It was recently announced that communications giant AT&T had put in a bid for the acquisition of T-Mobile USA, with the thirty nine billion dollar deal including cash and assets. AT&T said that amongst other things it would use the acquisition to expedite its 4G mobile broadband network.

However, a senior official from another communications giant, Sprint, has expressed concern over the acquisition. Sprint Nextel Corp. CEO Dan Hesse stated that his concerns were centered around how the acquisition could hurt his company, the industry as a whole, and result in a monopoly in the market.

According to figures AT&T and Verizon already have two thirds of the market when it comes to wireless subscribers in the United States, and this could increase to seventy five percent of the market if this deal goes through.

Hesse was part of a panel that was discussing the deal at a cell phone conference held in Florida. He stated: “I do have concerns that it would stifle innovation and too much power would be in the hands of two.” The head of Verizon Wireless, Dan Mead, was also asked for his stance on the acquisition. He simply said: “We’re certainly very interested in what’s going on.”

It was originally thought that Sprint might put in a bid for the T-Mobile USA acquisition and the bid from AT&T therefore came as quite a surprise to many industry officials.

Source – KETK NBC

It has recently been announced that the communications and broadband giant AT&T has put in a bid to acquire T-Mobile USA is a thirty nine billion dollar cash and stock deal. The bid has been confirmed by AT&T officials but the company is still awaiting approval from regulators before it can be moved forward any further.

If the deal does take place it will make AT&T the largest carrier in the United States. The deal that AT&T has agreed with Deutsche Telekom is that the total value of the acquisition will be thirty nine billion dollars and twenty four billion of this will be cash. It is thought that the deal will be approved and closed over the next twelve months. As part of the deal Deutsche Telekom will have an eight percent stake in AT&T.

According to reports one of the benefits that AT&T hopes to gain from this acquisition is to expedite plans for its 4G LTE mobile broadband network, which will provide consumers with greater quality, faster speeds, and greater capacity.

AT&T Chairman and chief executive Randall Stephenson said: “This transaction represents a major commitment to strengthen and expand critical infrastructure for our nation’s future. It will improve network quality, and it will bring advanced LTE capabilities to more than 294 million people.”

Do you believe this deal will help to accelerate the 4G plans from AT&T? Comment and let us know.

Source – Eweek Europe

A report was recently released looking at the possible consequences of insufficient broadband spectrum, with officials stating that failure to make new spectrum available in the marketplace could lead to a range of problems. One official referring to the report highlighted a range of potential problems including the lower quality services and higher prices that could end up affecting consumers.

One wireless technology expert, Peter Rysavy, who was referring to the report at the recent event stated: “If the spectrum deficit is not immediately addressed, demand is predicted to exceed existing network capacity in three to four years, hitting urban areas with the busiest networks and where the highest density of users are concentrated. If just 50% of the new spectrum promised in the National Broadband Plan is made commercially available, demand will still exceed capacity by 2017.”

Mobile Future Chairman Jonathan Spalter also spoke about the issue, stating: “Access to additional spectrum is critical to meeting explosive consumer demand and maximizing opportunities for consumers and businesses.  It takes years to bring spectrum to the market and the data shows we are already behind the curve. Now is the time for policymakers to move forward to address the growing wireless demand and ensure the right tools are in place to maintain the nation’s leading role in mobile innovation.”

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski spoke at the event and pointed out that the United States needed to take action to ensure that it was equipped for the rising demand from consumers and businesses when it came to broadband services.

Source – PR-USA

For users of mobile broadband services in the United States speed is often amongst the most important things about the service that they choose, and there are many people that will base their choice of mobile broadband provider and plan on the speed that they are likely to get with the service. The choice could be made a little easier now following mobile broadband speed tests that were carried out recently by PC World and Navarum.

As part of the study 4G mobile broadband speeds were tested amongst different providers including AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile USA, and Verizon Wireless. Trials were carried out in over two hundred and sixty location across the United States in thirteen different cities across the country. The testing was carried out during the first six weeks of this year.

The results showed that when it came to laptop modems the winner was the 4G LTE service from Verizon. This service, which is offered in thirty eight markets in the US, provided average download speeds of 6.44Mbps, which was over twice as fast as the provider in second place, T-Mobile, which offered speeds of 2.83Mbps with its HSPA+ service.

When it came to smart phone data downloads T-Mobile offered the fastest speeds according to the test results, with average download speeds of 2.82Mbps on its T-Mobile HTC G2. This was over fifty percent faster than the provider that came in at second place, which was Sprint’s HTC Evo 4G with an average speed of 1.5Mbps.

Do you base your choice of mobile broadband provider or plan on speed? Let us know with your comments

Source – Fierce Mobile IT

According to recent reports a number of customers of the US wireless provider Clearwire have decided to take legal action against the company after claiming that their internet speeds were slowed down by the provider on purpose. Customers have accused the provider of operating a ‘Ponzi Scheme’ stating that Clearwire is signing up more customers than it is able to cope with and is then charging extortionate fees when the customers try to get out of their contract because the service that they are receiving is not adequate.

It is claimed that the Clearwire service and method of operation is similar to a Ponzi Scheme because the company is said to be marketing a selling a service when it already knows that it will not be able to cope with the demand and will not be able to provide an ongoing service over the long term for the number of customers that it is trying to get onto its database.

According to reports the company is selling subscriptions to consumers before having the adequate infrastructure in place to cope with the increased customer base that results from this marketing and promotion of its services. Customers are now angry that the company is throttling its broadband and internet speeds, and unhappy customers are unable to get out of the contract without being charged.

