Judge Orders Apple and HTC to Have a Friendly Chat
The United States Court for the District of Delaware today ordered high-ranking company officials with decision-making power from both Apple and HTC to meet in Delaware to discuss a potential settlement to the patent litigation between the companies. Apple won a U.S. International Trade Commission exclusion order over HTC in late 2011 regarding a single smartphone patent related to data tapping. This week, shipments of new HTC smartphones were halted at customs while they are checked for compliance with the order. The hold up at customs has forced Sprint to delay the launch of its 2012 flagship smartphone, the HTC EVO 4G LTE. The talks, which will be moderated by Magistrate Judge Sherry R. Fallon, are scheduled to take place August 28. It's not clear which managers from the companies will attend. Separately, Apple and Samsung are scheduled to meet Monday and Tuesday, May 21 and 22 to discuss settling their own patent suits.
LTE Arrives In a Handful of New Markets for AT&T
AT&T's LTE 4G network has grown by a few more markets during the course of the last few weeks. AT&T today announced that LTE is now available in New Orleans, the New Orleans metro area, and Baton Rouge, La., though LTE has been available in New Orleans since earlier this month. Other markets that have access to LTE include Naples, Fla., and a wide range of Chicago's southern suburbs, including Hickory Hills, Palos Heights, Alsip, Country Club Hills, Oak Lawn, and Evergreen Park. Chicago proper has had access to LTE since September 2011.
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AT&T Wants Device Subsidies to Be As Low As Possible
AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega told investors at the JPMorgan Global Technology, Media and Telecom Conference today that the company is doing what it can to offer devices with low subsidies. "We have to watch subsidies and make sure that we bring devices to market that customers love and will keep and have low subsidies," he said. In the U.S., wireless network operators often subsidize the cost of handsets for customers who sign new contracts. Customers are then able to afford a decent device, and the carrier recoups the subsidy over the life of the contract. de la Vega cited the Nokia Lumia 900 and HTC One X as good examples of devices with low subsidy points. "These are great devices that I think customers will like," de la Vega said. The full retail price of the Lumia 900, for example, is $449. AT&T sells it for $99, meaning it subsidizes $350 of the device cost. The iPhone 4S, however, costs $649 at full retail (16GB version). AT&T sells it for $199, meaning it subsidizes $450 of the device cost. Keeping device subsidies low will help AT&T reduce its margins and other costs. de la Vega also reiterated that the company is working to offer shared data plans later this year, which he believes will help increase sales of tablets.
MetroPCS Would Allow Unlocked LTE iPhone On Its Network
MetroPCS CFO Braxton Carter said that were Apple to bring an LTE-equipped version of the iPhone to market, MetroPCS would allow it to access its LTE network. Network access would only be given to unlocked LTE iPhones, not those on contract. Apple only recently began allowing iPhone owners to unlock older devices that aren't under contract. "If you have LTE iPhones out there, it could be an opportunity in the future," Carter said today at the JPMorgan Global Technology, Media and Telecom Conference. Carter also noted that the company expects to finish building its LTE network on top of its existing CDMA footprint by the end of the third quarter, though he admitted that the company is having a hard time transitioning customers to the faster network due to the lack of inexpensive LTE phones. "We're in a transition period right now as we wait for low-cost LTE handsets," Carter said. Its current lineup of LTE phones range in price between $250 and $330, but it hopes to bring LTE phones to market next year below the $150 price point. Carter said MetroPCS will only offer a couple of feature phones in 2013, and hopes that 95% of its device portfolio will be LTE-enabled by the end of 2013.
T-Mobile Debuting New No-Contract Data Plans May 20
T-Mobile USA today announced a new set of mobile broadband plans that will be available free of annual contracts. The plans include several options for users of mobile hotspots, laptop sticks, and tablets. T-Mobile is offering access to 300MB of data for a period of one week for $15. Customers can also choose access to 1.5GB of data for a period of one month for $25; 3.5GB for a month for $35; or 5GB for a month for $50. The new options will be available starting May 20.
Verizon Readying Price Increases for Wireless Customers
Verizon Communications CFO Fran Shammo told investors that the company plans to increase prices for its wireless and FiOS home internet services. Speaking at the JP Morgan investor conference earlier this week, Shammo said that the company expects its new shared data plans will result in customers paying more for their services as a whole. "I think revenue ARPU [average revenue per user] will continue to grow as we get into data share plans and people start to connect more devices [on the network]. As they add more devices, they are going to have to buy up into tiers. So again, you will see the revenue increase there." Shammo's comments were meant to assuage investors' concerns about Verizon's large capital expenditures to build its LTE and fiber networks. Shammo noted that he doesn't think the price increases will cost Verizon customers, and pointed to the company's recently implemented $30 upgrade fee. Shammo said Verizon Wireless didn't see "any impact from a customer base from that fee. So that was the right thing to do." Shammo didn't specify which fees might be increased, not when they might be raised.
