Items tagged with WWAN
Not really surprising, but things aren't looking so good for LightSquared. The company has been fighting for what feels like ages to get their wholesale LTE network approved despite staunch opposition from naysayers who contend that the network will interfere with GPS usage, and they've seemingly been losing more and more ground by the day. This week, the NTIA recommended to the FCC that it put a halt to LightSquared's dreams, but the company isn't going to go away quietly. They said that they'll remain "committed to finding a resolution with the federal government and the GPS industry to resolve all remaining concerns. LightSquared is confident that the parties will continue the on-going efforts...
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Well, isn't this quite the bombshell? Sprint was steadfast in their support for WiMAX, despite the fact that T-Mobile's 42Mbps HSPA+ network (and especially Verizon Wireless' LTE network) was faster. WiMAX was widely seen as the first "4G" implementation in America, but being first isn't always the best tactic, particularly when your rollout footprint is tiny and the speed increases hardly justify the $10/month surcharge. WiMAX was seemingly losing the 4G battle from the start, with LTE and its variants picking up way more steam. So, what's Sprint to do about it? Cut their loses and switch sides while there's still time. The company recently revealed plans to accelerate deployment of Network...
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AT&T has announced their first LTE products. But, contrary to popular belief, neither product is a phone. To be fair, this is actually fairly straight-forward. The first WiMAX devices that took advantage of Clearwire's services were network adapters, and the first LTE devices for Verizon Wireless were also WWAN devices. So, following traditions, AT&T has announced the USBConnect Momentum 4G and Elevate 4G. The first is a USB WWAN device, and the second is a souped-up WWAN module. What makes these unique is that they'll support both HSPA+ and LTE. That way, if you scoot outside of a 4G area, both of these will hop over to a 3G network to keep your connection going. The Momentum 4G...
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There comes a point in the life of every laptop computer where an Internet connection becomes a necessity. It's all grown up. It's no longer just a viable option; it's a requirement. And TRENDnet is helping notebooks everywhere "get their grown-man on," with the shipment of the ultra portable 3G Mobile Wireless N Router, model TEW-656BRG. This device shares a single Internet connection from a compatible Sprint, AT&T, Verizon or other USB 3G / 3.75G USB modem with multiple users. The TEW-656BRG is one of the lightest and smallest 3G routers available; so small that it can slip into any laptop bag unnoticed. It has no battery, and can be powered directly from a laptop's USB port, eliminating...
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It's back! No, not the McRib, Virgin Mobile USA's $20 no-contract broadband plan! The company has just announced a new expansion to their Broadband2Go offerings, with the triumphant return of the $20 plan leading the charge. This joins the current $10 and $50 plans, and provides 500MB with one month expiration for $20, offering another option for flexible internet access especially for the occasional user or traveler. Virgin Mobile’s no contract Broadband2Go plans feature 3G speeds and start at just $10 for 10 days/100MB of access. For heavy users the $50 plan offers unlimited data access with 3G speeds up to 2.5GB each month. For clarity, all of these devices operate on Sprint's network,...
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More 4G? We'll take it! And we're talking about real 4G, not this HSPA+ stuff that T-Mobile USA and AT&T seem to be tooting their horns about. U.S. Cellular, one of the larger regional carriers in America, has recently announced that they'll soon be delivering high-speed LTE services and LTE devices to more than 25 percent of its customers across two dozen markets in time for the holiday season. The carrier's partnering with King Street Wireless in order to make it all come together, and with this, it's yet another check in LTE's favor and another blow to WiMAX. The initial LTE rollout for USCC is in Iowa, Wisconsin, Maine, North Carolina, Texas and Oklahoma. These include some of U.S. Cellular's...
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The Mobile HotSpot shown here isn't new. It's a device that has kicked around on a few carriers in its day, but now, one of America's most prominent cable companies is taking a major step toward becoming an all-in-one service provider. Comcast has just launched this 3G/4G device as a part of their Xfinity Internet2go lineup, enabling pay-TV customers to get mobile broadband from the very same parent company. The device here isn't the story. It's a 3G/4G MiFi, just like the ones that have been around for years now. But Comcast is undercutting Sprint's version ($80) by charging just $25 on a one-year contract, and service costs just $40/month, whereas Sprint's 4G service costs $50. You'll still...
