Items tagged with Mobile Data
Last Friday, AT&T gave notice that it would henceforth take steps to block unauthorized tethering. For those who aren't familiar with the term, "tethering" is the practice of using a cell phone's data link to provide wireless service to a desktop or laptop. Now, Verizon is evidently following suit. Customers who have previously had no trouble using tethering on jailbroken devices are reportedly being redirected to Verizon's advertising page for tethered data plans. AT&T and Verizon have both justified their moves by noting that they don't prevent customers from tethering--they simply charge for the privilege. Verizon, however, has come under particular scrutiny thanks to a clause in the...
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And this here is why competition is a great thing. When AT&T ditched their mobile unlimited plans in favor of tiered plans, most assumed that the other major operators would follow suit. We're still waiting on the edge of our seats to see if that'll happen, but for now, AT&T remains the lone player who won't give smartphone users unlimited data for their phone. Granted, they're also the only carrier in the U.S. with the data-hungry iPhone, so we guess we can understand the situation a little bit. But now, Virgin Mobile USA is going against the AT&T grain with a couple of new Broadband2Go plans. These plans provide mobile Internet access on Sprint's network via the MiFi 2200 hotspot...
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According to a recent wireless study by the Nielsen Co., the typical smartphone user consumes less than 300MB of data each month. This figure represents an increase of about 230 percent compared to last year's figure. Considering the increasing popularity of data-intensive mobile services such as video chat and Hulu streaming services, we have to expect that mobile data use will continue to rise. The Nielsen Co. sorted through about 60,000 mobile bills to discover that the average smartphone user was consuming about 298MB of data each month. As you may recall, AT&T recently unveiled new, tiered data plans. The lowest tier offers only 200MB of data for $15 per month. Although this allotment...
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LTE, or Long Term Evolution, isn't looking to be very "long term." The next generation mobile broadband protocol, or 4G, isn't even being deployed commercially yet, and already the European Commission is looking to spend some big bucks in order to research the next-next big things.Starting on New Year's Day 2010, the EU will release right around $25 million in order to research "ultra high-speed" mobile internet, which it hopes will act as the underpinning on the next generation of mobile services. Details are pretty vague about what it hopes to accomplish by doing this, but given the size of the investment, we suspect it's not just doing this on a whim. EU Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding...
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Clearwire's WiMAX service has been a lumbering giant for well over a year now, as what started out at a few WiMAX hotspots in a few random cities has now grown into a service that's available to a variety of locations across the country. We're still a long, long ways out from having a truly nationwide 4G mobile data network, but the engineers at Clear are doing their best to expand as quickly as possible.In a release issued today, Clearwire Communications has announced the official launch day of CLEAR 4G service in Boise, Idaho; Bellingham, Wash.; and eight markets throughout Texas, including: Abilene, Amarillo, Corpus Christi, Lubbock, Midland/Odessa, Killeen/Temple, Waco and Wichita Falls....
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My, how the tables have turned. The bickering from mobile carriers over the inclusion of Wi-Fi on higher-end devices is still fresh in our minds, as just a few years back many companies viewed it as a rival to 3G, and thus, a rival to mobile data revenues. Today, however, things have shifted dramatically. It's not really the data network that's profitable any more, but the applications and such downloaded for one's phone. Of course, it matters not what kind of data network is used when an app is purchased, it only matters that the app is purchased and some of that revenue goes the carrier. In the case of Apple's App Store, none of the revenue from application sales goes to AT&T, which gives...
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You knew it would happen at some point, didn't you? With mobile operators offering subsidized netbooks in order to advance adoption of mobile broadband services, Sprint has become the first of the US-based carriers to reach all the way down to free. Or almost free, if we're being precise. While AT&T and Verizon Wireless currently offer the HP-Compaq Mini 110c for $199 with a 2-year data plan, Sprint has teamed up with Best Buy in order to sell the machine for just $0.99 with a 2-year agreement on the company's "Now Network." If one were to buy this machine straight-out, you'd pay $389.99, but before you whip out the credit card for that sub-$1 charge, take a look at the full costs. The 2-year...
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Here's an interesting one. While the public at large may be curbing their purchasing of WWAN cards, the demand for mobile broadband is still forecast to shoot up in the coming years. How so, you ask? Simple: netbooks. With Verizon Wireless and AT&T already selling 3G-enabled netbooks for dirt cheap on contract, you can understand the sentiment here. More and more, consumers will walk into a carrier's store and walk out with a new, low-cost computer. And that computer will be tethered to a mobile data plan for two solid years. Needless to say, it won't take many of those sales to see usage creep up.Netbook bundles are undoubtedly the next big push in mobile data. By and large, WWAN sales have...
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