Android and iOS continued to gain market share at the expense of struggling platforms like BlackBerry and Windows Phone 7 (WP7), according to a new report from NPD Group. Android’s share of smartphone sales grew to 53 percent of the U.S. smartphone market (53 percent) from January through October 2011, while Apple’s iOS share grew […]
Telecommunications
Using Pseudowire to Keep Up in Cell Backhaul
Wireless carriers evolve their networks, forcing cable to compensate. Due to their extensive all-packet residential networks, cable operators have been in a strong position to address the burgeoning demand for mobile backhaul and business services. The biggest impediment to satisfying that demand is that cable networks built to support primarily residential video and data services […]
Time Warner Cable plugs in Wi-Fi Finder app for Android
Time Warner Cable has launched a Wi-Fi Finder app for Android devices in its Los Angeles market, with an iOS version slated for release in a few weeks. Time Warner Cable’s Wi-Fi deployment in Los Angeles, which went live earlier this year, is the cable operator’s largest to date, so it makes sense that the […]
MPLS spec introduced for cell backhaul
For anyone performing cell backhaul, there’s a new specification for handling wireless data traffic from a combination of traditional TDM networks and packet-based transport technologies as wireless operators migrate from 2G/3G to 4G and LTE services. The Broadband Forum has just issued its “Technical Specification for MPLS in Mobile Backhaul Networks,” also known as TR-221. […]
NTCA sues FCC over USF, ICC reform order
The National Telecommunications Cooperative Association (NTCA) is challenging the FCC’s efforts to overhaul its Universal Service Fund (USF) and intercarrier compensation systems. The group filed a petition for review on Friday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. The suit calls portions of the order “arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, contrary […]
Vermont vows statewide broadband in 2 years
Gov. Peter Shumlin promised Friday that every Vermonter will have access to broadband computer services in their homes and businesses by the end of 2013. Shumlin made the promise at the Sugarbush ski resort in Warren, where he joined resort officials and Verizon Wireless in announcing that a new cell tower is now providing voice and […]
DOJ questions viability of AT&T merger, seeks trial delay
The Department of Justice told a judge today it will seek to delay proceedings in its antitrust suit over AT&T’s merger with T-Mobile USA after the operator’s withdrawal of its FCC application for the transaction left the deal’s future in doubt. DOJ lawyer Joseph Wayland said the agency will file a motion to stay the […]
LightSquared backer faces possible SEC probe
A draft government report on LightSquared’s proposed LTE network leaked to the media on Friday shows the service knocked out 75 percent of GPS receivers studied in a recent test. An early version of the report provided to Bloomberg found that “LightSquared signals caused harmful interference to the majority of GPS receivers tested.” LightSquared’s mobile […]
Nokia Siemens to sell fixed line broadband to Adtran
Nokia Siemens Networks says it will sell its fixed-line broadband access business and transfer 400 personnel worldwide to Adtran. The Finnish-German joint venture says the acquisition by the Huntsville, Ala.-based company is expected to be closed by April. It includes the broadband section’s intellectual properties, technologies and its established customer base. Nokia Siemens said Monday […]
Expo: Playing Out of Bounds
Operators are starting to think outside of their footprint boxes. At TelcoTV, Verizon said it was considering selling its Home Control broadband service outside of its footprint. Verizon senior vice president of consumer product management Eric Bruno said the company will decide next year if it wants to sell its suite of broadband-based services (home […]