livestreaming mean for network operators? Livestreaming of professional sports games could become either a network nightmare or an opportunity for operators. For fans, it could add a whole new dimension to the stadium experience. But it's clearly making stadium owners and TV...

Inside CableLabs’ new testing facility

LOUISVILLE, Colo. -- The inside of CableLabs' new anechoic chamber mimics the views outside, with the spiky blue pyramids calling to mind the Rocky Mountains that provide stellar views from the newly revamped facility. Of course, your coverage is going to be nil compared to...

Verizon argues unlimited data is bad for customers

The idea of unrestrained data usage sounds ideal for cellphone subscribers, but recently the two largest carriers, Verizon and AT&T, have been trying to distance themselves from unlimited data plans. Verizon is going even further, making the argument that unlimited data plans are bad for...

Nokia confirms possible Alcatel-Lucent merger

Analyst: Combined company better suited to compete against Ericsson, Huawei Nokia officials confirmed on April 14 that the Finnish company is in “advanced discussions” with Alcatel-Lucent on a potential purchase of the rival networking firm. Nokia released the statement following numerous media reports that suggested Nokia is...

Mobile spending projected at $77B annually by 2024

Barclays projects mobile shopping to increase dramatically Analysts with Barclays said that consumer spending on smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices will exceed an astonishing $77 billion annually by 2024. Currently, research suggests consumers are spending a little more than $14 billion each year while shopping on...

Cause of North Carolina 911 outage revealed

Cause of North Carolina 911 outage traced to IP address issue The cause of a North Carolina 911 outage has been revealed. Iredell County in North Carolina was without 911 service for about 90 minutes on April 7 due to an IP address issue. According...

Verizon loses tower battle in New Jersey

An attempt by Verizon Wireless to build a 150-foot cell tower in a residential neighborhood in Bernardsville, N.J., has been shot down by an appellate court. The decision was a hard fought victory for residents. From May 2010 to December 2011, the New Jersey borough’s...

FreedomPop application adds cellular, Wi-Fi handoff

MVNO FreedomPop unveils app to solve cellular/Wi-Fi handoff challenge FreedomPop continues to enhance its mobile virtual network operator-based service, this week launching its Premium Voice technology that it claims solves the handoff challenge between cellular and Wi-Fi networks. The MVNO said the software platform allows for...

Sprint Apple devices to receive Wi-Fi calling option

Select Sprint Apple models inline for software update to support Wi-Fi calling Sprint said it plans to rollout Wi-Fi calling to select iPhone devices over the coming weeks through a software update. The move will allow customers to make calls from their current Sprint phone...

AT&T data scores big at Final Four

AT&T's heterogeneous network upgrades put into place for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four in Indianapolis apparently paid off. College basketball fans at Lucas Oil Stadium put the distributed antenna system network to the test using more than 1.52 terabytes of data, a record for...

10 Gbps wireless speeds demoed by Nokia and National Instruments

Nokia Networks and National Instruments are demonstrating a wireless connection that reportedly reaches speeds of up to 10 gigabits per second over the air using the 73 GHz (millimeter wave) band. As a point of reference, the 4G standard calls for speeds that can...

1M cell towers going to Chinese joint venture

China Tower asset acquisition equates to $24B gain for three China telcos Regulators in China are working toward an Aug. 15 goal of transferring some 1 million cell towers to a state-backed joint venture comprising the nation’s three largest carriers: China Mobile, China Telecom and...

Sponsored: Uplink Near-Far causing degraded DAS performance

In a previous post on RCR Wireless News, we discussed near-far and its “Effect on In-Building DAS Performance.” Near-Far is a term describing performance reduction when a mobile device is operating within a distributed antenna system's coverage area, but is being serviced by a distant macro cell tower. Near-Far...

Small cells for big customers in Mexico

Mexico's largest mobile operator has deployed small cells to boost coverage and capacity for its biggest government, education and corporate customers. The operator is using SpiderCloud Wireless' E-RAN system, the same solution that will be used by Verizon Wireless for some small cell deployments...

Saudi Telecom invests in backhaul for network expansion

DragonWave packet radios selected by Saudi Telecom The largest network operator in Saudi Arabia announced a new supply agreement with DragonWave to drive a planned network expansion in which Saudi Telecom will use DragonWave’s Horizon Compact+ and Harmony Enhanced packet microwave radios. “Being a customer-centric organization,...

AT&T pulls plug on Kansas town’s fiber plans

The small town of Chanute, Kan., has hit a bit of a roadblock in its effort to install a 1 Gbps fiber network in the town. AT&T, the provider of Chanute’s 6 Mbps DSL network, is using a 1947 Kansas law that requires permission from the...