T-Mobile

Sprint ends membership in NGMN Alliance after group backs LTE

Lynnette Luna — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 10:43:52 -0400

FierceBroadbandWireless has learned Sprint has withdrawn from the The Next Generation Mobile Networks (NGMN) Alliance, a group of global mobile operators that banded together last year to push for a common vision for networks and technologies beyond 3G. The operator was a founding member of the NGMN. News of Sprint's withdrawal was first mentioned in a research report from Signals Research.

Sprint said it ended its relationship with the NGMN Alliance after the group chose to endorse LTE (Long Term Evolution) for 4G. Sprint spokesman John Polivka said the NGMN was supposed to endorse the co-existence of various technologies without favoring one over another. In fact, he said, technology neutrality was a key tenet of the NGMN to make sure it didn't duplicate the work being done in existing standards bodies.

"Sprint was disappointed that NGMN shifted from its original technology-neutral stance. We respectfully withdrew our membership from the organization due to the change in direction," he said. "We are enthusiastically continuing with our plans to work with our burgeoning ecosystem and launch a WiMAX network in select U.S. cities beginning in the third quarter with expansion throughout 2009 and beyond."

Founding members of the NGMN Alliance include China Mobile, NTT DoCoMo, Vodafone, Orange, KPN and T-Mobile, all of whom back LTE. A quick look at the list of the 18 operator members on the NGMN Alliance web site shows the majority of the operators come from the WCDMA community, whose 4G path is LTE.

Related stories:
Femto Forum, NGMN Alliance unite for femtocells. NGMN story
NGMN announces "unprecedented" IPR plan. IPR story

FCC grants more time for comments on AWS-3 auction plans

Lynnette Luna — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 00:00:52 -0400

The FCC has agreed to extend the comment period for its controversial plan to auction nationwide spectrum in the AWS band that would require the winner to offer free wireless broadband services. Yesterday was supposed to be the comment deadline on the plan, but the FCC set new comment and reply comment deadlines for July 25 and Aug. 11.

Earlier this week it appeared the FCC was ready to push the plan through, despite the heavy criticism it has received from mobile operators and Republican lawmakers who see the plan as a repeat of the failed 700 MHz D-block auction.

The commission is proposing to combine the 2155 to 2175 MHz band with the 2175 MHz to 2180 MHz band to create a 25-megahertz swath of spectrum that would support a nationwide license. The spectrum is referred to as advanced wireless services-3 and would require the licensee to dedicate 25 percent of its network capacity to free broadband service, install a network-based Internet filtering system to block pornography and allow open access to third-party devices and applications.

T-Mobile, the biggest winner in the AWS-1 auction in 2006, has been the most vocal opponent, and has claimed that more time is necessary to make sure use of the adjacent spectrum doesn't cause interference. The FCC granted the operate the shorter of its two requested comment deadline extensions even though T-Mobile said it preferred an extra 90 days for public comment.

"It is the policy of the commission that extensions of time shall not be routinely granted," the FCC stated. "Nevertheless, in this instance, we find that providing additional time for filing comments will serve the public interest by ensuring the development of a more complete and well-developed record in response to the [further notice of proposed rulemaking]."

For more:
- check out RCR Wireless News

Related stories:
Anxiety rises over FCC's AWS-3 auction plans. Auction story
Report: AWS-3 license would fetch $2.8B without FCC's condition. AWS-3 story

T-Mobile calls for delay of FCC's free wireless broadband initiative

Lynnette Luna — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 00:13:26 -0400

T-Mobile USA has asked the FCC to extend the public-comment period for its controversial plan to auction a nationwide block of spectrum that would see the licensee offering free broadband services. T-Mobile wants the commission to spend more time studying potential interference problems and delay its final decision until after the November elections. The commission's comment deadline is July 9 with reply comments due July 16. The FCC wants to craft its rules by August.

M2Z Founder, Chairman and CTO Milo Medin, whose company first presented this type of proposal to the FCC back in 2006 and is interested in bidding on the spectrum, recently told FierceBroadbandWireless that the core technical rules that have always been advocated for the auction are the same rules that were used for the 700 MHz auction. "It's hard to argue that the same rules worked at 700 MHz but don't work in this band," he said.

The commission is proposing to combine the 2155 to 2175 MHz band with the 2175 MHz to 2180 MHz band to create a 25-megahertz swathe of spectrum that would support a nationwide license. The spectrum is referred to as advanced wireless services-3 and would require the licensee to dedicate 25 percent of its network capacity to free broadband service, install a network-based Internet filtering system to block pornography and allow open access to third-party devices and applications.

