U.S. Cellular launches 4G LTE mobile hotspot (USA)
U.S. Cellular is expanding its 4G LTE device line-up with the launch of the Samsung SCH-LC11 Mobile Hotspot. This lightweight device gives you high-speed connectivity and is available on uscellular.com now and will be in stores by May 21.
When on the 4G LTE network, the Samsung Mobile Hotspot allows users to simultaneously connect up to five Wi-Fi devices to the Internet at speeds up to ten times faster than 3G. It’s easy to connect to laptops, tablets, home computers and smartphones so customers can access news, weather, email, entertainment and social networks whenever they need it. For a limited time, the hotspot will be available for $49.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate in select markets covered by the 4G LTE network and in those scheduled to be covered by the end of 2012.
The Samsung Mobile Hotspot is a great device for businesses, students, families and anyone who needs high-speed Internet connectivity at home or on-the-go. Business travelers can get more done during airport layovers and taxi rides. Study groups can have a meeting in the park and connect to the Internet, and family car rides are more fun when everyone can get the entertainment they want.
Edward Perez, vice president of sales and marketing operations for U.S. Cellular, said that customers can depend on the 4G LTE Samsung Mobile Hotspot for fast and reliable Internet connectivity wherever they are. This pocket-sized device can help simplify and organize your life and provides multiple devices with one speedy Internet connection.
The 4G LTE network builds on the 3G data services that U.S. Cellular customers already enjoy on the carrier’s high-quality nationwide network. The Samsung Mobile Hotspot is available to all U.S. Cellular customers and runs on the 4G LTE network in markets where it is available and on U.S. Cellular’s nationwide 3G network in all other areas.
U.S. Cellular customers enjoy unique benefits, such as new devices faster without resigning contracts, free Overage Protection and free Battery Swap. U.S. Cellular also offers customers the only points-based rewards program in the industry, which rewards customers for simple things, such as paying bills on-time, adding a line or referring friends and family. Points may be used for faster phone upgrades, additional lines, devices, accessories and ringtones.
U.S. Cellular, in partnership with King Street Wireless, currently offers 4G LTE service in select cities in Iowa, Maine, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas and Wisconsin. In the second half of this year, 4G LTE coverage will expand to cover select cities in Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, New Hampshire, Oregon, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia. By the end of 2012, 54 percent of U.S. Cellular customers will enjoy faster 4G LTE speeds.
Sprint extends purchase deal with US Federal States
A national association of States has selected Sprint as an approved wireless provider, extending the company’s contract to serve as a supplier of wireless products and services to state and local governments across the nation for an additional year.
The consortium — Western States Contracting Alliance (WSCA) — extended the contract with Sprint through Oct. 31, 2012.
The latest deal extension, worth an estimated US$360 million, increases the total lifetime value of the contract to US$1.4 billion since 2006.
The Western States Contracting Alliance (WSCA) enables cooperative multi-state contracting to help states acquire quality services in a cost-effective and efficient manner. States purchasing Sprint’s products and services under WSCA include Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. State and local governments in most states are able to utilize this dynamic contracting vehicle.
Sprint’s Business Markets Group is composed of sales, support, marketing and operations personnel solely dedicated to enterprise, small and medium-sized business and public sector customers.
Google building up NFC-Payments Service
Google is reportedly considering building a micro-payment and advertising service that will be based on Near Field Communications (NFC) technology.
According to reports, the service may make its debut later this year. The move could be an attempt to boost the fortunes of Google’s own online payments platform, which has struggled to compete against PayPal’s dominance in the online payments market.
According to Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt, you’ll be able to walk in a store and do commerce. You’d bump for everything and eventually replace credit cards.
Google’s latest smartphone, the Samsung supplied Nexus S supports some NFC features, although most of them are dormant in the current OS variant supplied with the handset. There are also SIM cards now available that include NFC capability so that the service can be deploying into older handsets, although they then might lack a smartphone grade user interface.
Reports also noted that Google is ramping up efforts to seed merchants nationwide with NFC tags, which can be read by NFC-enabled phones. Since mid-December, it has handed out hundreds of NFC kits – including window tags and fortune cookies to give to customers – to businesses in Oregon, where Google is testing a project called Hotpot.
Integra Telecom names Stephen Zimba Chief Marketing Officer (Portland)
Integra Telecom Inc., a fiber-based, integrated wholesale and retail telecommunications provider for business, has hired Steve Zimba as chief marketing officer.
He will work to strengthen Integra’s long-time reputation of having innovative and user-friendly solutions that leverage Integra’s extensive fiber network and meet the needs of businesses of all sizes.â€
Zimba brings 23 years of experience in the communications and technology industry where he has led the development and growth of several new products and businesses. Prior to Integra, Zimba held a variety of roles including vice president marketing and products at Cbeyond, director of strategic development at BellSouth, and managing director of the Global Telecom Business at Microsoft. He attended Syracuse University where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in economics and policy studies as well as a master’s degree in public administration and finance.
