AlaskaComm Delays LTE Launch to Year-End; Verizon Now Breathing Down its Neck
Alaska 4G Wireless
AlaskaComm Delays LTE Launch to Year-End; Verizon Now Breathing Down its Neck
AlaskaComm has postponed the launch of its Long Term Evolution (LTE) network from May to the end of this year. The delay corresponds with reports saying that the carrier has started selling Apple’s iPhone from April which can only connect to a 3G network at present. Earlier in Jun 2011 AlaskaComm had said that it would be spending around $20 million in deploying LTE in the state making it the first carrier in Alaska to offer 4G services. Verizon, the largest Internet service provider in the US had meanwhile applied to acquiring 700MHz C Block spectrum license from Triad covering Alaska in August 2011 with the FCC. Triad had purchased this spectrum in an FCC sponsored spectrum auction in August 2010 for $1.8 million. At that time Verizon didn’t have any agenda for FTE deployment in Alaska and it did not want to dispute AlsakaComm’s claims of being the first LTE provider in the state.
With AlalskaComm’s LTE launch now delayed the situation has changed and in Mar 2012, Alaska’s Matanuska Telephone Association (MTA) announced that it has entered into an agreement with Verizon Wireless to participate in Verizon’s ‘LTE in Rural America’ program. As part of the agreement, Verizon will lease 700MHz upper C block wireless spectrum to MTA in Denali and Matanuska – Sustina Boroughs covering almost 34,000 square miles. With MTA’s participation in this scheme, its customers can access LTE in more than 230 cities in the US.
The story might still have a twist in the tale as last week Verizon revealed that it is in a process to start its own independent operations in Alaska and has started laying groundwork for it by leasing acreage for cell towers covering the south central and interior regions. Irrespective of its alliance with MTA, Verizon has indicated that it would like to enter the Alaskan market in 2013.
Categories: 3G, 4G, Alaska, Internet News, Verizon, Wireless Tags: Alaska, AlaskaComm, LTE, Verizon
AT&T to Launch 4G Network in Salt Lake City
AT&T to Launch 4G Network in Salt Lake
AT&T to Launch 4G Network in Salt Lake City
Last week AT&T announced that it will launch 4G LTE services over its own 4G network in the later part of this year in Salt Lake City to give competition to Verizon which also operates its own 4G LTE network in Utah.
With the advanced 4G technology mobile devices like computer tablets and cellphones are able to send and receive data up to 10 times faster than 3G networks. On these superfast networks users can stream movies and music, surf the Internet and download songs and apps at blazing speeds.
Jenifer Robertson, VP and General Manger for AT&T’s Rocky Mountain area said that the company is pleased to offer its 4G services to the residents of Salt Lake City. AT&T’s teams would work hard towards making the upcoming launch a success.
AT&T currently is using a form of 3G called HSPA which is compatible with select devices only including the latest iPhone 4S. Meanwhile its competitor, Verizon had already launched its 4G services in Salt Lake City in June last year and has even expanded its reach to areas around Ogden.
With the launch of AT&T’s 4G LTE service in Salt Lake City, its customers in this area can now get access to data speeds of up to 10 times faster than 3G networks and improve speeds for downloading movies, songs and applications.
AT&T did not specify as to when exactly the service would become available to its customers. Or will the service be extended beyond the city. But analysts feel that the start of AT&T’s 4G LTE service could coincide with the launch of new iPhone either in June or July this year. It is believed that the new iPhone will be compatible with 4G networks as the third generation iPad, launched in March last year is already 4G compatible.
Categories: 4G, At&t, Internet News, Utah, Wireless Tags: 4G, At&t, Salt Lake City, Wireless
AT&T CEO Regrets iPhone Unlimited Data Plans
AT&T Regrets Unlimited Data iPhone Plans
AT&T CEO Regrets iPhone Unlimited Data Plans
Earlier last week, Randall Stephenson, AT&T’s CEO attended a conference when he was asked to speak on the state of the wireless industry in the US. Most people expected a standard CEOs speech from Stephenson but he surprised everyone with his clear and frank opinions. He very clearly admitted that AT&T committed a mistake by offering unlimited plans for its iPhone customers. He also said that he loses sleep whenever he thinks about Apple’s iMessage service.
Stephenson admitted that had AT&T refused to offer unlimited data to its iPhone users, the company could have made heavy data users pay for their usage. Conversely what the company was diverting revenue earned from light users and subsidize heavy users. He further added that he regretted introducing this kind of pricing where he has to invest for every additional megabyte used on AT&T’s network due to the variable cost model on which data business operates.
After its initial offering of unlimited data plans, AT&T has since moved to tiered and limited usage plans which seem to have worked in the company’s favor. In fact the company realized profits worth $6.1 billion from mobile data clearly showing that the company has moved in the right direction with respect to introducing data plans which are beneficial for all parties. Most Internet service providers have also followed the AT&T Internet pricing model and introduced capping on data usage although many user’s rights organizations are against it.
