Sprint Says Mobile WiMax Is Ready To Launch In 2008
Sprint has come out and stated that the tests carried out in Baltimore and Washington D.C. to test out WiMax have been very successful. They confirmed that WiMax is on schedule to launch in 2008.
The tests were carried out by Sprint and Samsung to test out the mobility as well as speed of mobile WiMax.
Sprint continues to work hard to build up its Xohm mobile broadband Internet service. This service is going to support the mobile WiMax standard.
Xohm president Barry West stated The collaboration with Samsung and our partners has created a WiMax ecosystem that has now proven that it can deliver this new technology to the marketplace well ahead of any feasible alternative. This is a major step towards launch readiness.â€
Though mobile WiMax is new, many believe that it could become a huge hit in the U.S. once it is rolled out.
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Sprint tightens the leash, or, preparing for Mobile WiMAX?
Not a week passes by now without new clues of Sprint’s fate appearing; will Sprint even be around as a relatively significant brand in five years?
Following the news of Sprint seeing a decline in subscriber numbers in the first quarter of 2008 and subsidies being slashed on select cell phones, a user on sprintusers.com today posted an interesting piece of information:
“Sprint reserves the right to limit throughput speeds or amount of data transferred and to deny, terminate, modify, or suspend service if usage exceeds 5GB per month in total or 300MB/month while off-network roaming. Check your subscriber agreement rights on Sprint.com”
At first sight, even a trained eye could take this as a way of alienating its data subscribers, but is that Sprint’s real intention? We don’t think so. In the long run, there’s no point in offering attractive tethered modem services via EV-DO at the same time as you’re going to sell subscriptions for a new nationwide Mobile WiMAX network. So this could be a sign of Sprint streamlining its current services, before adding another.
However, if we have the option between a boring Mobile WiMAX device with limited possibilities on a Power-Vision-Xohm-Nextel-Direct-Connect subscription, and a fancy Mobile WiMAX device with unlimited possibilities (we assume Google will ensure openness) on a Clearwire Mobile WiMAX subscription, we’ll obviously choose the latter.
Only time will tell whether we in five years own and use a Sprint branded device. And that’s the main reason why Sprint owns 51% of Clearwire. They’ll win either way.
Vodafone buys ZYB
Vodafone agreed to acquire 100% of ZYB, a privately owned company based in Denmark. ZYB operates a social networking and online management tool allowing mobile phone users to back-up and share their handsets’ contact and calendar information online, for a cash consideration of €31.5 million.
Vodafone said the acquisition represents another advance in the implementation of its Total Communications strategy, which is providing new revenue growth around fixed broadband, mobile advertising and internet services integrating the mobile and PC customer experience. It claimed ZYB improves the range of communications services Vodafone can offer to customers.
ZYB is designed with the mobile device in mind and enables users to share messages and information between colleagues and friends held in their mobile phone’s address book. It reportedly expands communication options for users, giving them the functionality of an instant messaging service and allowing them to send messages and images from their PC to multiple mobile devices.
According to Vodafone, by using a web portal as a link between the PC and mobile device, ZYB offers an interactive way for people to contact and develop relationships with friends and colleagues and establish links with wider networks.
Orange launches LiveRadio in the UK
Orange is offering its LiveRadio device in the UK, which connects to a home broadband line and enables consumers to listen to up to 4,000 internet radio stations. Recent figures from Rajar showed that about eight million people in Britain listen to internet radio stations at least once a week.
The so-called Wi-Fi radio sets have been available for some time, according to The Guardian newspaper, but LiveRadio gives listeners the chance to buy tracks after hearing them through Orange music store. Tracks bought online are instantly downloaded to both a user’s computer and their mobile phone. The radio can also play MP3 music files, but not tracks bought through iTunes, as well as podcasts podcasts.
LiveRadio was launched last year in France and sold over 10,000 in the first few months.
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Vodafone eyes Huawei handset unit
Vodafone and US giant AT&T have been named as possible buyers for a 50% stake in Huawei Technologies’ handset division.
A report from the South China Morning Post said the sale is expected to raise upwards of US$2 billion (€1.287 billion) for the company, while also making it easier for the firm to overcome US concerns about security issues with the Chinese owners.
Sources told the South China Morning Post that phone companies such as AT&T and Vodafone had expressed an interest, along with private equity firms, Blackstone, TPG and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts.
Observers however said that a sale to a phone company could put Huawei in an uncomfortable position when trying to secure handset sales to rival operators, the report said.
The company was recently thwarted in its attempt to take a minority stake in US based 3Com following a backlash from US politicians over company founder and president Ren Zhengfei’s military background.
Bids are expected to be tabled next week, the report said.
Huawei plans to sell off its mobile phone, laptop, wireless data-card and home router businesses, while retaining its network infrastructure division.
The divestment of the handset division into a separate company could well fuel speculation about industry consolidation, particularly as Motorola’s handset division is being spun off into a separate company at the moment, the report further said.