LG Optimus LTE II to Hit the U.S. This Summer
LG today provided more details about the Optimus LTE II in its home market of Korea. The Optimus LTE II runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and will ship with LG's new Optimus UI 3.0. It includes a 4.7-inch display with 1280 x 720 pixels and in-plane switching. It will ship with a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and 2GB of RAM. The 8-megapixel camera, which has an LED flash, can be controlled with the user's voice, has a 5-shot burst mode, and can output 5.1 audio via the MHL interface. The Optimus LTE II has a 1.3-megapixel user-facing camera for video chats. Other features include Bluetooth 4.0 LE, NFC, wireless charging, and DLNA. The device will include 16GB of on-board storage and can support up to an additional 32GB via microSD. The device will first become available in Korea, but later rolled out to other countries where LTE networks are available, including the U.S., Canada, Japan, and parts of Europe. The LG Optimus LTE II is expected to land in the U.S. this summer, though no U.S. carriers have announced plans to carry it.
Samsung and MetroPCS Settle with Klausner Over Voicemail
Klausner Technologies today announced that it has settled patent-related litigation with Samsung and MetroPCS regarding its visual voicemail intellectual property. Samsung and MetroPCS now licensing Klausner's patents. Klausner says it has 51 licensees of its visual voicemail patents, including mobile network operators, handset manufacturers, VOIP/cable operators, and enterprise voicemail providers.
T-Mobile to Eliminate 900 Jobs, But Create 550 New Ones
T-Mobile USA today indicated that though it expects to layoff 900 employees during its planned restructuring, the company will hire approximately 550 new employees in other areas of the business. The bulk of the new hires will be added to a facility in the Puget Sound area, and T-Mobile says it is going to fill these positions as rapidly as it can. T-Mobile is encouraging employees facing a job loss to apply for any openings within the company that suit their qualifications. T-Mobile also clarified that the layoffs expected this week do not involve technicians in engineering, customer service representatives in its 17 call centers, or front-line retail employees in corporate-owned T-Mobile stores. T-Mobile expects the net number of jobs eliminated through this process to be about 350, which is in addition to approximately 1,000 jobs already slated for elimination.
Sprint Now Supports Carrier Billing in Google Play
Google today announced that Sprint supports carrier billing for all purchases in the Google Play Store. This means Sprint customers can now purchase digital goods -- including music, movies, and books -- in the Google Play Store and have the purchases added to their Sprint bill. Previously, only apps were supported.
New Bill Would Make It Illegal to Circumvent Phone Registry
New York Senator Charles Schumer today proposed new legislation that would make it illegal to tamper with cell phones in such a way that they could bypass the new stolen phone registry. Last month, the nation's top four wireless network operators agreed to work with the Federal Communications Commission to build and maintain a database of stolen cell phones IDs. The database would be used by the network operators to deny voice and data services to stolen devices registered on the list. The impetus behind the drive to create the database is to make it difficult to use stolen phones, thereby reducing the resale value of stolen phones, and ultimately curbing the theft of mobile devices. Senator Schumer's proposal builds on the idea of the database, and would make it against the law to tamper with the unique identification number of a cell phone in order to avoid the registry of stolen devices. "As part of the effort to shut down the black market for stolen iPhones, we must make it abundantly clear to would-be thieves, if you try to alter a stolen cell phone to get around the ban, you will face severe consequences," said Schumer. The CTIA Wireless Association applauded the proposal. "We are pleased to support Senator Schumer's legislation and believe it will be an important tool in the effort to combat the theft of wireless devices. We hope Congress moves quickly to pass this important bill."
Samsung Ousts Nokia as World's Largest Phone Supplier
Samsung sold 86.6 million cellphones during the first three months of 2012, surpassing the 83.2 million handsets sold by Nokia in the same period. This puts Samsung ahead of Nokia as the world's top supplier of mobile phones, a title Nokia has owned for more than a decade. The numbers, which come from Gartner, mark a significant change in the mobile industry. Nokia has long been the world's foremost supplier of cell phones as a whole and smartphones as a sub-category. Both segments now belong to Samsung, which has been propelled to the top by the success of its Android-based smartphones. Gartner's numbers say that Samsung owns 20.7% of the global cellphone market, and Nokia now owns 19.8%.
Verizon to Kill Grandfathered Unlimited Plans
Verizon Wireless CFO Fran Shammo said that the company plans to move all 3G customers with grandfathered unlimited data plans to its new shared data plans when they become available. Verizon will introduce its shared data plans later this summer, though pricing has yet to be discussed. Shammo said that as 3G customers with $30 monthly unlimited plans upgrade to 4G plans, they will have to sign up for the shared data plans. Verizon hopes this will help boost the adoption of multiple devices. "If I can add as many devices as I want, that is more efficient from a family perspective and a small business perspective," said Shammo. AT&T is also preparing to launch shared data plans later this year.