He further went on to criticize Apple’s iMessage service which depends on AT&T’s data but keeps users away from using AT&T’s own SMS service. He candidly admitted that he loses sleep over Apple’s iMessage service as it is disruptive to his business. He also talked about Microsoft owned Skype and admitted that these kinds of services were a threat to the wireless industry.
Categories: At&t, Internet Caps, Internet News, Wireless Tags: At&t, Data Plans, iPhone, Unlimited
Senate Urged To Probe Data Caps
Senate Urged To Probe Data Caps
Senate Urged To Probe Data Caps
Consumer advocacy groups have appealed to lawmakers to intervene in the broadband capping introduced by Internet service providers.
In a letter sent to the leaders of the Senate Commerce Committee, representatives of the New America Foundation, Consumer’s Union, Public Knowledge and Free Press stated that broadband caps generally reduce broadband use and discourage large bandwidth applications like online video. These organizations have urged lawmakers to consider the issue when it comes for a hearing on online video distribution.
Several years ago, few wire-line service providers started imposing data usage caps with high enough data limits which consumers didn’t come close enough to exceeding at that time. In 2008, Comcast started limiting residential usage to 250 GB per month which is roughly equal to 125 standard definition movies.
ISPs argue that introduction of data caps helps in limiting network congestion but critics say that there are other means through which they can control traffic.
Joel Kelsey, Free Press policy adviser remarked that traffic congestion is dynamic and temporary and cannot be an excuse to introduce uniform data capping which doesn’t make sense. Instead he advocates that networks should manage congestion better.
Broadband experts also believe that introducing caps will discourage people from watching online TV programs instead of watching them on pricey cable TV. He says consumers will be dissuaded from using high bandwidth applications when the meter is always running.
The letter focuses on wire-line providers but recently even wireless carriers discontinued their unlimited data plans. Verizon and AT&T lately had introduced tiered pricing and T-mobile had recently introduced monthly data caps and block users for exceeding them.
Public Knowledge, another group in the association has argued in a separate research that pay per byte pricing is illogical. At the most carriers can introduce this plan during peak hours and when there are chances of network congestion. During non peak hours when there is no chance of congestion, this pricing doesn’t make sense.
More Data Cap Info:
Comcast Usage Caps Ruining Families? – http://isp1.us/blog/comcast-usage-caps-ruining-families/
AT&T Implementing Home Internet Caps Starting May 2nd – http://isp1.us/blog/att-implementing-home-internet-caps-starting-may-2nd/
Xfinity for Xbox 360 Not Restricted by Comcast Bandwidth Caps – http://isp1.us/blog/xfinity-for-xbox-360-not-restricted-by-comcast-bandwidth-caps/
AT&T to Introduce Data Caps on DSL – http://isp1.us/blog/att-to-introduce-data-caps-on-dsl/
Cox – Still No Plans for Usage-Based Internet Fees – http://isp1.us/blog/cox-still-no-plans-for-usage-based-internet-fees/
Categories: Broadband, Comcast, Government, Internet Caps, Internet News, ISP, Wireless Tags: Broadband, Data Caps, Senate
Missouri Works to Increase High Speed Internet Access and Usage in the Heartland
Missouri Works to Increase High Speed Internet Access
Missouri Works to Increase High Speed Internet Access and Usage in the Heartland
Representatives of MoBroadbandNow visited Memphis recently to release a report detailing Northeast Missouri’s plan to provide increased access to high speed Internet. The area is currently being served by 14 providers.
A random survey was sent to 4000 homes randomly through mail in May 2011out of which 573 returned the survey and 400 of these were analyzed by the company. The results of the survey were as follows:
- 88% of those surveyed staying in Northeast Missouri owns a computer and over 56% of them had it for more than 10 years.
- 12% of those surveyed did not own a computer. The reasons for not owning one being too expensive no need or didn’t know how to use it.
- 88% computer owners have Internet.
- 75% broadband users have high speed Internet.
- DSL is the major type of broadband service. 47% broadband users use it.
- 54% businesses in N.E. Missouri use a cable modem.
- 25% of those surveyed who said they do not have broadband Internet access stay in rural areas like Lewis and Clark counties.
- Average broadband cost is around $30 in the region.
The survey pointed out the digital divide showing rural respondents most likely to have a computer and Internet but less likely to use broadband. MoBroadbandNow’s director said the three challenges faced by the region are availability, usage and non-familiarity with using the Internet.
He further said that one of his company’s goals is to ensure 95% of the area’s residents get broadband access at reasonable rates and speeds to ensure all segments of the community are connected to each other.
Few issues highlighted by the report include:
- Lack of wireless access in rural areas.
- K-12 education challenges; as Internet based homework becomes difficult for students.
