Stay Connected This Summer: Sprint 4G LTE Expands Into 22 New Cities

OVERLAND PARK, Kan., June 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Sprint (NYSE:S) today announced the availability of its all-new 4G LTE network in 22 new cities, just in time for the official start of summer. Customers in “hotspots” such as Miami, New Orleans, Raleigh, N.C., and Tampa, Fla., are now able to download videos, access the Internet and send photos with greater speed and reliability thanks to the power of Sprint 4G LTE.

http://www.dailymarkets.com/stock/2013/06/17/stay-connected-this-summer-sprint-4g-lte-expands-into-22-new-cities/

North America: LTE Adds 19 Million Subscriptions Year-Over-Year at 3Q 2012

LTE connections in North America rocketed to 22.3 million -- adding almost 19 million subscriptions in 12 months and representing 51 percent of all 43.7 million LTE connections worldwide at the end of the third quarter of 2012, reported 4G Americas, according to data from Informa Telecoms & Media. Another "billion" milestone is expected by the end of 2012, with all 3GPP technologies, including GSM, HSPA and LTE, comprising a massive subscription base of 6 billion and more than 90 percent of the global cellular connections. //marketwire.com

Bluegrass Cellular brings LTE to rural Kentucky

Kentucky based Bluegrass Cellular has announced the launch of a 4G LTE network, a development that comes out of its 2010 agreement with Verizon as part of the latter’s Wireless LTE in Rural America program. //telecoms.com

Voyager Mobile announces 4G LTE service

Voyager Mobile opens to New York residents, announces 4G LTE service and new $17 Unlimited Talk plan.

Voyager Mobile opens its doors to New York, making its low cost wireless service available to New York State residents. Voyager Mobile offers some of the nation's lowest cost, unlimited wireless plans, starting at $17 per month plus tax.

Voyager Mobile has also introduced 4G LTE into its lineup of low-cost wireless services. Voyager 4G LTE boasts download speeds of six to eight megabits per second (6-8 Mbps), nearly doubling the speeds of existing Voyager 4G WiMAX.

Voyager Mobile was one of the first prepaid wireless providers of 4G WiMAX, and now, with 4G LTE, the Samsung Galaxy S III, Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE, HTC EVO 4G LTE, and LG Viper 4G LTE are welcomed to the lineup of popular and powerful smartphones – still 100% contract-free. If 4G LTE service is not available in your area, simply utilize 3G data until the high-speed frenzy arrives in your hometown.

//heraldonline.com

LTE iPhone 5 may lure AT&T users to Verizon

With its larger LTE network, Verizon could benefit if AT&T iPhone buyers need to switch carriers to grab the higher speed, says a Jefferies & Co. analyst. //news.cnet.com

Yes. And Verizon has bigger coverage as well.

47% of US consumers don't feel need for 4G LTE

47% of surveyed don't feel they need access to a 4G LTE network
26% thought all 4G LTE networks were largely the same

Research note: despite all the 4G advertizing, consumers aren't really focused on it.

51% of respondents indicating that either they didn't know who had the best 4G network or that ann 4G networks were the same.

Of the 55% apparently contemplating next iPhone purchase, 44% indicated they would choose Verizon as their carrier, 29% - AT&T, 14% - Sprint, 13% T-Mobile.

//newc.cnet.com

MetroPCS may sign for LTE roaming before the 2012 end

MetroPCS, the fifth-largest carrier in the U.S., has one little problem: while it will finally have filled out 97 percent of its 14 metro areas with LTE by October, its 14 metro areas don't include everyone. So it's looking for roaming partners.

So when will we see MetroPCS phones roaming the nation on LTE? There's a good chance it'll happen before the end of next year, Ed Chao, MetroPCS said.

//pcmag.com

LG Optimus Vu with LTE to launch in U.S.

LG Optimus Vu sold in more, then 500 000 in South Korea yet. Now we can expect its launch in USA, most probably for Verizon customers. Before the 3q2012 end. \\unwiredview.com

The coming wireless spectrum apocalypse and how it hits you

Marguerite Reardon, CNet News, about USA's spectrum market. Small carriers are worried about getting snuffed by the deep pockets of AT&T and Verizon Wireless, and they want help. What judges and regulators decide to do could impact your wallet for years to come.

"As a result, when thinking about carrier consolidation, you are essentially faced with two choices," said Public Knowledge's Weinberg. "One is to allow rapid consolidation in the hope of gaining efficiencies of scale, but at the same time recognize that the mo/duopoly you create will eventually have to be regulated as such or broken up. The other is to engage in a lighter level of regulation today that ensures that there is competition in the wireless market, and that said competitive market is capable of largely regulating itself."
"The option that does not exist is to allow the formation of a monopoly or a duopoly," he added, "and assume it will then act in the best interest of everyone else."

\\news.cnet.com

NIST test public-safety LTE

National Institute of Standards and Technology is busily testing products for the planned nationwide LTE public-safety network in USA.

The Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, enacted Feb. 22, established the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) to develop the nationwide public-safety LTE network under an FCC license for both the existing public-safety broadband spectrum (763-769 MHz/793-799 MHz) and the spectrally adjacent D Block (758-763 MHz/788-793 MHz), which the act reallocated to public safety. The order did not specify procedures for transferring the existing 700 MHz spectrum license from PSST to FirstNet.

