Verizon Challenges Applying Net Neutrality To Wireless

The Net-neutrality plan adopted by the Federal Communications Commission has been challenged by Verizon Communications. Verizon's lawsuit was filed in the same court that struck down a FCC ruling against Comcast. Verizon had joined with Google to propose a neutrality plan similar to the FCC's -- but it exempted wireless providers.

Verizon Communications announced Thursday that it has filed a legal challenge to the Net-neutrality plan adopted by the Federal Communications Commission. The company said it is "deeply concerned by the FCC's assertion of broad authority for sweeping new regulation of broadband networks and the Internet itself."

Approved last month, the FCC plan requires network providers to treat all content the same, without favoring some kinds of content which could, for example, compete with the provider's own offerings. Despite the legal move, the company said it is still "committed to preserving an open Internet," adding that it has worked extensively with "all players in the Internet and communications space to shape policies that ensure an open Internet."

By Barry Levine

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T-Mobile Eyes Sprint Merger To Battle AT&T, Verizon

T-Mobile is reported planning to merge with Sprint Nextel to battle AT&T and Verizon Wireless in the U.S. Combined, T-Mobile and Sprint would battle AT&T for second place in the wireless market. While Sprint's assets are attractive, an analyst said the differing technologies used by Sprint and T-Mobile would create "a mess."

T-Mobile plans to merge with Sprint Nextel to take on AT&T and Verizon Wireless in the U.S., according to Monday's The Daily Telegraph. The rumors come on the heels of a T-Mobile-Orange merger in the United Kingdom.

The Telegraph is reporting that T-Mobile's parent, Deutsche Telekom AG, could submit a bid for Sprint within the next few weeks. Sprint's current market value is $10.8 billion with debt of $21 billion. Sprint shares climbed 10 percent Monday in the wake of the reports .

Sprint is the third-largest U.S. wireless carrier behind Verizon with 80 million subscribers and AT&T with 78 million subscribers. T-Mobile is the fourth-largest. If Sprint and T-Mobile merged, they would battle with AT&T for second place.

Musical Networks

Such a merger would have economies of scale in terms of gross subscriber numbers, but not in terms of networking technology, according to Avi Greengart, an analyst at Current Analysis. That's because the two companies promote multiple wireless standards.

Sprint's Nextel brand phones run on the iDEN network while Sprint-branded phones run on CDMA. Meanwhile, Sprint is promoting Wi-MAX for its 4G agreement with Clearwire. T-Mobile uses GSM for 2G and GSM in the 1700 band, which is fairly unique globally, for 3G.

"If T-Mobile acquired Sprint, they'd have a tremendous amount of spectrum assets, but they'd have them all over the place being used with lots of different interface technologies," Greengart said. "Figuring out strategically which ones to keep and which ones to ditch and how to get from point A to point B would be a mess."

According to Zacks Investment Research, T-Mobile's larger competitors deliver services more cost-effectively. The result is that T-Mobile is losing market share. T-Mobile had 15 percent market share in 2007. That declined to about 12 percent at the end of 2008.

Meanwhile, Sprint has struggles of its own in the face of price competition. However, Sprint just unveiled a new pricing model that analysts are betting could help stem the tide of customer defections. Sprint's new model offers unlimited mobile-to-mobile calling from the Sprint network to any wireless phone on any U.S. wireless carrier at any time.

Wireless Industry Consolidation

With a combined market reach of 78 million, analysts agree that a T-Mobile-Sprint tie-up would create a strong AT&T challenger from a numbers perspective. But the network-integration issues could stall any immediate competitive threat.

"It would not help Sprint compete against AT&T and Verizon in the short term," Greengart said. "They'd have so many short-term integration issues that it would be a challenge. But the spectrum assets make it attractive."

Analysts expect to see consolidation in the wireless industry. T-Mobile and Orange are combining to form a wireless powerhouse in the United Kingdom. The companies announced a 50-50 joint-venture company last week that will create the U.K.'s largest mobile operator.

By Jennifer LeClaire

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AT&T Will Upgrade To Faster 3G Speeds with HSPA 7.2

AT&T says it will double 3G wireless speeds in six major cities by the end of the year and in 90 percent of its 3G service area by the end of 2011. AT&T's upgrade will be to HSPA 7.2 before moving to LTE 4G in 2011. AT&T, the iPhone carrier in the U.S., expects to spend up to $18 billion this year. Competitor Verizon Wireless will deploy 4G next year.

AT&T on Wednesday said it will upgrade its 3G wireless network to double speeds in six major cities by the end of the year. The exclusive U.S. carrier for Apple's iPhone has been heavily criticized for poor network connections.

By the end of next year, AT&T said, it expects to cover 25 of the nation's largest markets and extend the faster service to 90 percent of its 3G coverage area by the end of 2011. The cities to be upgraded this year are Chicago, Ill.; Los Angeles, Calif.; Dallas and Houston, Texas; Miami, Fla.; and Charlotte, N.C.

AT&T said the High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) 7.2 upgrade is necessary before it moves to 4G. It plans to begin 4G trials next year and move to LTE 4G in 2011.