- Difficulty faced by local governments in putting services online as it will alienate residents who don’t have Internet access.
Categories: Broadband, Cable Internet, DSL, Internet News, Missouri, Wireless Tags: high-speed Internet, Missouri, MoBroadbandNow
Verizon Fires Back at Critics of Deal
Verizon Fires Back at Critics of Deal
Verizon Fires Back at Critics of Deal
Last week Verizon hit out against critics of the proposed deal between Verizon and a coalition of cable companies in a representation made by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
The deal will clear the path for Verizon to buy spectrum from Bright House, Time Warner Cable, Cox and Comcast . These companies have also agreed to cross selling of each other’s products and services.
Consumer rights groups like Free, Press and Public Knowledge as well as communications companies like T-Mobile have objected to the deal saying it will allow Verizon to become the dominant player in the market and it is against the practice of fair competition. These groups have requested the FCC to block the deal.
In its reply to the FCC, Verizon has said that on one hand these companies were not using their spectrum and on the other hand Verizon was finding it difficult to meet the growing frequency demands of its customers.
Verizon also argued that the FCC should not consider other alternatives to the deal like the companies selling their spectrum to T-Mobile.
T-Mobile in its filing with the FCC has stated that Verizon already has the majority of spectrum owned by any carrier and the deal will allow Verizon to block other carriers from accessing this valuable resource. But Verizon has firmly denied the accusation saying that it is not interested in warehousing and the accusation against it is absolutely false. The company thinks itself as a good steward of the spectrum and it needed more spectrum to fulfill customers’ demands for 4G LTE service and cable Internet subscribers.
Consumer groups feel that the deal will push the market towards duopoly with AT&T Verizon sharing the pie amongst them. The company argued that the market is very competitive and that neither AT&T nor Verizon owned the most spectrum’s but that distinction went to Clearwire, another wireless Internet provider.
Categories: At&t, Bright House, Comcast, Cox, FCC, Internet News, T-Mobile, Time Warner Cable, Wireless Tags: FCC, Verizon
Verizon Q1: Wire-line Revenue Impacted by Wholesale Losses: Gains in FiOS, Enterprise Services
Verizon Q1 Revenue Gains in FiOS, Enterprise Services
Verizon Q1: Wire-line Revenue Impacted by Wholesale Losses: Gains in FiOS, Enterprise Services
Verizon declared its Q1 2012 earnings last week and as expected it saw gains in next-gen services like Verizon FiOS data and TV and business services like Ethernet and cloud. However the picture was clouded by a decline in wholesale revenue.
The company’s consumer revenues rose 1.7 percent to $3.4 billion. Its enterprise revenues also rose by 0.9 percent to $3.9 billion majorly due to its acquisition of cloud and data center provider Terremark.
However a decline of 8.9 percent in wholesale revenue drove the company’s overall wire-line revenue 2 percent to $9.9 billion while EBITDA margin decreased to 22,6 percent from 23.6 percent in 2011.
The Telco’s key wire-line metrics are as below:
- Landline losses: Verizon continued to lose POTS voice subscriptions as expected. In Q1 the Telco lost 437,000 voice line subscribers to end the quarter with total 23.7 million subscribers.
- Video and broadband: While DSL subscribers declined, in the consumer segment FiOS TV and FiOS broadband data continued to be Verizon’s shining stars. Total 104,000 broadband subscribers were added, taking its subscriber base to 8.8 million. Verizon added 108,000 new FiOS TV subscribers, taking the number of subscribers to 4.35 million. FiOS share in the company’s wire-line revenues was 63 percent.
- Business and wholesale services: Verizon’s global enterprise earnings saw an increase of 0.9 percent to $3.9 billion. The major contributors in this growth were robust sales of strategic services including security and IT solutions and Terremark cloud services. Strategic revenues grew by 11.6 percent and represented 51 percent of its global enterprise revenues although wholesale revenue declined by 8.9 percent to $1.86 billion.
Despite the losses, Verizon said it expects improvement in wire-line margins over the year because of repositioning its enterprise offers. Overall in Q1 2012 the company’s revenues rose 4.6 percent to $28.2 billion and its operating profits improved to $5.2 billion from last year’s $4.5 billion.
Verizon Reports Q1 Earnings: Revenues up 4.6%, 3.2 Million iPhones Sold
3.2 Million Verizon iPhones Sold
Verizon Reports Q1 Earnings: Revenues up 4.6%, 3.2 Million iPhones Sold
Last week Verizon Communications reported its first quarter earnings. The revenues were up 4.6 % to $28.2 billion for the same quarter last year. The company had added 193,000 Verizon Internet FiOS connections and 180,000 FiOS TV connections. It now has a customer base of over 5 million FiOS Internet subscribers.