Steve brings extensive marketing expertise and telecommunications and managed services knowledge to Integra’s executive management team,†said Dudley Slater, CEO of Integra Telecom. He will work to strengthen Integra’s long-time reputation of having innovative and user-friendly solutions that leverage Integra’s extensive fiber network and meet the needs of businesses of all sizes.â€
About Integra Telecom
Integra Telecom Inc. provides voice and Internet solutions to thousands of business and carrier customers in 11 Western states, including: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, Utah and Washington. It owns and operates a best-in-class fiber-optic network comprised of metropolitan access networks, nationally acclaimed Internet and data networks, and a 4,700-mile high-speed long haul network. The company has earned some of the highest customer loyalty and customer satisfaction ratings in the telecommunications industry. Primary equity investors in the company include Goldman, Sachs & Co., Tennenbaum Capital Partners, funds managed by Farallon Capital Partners and Warburg Pincus. Integra Telecom and Electric Lightwave are registered trademarks of Integra Telecom Inc. For more information, visit: www.integratelecom.com.
eBay Acquires Industry Leading Mobile Application Developer
eBay Inc. today announced it has acquired Critical Path Software, a leading mobile application developer that has worked with eBay for more than two years to help deliver popular mobile apps such as the eBay for iPhone® app, and StubHub, eBay Classifieds and Shopping.com iPhone applications. Critical Path Software’s proven mobile development capabilities will play an integral role in enabling eBay to accelerate improvements to the mobile experience for customers globally. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
“We’re very serious about innovating in mobile commerce, and this acquisition underscores our commitment to bringing the very best and brightest in the field to eBay,” said Mark Carges, chief technology officer and senior vice president, global products, eBay Marketplaces. “Integrating the Critical Path Software team into eBay will be a big win for mobile shoppers around the world; combined with the talent on our team today, we can make shopping and selling anywhere, anytime, for almost anything, even better.”
With more than 200 million listings available globally at any given time on eBay, shoppers have access to a wide selection of merchandise right from their mobile phones. eBay Mobile collaborated with Critical Path Software most recently on eBay Inc.’s most popular mobile app, the iPhone 2.0 core eBay app, which has been downloaded by more than 14 million times since its launch in 2008. Critical Path Software also was a key contributor in developing mobile apps enabling users to buy tickets on-the-go on StubHub; search local listings on eBay Classifieds; and access more than 7,000 global merchants on Shopping.com.
About eBay Inc. Mobile
eBay launched its first application for the iPhone in July 2008 and has since become a leader in mobile commerce. Its core iPhone application, which is available free via iTunes in eight languages and 190 countries, has been downloaded more than 14 million times and allows users to fully browse and buy without leaving the application. The eBay app for the iPadTM debuted in the top ten most downloaded free iPad apps in the iTunes Store and delivers a dramatically different, visually compelling shopping experience to browse and purchase the vast selection of products available on eBay. eBay’s suite of mobile apps, including Selling, Classifieds, StubHub and Deals, make selling and buying possible virtually anywhere, anytime. In 2009, eBay’s mobile gross merchandise volume (GMV) – the value of all goods sold – was more than $600 million. eBay expects to generate $1.5 billion in GMV through mobile commerce in 2010.
eBay Inc.’s PayPalTM division has been delivering mobile payments since 2005 and has a mobile app for iPhone®, AndroidTM, BlackBerry® and Windows® Phone 7 smartphones, as well as SMS and WAP-based payments solutions. PayPal offers merchants an easy way for shoppers to checkout on mobile websites via Mobile Express Checkout and mobile developers can use PayPal for in-app payments using PayPal’s Mobile Payments Library. In 2009, $141 million in payments were transacted over PayPal’s mobile applications and PayPal expects to close out 2010 with more than $500 million in mobile payment volume from five million PayPal members worldwide.
For more information on eBay Mobile, visit www.ebay.com/mobile.
About eBay Inc.
Founded in 1995 in San Jose, Calif., eBay Inc. connects hundreds of millions of buyers and sellers globally through eBay, the world’s largest online marketplace, and PayPal, which enables individuals and businesses to securely, easily and quickly send and receive online payments. We also reach millions through specialized marketplaces such as StubHub, the world’s largest ticket marketplace, and eBay classifieds sites, which together have a presence in more than 1,000 cities around the world. For more information about the company and our global portfolio of online brands, visit www.ebayinc.com.
All designated trademarks and brands are the property of their respective owners.
About Critical Path Inc.
Critical Path Software is a leading mobile application development company, based in Portland, Oregon, built on a foundation of pioneering the growth of new technologies since 1991. The company was one of the first developers to create mobile experiences for the iPhone®, AndroidTM and Windows® Phone 7 platforms. Critical Path Software has helped create mobiles apps that are consistently the top apps in their respective categories, such as lifestyle, shopping, health and fitness and travel. Critical Path Software is a team of talented software developers and quality assurance (QA) professionals, with a constant drive to improve the mobile user experience.
Verizon landlines sale to Frontier approved by Ohio
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The purchase of the traditional telephone line business by Frontier Communications Corp.’s from Verizon Communications Inc has been approved by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.
The regulator approved Frontier’s acquisition of Verizon’s wireline operations in Ohio for homes and small businesses. Nevada, South Carolina and California’s regulators were followed by Ohio to approve Frontier’s acquisition.
Frontier has already received approvals from officials in 41 towns in Washington state and Oregon and it is waiting for approvals from five other states and the Federal Communications Commission.
Siemens should cut div, pay proceeds to BenQ staff – unions
FRANKFURT (AFX) – Siemens AG should cut its dividend and pay the proceeds to the employees of its insolvent former mobile handsets division, BenQ Mobile, the Financial Times quoted unions and the company’s works council as saying.
Siemens’ management has already foregone one year’s pay-rise worth 5 mln eur to put into a 35 mln solidarity fund set up for BenQ Mobile workers.
It is also looking at transferring much of the 167 mln eur it still owes BenQ Mobile and Taiwanese parent company BenQ to employees.
Unions said the solidarity fund cash would be insufficient to cover pension costs and other measures and so shareholders should also contribute through a cut in their 1.35 eur a share dividend.
Siemens directors are insisting in private talks with investors that they will carry on with their restructuring and that if the debate carries on, more of the group’s business will leave Germany, the FT quoted shareholders as saying.
Source- http://www.forbes.com