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LightSquared isn't a company that's a household name right now, but it should be. And it will be soon most likely. A new report suggests that the upstart communications company is poised to build out a nationwide 4G network, which would obviously compete with the networks out there already: WiMAX and LTE. Currently, the company owns a big chunk of licensed spectrum and has a billionaire backing them. That means that they had loads of flexibility to take their time and even fail a time or two. According to the report, the goal is to make money by "selling fast wireless broadband to large established providers who will then resell it to consumers or to local or new providers (such as camera manufacturers,...
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The world belongs to the airwaves, and we're just breathing it all in. Or something like that. The FCC has been trying to figure out what to do with wireless spectrum for a few years now, first ushering in the analog-to-digital TV transition and then auctioning off unused 700MHz wireless spectrum. But now, the agency is saying that they need authority to "hold incentive auctions that would compensate television broadcasters for giving up some of their spectrum to wireless companies." The issue at stake is simple: the FCC sees a looming bandwidth crisis, and they are suggesting that some of the US airwaves used for free OTA TV signals must be "repurposed for mobile broadband." FCC Chairman Julius...
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Even in the mobile space, sharing multi-media and content is becoming a trend that simply cannot be ignored. More and more users are expecting to video chat, watch streaming TV and having Netflix at their fingertips, wherever there is a 3G or 4G data connection. Novatel Wireless, which is a company best known for their mobile hotspot products, understands the demands, and their MiFi DLNA server has just received certification for sharing of digital media across a variety of platforms. That means that the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) has approved the MiFi 2372 mobile hotspot for use in streaming media, with the MiFi DLNA Server residing on the device itself. It runs, of course, the MiFi...
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A lot of people forget just how much money the government spends when it comes to school improvements and technology, and while the budget crunch has definitely hurt some of that, a new program is about to get kicked off with $9 million of support. The Federal Communications Commission announced 20 pilot programs that are slated to receive government funding to pay for "wireless broadband connections for laptops, smart phones and other mobile devices, which students will be able to take with them after the school day ends." This is a huge project, and if it goes well, it could change the lives of students everywhere. Despite the statistics, tons of students go home and have no Internet access....
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Sprint's Simply Everything plan has been around for years. It has always allowed unlimited web, texting and calling for a flat rate. Nothing special there. But in recent months, many other carriers have begun to tweak their unlimited plans, transforming them from unlimited plans to "unlimited*" plans. There have been instances of throttling, data caps and other such attempts to put a lid on things if a user actually consumes too much data, and Sprint's CEO Dan Hesse isn't so sure why they're able to continue calling things "unlimited." His new TV ad reassures people that Sprint's Simply Everything plan truly is unlimited. There are no stipulations. No limits. In fact, he ends with this: "Why...
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It's still not cheap to get 3G data while traveling overseas, but at least AT&T is giving their customers a couple of new options when heading abroad. It's hard to recommend such options when they're so pricey, but if you know you'll be away from a Wi-Fi hotspot and you aren't interested in renting a MiFi or SIM, the company's new pay-as-you-go international data packages may fit the bill. The new bundles are designed for laptops and netbooks, with the AT&T DataConnect Pass Global lineup providing data coverage in more than 100 countries, including Canada, Mexico, countries in the Americas, Europe and Asia. Available in 30-day session increments, packages can help travelers better manage...
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The battle for your mobile business is officially on. As if it wasn't already on before. With AT&T taking loads of heat over the past few years for having oversaturated networks in major cities -- namely New York City and San Francisco -- Verizon Wireless has obviously seen what not to do. They have pushed their network as being the one that's more reliable, and the one with more 3G in more places. The last thing Verizon wants is to run into similar network issues once the iPhone 4 comes to town next month. So what better to do than to launch new cell sites in preparation for the influx of new customers? Just days after introducing the iPhone 4 as the carrier's new flagship smartphone, VZW...
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Is a taste of 4G just what San Francisco needed to ease its reliance on 3G? The City by the Bay is one of the nation's most notorious for having lackluster 3G; usually, there are simply so many people on the networks, that getting anything through seems like a challenge. Many AT&T users in the area, in particular, have complained about service there, while carriers insist that the city makes it very difficult to install new towers and capacity. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, so to speak. Sprint, as promised, has officially launched WiMAX services in SF today, but it's actually far more than just SF proper. Palo Alto, San Jose and Oakland are also now getting 4G coverage, so the entire...
