AT&T is threatening to sit out the FCC’s upcoming 600 MHz incentive auctions if the Commission puts in place rules reserving portions of the spectrum for smaller carriers only. The FCC is planning to set aside up to 30 MHz in each market for smaller carriers to bid on once bidding for those markets hits […]
Google might use drones for wireless coverage
Google could soon be putting drones to use in getting wireless broadband to underserved populations. Google Monday announced its acquisition of Titan Aerospace, a high-altitude drone company, which it plans to integrate with its on-going Project Loon initiative, according to the Wall Street Journal. Through Project Loon, Google is deploying large balloons in order to […]
T-Mobile challenges AT&T, Verizon, Sprint to end overage charges
T-Mobile today announced it is doing away with all talk, text and data overage charges for its customers and it’s challenging AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint to follow suit. The carrier claims that more than 20 million people in the U.S. were stuck with overage charges in 2013 and that the three biggest U.S. carriers raked […]
Verizon buying Cincinnati Bell’s spectrum for $210M
Cincinnati Bell today announced it is winding down its wireless network operations and selling its spectrum licenses and other assets to Verizon Wireless in a deal valued at $210 million. The regional operator, headquartered in Cincinnati, will lease back its spectrum from Verizon for a period of time while it shuts down its network operations […]
Verizon offers up $20 discount for wireless + FiOS
Verizon is offering a total of $20 monthly discounts to customers who sign up for at least one smartphone service plan and the FiOS Quantum Triple Play option. The limited time deal, running March 7 through April 19, grants $10 per month off each bill and promises two-year contract savings of up to $480. The […]
GCI qualifies for wireless broadband grant
The FCC today deemed Alaskan telecom General Communications eligible for $41.4 million in grant money to build out 3G and 4G mobile broadband in underserved rural areas. The money, coming as part of the FCC’s Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I, will go toward serving 37,000 people across 48 communities in Alaska. “We will continue to […]
Firefox, Spreadtrum chipset partnership promises $25 smartphones
Firefox and Spreadtrum are partnering up on a chipset that has the potential to bring a $25 smartphone to market. Leveraging Mozilla’s Firefox OS turnkey reference designs with Spreadtrum’s entry-level smartphone chipsets, the companies see the possibility for a smartphone that costs less than a tank of gas. The chipset (SC6821) combines a “low memory […]
WhatsApp: A $19 billion bet for Facebook
Facebook unleashed a big surprise late Wednesday, announcing it was acquiring WhatsApp in a deal valued at $19 billion. Facebook’s price for snapping up the hugely popular OTT messaging platform ran $4 billion in cash, $12 in Facebook stock and another $3 billion in restricted stock units, vesting over the next four years, for WhatsApp […]
Report: Sprint getting cold feet on T-Mobile merger
Sprint Chairman Masayoshi Son and CEO Dan Hesse are having second thoughts about their company’s plans to buy T-Mobile. In the wake of the passionate, public opposition the potential merger received from regulatory officials, Sprint is heading back to the drawing board, according to the Wall Street Journal. In the past few weeks, Son and […]
AT&T aims to buy Cable One spectrum licenses
AT&T has filed with the FCC for the assignment of Advanced Wireless Spectrum (AWS) licenses from Cable One. The transaction would assign 20 MHz of AWS-1 spectrum covering 119 counties in 24 Cellular Market Areas to AT&T Mobility. The licenses cover a scattered selection of geographic areas from all over the country. AT&T estimates that […]