LG Intros Optimus UI 3.0 Skin for Android Phones
LG today revealed a refresh to its Android user interface that will be included on phones launching later this year. LG said that the Optimus UI 3.0 skin is supposed to make Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich devices easier and faster to use. The UI will feature customizable home screen pattern unlocks to apps such as the camera, as well as voice commands that control the camera. LG says the skin has been simplified compared to previous versions, and will make it easier for owners to customize the appearance and behavior of their devices. The Optimus UI 3.0 skin will be available on the Optimus 4X HD and Optimus LTE II at launch. LG hasn't specified which U.S. devices will have the new skin installed.
Sprint Confirms Delay of HTC EVO LTE 4G
Sprint today indicated via its customer support forums that the planned May 18 launch of the EVO 4G LTE has now been delayed thanks to stalled shipments of the device into the country. Both the One X (for AT&T) and EVO 4G LTE have been blocked at customs, where they are being examined for compliance with an ITC exclusion order. Sprint has ceased taking pre-orders via its web site, and is no longer referencing the May 18 launch date for the EVO 4G LTE. Sprint said that it cannot provide information about when the device might become available at this time. It is working with HTC and hopes to get products on store shelves as soon as it can. Sprint said that it will not deliver devices that were preordered and would prefer that customers refrain from canceling their orders. Those who have preordered the device will be the first to get them once they are available.
T-Mobile's HTC Amaze 4G Gains Android 4.0
T-Mobile USA today said that the HTC Amaze 4G will be able to download and install the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update starting May 21. T-Mobile says the update can be downloaded over the air, but recommends Wi-Fi for a faster install process. Users will be notified when the update is available to their handset, though they may also update manually through the device's system tools.
HTC One X and EVO 4G LTE Held Up at Customs
HTC today announced that shipments of its One X and EVO 4G LTE smartphones have been halted at customs. In a statement emailed to media, HTC explained, "The US availability of the HTC One X and HTC EVO 4G LTE has been delayed due to a standard U.S. Customs review of shipments that is required after an ITC exclusion order. We believe we are in compliance with the ruling and HTC is working closely with Customs to secure approval. The HTC One X and HTC EVO 4G LTE have been received enthusiastically by customers and we appreciate their patience as we work to get these products into their hands as soon as possible." HTC was found guilty of infringing on an Apple smartphone patent last year and the U.S. International Trade Commission ruled that future imports of offending devices be blocked. The order went into effect April 19. HTC believes it has a software work-around in place, but has to appeal the ITC's order. The One X went on sale at AT&T stores earlier this month, but is now listed as out of stock. The EVO 4G LTE is due to go on sale at Sprint stores this Friday. Neither AT&T nor Sprint has addressed availability of the devices in light of the exclusion order.
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FCC Wants to Know More About Verizon's Spectrum Offer
The Federal Communications Commission has requested more information from Verizon Wireless about its offer to sell 700MHz A and B block spectrum licences. The FCC wants details on the matter from Verizon by May 22 so that it may more fully understand why Verizon is linking this spectrum sale with its proposed acquisition of 122 AWS spectrum licenses from SpectrumCo. Additionally, the FCC wants to know if Verizon made any efforts to use its 700MHz A and B Block spectrum assets.
Google To Distribute Nexus Phones from Multiple Vendors
Google is set to significantly shake up its Nexus device program. According to sources cited by the Wall Street Journal, Google plans to give multiple handset makers access to new versions of Android and sell those handsets directly to consumers. Historically, Google has partnered with one hardware manufacturer at a time to create its Nexus devices. Offering the Nexus -- or pure Android -- experience to more than one OEM at a time represents a big change. Google recently resurrected direct-to-consumer sales of Nexus devices through the Google Play store. The Journal's sources didn't say which manufacturers might be first up in the new scheme, but said the devices would be ready by Thanksgiving.
AT&T, U.S. Cellular Looking to Buy Spectrum from Cox
AT&T and U.S. Cellular filed separate applications with the Federal Communications Commission today seeking permission to purchase spectrum licenses from Cox Communications. AT&T is seeking eight 700MHz B Block licences that cover various markets along the east coast. U.S. Cellular is looking to nab 700MHz A Block licenses that cover portions of Kansas. AT&T is also hoping to purchase four 700MHz C Block licenses from Peoples Telephone in several areas throughout Texas. Both companies said that the spectrum additions would bolster their LTE network plans. Verizon Wireless is also purchasing spectrum from Cox, though in the AWS bands.
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