Verizon Chairman and CEO, Lowell McAdam said that the company delivered double digit earnings growth and strong cash flow in this quarter. The momentum was built in 2011 and the company continued to perform well in key growth areas of business. Verizon wireless showed great growth and margins and the company produced another great quarter of FiOS growth. The company expects to concentrate more on FiOS growth in the next two quarters and gradually withdraw DSL services in markets where FiOS is well established.
He was confident that the company will improve the wire-line margins in the full year. Verizon’s repositioning of its enterprise solutions had leveraged its strengths in high growth markets and the company expects its enterprise business to become an even bigger contributor in overall wireline profitability and growth in the long run he added.
Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Vodafone and Verizon Communications. It saw an increase of 7.7% year on year increase in service revenue in the quarter. Verizon said that it sold 3.2 million iPhones in the quarter. There was also an 8.9% increase in retail service revenues which according to the company is the highest growth it has seen in past three years. The data revenues increased by 21.1%. The company also saw net additions of 734,000 retail customers for the quarter which also include an addition of 501,000 retail postpaid customers. The company’s customer churn remained low at 0.96%. The company’s total customer base stands at 88 million retails postpaid customers and 93 million retail customers.
AT&T Expands Mobile Internet Wireless Capacity in Macomb County
AT&T Expands Michigan Mobile Internet Wireless Capacity
AT&T Expands Mobile Internet Wireless Capacity in Macomb County
Michigan Wireless Broadband customers in three Macomb counties of Clinton, Macomb and New Baltimore are expected to experience the better mobile Internet and wireless Internet coverage and voice performance as a result of AT&Ts ongoing investment in regional. The company last week announced that it had completed a key initiative in its continued efforts for better wireless capacity in these areas.
Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel said that with AT&Ts additional investment, Macomb County along with entire Metro Detroit area would be better connected. Expansion of hi speed Internet and voice coverage provides job makers the necessary tools to infuse new vigor in the economy and gives the residents the chance to stay connected with the rest of the world he added.
President of AT&T Michigan, Jim Murray said that AT&Ts goal is to provide an extraordinary experience to its customers and the Macomb County initiative is part of the goal to invest in local wireless networks. This is part of the AT&Ts strategy of developing its network in more areas and providing mobile broadband and Internet services to large communities.
AT&T’s network enhancements in the Macomb County region provides new frequency layers for better managing demand for mobile Internet services by allocating additional network resources.
The AT&Ts mobile Internet network uses 3rd generation partnership project family of technologies which includes UMTS and GSM, which are most widely used platforms globally. Amongst all the carriers in the U.S. AT&T have the best international coverage with access to voice services in over 225 countries and data services in over 200 countries.
With over 30,000 hot spots, AT&T manages the biggest Wi-Fi network in the U.S. With roaming agreements it provides access to over 225,000 global hotspots. Most AT&T Smartphone users can access the entire Wi-Fi network in the country with no additional cost. Also Wi-Fi usage doesn’t count towards the user monthly wireless data plans.
Fed’s Target 95MHz Wireless Spectrum for Mobile Broadband
Fed's Target 95MHz Wireless Spectrum for Mobile Broadband
Fed’s Target 95MHz Wireless Spectrum for Mobile Broadband
As per the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) 95MHz of government, wireless spectrum could be used for mobile broadband. But it has also recommended that government agencies and commercial users should share spectrum.
The agency which belongs to the U.S. Department of Commerce announced last week that 95MHz of government wireless spectrum could be freed for commercial use. The exact details of how and when this would occur and how much will it cost had not been discussed yet but the agency feels that it is possible.
Adding 95MHz of spectrum from the 1755MHz to 1850 MHz band is in line with President Obama’s vision of doubling the wireless spectrum used for wireless broadband by 2020.
Lawrence Strickling, NTIA administrator and assistant secretary for communications and information said that the report has set a path to put prime spectrum in wireless commercial broadband use as per the Obama administration’s goal of encouraging innovation and investment and increasing America’ s financial competitiveness.
The wireless industry is highly interested in the spectrum band identified by the NTIA. Big wireless operators like Verizon and AT&T feel that increasing wireless data services has created a capacity shortage and unless new wireless spectrum is not auctioned by the government there won’t be room in future for wireless companies to serve their customers.
Freeing 95MHz of spectrum won’t be soon or easy as it would take millions of dollars and at least a decade to move existing government users to a different band.
As per the NTIA currently over 20 agencies with over 3,100 individual frequency assignments are in this spectrum band. The Department of Defense handling highly critical missions like military communications, remote controlled robotics, air combat trainings and precision guided ammunition uses this band. The Law enforcement Department also uses this band for surveillance.
The government has freed spectrum in the past but current users had to be relocated to other frequencies which took a lot of time and money.
Categories: FCC, Internet Law, Internet News, Mobile Broadband, Wireless Tags: government, Mobile Broadband, Wireless
