BROWSING: Policy

Policy: Neustar claims foul in LNPA proceedings; Sprint can go wide in 2.5 GHz band

The Federal Communications Commission seems to have found itself in the middle of a spat regarding its handling of selecting a vendor to act as the local number portability administrator once the current contract with Neustar runs out in mid-2015. Neustar claims that late last...

Potential Sprint, T-Mobile US deal could impact spectrum auctions

As the wireless world anxiously awaits Sprint’s oft-rumored bid to acquire T-Mobile US, analysts remain abuzz on the impact just such an offer could have across the market. During a meeting with Wells Fargo Securities senior analyst Jennifer Fritzsche, Sprint CEO Dan Hesse reportedly would...

NTIA on track to meet Obama’s spectrum goals

The federal government’s plans to free up spectrum resources to support the exploding wireless telecommunications space looks to be on track to meet its goal, according to a recent report from the National Telecommunications & Information Administration. In its Fourth Interim Progress Report, NTIA noted...

Worst of the Week: Do it! Do it! Do it!

Please. Please. Please. Sprint please put in that offer for T-Mobile US. Please.

Reports: Sprint set for $32B T-Mobile US offer

Published reports, citing inside sources, claim Sprint is on the verge of putting in a $32 billion offer to acquire smaller rival T-Mobile US. Several sources claim the deal will include an offer of $40 per share, or roughly a 17% premium over T-Mobile US’...

Policy: FCC adds to spectrum screen; Sprint/T-Mobile US targeted

The Federal Communications Commission this week provided more color on its plans to regulate the wireless industry, updating its controversial spectrum screen policy to include a greater amount of potential bands. The FCC said it would include 40 megahertz of spectrum from the AWS-4 band...

Wireless Hall of Fame announces 2014 nominees: Ginn, Uddenfeldt, Carlson and Conway

The Wireless History Foundation announced four individuals set to be inducted into the Wireless Hall of Fame at an event scheduled for Sept. 9. The inductees were selected by a committee composed of an anonymous panel of Hall of Fame members. This year’s inductees include...

LatAm: Study – AWS spectrum use to have $53B impact in region

The use of the AWS spectrum band (1700/2100 MHz) for LTE mobile services in Latin America is expected to have a huge positive economic impact, according to a recently released study by GSMA. The report also found that the spectrum band is key to extending existing "4G" deployments,...

Policy: FCC scores court victory in Connect America move

The Federal Communications Commission gained a court victory in support of its Universal Service Fund reform efforts, with a federal appeals court upholding the agency’s Connect America program that is designed to subsidize rural broadband services. Under former FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, the FCC in...

Sprint, Ntelos expand network deal

Sprint and regional wireless operator Ntelos took care of a long-standing disagreement, announcing today an extension of their strategic network alliance through 2022. The two carriers had been working on a previously signed network arrangement that was set to expire next year. As part of...

LatAm: Brazil approaches 2.5 million LTE connections

Brazil's mobile market ended April with almost 2.5 million LTE connections. Although the total LTE base is still relatively small (less than 1% penetration), LTE use has been increasing, with record growth last month. Led by Claro, which added 177,000 new LTE connections in April,...

Verizon Wireless set for nationwide VoLTE launch later this year

Just days after rival AT&T Mobility announced immediate plans to rollout voice over LTE services, Verizon Wireless threw out a reminder that it too was on track to offer VoLTE later this year. The carrier said its VoLTE plans will include a nationwide rollout of...

Time Trippin’: Attempts to limit 700 MHz auction bidding; prepaid set for growth … 9 years ago this week

Editor’s Note: The RCR Wireless News Time Machine is a way to take advantage of our extensive history in covering the wireless space to fire up the DeLorean and take a trip back in time to re-visit some of the more interesting headlines from...

Policy: May 15 FCC meeting to loom large; Sprint fined in ‘do-not-call’ settlement

The Federal Communications Commission’s recent open meeting tackled a number of significant topics set to impact the telecommunications space. Two of the topics were very specific to the wireless telecommunications space in the FCC laying out rules for the 600 MHz incentive auction and...

Reality Check: Taking an optimized approach to mobile data

If limited spectrum and cost-prohibitive expansion of infrastructure is inevitable, then operators need to find additional ways to enhance their existing networks and make the most out of the capacity that they have.

Reality Check: FCC’s plans and free AT&T broadband

While it would be impossible to cover the entirety of the meeting in the remaining space of this brief, suffice it to say that the tone of this meeting was more passion-filled than all of this year’s previous meetings – combined.

Verizon Wireless super-sizes LTE under 'XLTE' banner

Verizon Wireless unveiled the “XLTE” brand for its LTE service boosted by the inclusion of its 1.7/2.1 GHz (advanced wireless services) spectrum assets. The move followed rumors last week of a potential XLTE launch. The carrier said the enhanced service will provide faster network speeds...

AT&T re-launches Cricket brand

AT&T solidified its no-contract ambitions, announcing the combination of its recently acquired Leap Wireless business with its Aio Wireless platform that will operate under the Cricket Wireless brand. The new offering will take advantage of AT&T Mobility’s nationwide network, which the carrier claims offers LTE...

AT&T offers $48.5B for DirecTV, commits $9B to incentive auction

Following weeks of rumors, AT&T over the weekend announced plans to acquire satellite television provider DirecTV for nearly $49 billion in stock and cash – and the assumption of more than $15 billion of debt. The move, if approved by regulators, would bolster the...

Worst of the Week: 600 MHz auction rules: milk or beer?

Depending on which team you play for, you either laughed so hard milk came out of your nose, or you were left crying in your beer.

Spectrum screen reset to Sprint’s dismay

In addition to auction plans, the Federal Communications Commission today adjusted its spectrum screen rules, noting that it will place increased emphasis on deals involving sub-1 GHz spectrum as well as include a wider range of spectrum bands in decision making. The sub-1 GHz emphasis...

FCC lays out 600 MHz auction rules, unleashes AWS-3

The Federal Communications Commission today laid out several decisions set to impact the upcoming 600 MHz spectrum incentive auction and how the government agency views participation in that event. Those entities lobbying their case over the past several months in front of the FCC...

Editorial Webinar: Tower & Antenna Technology Review

RCR Wireless News takes stock of the latest in tower and antenna technologies. We will look at fiber to the antenna (FTTA) and remote radio head (RRH) use, as well as backhaul trends, including millimeter, microwave, LOS/NLOS, fiber and the small cell backhaul dilemma.This...

Telstra shows LTE-A skills with 450 Mbps network trial

Australia’s Telstra has thrown its hat into the speed game, announcing today that it has demonstrated a live network using LTE-Advanced technology with carrier aggregation to produce downlink speeds of 450 megabits per second. The carrier said the FDD-LTE demonstration, which was run with network...