FirstNews
Ahead of the Bell: Yahoo 1Q Puts Spotlight on CEO
April 16, 2013 9:44 am | by Associated Press | News | CommentsYahoo's first-quarter earnings report will cast a spotlight on CEO Marissa Mayer's efforts to turn around the Internet company. The numbers, due out after the stock market closes Tuesday, are being released with Yahoo's stock price trading at some of its highest levels since the company squandered an opportunity to sell itself to Microsoft Corp. for $47.5 billion, or $33 per share, in May 2008.
Report: Clearwire Might Default if Sprint Bid Not Approved Soon
April 16, 2013 9:23 am | by Ben Munson | News | CommentsClearwire is considering defaulting on a $255 million interest payment due in June, which is based on nearly $4.5 billion in debt. Reuters dug into the company’s proxy filing from last week and saw that the company might consider bankruptcy if Sprint’s proposed acquisition is not approved by shareholders.
Q&A: Verizon Pitches Future-Proof M2M on LTE
April 15, 2013 4:48 pm | Articles | CommentsVerizon’s LTE network is second to none in the United States. The company is so confident in its existing infrastructure that it has already announced plans to sunset its 2G and 3G networks. That has implications for those customers currently operating their M2M solutions on Verizon’s 2G airwaves...
Broken Healthcare System Needs a Wireless Fix
April 15, 2013 4:29 pm | by Andrew Berg | Articles | CommentsRick Valencia, vice president and general manager of Qualcomm Life, a subsidiary of Qualcomm responsible for all things mHealth related, believes the healthcare in this country need a bit of a technological overhaul. “There are two industries that have fought off any kind of technological...
Analysts Weigh-In on Dish’s Offer to Sprint
April 15, 2013 3:32 pm | by Ben Munson | News | CommentsDish Network unleashed a whole lot of disruption Monday morning when it announced a $25.5 billion offer to merge with Sprint. The unsolicited bid threw a big wrench into Softbank’s $20-billion deal for Sprint. Roger Entner, founder of Recon Analysts, sees Dish’s offer playing out in terms of more money for Sprint’s investors.
First News Briefs for April 15, 2013
April 15, 2013 11:01 am | by Wireless Week Staff | News | CommentsC Spire Wireless has implemented Openwave Mobility’s Promotion and Pricing Innovation (PPI) Mobile Data Charging solution to power the company’s Choice and Shared Data plan offerings.M/A-COM Technology Solutions Inc., a supplier of analog semiconductor solutions...
LTE-Advanced and Small Cells: Techniques for a Tiered Deployment Approach
April 15, 2013 10:42 am | by Renuka Bhalerao, Radisys | Articles | CommentsIt’s no secret; we’ve all become data hogs. As today’s smartphone users consume ever-increasing network resources, mobile operators are rushing to deploy their LTE networks to meet subscriber demand. Given this trend, operators are already planning their LTE-A deployments. Delivering true 4G speeds...
Dish Leapfrogs Softbank With $25.5 Billion Bid for Sprint
April 15, 2013 10:26 am | by Ben Munson | News | CommentsDish Networks this morning announced a $25.5 billion merger bid for Sprint, a deal it says represents a 13 percent premium over the value of Softbank’s current offer to acquire the Kansas City-based carrier. Dish’s offer consists of $17.3 billion in cash and $8.2 billion in stock.
Genachowski Signs On with Aspen Institute
April 15, 2013 9:48 am | by Andrew Berg | News | CommentsFCC Chairman Julius Genachowski will become senior fellow at the Aspen Institute Communications and Society Program upon his resignation from the Commission in the coming weeks. At the Aspen Institute, a non-partisan venue for values-based leadership, Genachowski will advise on the Institute's communications policy programs...
Verizon to Extend Phone-Upgrade Waiting Period
April 15, 2013 9:03 am | by Peter Svensson, AP Technology Writer | News | CommentsVerizon Wireless, the country's largest cellphone carrier, on Friday said that it is extending the time it takes to earn a subsidized phone upgrade from 20 months on contract to 24 months. The move will save Verizon money, since it subsidizes each new smartphone...
First News Briefs for April 12, 2013
April 12, 2013 10:25 am | by Wireless Week Staff | News | CommentsCisco today announced MetroPCS Communications, Inc. has begun a commercial launch of its Cisco Carrier-Grade Internet Protocol Version 6 (CGv6) Solution as a first step in the transition of its mobile Internet network to Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6).
LinkedIn Looks to Publishing with $90M Pulse Acquisition
April 12, 2013 10:09 am | by Andrew Berg | News | CommentsProfessional networking service LinkedIn yesterday announced that it has acquired Pulse, a well-known reader and mobile content distribution platform. LinkedIn reports the deal is valued at approximately $90 million, subject to adjustment...