For more:
- read RCR Wireless News

Related stories:
Interview with M2Z: Free wireless broadband can work. M2Z interview
FCC looks to fast-track free wireless broadband network initiative. Wireless broadband story

Starbucks settles T-Mobile WiFi lawsuit

Lynnette Luna — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 02:59:53 -0400

Days after T-Mobile filed a lawsuit against Starbucks accusing it of breach of contract because it's allowing AT&T to provide customers with free WiFi access in its cafes, Starbucks announced it has reached an agreement with AT&T and T-Mobile. The AT&T promotion provides two hours of free WiFi to Starbucks customers who purchase a Starbucks Reward Card with a minimum of $5 credit on it. Customers must use their Starbucks Card at least once a month.

T-Mobile, which was the seven-year exclusive paid WiFi provider for Starbucks before the coffee chain transitioned to AT&T, filed a complaint earlier this week charging Starbucks with secretly devising the promotion with AT&T to provide free WiFi in its stores even though T-Mobile still has the right to exclusively sell and promote its WiFi service in Starbucks until the transition to AT&T is complete. Currently only two Starbucks stores have made the transition, the lawsuit said.

It's unclear what type of agreement Starbucks entered into with AT&T and T-Mobile but it appears the lawsuit won't go to trial. According to a T-Mobile spokesperson, "T-Mobile, AT&T, and Starbucks have entered into a memorandum of understanding to resolve their disputes and are committed to providing a high quality WiFi experience for customers.

For more:
- read ars technica

Related stories:
T-Mobile sues Starbucks over free WiFi
T-Mobile USA: WiFi subs can still use Starbucks
Starbucks snubs T-Mobile, signs WiFi deal with AT&T

T-Mobile sues Starbucks over free WiFi

Sue Marek — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 17:27:25 -0400

T-Mobile USA isn't a fan of the new free WiFi promotion from AT&T and Starbucks. The carrier, which has offered paid WiFi access to Starbucks customers for the past seven years, filed a lawsuit against Starbucks accusing it of breach of contract because it's allowing AT&T to provide customers with free WiFi access in its cafes. The AT&T promotion provides two hours of free WiFi to Starbucks customers who purchase a Starbucks Reward Card with a minimum of $5 credit on it. Customers must use their Starbucks Card at least once a month.

Starbucks announced in February it was ending its exclusive relationship with T-Mobile in favor of a new deal with AT&T and the transition is under way. In the complaint filed in New York State Supreme Court, T-Mobile says the coffee maker secretly devised the promotion with AT&T to provide free WiFi in its stores even though T-Mobile still has the right to exclusively sell and promote its WiFi service in Starbucks until the transition to AT&T is complete. Currently only two Starbucks stores have made the transition, the lawsuit says.

For more:
- See this CNET story.

Related stories:
Starbucks' free WiFi promo hits a snag
T-Mobile USA: WiFi subs can still use Starbucks Starbucks WiFi/AT&T story
Starbucks snubs T-Mobile, signs WiFi deal with AT&T Starbucks WiFi story

Starbucks' free WiFi promo hits a snag

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 06:59:53 -0400

Starbucks began offering free WiFi to coffee drinkers who visited its Card Reward web page to either sign up for a $5 rewards card or register an existing gift card. Users who sign up before July 14 get a free drink and everyone who signs up can use two hours of AT&T WiFi in Starbucks shops free every day. The only catch is that Card Reward users have to make a purchase with their card at least once a month.

But this plan was complicated when customers overwhelmed the Card Reward site yesterday causing the company to put up a message saying that they were working on the problem and to please check back later. This morning the site was operational.

This latest offer follows Starbucks' announcement earlier this year that AT&T would start providing WiFi service in Starbucks stores. T-Mobile USA, however, continues to offer the service as well.

For more:
- see IDG News Service

Related stories:
T-Mobile USA: WiFi subs can still use Starbucks. Starbucks WiFi/AT&T story
Starbucks snubs T-Mobile, signs WiFi deal with AT&T. Starbucks WiFi story

Google's Page dismisses white space concerns

Tue, 27 May 2008 06:59:54 -0400

Speaking at a New America Foundation event last week in Washington, D.C., Google co-founder Larry Page tried to bolster his firm's case for the FCC to make white spaces--vacant channels of spectrum next to the television broadcaster bands--available for unlicensed wireless broadband access. Page is hoping to sway the FCC, which is expected to issue a report on its white-space device testing some time this summer. The FCC has been testing several white-space device prototypes and is expected to continue to trial devices.