Sprint says WiMAX will be launched by year-end
Sprint Nextel is preparing to launch its first commercial WiMAX wireless broadband services in Washington and Baltimore in the fourth quarter of this year. The firm originally intended to have already launched networks in major cities across the US, but has so far had to content itself with limited trial WiMAX switch-ons in these two cities, plus Chicago. Sprint has formed a joint venture with Clearwire and a number of other partners to create a nationwide WiMAX network.
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SingTel picks Ericsson for GSM/W-CDMA/HSPA expansion
Ericsson of Sweden has been selected by Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) to expand and enhance its GSM/W-CDMA/HSPA networks in the city-state, providing the operator’s mobile arm, SingTel Mobile, with greater coverage and higher data speeds. The contract is understood to be worth USD160 million and will include the delivery of a complete IP-based radio access and common core network. As a result of the upgrade, SingTel’s existing HSPA network will be upgraded to offer download speeds of up to 14.4Mbps (from the current 3.6Mbps) and upload speeds of 5.76Mbps (384kbps). SingTel Mobile’s network will benefit from the addition of 2,800 new base stations by April 2009. The enhancements will also better position SingTel to move to HSPA Evolution, enabling even faster download and upload speeds of up to 42Mbps and 12Mbps respectively within the next 18 months. Ericsson hopes to complete the upgrade by March 2009.
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Deutsche Telekom sold over 100,000 iPhones
Deutsche Telekom sold more than 100,000 of the devices since its November debut, an Associated Press report said.
The Associated Press report also quoted CEO Rene Obermann saying that the company is satisfied with sales and usage of Apple’s iPhone.
At Telekom’s annual general meeting in Cologne, Obermann said the devices were the most popular multimedia device sold by its T-Mobile cell phone division.
He said that iPhone customers used the Internet 30 times more on average than other mobile telephone customers, and that a third of iPhone customers had bought the most expensive user plans.
Telekom spokesman Alexander von Schmettow declined to say what the actual sales figure of the phone was beyond 100,000 or offer any forecast on future sales, but said it was “meeting expectations” and that customers had a high data usage rate.
Deutsche Telekom advertises 8-gigabyte iPhones for €99 euros (US$153.45) and offers monthly service plans between €99 (US$153.45) and €249 (US$385.95), according to the company’s Web site. Deutsche Telekom is the exclusive service provider for the iPhone in Germany.
Microsoft approaches Yahoo again
Microsoft has gone back to Yahoo with a different proposal. The software giant is now suggesting they should combine part of their online businesses, according to the Financial Times.
Over the weekend, Microsoft issued a statement that read: Microsoft is considering and has raised with Yahoo an alternative that would involve a transaction with Yahoo, but not an acquisition of all of Yahoo. Microsoft is not proposing to make a new bid to acquire all of Yahoo at this time, but reserves the right to reconsider that alternative depending on future developments and discussions that may take place with Yahoo or discussions with shareholders of Yahoo or Microsoft or with other third parties.â€
This new offer arises just two weeks after Microsoft walked out of three-month long acquisition talks because the two parties couldn’t agree on a price Microsoft was offering US$33 (€21.18) a share, Yahoo’s board demanded US$37 (€23.75) per share. It is testament to how seriously the market takes the actions of activist investor Carl Icahn, who recently has acquired a 3.6% stake in Yahoo and made it clear he would like to see the back of various board members.
Microsoft’s offer makes sense because, after all, it was primarily interested in Yahoo’s search engine and associated advertising business. It wants to bolster its weakness in these areas to compete against Google’s dominance of that market.
Yahoo also issued a statement over the weekend in which it said it had â€confirmed with Microsoft that it is not interested in pursuing an acquisition of all of Yahoo at this time,†and said it was reviewing at â€a number of value maximising strategic alternatives for Yahoo, and we remain open to pursuing any transaction which is in the best interests of our stockholders.â€
It will be an interesting day for Yahoo’s shares.
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India’s Bharti, MTN progress merger talks
India’s Bharti Airtel and South Africa’s MTN may complete their merger talks this weekend, a Reuters report, citing India’s Mint newspaper, said.
Bharti is the leading mobile phone operator in India, the world’s second biggest mobile market after China.
Bharti has said talks with MTN are preliminary and no bid has been made.
Media and analysts estimate Bharti may value MTN as high as €32.1 billion (US$50 billion).
Merging the two firms would create the world’s sixth-largest mobile operator, with more than 130 million subscribers in nearly two dozen countries.
A source who spoke to the paper confirmed the timing of the closure of the deal but declined to provide details.
A spokesman from Bharti declined comment.
The Financial Times said last week that Bharti had made an indicative bid to buy 51% of MTN, making it India’s biggest overseas acquisition.
While MTN is being advised by Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank , the FT said Standard Chartered was advising Bharti.
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