Clearwire is said to have admitted that it has been throttling speeds for customers but has said that these measures are temporary ones that are based on network performance. The lawsuit that has been filed against the provider names fifteen people who are hoping to get class action status on the lawsuit in order to act on behalf of all Clearwire customers.

Have you been affected by the Clearwire throttling? Comment and let us know

Source – Wireless Federation

It has been announced recently that businesses in the Richmond area are set to benefit from high speed Internet services with speeds of 100Mbps thanks to the Deluxe 100 high-speed Internet service that is to be made available from communications and entertainment giant Comcast.

Many businesses are likely to benefit in the Metro Richmond area as a result of the service launch. The service just shows off the benefit of the next-generation DOCSIS 3.0 technology deployed by Comcast. Officials have said that this technology will enable the provider to continue offering advanced high speed services in the future.

Rick Levesque, vice president of operations for Comcast’s Southern Virginia area said: “Comcast continues to invest in its fiber-optic network and next-generation technologies to provide its customers a superior experience. With Deluxe 100, our business customers have access to super-fast Internet speeds that will enable them to increase their online efficiency and productivity.”

Officials have said businesses can enjoy greater efficiency and productivity as a result of the system. The service will be made available to Comcast Business Class customers for $369.95 per month. It is described as a comprehensive business solution that includes a range of additional benefits. It also includes around the clock support and advanced communications software. It comes with Microsoft Communication Services valued at more than $500 and Norton Business Suite™ software which is up to a $490 retail value.

Source – PR-USA

These days a rising number of people are using their mobile internet devices when they go abroad, and there are many reasons why people are so keen to be able to use their broadband whilst abroad. For many it is important to be able to communicate with friends and family back home whilst they are away. There are many others that want to use their Internet enabled devices to do research into the area whilst away, enjoy entertainment, or simply surf the Internet.

However, the cost of data roaming with many mobile network operators can be very high, and for many this has resulted in bill shock when they return from their travels because they have failed to monitor how much they have used and how much it has cost them. The cost of this can be crippling for some and the risk often puts people off from using their Internet devices whilst abroad.

It has now been announced that Telecom Austria has launched abroadband, which is a service that runs off its existing international roaming agreements. This will enable users to enjoy great value for money on data roaming in over fifty countries. The cost of data roaming will be €0.59 per megabyte and the service is based on Pay as You Go, so there are no contracts to worry about and you only pay for what you use.

People that want to take up this service can choose from a SIM card priced at 19.90 euros, a Micro SIM card also priced at 19.90 euros, or a USB modem and SIM card priced at 49.90 euros.

Source – abroadband

For many people broadband is something that has become part of their business and personal lives, and is something that they use on a daily basis. Many of us have become so reliant on broadband that we have started to take it for granted, and it is only when there is a problem or outage that we realise how stuck we are without this technology.

However, there are many people and businesses that are in areas where broadband is not easily accessible and these are the people that have to struggle along without the aid of this technology for the majority of if not all of the time. However, one organization is hoping to make an impact on broadband access in underserved areas by forming an advisory council.

It has been announced that a National Technology Adoption Advisory Council is being set up by One Economy, which is a non-profit organization that focuses on ensuring broadband services are brought to communities that are underserved. Its aim is to promote “public and private sector solutions for increased broadband adoption.”

Many officials are said to be involved with the effort and a speech is to be made this coming week by U.S. Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra with a focus on the relationships between policymakers, government officials, and non-profit organizations. It is thought that there are already over eighty public officials that are involved in the effort.

Source – Multichannel

A recent study has revealed that the many Americans that use wireless broadband within the home rather than fixed line broadband could be compromising their speeds. The results of the study showed that broadband speeds were significantly slower when using wireless broadband in the home rather than fixed line broadband.

Many people use wireless broadband because of the convenience and ease that it offers. With wireless users are able to get online from anywhere in the home or even the garden, which means that they are not tied to one particular location. It also means that more than one user can get online off the same connection, which is great if there is more than one computer or internet related device in the home.

A study was carried out looking at wireless connections in the United States as well as in the UK, Spain, and Italy.  Whilst the results showed that broadband speeds were slower when people were using a wireless connection rather than a fixed line one they also showed that many people were prepared to put up with this because they wanted to convenience and ease and wireless broadband offered.

Iain Wood, from network measurement firm Epitiro, which carried-out the study, said: “People are voting with their feet and trading speed for the benefits of mobility. Most of us do e-mailing and web surfing and for these things there is precious little difference between the 50Mb/s services and an 8Mb/s service.”

Are you happy to have slower speeds for the convenience of having wireless access? Comment and let us know

Source – BBC

It has been announced by officials from the communications giant AT&T that improvements are to be made to its networks to enable 4G speeds and greater reliability in Cuyahoga and Summit Counties over the course of this year. The company has made many improvements to its broadband networks over the course of last year and is set to continue doing the same over the course of this year.

Tom Pelto, president, AT&T Ohio, outlined a number of planned improvements in Cleveland and Akron over the course of this year. This included improvements to nearly two hundred and forty cell sites to enable 4G speeds and greater support through increased capacity. It also included the installation of new cell sites to help improve network coverage and adding spectrum carriers to thirty seven cell sites so that more traffic can be supported.

Between 2008 and 2010 AT&T is said to have invested a massive four hundred and fifth million dollars in its Cleveland and Akron wireless and wireline network as part of its plans to improve the services in the area.

Larry Evans, vice president and general manager of AT&T Ohio and Western Pennsylvania, said: “We’re investing in our Cleveland and Akron network to help AT&T customers take advantage of the numerous capabilities of their wireless devices. This year, we’re committed to providing best-in-class wireless voice service to our customers, and we’re backing that up with the right investments.”

Source – PR-USA