Cricket became the next US carrier to switch on LTE on Wednesday with a launch in Tucson. Its 4G network is estimated to run about five to ten times faster than its EVDO-based 3G. In an unusual step, Cricket keeps the 5GB cap the same and bases price on speed: a $50 plan provides a more 3G-like 3Mbps, while subscribers need to pay $60 to get 6Mbps.
AT&T isn't making any progress in its attempts to sell T-Mobile assets to rescue its attempted buyout of T-Mobile, insiders uncovered Sunday. Discussions with smaller carriers have reportedly "gone cold," the Wall Street Journal heard. Among other problems, attempts to sell assets to Leap for its Cricket service fell as doubts existed that even this could salvage AT&T's proposed T-Mobile merger.
AT&T has raised the idea with T-Mobile's parent Deutsche Telekom of a network joint venture if the now doubtful T-Mobile merger isn't approved, insiders divulged Wednesday. The two are purportedly in early talks that the Wall Street Journal understood would see them share parts of each other's network, even as they ran separate competitive businesses. The deal is considered a "back burner" option but was gaining momentum as resistance grew to the merger.
Verizon and Leap, the owner of Cricket, have asked the FCC to approve an exchange of LTE and EVDO spectrum. Once completed, the deal would let Leap offer LTE service in Chicago. Verizon, in return would get locations that service areas including Spokane, Seattle, Minneapolis, and Fresno.
Just days after a rumor suggested AT&T may be planning to divest nearly half of T-Mobile's assets in a frantic effort to salvage the proposed acquisition, fresh reports shed more light on the shifting strategy. Unnamed sources have told the New York Times that AT&T has engaged in deep negotiations with Leap Wireless, which would purchase the majority of the spectrum and customer accounts that may need to be shed from T-Mobile to assuage regulators' concerns.
Largely unknown patent holder LVL Patent Group late last week quietly sued much of the US cellphone business and beyond for alleged patent violations (below). It claims that the iPhone, many Android devices, Symbian, and basic feature phones as well as their carriers violate one or more of a group of four generic patents, including data transaction servers and devices for entering transactions. Most of the patents were issued in or before 2000, but one of the device patents was only live on September 13, two days before the lawsuit was filed.
AT&T is now talking directly with MetroPCS and Cricket's parent company Leap in an attempt to save its now seriously threatened buyout of T-Mobile, a pair of sources divulged Monday. The carrier is hoping to sell customer bases and wireless spectrum licenses to its smaller sometime-competitors in hopes of reaching a settlement, Bloomberg said. Bank of America is being tapped specifically to help negotiate the deal.
The FCC on Wednesday asked AT&T for evidence to justify its view that its $39 billion buyout of T-Mobile was necessary for its LTE network. Following an inadvertent leak by AT&T's lawyers that revealed it only needed $3.8 billion to reach its touted 95 to 97 percent coverage of the US population, agency officials wanted to know what the T-Mobile merger would do that the much cheaper proposal would not. Concerns exist that AT&T is using rural 4G expansion as a pretext for an ultimate goal of eliminating a major competitor.
The FCC on Monday sent out a request (PDF) to carriers asking them for information to help its investigation into the AT&T and T-Mobile deal. Verizon, Sprint, and regional carriers like Cellular South and US Cellular were all asked to provide responses to the deal and supporting evidence. Each got the same nine questions relating to coverage, cell site ownership, expansion, relationships with AT&T, their future spectrum plans, billing, and competitive reports.
California has become the second major state to formally move towards investigating AT&T's proposed acquisition of T-Mobile. On Thursday, the California Public Utilities Commission began preparing a proposal for assessing the $39 billion deal. Its move might raise challenges to the deal beyond what the Department of Justice and FCC will offer as part of their formal investigations.
Non-contributing patent holder Visual Interactive Phone Concepts has sued Apple, AT&T, and US Cellular for allegedly violating two patents for video phones. The three Michigan-based lawsuits claim that the three companies violate the patents, both describing a "videophone interactive mailbox facility system," but through questionable means. Apple was accused of violating the patent simply for making a video-capable phone in the iPhone and offering services like the App Store, iTunes, and the iBookstore; AT&T and US Cellular were both targeted for having music and video services as well as content stores that happened to be on video phones.
Cricket's parent company Leap Wireless provided its own objection on Tuesday to AT&T's proposed buyout of T-Mobile. The carrier suggested that letting the deal go through would lead to "alarming concentration" by putting too much power in the hands of two carriers, AT&T and Verizon. A merger would only hurt customers, it said.
Leap Wireless, parent company of no-contract carrier Cricket, has reached an agreement with wholesale wireless broadband provider LightSquared to provide roaming LTE 4G access. The deal will allow Cricket to serve customers in a broader footprint, as well as strengthen wireless service in areas served by Cricket's own LTE network. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. [via Engadget]
Cricket on Tuesday revamped pricing for its data plans, introducing three tiered plans rather than one all-encompassing option. All plans are now capped but are tiered with more bandwidth than other carriers. An entry 2.5GB plan costs $40 per month; 5GB is available for $50 per month, and 7.5GB is on offer for $60 per month. Rather than charge overage fees, Cricket will throttle down the download speed for those that surpass their caps.
The FCC has recently tested an unnamed Nokia handset for approval in the US, though very little information about the device is known. The handset, codenamed QTKRM-658 by the FCC, will support T-Mobile's 1,700 and 2,100MHz 3G bands and confirms it as the only possible carrier.
Leap Wireless, the company behind Cricket's cellphone services, on Wednesday announced it will soon offer two new, all-inclusive nationwide Cricket monthly plans that for the first time include taxes and other fees as part of the actual price. A $40 per month plan will include unlimited minutes throughout the continental US, access to the provider's premium extended calling area and both domestic and international text and picture messaging. A $45 plan adds 'unlimited' mobile web access and directory assistance.
Verizon indicated in a letter that it would make a compromise on roaming service agreements with smaller wireless providers by allowing them to use its network in areas where they lack network coverage but own wireless airwaves, according to a Wednesday report. While there is no current law requirement to this end, Verizon is pre-empting an upcoming regulatory change. Current roaming regulations put smaller providers at a disadvantage, which is why the government is eyeing a rule change.
Virgin Mobile on Thursday announced a new $50 Totally Unlimited Calling plan that would give subscribers unlimited and roaming-free calling throughout the USA. Virgin spokespeople are confirming the move comes in response to similar offers from competitors, including T-Mobile and Boost Mobile. Other contract-free providers, including MetroPCS and Leap, also offer unlimited plans that range from $35 to $50, though they are only offered in certain specific markets.
Some additional bidders in the FCC's auction for the 700MHz band have been revealed, according to filings and public revelations. In addition to confirmed bids by cable provider Cox and open access advocate Google, Leap Wireless (which owns the cellular provider Cricket) has submitted an SEC filing indicating that it use a subsidiary to participate in the auction. A partly-connected firm known as Denali Spectrum License will also join in, Leap notes.