White spaces are slivers of spectrum in the 700 MHz that were originally designed to prevent interference between TV broadcasts. However as broadcasters transition to digital broadcasting, some industry players (such as Google) believe there is an opportunity to use these white spaces to deliver unlicensed wireless broadband services. The broadcast industry opposes the move, saying it will threaten the transition to digital TV and cause interference. The CTIA meanwhile recommends auctioning off the unused broadcast spectrum, and a host of other industries are concerned about interference, including hospitals, entertainers and professional sports organizers. They fear interference with wireless microphones. During his speech, Page discounted the broadcasters' view that using white space spectrum would cause interference, saying that there isn't any technical validity to that claim.

For more:
- see this BusinessWeek article

Related stories:
- Sprint, T-Mobile advocate white space for backhaul. See this white space story
- CTIA, carriers join NAB against white space devices. Read this white space story
- FCC begins second round of white-space testing. See this white space story

Qualcomm invests in femtocell maker ip.access

Thu, 22 May 2008 06:59:57 -0400

Femtocell and picocell maker ip.access received a financial boost from Qualcomm. The company joined existing investors Cisco, Intel Capital, ADC, Motorola Ventures, Scottish Equity Partners, Rothschild Gestion and Amadeus Capital Partners to fund ip.access' Oyster 3G femtocell system, which uses the residential broadband connection to deliver a 3G signal in the home. ip.access is rumored to have inked a femtocell deal with AT&T.

This move by one of the technology giants in the wireless industry is being seen as validating the concept as well as ramping up the competitive stakes. "Having [Qualcomm's] weight behind us and behind femtocells is good," Andy Tiller, VP of marketing at ip.access, told sister publication FierceWireless Europe. "It's beginning to look like this market is about scale. We need big friends in that kind of market, and Qualcomm is one of those friends."

Ovum analyst Jeremy Green says that while Ovum is still somewhat skeptical about the femtocell business case, Qualcomm's decision to invest in ip.access gives the femtocell proposition more credibility.

This is the second big European announcement from Qualcomm this week. On Monday, the firm announced it was purchasing a 40 MHz chunk of L-band spectrum, prompting speculation that it was planning to use it to deliver mobile TV service.

For more:
- see this press release

Related stories:
Qualcomm wins U.K. spectrum but coy about plans. See this story about Qualcomm's spectrum win
T-Mobile invests in femtocell maker. Read this T-Mobile femtocell article
Rumor: ip.access wins femtocell deal with AT&T. See this article on ip.access and AT&T

ALSO NOTED: AT&T launches free WiFi for LaptopConnect users ; Atheros WiFi technology powers Netflix Player; and much more...

Thu, 22 May 2008 06:59:51 -0400

> German iPhone customers use mobile Internet services 30 times more than other cell phone subscribers, while one third of all T-Mobile iPhone customers have chosen the most expensive plan. Article

> AT&T launched free WiFi for it LaptopConnect customers. Release

> U.K. WiMAX player snaps up WiFi aggregator. Article

> Sequans Communications announced availability of its newest chip, the SQN1170, which integrates baseband, RF, and memory in a single chip. Release

> Netflix Player by Roku is using Atheros WiFi technology. Release

And Finally... Sharp extends methanol fuel cell power. Release

With little fanfare, T-Mobile launches 3G in New York

Thu, 08 May 2008 06:59:54 -0400

As anticipated, T-Mobile USA has commercially launched its 3G UMTS/HSDPA network in New York City. The carrier said the service will support both voice and data services, despite the rumors that the initial launch would not support data. By the end of 2008, T-Mobile USA plans to rollout its network in major cities across the U.S. The carrier also announced plans to launch its first HSDPA device in the coming months.

Current Analysis characterized the rollout as frustrating: "We are taking a slightly negative stance on T-Mobile's upgrade to a 3G network, as the much delayed launch (planned since T-Mobile won spectrum in late 2006) was further impaired by the fact that it is available in only one market (New York), with a limited number of compatible handsets and with the complete absence of suitable applications or services that can truly take advantage of faster network speeds. This provides potential early adopters of 3G technology with much less incentive to use the new network," the firm said in a recent note.

For more on T-Mobile USA's 3G plans:
- check out this T-Mobile USA 3G press release