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Ever heard of a Mobile HotSpot? Chances are you'll be familiar with the MiFi if so, which has sparked a new revolution of devices. Novatel Wireless is the company that created the MiFi, and now they're upset that a couple of other companies have come out with products that are just too similar. These days, companies are suing the pants off of one another, and with technology advancing so quickly, it's no surprise that some companies are borrowing ideas rather than creating their own. Novatel has filed suit again Franklin Wireless and ZTE for infringing on five Novatel Wireless' patents related to key architecture and functionality of the MiFi family of Intelligent Mobile Hotspots. The suit was...
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Yesterday, we told you about Verizon Wireless' plans to launch its 4G LTE network. Initially, it appeared the LG VL600 modem may be the only model available at launch. Now, it's clear the Pantech UML290 will also be available on Sunday, Dec. 5. This 4G USB modem supports both 4G and 3G speeds and offers a rotating USB connector that folds away when not in use. Other key features include: Data Speeds 4G LTE – customers can expect download speeds of 5 to 12 Mbps and upload speeds of 2 to 5 Mbps in 4G Mobile Broadband coverage area 3G – customers can expect download speeds of 600 Kbps to 1.4 Mbps and upload speeds of 500 to 800 Kbps in Mobile Broadband coverage area 180 degree...
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Verizon already displayed that their LTE network would launch this month, and now the details are backing it. Verizon Wireless has revealed that "the world's largest 4G LTE wireless network" will launch in just a couple of days, starting on Dec. 5, 2010. There's a lot of debate in the sector over what's truly 4G, but there's no question that LTE will zoom by the 3G that consumers are used to using on VZW's network. The best part is that Verizon's pricing isn't totally outrageous. With the launch, Verizon Wireless is also offering new value-priced 4G LTE Mobile Broadband data plans starting at $50 monthly access for 5 GB monthly allowance, as well as two new 4G LTE USB modems: the LG VL600 which...
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The 4G rollout continues! With T-Mobile now claiming that their HSPA+ network is "4G," and Verizon Wireless claiming the same for their incoming LTE network, it's getting hard to know what's what. WiMAX is the original 4G network, and both Clearwire and Sprint are working hard to bring that network to more and more people. Every few weeks now it seems like another major market is getting Spring 4G, and that's the case again this week. Los Angeles, Miami, Washington, D.C., Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio are the latest cities to get Sprint/Clear's 4G services, and those are definitely heavy-hitters. These major markets have historically had issues handling all of the 3G capacity, so hopefully...
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In case you were wondering when Verizon Wireless would finally up their ante and match Sprint, well now you know. There's debate out there on whether LTE is truly 4G (and T-Mobile's HSPA+ for that matter), but there's no doubt that Long Term Evolution equipment will provide faster transfers than standard 3G. Verizon has maintained that they would launch the network by early next year in America, but it sounds like that may happen earlier than expected now. The carrier has stated that the first LTE devices will be data devices; things like USB WWAN modems and Mobile HotSpots. Phones will come later, after the network has had a little time to grown. In a new commercial, Verizon has made clear that...
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It seems like just yesterday that we were complaining about the original iPhone's lack of 3G. Can you believe a phone launching in 2007 with only EDGE managed to sell so well? And now, just three years later, the world's focused on 4G. Most carriers haven't even developed their 3G networks in a manner that they are pleased with, and already companies are looking to build out 4G networks in order to get ahead of the curve. Today, a smaller, regional carrier by the name of Cellular South is joining up with Samsung Mobile in order to reveal a strategic alliance with Samsung Telecommunications to build a LTE 4G high-speed wireless broadband data network infrastructure. LTE is the same wireless technology...
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Ah, the MiFi! It's a great product, and one that's probably overlooked and under-appreciated by most consumers who don't see a burning need to carry around a live 3G connection when they commute or travel. But for those who remain connected at all times, or long to remain connected at all times, there's hardly a better product on the market. Tethering a smartphone definitely does the trick, but it quickly drains battery life and ties up your phone's connection. The MiFi is a standalone pebble, but for those who prefer AT&T's high-speed 3G, they haven't been able to indulge. In practice, AT&T's 3G really is speedier than the CDMA rivals, but you need to be within a well-covered AT&T...
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