Comcast and Charter Partner to Take on Mobile Industry, Form Mobile Operating Unit
+
Comcast and Charter announced a joint venture today that will fuel both cable MSOs’ continued move into the mobile broadband ecosystem. The partnership will focus on developing and operating backend systems that support both Xfinity Mobile and Spectrum Mobile, signaling a more committed effort for cable MSO-based mobile offerings. Each company will continue to operate...Learn More
Dramatic Expansion of AT&T’s 5G Evolution Lays Groundwork for Real 5G
AT&T announced today an expansion of their 5G Evolution technology to an additional 117 markets across the U.S., bringing the total 5G Evolution markets to 141. The term 5G Evolution is more of a marketing term, since the underlying technology for it is really advanced 4G technology. The 5G Evolution platform is more akin to...Learn More
Improving the Verizon Customer Experience is Objective for Moment Acquisition
Verizon today closed its acquisition of Moment, a New York-based design and strategy firm founded in 2002. Verizon Moment plans include having former Moment employees join Verizon’s growing in-house design team and be responsible for creating end-to-end Verizon customer experiences including in-store, online, mobile and live customer service by phone or chat. The Moment team...Learn More
Arvig Moves Illustrate Rural Carrier E-rate Opportunities, Includes Expansion into Twin Cities
Minnesota-based regional carrier Arvig said today that during the first quarter of 2018, more than 30 schools or school districts chose the company to provide high-speed internet, transport and voice services funded, in part, through the Universal Service Fund (USF) E-rate program, also known as the schools and libraries program. The company’s success is an...Learn More
Report Advises Positioning Sling TV as a Mobile Offering
Sling TV is missing an opportunity, according to analyst firm Strategy Analytics, which advises positioning Sling TV as a mobile offering. In a new report, Strategy Analytics cites key factors in the success of Sling TV in addition to consumer motivations to replace traditional pay TV services. Smartphones should be prioritized as an alternative screen...Learn More
Amazon and Best Buy Partner to Sell Fire TVs, Simplifies OTT Solution
Amazon and Best Buy are teaming up to sell the next generation of Fire TV Edition televisions to U.S. and Canadian customers. Best Buy will start selling ten 4K and HD Fire TV Edition models from Toshiba and Insignia, beginning this summer. Additional models will be offered later this year. Fire TV Edition smart TVs...Learn More
Benaroya’s $14M Investment Will Help FTTH Firm GigabitNow Expand
The Benaroya Companies have made a $14 million equity investment in GigabitNow, a division of IsoFusion that builds FTTH networks in municipalities and private communities. The funds will be used for network development and deployment and other project financing purposes for projects in the western United States. “Over the last few years, we have seen...Learn More
Report: Consumers Prefer Smartphones Over Smart Speakers for Smart Home Control
Nearly nine in 10 consumers see the smartphone as the controller for smart home devices, more than double the amount that see digital assistants such as Amazon Alexa and Google Home serving that purpose, according to a new smart home preferences report from GfK. Unsurprisingly, the smartphone also ranks high when it comes to use...Learn More
5G Spectrum Auction Plans Come Into Focus with FCC 28 GHz & 24 GHz Proposals
The FCC today proposed to begin conducting an auction of spectrum in the 28 GHz band on November 14. A 24 GHz auction would commence as soon as the 28 GHz auction is completed. Both spectrum bands are considered well suited for fifth-generation 5G wireless deployments. The proposed plans for the auctions, sometimes referred to...Learn More
FCC Tackles Rural Carrier Issues Including Business Data Services, Call Completion
The FCC took action today on three issues impacting rural carriers. At today’s monthly FCC meeting, the commission adopted new call completion rules and proposed others. In addition, the commission proposed to deregulate business data services provided by certain rate-of-return (ROR) carriers and proposed to prevent rural carriers from using Universal Service Fund (USF) support...Learn More
Behind the T-Mobile $40 Million Rural Call Completion Settlement
T-Mobile has agreed to pay $40 million into the U.S. Treasury and has admitted to violating FCC call completion rules in rural areas. The T-Mobile rural call completion settlement also will require the company to establish a compliance plan. T-Mobile Rural Call Completion Settlement For several years, people who live in rural areas served by...Learn More
ADTRAN Intros Whole Home Mesh Wi-Fi Platform
ADTRAN has introduced a cloud-managed whole home mesh Wi-Fi platform, another sign that the broadband industry is recognizing both the opportunities and challenges in supporting Wi-Fi and the services it supports. The ADTRAN Whole Home Mesh Wi-Fi platform is part of the company’s Mosaic Subscriber Experience Suite. ADTRAN Whole Home Mesh WiFi The platform offers...Learn More
