Sprint on Tuesday announced plans to expand its 4G WiMAX service to 17 additional cities in Hawaii, Idaho, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas and Washington. The carrier claims mobile broadband speeds reaching 10 Mb/s while downloading or between 3-6 Mb/s for uploads. The 4G service is said to exceed 3G speeds by a factor of three to five.
Apple's North Carolina server farm could ultimately become worth $2 billion, twice the company's minimum investment, claims a member of the Catawba County Economic Development Corporation. In exchange for tax breaks, Apple has agreed to build a $1 billion facility at the Catawba Data Park in Maiden. The building will occupy 500,000 square feet, and provide approximately 750 construction jobs running into late 2010.
Apple has at last chosen a location for a North Carolina server farm, reports say. Though the company confirmed intentions for an iDataCenter on June 3rd, with plans to invest $1 billion in the state over the course of nine years, it has not so far announced a specific location. Representatives for the town of Maiden, however, have scheduled a July 6th press conference, in which they are expected to formally acknowledge a deal with Apple.
The General Assembly of North Carolina has approved a new tax bill specifically geared towards attracting an Apple server farm, the Associated Press writes. The bill was approved by the state Senate on Monday night with a 40-to-8 vote, leaving only a signature from Gov. Beverly Perdue in the way of transformation into law. The final debate is reported to have lasted less than a minute, with Republican Senator Tom Apodaca noting that the state has been focusing too heavily on attracting large corporations, at the expense of small businesses.
It is "all but a done deal" that Apple will build its North Carolina server farm in Catawba County, state officials are said to have confessed. The word has allegedly been passed on to the backers of a site in Cleveland County, typically thought of as Catawba's only major competition. Both counties are some of the poorest in the state, making them suitable for the conditions of a corporate welfare bill directed at Apple. After some delay, the bill is expected to be given a final vote Monday night.
The state House of North Carolina has voted 81 to 31 for a bill handing out tax breaks to Apple, the Associated Press writes. Although the results are only preliminary, they may suggest the outcome of the final vote, scheduled to be held before Wednesday's end. If successful, the bill will divert $46 million of taxpayers' money towards a 10-year break for Apple.
North Carolina may be willing to provide special tax favors for Apple, should the company decide to build a server farm in the state, writes the Charlotte Observer. A state official cited by the paper says that a new bill, nearing approval, would offer breaks to corporations with a minority marketshare in the region but large quantities of property and workers. The bill is said to be explicitly aimed at luring the proposed Apple server farm, which could in theory save the company $46 million over the course of 10 years.
Apple's retail shop in Greensboro, North Carolina will open on February 21st, barring complications, a marketing assistant for the Friendly Center shopping complex is said to inform. The store will be located between Williams-Sonoma and Anthropologie on Avondale, and should not only be the first Apple Store in Greensboro, but the largest to date in North Carolina. The outlet has experienced a number of setbacks on the way to completion.
Apple has already begun its retail store expansion plans for 2009, with photos emerging of construction in Greensboro, NC, along with a building approval for a long-awaited Georgetown location and several international locations, including Brighton in the UK, and Ottawa, Canada. A tipster who observed workers building the Greensboro store notes that the workers were standing on what appeared to be a palette with a railing made from 2x4s.
Apple's first German retail store is due to open this week, the company has announced. The shop is situated at 1 Rosenstraße in Munich, and will throw open its doors at 10AM local time this Saturday, December 6th. Visitors will of course be able to test Macs, iPods and iPhones; as an incentive to arrive early, the first 2,500 people to come will be given a free Apple t-shirt. Although the store should be closed on Sundays, regular hours are slated to be a consistent 9AM to 8PM Monday through Saturday.
