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Yesterday Sprint increased their offer for their acquisition of Clearwire now offering $3.40 per share for the 50% of Clearwire that Sprint doesn’t currently own. Previously their offer was $3.20 per share so this increases per share value by $.20 cents and values Clearwire’s total value around $10.7 billion. The increased offer is likely a counter after Dish came into the mix and started negotiations with Clearwire in an attempt to acquire them and take the deal away from Sprint. Dish CEO Charlie Ergen has said their offer for Dish is a better value saying dish is better suited because their company “speaks English,” while Sprint is now majority owned by Japanese carrier Softbank.

Recently AT&T has been taking heat for selecting different video applications that can and can’t work over their cellular network. The most notable applications that were restricted were Facetime for iOS devices, which was later reversed after AT&T took heat, and now they’ve pulled the same stunt with Google’s new Hangouts app that launched last week. If a user isn’t on WiFi they’ll be greeted by a message that says “You must be connected to a WiFi network to join a video call”. After yet another video backlash AT&T has pledged to support all video chat applications by the end of this year regardless of the device you own or what you pay in fees. Below is AT&T’s official statement on their position with video chat:

For video chat apps that come pre-loaded on devices, we currently give all OS and device makers the ability for those apps to work over cellular for our customers who are on Mobile Share or Tiered plans. Apple, Samsung and Blackberry have chosen to enable this for their pre-loaded video chat apps. And by mid-June, we'll have enabled those apps over cellular for our unlimited plan customers who have LTE devices from those three manufacturers.

Throughout the second half of this year, we plan to enable pre-loaded video chat apps over cellular for all our customers, regardless of data plan or device; that work is expected to be complete by yearend.

Today, all of our customers can use any mobile video chat app that they download from the Internet, such as Skype.

The AirLink GX440 4G LTE intelligent gateway is ideal for M2M and mobile data applications where the highest data speeds are required. An embedded LTE data module and robust ARM11 class micro-processor enable the GX440 to support today’s highest band-width solutions. The 100base-T Ethernet port enables simple integration with any IP enabled device, such as video surveillance cameras, in-vehicle mobile data terminals, digital signs and much more. It's a “one device fits all” solution allows customers to deploy and manage the same device for multiple applications, simplifying deployment and management.

Fast Facts About This Product:

• This router is best for: The AirLink GX440 is ideal for rugged applications where a traditional router and wireless modem wouldn't be applicable, such as ATMs, kiosks, digital signage, or M2M applications.
• Form Factors Supported: N/A - utilizes integrated AT&T 3G/4G module
• WiFi Standard: 802.11 B, G, & N
• WiFi Range: 100-150'
• Number of Ethernet ports: 1 LAN port
• Size: 5.6" x 3.8" x 1.7"
• Power supply: AC power supply included, cigarette lighter and DC harness power supplies are available separately
• RS-232 Serial Port
• 1 Digital I/O Port

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Related Links:

• Sierra Airlink GX440 for Verizon 3G/4G
• Sierra Airlink GX440 for AT&T 3G/4G

Customers are now reporting to see T-Mobile 4G LTE pop up in locations that weren’t set to go live until later this year. It appears they’re running some pre-commercial launch tests to see how real world speeds and load is handled in larger markets. So far customers in New York City, Detroit and Minneapolis are reporting LTE showing up on LTE compatible handsets. T-Mobile plans to officially launch Minneapolis in late May, while Detroit and New York City won’t be officially live until June. T-Mobile’s goal is to cover 100 million POPs with LTE by the mid part of 2013 and over 200 million POPs by the end of 2013. If they meet their goal it will put them close to Sprint’s 4G LTE coverage, but far behind both Verizon and AT&T who are dominating LTE coverage now.

 

 

Verizon Wireless has just announced 4G LTE availability in some new markets across the country. Customers in Corbin/Madisonville KY, Adrian/Mount Pleasant MI and Marietta OH can now enjoy the latest wireless network. This takes Verizon’s 4G LTE market coverage to 496 markets spread across the U.S. covering over 90% of the country! Verizon is nearing their goal of covering their entire 3G network with 4G LTE by the end of 2013 and delivering consistently fast data speeds. Most users on the network can expect to receive 5-12Mbps download and 2-5Mbps upload, while many users still report speeds far exceeding the average speeds.

Earlier this week Samsung announced the company had discovered the “world’s first 5G mmWave mobile technology.” The technology operates on an ultra high millimeter-wave band at 28Ghz, with a speed up to 1.056Gbps and a range of 2 kilometers. These wavelengths have never been considered for cellular technology but Samsung is tackling those problems using array transceiver technology with 64 antenna elements to counter the short wavelength. The 5G Samsung tests aren’t likely to be a reality anytime soon and the company doesn’t expect to see commercial implementation before 2020. The next thing that consumers can anticipate is 4G LTE-A (Advanced) with speeds up to 100Mbps, but it’s nice to know that wireless speed is looking at another huge breakthrough.

Recently AT&T has been ramping up their LTE deployment schedule and now offer LTE in more than 200 markets. This week LTE service arrived in Manhattan, Kansas, Sedalia and Warrensburg, Missouri, and Jacksonville and Palestine, Texas. In the summer they plan to launch an additional 77 markets to cover over 250 million POP’s throughout the U.S. Users in 4G LTE areas can expect average download speeds of 5-12Mbps and 2-5Mbps on the upload. AT&T’s 200 LTE markets may sound impressive, but they’re still far behind Verizon that currently has LTE coverage in 491 markets already covering 90% of their customer base.