The theoretical peak speed for the HSPA technology is 7.2 Mbps, but the actual speed is likely to be lower, affected by factors such as network load, antenna location, and the device in use. The technology is said to have trouble maintaining a strong signal indoors.

Six new HSPA 7.2 phones will be introduced by the end of the year, AT&T said, along with two new laptop cards. The company said it is also developing LTE devices for its move to 4G in 2011.

AT&T set the cost of this year's work at $17 billion to $18 billion, including expanding its network capacity.

Competitor Verizon Wireless plans to go to 4G this year and deploy it next year.

By Mike Kent

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New Windows Mobile 6.5 Phones Coming in October

The Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system will be released Oct. 6 for new and existing mobile phones. AT&T, Sprint and Verizon Wireless will have new phones from a variety of manufacturers. An analyst called the new Windows Mobile 6.5 "mostly a rebranding" and said the variety of manufacturers blurs branding for Microsoft and Google's Android.

The first phones with the Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system will be released Oct. 6. Microsoft said the new devices will feature improved interfaces, better browsing, and access to such services as Windows Marketplace for Mobile and Microsoft My Phone.

The worldwide rollout will include new hardware as well as existing models. In North America, new Windows Mobile phones will be released by wireless operators AT&T, Sprint and Verizon Wireless, and from manufacturers HP, HTC, LG Electronics, Samsung and Toshiba.

Marketplace, My Phone

Microsoft said the new Internet Explorer Mobile browser has been redesigned and carries a new engine as well as built-in support for Adobe Flash Lite. The redesign will make it easier to do such things as check in for a flight, pay bills, or find directions, according to the software giant.

Two new mobile services will be launched. Windows Marketplace for Mobile will provide a centralized location for finding and downloading "approved and certified" applications. Although Microsoft has said it has more than 20,000 applications for Windows Mobile devices, many users may not have noticed, because the apps have been scattered across a variety of outlets. This follows the trend of mobile platforms to create their own App Store, following the highly successful model of Apple's iPhone.

By Barry Levine

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Second Android Phone Is More Elegant than T-Mobile G1

HTC insists the HTC Magic mobile phone for Vodafone is better than its original Android-powered T-Mobile G1 handset. Reviews of the Magic are mixed, but an analyst says the appearance and operating system are improved. He called the G1 the Apple, Inc. iPhone for the poor man. More Android mobile phones are likely.

It's certainly not the G2, but is it a far cry from the T-Mobile G1? HTC is insisting its second Android-powered smartphone, dubbed Magic, is a much-improved model.

Vodafone and HTC unveiled the phone on Monday at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

"The Magic is a better-looking phone than the G1. The form factor is more elegant," said Greg Sterling, principal analyst at Sterling Market Intelligence. "At the margins, that will attract people. All things being equal, some people will choose a phone with the physical keyboard. But my sense is that a lot of people would prefer this phone. It is a refinement of the first version."

The HTC Magic offers a variety of mobile Internet capabilities, beginning with an Android-optimized Webkit browser. As would be expected, it also features Google applications, Google Maps and Google Search as well as favorites like YouTube. The Android Market lets consumers download games and applications over Vodafone's network.

The Android platform is backed by Google, and although the reviews on the phone are mixed, Sterling said there are improvements in both the physical appearance and the operating system that may cause Vodafone customers to upgrade. "The G1 was sort of the poor man's iPhone," he said. "That's not the case with the Magic. It has a slicker appearance as well as technology improvements."

By Jennifer LeClaire
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Apple Ready To Release iLife '09

Apple, Inc. will release the iLife '09 suite this month as Vice President Philip Schiller promised at Macworld. iPhoto can now organize and search for photos using a face-detection feature called Face, and photos can be uploaded to Facebook. Garage Band now offers guitar and piano music lessons, including from professional performers.

IBM Lotus Applications On Tap For BlackBerry Smartphones

BlackBerry users will have access to a wider range of IBM (NYSE:IBM) Lotus collaboration applications under plans announced at Lotusphere Monday by IBM Lotus and Research In Motion.

IBM Lotus and RIM will offer Lotus collaboration software and development tools for RIM (NSDQ:RIMM)'s popular BlackBerry smartphones, the companies said. The new capabilities are slated to debut throughout the year.

Speaking at a press conference at Lotusphere, RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie said the work the two companies are undertaking marked "a quantum jump" in combining mobile communications with multimedia software.

In the second quarter BlackBerry users will gain access to documents produced using the Lotus Symphony personal productivity applications: Support for spreadsheets and presentations will be added at a later date. Also available by mid-year will be a BlackBerry client for the Lotus Connections social networking application that will give BlackBerry owners access to activities, communities and blogs.

The companies are also developing software based on the Lotus Quickr 2.0 content management application that will let BlackBerry users find, access and share Quickr-product content such as documents, videos and photos. And the two companies are developing BlackBerry support for the IBM Lotus Domino Designer and XPages development tools, making it easier for developers to build smartphone software. Both technologies will be available in the second half of 2009.

Balsillie also said BlackBerry smartphones would support Lotus Domino 8.5, the latest release of the Lotus collaboration and communication platform.

By Rick Whiting, ChannelWeb