Sevana: #TBT: Sprint struggles with iPhone, debt; bullish on LTE … this week in 2011

Editor’s Note: RCR Wireless News goes all in for “Throwback Thursdays,” tapping into our archives to resuscitate the top headlines from the past. Fire up the time machine, put on the sepia-tinted shades, set the date for #TBT and enjoy the memories!

Sprint Nextel scrambles to support iPhone 4S, faces another debt downgrade

Sprint Nextel is betting billions on the iPhone 4S, and now the No. 3 U.S. carrier is answering complaints that the massive data traffic being generated by the device is overwhelming its network. “We are looking into a small number of reports of slow data speeds when using the iPhone 4S, however there are also reports showing that Sprint’s network is the fastest, such as the Gizmodo report,” Sprint Nextel said in a statement. That preliminary test found Sprint Nextel’s service the fastest for iPhone 4S, with the second fastest downloads and fastest upload speeds. But Gizmodo continues to test, using submissions from iPhone 4S users, and as time goes on Sprint Nextel’s performance seems to be deteriorating. Its fastest speeds are comparable to those of AT&T Mobility and Verizon Wireless, but its average speed currently looks much lower than that of its larger rivals. … Read More

Sprint Nextel’s Azzi sheds light on carrier’s LTE plans

Sprint Nextel’s recent announcement that it planned to begin deploying LTE services across its network as part of its Network Vision initiative was not a surprise to most industry observers as the industry in general is moving in that direction. What did catch some off guard were the carrier’s plans to have a larger LTE footprint than its current CDMA network by the end of 2013. At this week’s 4G World event in Chicago, Bob Azzi, Sprint Nextel’s SVP of Networks, provided RCR Wireless News some additional insight into those plans as well as touched on the carrier’s plans to update that network as equipment becomes available. … Read More

LTE in North America fraught with challenges, opportunities

After decades of “holy wars” surrounding cellular technologies, common ground seems to have been made around the LTE standard. Virtually all carriers around the world have said they plan on moving towards the standard at some point in the network evolution path regardless of which technology they are coming from. Unlike past technology generations, the North American market is a significant driver of the LTE standard with broad-based deployments currently underway, and many more scheduled to begin in the coming months. Verizon Wireless, AT&T Mobility and Canada’s Rogers Wireless have already begun extensive network deployments reaching across the country, while regional player MetroPCS Communications has deployed services across most of its markets. Others, like Sprint Nextel, Leap Wireless, LightSquared, Clearwire, Telus Mobility, Bell Canada and some regional players have also announced plans to begin deploying services in the near term. … Read More

The days of Windows domination are over

Gartner’s David Cearley started his press conference at this week’s Gartner Symposium/ITxpo in São Paulo with the phrase: “The days of Windows domination are pretty much over.” The consulting firm noted that since last year the installed base of mobile PCs and smartphones has exceeded that of desktop PCs; and that media tablets sales are expected to jump from 18 million sold in 2010 to 918 million by 2016 – or one sold for every eight people on earth. The scenario projected by Gartner shows that by 2014, the installed base of devices based on lightweight mobile operating systems – such as Apple’s iOS, Google’s Android, and Microsoft’s Windows 8 – will exceed the total installed base of all PC-based systems. “As mobile’s importance increase, the Microsoft’s dominance decreases,” Cearley said. … Read More

Nokia launches Windows phones

Nokia unveiled the company’s first Windows Phone offerings in London this morning at the company’s Nokia World event. The two Nokia Windows phones are the higher-end Lumia 800 and the more basic Lumia 710. Nokia is the world leader in mobile device sales, according to the latest research from Gartner, Inc., although its market share has slipped during the past year. Current Nokia smartphones use the Symbian operating system, but earlier this year Nokia announced that it would migrate to Windows Phone 7, an operating system that currently has less than 2% of the smartphone market. … Read More

Verizon Wireless ahead of schedule for LTE build, capex trend down for 2012

Perhaps looking to stave off some recent claims that it was throttling back on network spending, Verizon Wireless sent out a reminder this morning that the carrier was ahead of schedule on rolling out its LTE network. The carrier noted that its original plans to cover 185 million potential customers with its LTE network by the end of 2011 have already been achieved with the addition of 22 markets last week. The carrier said it will add 13 new markets on Nov. 17, including Kansas City, Mo.; and Roanoke, Va., and hinted at further deployments to be announced for December. … Read More

Apple iPhone 4S shakes up mobile space in less than a week

With just over a week on the market, Apple’s newest iPhone iteration – the 4S – has already made its presence felt across the mobile space. Apple reported earlier this week that it sold 4 million devices over the first three days of availability, while AT&T Mobility claimed more than 1 million devices sold and Sprint Nextel boasted about record sales through all of its channels. The device’s impact was so strong that its lack of availability until the opening days of the fourth fiscal quarter impacted the third quarter results of both AT&T Mobility and Verizon Wireless, which analysts noted saw a lull in postpaid customer additions in September as consumers waited for the new model to launch. … Read More

Google gobbles up 21 companies so far this year

Search engine giant Google has been looking for deals in more ways than one this year. The company has made 21 acquisitions, and several of its targets have been companies that offer daily deals, coupons, and loyalty cards. DailyDeal, Zave Networks, The DealMap, and Punchd Labs are all 2011 Google acquisitions in the online coupon and/or loyalty card area. Berkery Noyes, an investment bank specializing in technology and information content, says 17 of Google’s 21 purchases this year have been online and/or mobile companies. The firm today released its third quarter report on merger and acquisition activity in these industries. … Read More

Motorola pulls name from the past for new Verizon Wireless LTE device

Motorola’s LTE partnership with Verizon Wireless keeps expanding as the device maker today unveiled its latest smartphone that includes a nod to the company’s past. The new Droid Razr sports what Motorola claims is the thinnest LTE device chassis in existence measuring 7.1 millimeters thanks to its Kevlar fiber-infused construction. In addition, the device has Corning’s Gorilla Glass for its screen and a “water repellent nanocoating” designed to protect the phone and inside components against spills. … Read More

Broadcast supporters claim new plan will raise $125B for government by 2026

The wireless industry’s attempts to shake loose additional spectrum assets from the federal government could run into a stumbling block as the Coalition For Free TV and Broadband said it would endorse a broadband deployment plan put forth by television broadcasters that they claim will result in up to $125 billion being raised for the U.S. Treasury by 2026. The monetary amount is being compared with the $25 billion expected to be raised during an auction of airwaves the Federal Communications Commission is looking to extract from the broadcast community to put into the hands of the wireless space. … Read More

Check out RCR Wireless News’ Archives for more stories from the past.

The post #TBT: Sprint struggles with iPhone, debt; bullish on LTE … this week in 2011 appeared first on RCR Wireless News.