BROWSING: AWS
AT&T MVNO could cut into Cingular’s business base
AT&T Inc., which until last week was SBC Communications Inc., is getting set to stack its wireless deck with plans to launch an AT&T-branded wireless service that will use subsidiary Cingular Wireless L.L.C.'s network. AT&T, which changed its name following SBC's $16 billion acquisition...
Finally, light at the end of the W-CDMA hype tunnel
After years of hype and billions of dollars in network upgrades, the time has come for the worldwide W-CDMA market to take off. Perhaps the best indication that W-CDMA technology has reached the tipping point comes from Vodafone Group plc, one of the world's...
New rate plans, improved network can’t stop Cincinnati Bell’s revenue decline
CINCINNATI-Regional operator Cincinnati Bell Wireless posted 4,100 net postpaid customer additions during the third quarter, which was a significant improvement on the 10,500 postpaid subscribers it lost during the third quarter of 2004. The carrier attributed the turnaround to new rate plans and improved...
Customers abandon regional carriers
Regional carriers continued to bleed customers during the third quarter as more competition and evolving networks drove up churn for a number of operators Dobson Communications Corp., SunCom Wireless Holdings Inc. and Rural Cellular Corp. all posted significant customer losses during the quarter, echoing...
SunCom posts subscriber losses
BERWYN, Pa.-Regional wireless operator SunCom Wireless Holdings Inc. lost 45,556 customers during the third quarter and ended the first nine months of the year with 919,550 subscribers on its network. The carrier attributed the loss to the final integration of markets and networks in...
Sprint Nextel drops Metro One’s directory services
Enhanced directory-assistance provider Metro One Telecommunications Inc. said Sprint Nextel Corp. is terminating the master services agreement between Metro One and Nextel Operations Inc. effective Jan. 9. Nextel Operations is a subsidiary of Sprint Nextel following Sprint Corp.'s acquisition of Nextel Communications Inc. in...
Lucent, Ericsson deploy HSDPA upgrades in 3 Cingular markets
Cingular Wireless L.L.C. inched ahead with its planned launch of third-generation services, upgrading its UMTS networks in Seattle, Phoenix and Dallas to higher-speed HSDPA capabilities. Cingular noted it is the first carrier in the world to commercially launch a HSDPA network. The upgrades were...
Sprint Nextel drops Metro One’s directory services
PORTLAND, Ore.-Enhanced directory assistance provider Metro One Telecommunications Inc. said it has received notification from Sprint Nextel Corp. that the carrier is terminating the master services agreement between Metro One and Nextel Operations Inc. effective Jan. 9. Nextel Operations is a subsidiary of Sprint...
Cingular to sell Nokia 9300 using BlackBerry platform
SAN FRANCISCO-Following years of delays, Nokia Corp. finally is set to launch its 9300 device running Research In Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerry software in the United States. The device will be available exclusively through Cingular Wireless L.L.C. beginning in November. Cingular, which reportedly serves more...
Cingular Wireless updates on AWS integration
SAN FRANCISCO-Cingular Wireless L.L.C. provided another round of updates on the progress it is making in integrating the former AT&T Wireless Services Inc. operations. An executive Wednesday said the integration is still on track to be completed in 2007."We are entering into the most...
Customer adds expected to slip a bit in 3Q reports
Following several quarters of year-over-year customer growth, the wireless industry's nationwide operators could be set for a softer third quarter. Customer additions are expected to fall just short of the nearly 5 million customers added last year and below the 5.2 million added during...
Alltel taking time to integrate Western assets
Alltel Corp. is taking a slow and steady approach to integrating its recently acquired Western Wireless Corp. assets. The company is expected only to make minor changes through the end of this year and wait on major initiatives until next year. Alltel has updated...
Merger marketing
As Sprint Corp. and Nextel Communications Inc. begin to merge their separate identities into one company, there will be obvious comparisons to how Cingular Wireless L.L.C. integrated AT&T Wireless Services Inc. to form the nation's largest wireless carrier.Sprint Nextel Corp. is not planning to...
Overall 2Q customer adds beat expectations
Consumer appetite for wireless services continued unabated during the second quarter as the nation's seven largest operators posted a 39-percent jump in net customer additions to more than 6 million new subscribers compared with the 4.4 million they added during the second quarter of...
Cincinnati Bell reports drop in customers, wireless revenues
Regional telecommunications provider and former AT&T Wireless Services Inc. wireless affiliate Cincinnati Bell Inc. said it lost 10,000 wireless customers during the second quarter, ending the first half of the year with 469,000 subscribers. The company noted the customer loss included 3,000 postpaid customers,...
Regionals post better ARPU, but not much subscriber growth
Independent regional operators posted mixed second-quarter results that in most cases included sagging customer growth, but increased revenue per subscriber bolstered by growing wireless data usage. Recently strengthened Alltel Corp., which closed its acquisition of Western Wireless Corp., was a prime example. The industry's...
3G band plan makes room for rural licenses
WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission Friday changed the band plan for advanced wireless services in the 2 GHz band, making additional licenses available in rural areas. "The minor modifications we make might actually turn out to be important. We want to make sure we have...
SunCom Wireless reports mixed results following new Cingular agreement
Regional wireless operator SunCom Wireless Holdings Inc., which was formerly known as Triton PCS, posted 3,979 net customers during the second quarter compared with a loss of 833 customers during the second quarter of last year. SunCom said it ended the first half of...
FCC frees rural-carrier spectrum with 2 GHz band-plan changes
WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission Friday changed the band plan for advanced wireless services in the 2 GHz band, making additional spectrum available to rural carriers. "The minor modifications we make might actually turn out to be important. We want to make sure we have...
Sprint brings DO to 25 markets
Sprint Corp.'s months-long high-speed wireless data tease came to an end last week as the company finally announced the launch of its CDMA2000 1x EV-DO network. The company said the service would be available in business districts and airport locations in 34 markets by...
Verizon expands EV-DO, Cingular says it’s under no pressure to match speed
Verizon Wireless continued to turn the screws on its competitors with further expansion of its CDMA2000 1x EV-DO network, which the carrier claims now covers 119 million potential customers in more than 50 major metropolitan areas and is available in 33 of the nation's...
Cingular turns out lights on some CDPD operations
One pioneering wireless data technologies is getting closer to its expiration date, as AT&T Wireless Services Inc.'s low-speed CDPD wireless data network is set to be shut down June 30 by new owner Cingular Wireless L.L.C. AWS had previously said it planned to shut...
Family plans driving Q2 growth
Investment banking firm Merrill Lynch said it expects the continued strong growth of family plans to drive the wireless industry's five nationwide operators to post a 14.8-percent year-over-year improvement in net subscriber additions in the second quarter. The firm said it expects the carriers...
Family plans to drive Q2 growth, Merrill Lynch predicts: Raises customer guidance for Verizon, lowers Cingular guidance
Investment banking firm Merrill Lynch said it expects the wireless industry's five nationwide operators to post a 4.5-percent year-over-year improvement in gross subscriber additions during the second quarter driven by continued strong growth of family plans. Individually, Merrill Lynch said it was raising its...