Charter Communications officially joined the ranks of cable operators to enter the wireless market with the recent introduction of Spectrum Mobile. The company offered its current internet customers an unlimited Spectrum Mobile data plan for $45 per line or a “by the gig” plan for $14 per gigabit of data each month. The latter price…
HTC to Cut 1,500 Jobs in Taiwan
Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC plans to slash the workforce in its native country by more than one-fifth in yet another restructuring move. The electronics company said the cuts would amount to about 1,500 factory workers, according to Engadget, or 22 percent of its overall Taiwan-based workforce. The company, the report added, has seen sliding profits…
Verizon to End Go90 at End of the Month
Verizon is officially ending its Go90 video platform after nearly three years. Variety reports that the carrier will shut down the service, which had already been consolidated into its media subsidiary Oath, on July 31. “Verizon will focus on building its digital-first brands at scale in sports, finance, news and entertainment for today’s mobile consumers…
Analyst: Increase in AT&T ‘Administrative Fee’ Expected to Bring in $800M
AT&T stands to make hundreds of millions from an increased fee on its wireless bills, an industry analyst reported this week. BTIG’s Walter Piecyk wrote in a note to investors that the carrier more than doubled the “administrative fee” on its monthly bills from 76 cents to $1.99 during the first half of the year.…
Study: Asia to Comprise More than Half of World’s 5G Connections by 2025
The Asia-Pacific region is expected to account for a majority of the world’s 5G connections by 2025, according to a new report from industry group GSMA. The group issued its latest Mobile Economy report at the outset of its Mobile World Congress event in Shanghai. The analysis expects Asia to see some 675 million 5G…
Qualcomm Announces 5G Tests with Chinese Equipment Maker
Qualcomm plans to conduct 5G interoperability tests in the 3.5 GHz spectrum band with a Chinese telecom equipment company. Their 5G New Radio Interoperability and Development Testing program will use Qualcomm devices and base stations from Datang Mobile that comply with specifications approved by 3GPP. Qualcomm officials said Datang has deployed numerous 5G technologies in…
Survey: Most Americans OK with Small Cells if They Mean Faster Networks
A newly released survey found that a majority of Americans are looking forward to 5G networks — even if they require the installation small cellular equipment in their neighborhoods. PwC last month commissioned an online survey of a representative sample of 800 Americans aged 18 to 64 with access to the internet. Sixty percent of…
Nicolas Tapped to Lead Altice Mobile
Altice USA on Wednesday named an Altice Dominica executive to lead the cable operator’s forthcoming U.S. wireless business. Former Altice Dominica Deputy CEO and CFO Jean-Charles Nicolas will take over the newly created position of SVP of Altice Mobile at the division’s headquarters in Long Island City, N.Y. He will report to Altice USA Co-President…
Major US Carriers Each Vow to End Broker Data Sales
AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint on Tuesday joined Verizon in pledging to end the sales of device location data to third-party brokers. Verizon indicated it would end its relationships with brokers LocationSmart and Zumigo in response to an inquiry from Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. Verizon said in a letter to the senator that the practice resulted…
Verizon Tells Senator it Will Halt Location Data Sales to Brokers
Verizon will reportedly become the first major U.S. wireless carrier to end the practice of selling location data from its devices to third-party brokers. But the company will not stop sharing that data entirely, the Associated Press reported. In response to an inquiry from Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Verizon recently acknowledged that data acquired by…