Review: Home Shields You from Non-Facebook Tasks
April 12, 2013 10:06 am | by Anick Jesdanun, AP Technology Writer | News | CommentsWhen I got my first smartphone in 2010, I checked Facebook obsessively. But over time, the novelty wore off and opening Facebook's app to check photos, links and posts from friends turned into a chore. In a sense, I'm the ideal target for Facebook's new Home app...
BlackBerry Seeks SEC Review of “False” Return Rate Claims
April 12, 2013 10:05 am | by Ben Munson | News | CommentsBlackBerry is requesting a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and an Ontario Securities Commission review of what it calls “false and misleading” reports about the return rate of BlackBerry’s new Z10 smartphone.
MetroPCS’s Biggest Investor Now Backs T-Mobile Merger
April 12, 2013 9:59 am | by Ben Munson | News | CommentsAfter Deutsche Telekom (DT), the parent company of T-Mobile USA, announced yesterday it was sweetening its offer to acquire MetroPCS, Paulson & Co., a hedge fund holding approximately a 9.9 percent share of MetroPCS, has now decided to vote in favor of the merger.
Samsung Uncorks a Pair of Mega Galaxy Phones
April 11, 2013 10:50 am | by Ben Munson | News | CommentsSamsung has officially announced the rumored Galaxy Mega smartphone, which will come with either a 5.8- or 6.3-inch displays. The oversized phones, which dwarf the company’s Note 2 with its 5.5-inch screen, will see availability in Europe and Russia beginning in May.
First News Briefs for April 11, 2013
April 11, 2013 10:19 am | by Wireless Week Staff | News | CommentsHP Enterprise Services has announced a new global agreement with SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) through which it will deliver managed mobility services to help clients convert customer interactions into revenue opportunities and improve employee productivity with mobile applications....
MasterCard Launches New Digital Wallet Called MasterPass for Mobile, Web Purchasing
April 11, 2013 9:30 am | by Michael Oliveira, The Canadian Press | News | CommentsFor those who hate the tedious process of filling out billing and shipping information every time they make an online purchase, MasterCard is rolling out a new digital wallet product called MasterPass, which works on computers, tablets and smartphones...
PC Shipments Drop 14 Percent Annually as Consumers Prefer Tablets, Smartphones
April 11, 2013 9:23 am | by Andrew Berg | News | CommentsConsumer preference for tablets and smartphones sent first quarter global PC shipments down 14 percent to 76.3 million units, according to new numbers from IDC. IDC said the extent of the annual contraction marked the worst quarter since IDC began tracking the PC market quarterly in 1994...
Broadcasters Display Mobile TV Dongles at NAB Show
April 11, 2013 8:41 am | by Ryan Nakashima, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsThe key weapon in TV broadcasters' fight with Internet video upstart Aereo is something inelegantly known as a dongle. The miniature TV antenna picks up free, mobile broadcast signals. It attaches to iPhone and iPad power ports and extends about 7 inches...
Hedge Fund Offers Clearwire Additional $80M in Financing
April 10, 2013 10:50 am | by Ben Munson | News | CommentsAurelius Capital Management has offered Clearwire $80 million in funding to further entice the WiMax wholesaler away from Sprint’s funding offer. In a letter to Clearwire’s board, Aurelius explains that its financing offer would be on similar terms to that of Sprint’s...
AppGratis Irks Apple, Gets Yanked from App Store
April 10, 2013 10:43 am | by Andrew Berg | News | CommentsApple has pulled the popular app recommendation service AppGratis from the Apple App Store. AppGratis is essentially a Groupon for apps. The company partners with app developers to highlight and review apps and deals through its iOS app...
T-Mo Offers iPhone Trade-In Program
April 10, 2013 10:07 am | by Andrew Berg | News | CommentsT-Mobile has added yet another incentive for prospective customers mulling a switch to the uncarrier. The company will offer an iPhone trade-in program as part of its sale of the iPhone 5. The trade-in offer, which begins April 12...
First News Briefs for April 10, 2013
April 10, 2013 9:56 am | by Wireless Week Staff | News | CommentsCompetitive Carriers Association (CCA) has partnered with Exacaster. Through the partnership, Exacaster will offer CCA’s carrier members its cloud-based customer behavior prediction technology at a special CCA member rate to help carriers reduce subscriber churn, increase marketing effectiveness and stimulate new revenue.
Deutsche Telekom Could Delay Final Tally in T-Mobile, Metro Vote
April 10, 2013 9:51 am | by Ben Munson | News | CommentsDeutsche Telekom (DT) could potentially halt the final tally of the shareholder vote to approve the T-Mobile-MetroPCS merger if things don’t appear to be swinging in its favor. A Bloomberg report is citing people familiar with the matter as saying the delay could provide DT a chance to sweeten its bid.