\\fiercebroadbandwireless.com

Leap's LTE network delayed

Launch of Leap's LTE network will be pushed back to early 2013 and reach fewer people that originally anticipated. Leap will cut investment to its CDMA network as it focuses on LTE deployment.

\\mobileburn.com

Leap said it now expects to cover around 21 million POPs with LTE by the end of this year, down from a previous expectation of 24 million. Interestingly, Leap said it plans to roll out LTE "by deploying facilities-based coverage and/or by entering into possible partnerships or joint ventures with others." Such language could indicate Leap plans to team up with another carrier to deploy LTE instead of handling the buildout by itself.

2q2012 results:

• 5.9 million subscribers (-289.000 to 1q2012; +2.7% yy)
• ARPU: US$41.64  (+US$1.49 yy)
• churn: 4.4% (+0.2% yy)
• US$751.3 million service revenues 2q2012 (+6.7% yy)
• US$31.6 million operating income 2q2012 (up from the US$12.3 million at 2q2011)

\\FierceWireless.com

Sprint's first LTE MVNO Ting gets Galaxy S3

Sprint isn’t holding anything back when it comes to supporting its MVNO partners. Ting will not only get access to a device Sprint started selling only last month, but it will gain immediate entry onto Sprint’s brand new LTE network — permissions other carriers would never grant.

What’s surprising is that it’s happening so soon and that Ting gets immediate access to such a high-profile device. The S III has only been available on Sprint’s network for only a month.

Sprint has aggressively courted MVNOs, even going so far as to create a build-your-own-MVNO kit, which allows new virtual operators to come online as quickly as possible.

Ting flouts the typical carrier billing model by not requiring customers to commit to specific buckets of voice, text and data each month. Customers do sign up for tiers of minutes, SMS and data, but if they use less than their plans’ allotments in a given month, Ting credits them for the unused portions on their next bills. According to Noss, Ting’s savviest customers merely select zero in all three categories and just pay for what they consume each month.

\\gigaom.com

But wait, there’s more! Ting also announced a pair of new phones on the roster. The LG Optimus Elite (in white) is now available, and both black and white version of the device are back in stock at under $200. The Samsung Transform Ultra is now in stock and costs $205; if you had the phone backordered, it will ship on August 6th.

Other new products launching soon for Ting customers include an “an LTE hotspot, a mid-range LTE smartphone, an inexpensive slider, an accessible phone for the visually impaired”, and a BYOD plan is also in the works.

\\hothardware.com

Verizon settles FCC probe into 'tethering' block

In the first move of its kind, the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday said it's accepting a $1.25 million settlement from Verizon Wireless to end an investigation into whether the company asked Google Inc. to withhold so-called "tethering" software for Internet sharing.

Until recently, phone companies charged extra fees to allow tethering, or sharing of Internet access between devices.

The FCC remarked that Verizon justified its tethering fees by saying that tetherers used more data on the network. But the company demanded the fees even from customers who paid for data based on how much they used, so those users were charged again for the same service.

Verizon eliminated its tethering fees for limited-data plans last month, with the introduction of a new suite of "Share Everything" plans. It hasn't charged extra for tethering on the latest iPad, which is the first Apple Inc. device with LTE access.

\\sfgate.com  \\news.cnet.com

MetroPCS plan to re-ignite with LTE

Shares of MetroPCS Communications, Inc. (NYSE:PCS) could see at least 40 percent upside over the next 12 months as the wireless carrier is on the brink of several catalysts, including its LTE roll-out, which is expected to boost growth in subscribers and average revenue per user (ARPU).

Meanwhile, the company's LTE pricing is generally 25-40 percent above its 3G offers. For example, its most compelling LTE plans are priced at $50 to $70 vs. $40 to $50 for its most popular 3G plans.

"Despite this improved plan mix, we are modeling only 2% growth in ARPU next year. This is arguably the most conservative metric in our model as only 8% of PCS's subs are currently on LTE plans," Deutsche Bank analyst Brett Feldman said.

Moreover, the company's most immediate strategic priority is gaining access to new spectrum, primarily to support its LTE network. The company currently has a paired 5x5 MHz AWS-1 spectrum configuration dedicated for LTE in most its markets and expects to offer LTE service to 97 percent of its footprint by the third quarter of 2012, up from 90 percent as of June.

It also expects to gradually re-farm its 1900 MHz spectrum bands as it transitions its CDMA subscribers to VoLTE starting late this year.

\\istockanalyst.com

Infrastructure Networks Rolls out small LTE Network in Texas

It is quit small LTE networks - just 5 sites in the Permian Basin Area of West Texas. Sites to be elusively dedicated to the needs of Critical Infrastructure entities. 700 MHz spectrum is good to use in such rural places. \prweb.com

MetroPCS had about 8% of its subscribers on 4G LTE

At the end of the second quarter, MetroPCS had about 8 percent of its subscribers on 4G LTE services, MetroPCS said.

"At the end of the third quarter, affordable 4G LTE handsets will be available and we will be very near the completion of our 4G LTE network buildout with over 97 percent of all our POPs covered," Chief Executive Roger Linquist said. \Reuters

8 percent is about 0,75 млн LTE AWS subscribers. Total number of LTE subscribers worldwide is more then 22.5 million.