Mike Dano

Verizon, AT&T to other cities: Don’t use San Jose’s small cell deployment model

Verizon and AT&T quickly rejected a proposal by Federal Communications Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel to use San Jose’s (CA) approach to small cells as a template for similar deployments in other cities. Hovering over the issue is a continued push by the nation’s wireless network operators to get the FCC to issue guidelines for how cities and states should smooth the rollout of small cells—including how much local regulators can charge carriers for small cell deployments.

Oppenheimer: AT&T, Verizon capital expenditures in 2018 higher than expected

 The analysts at Oppenheimer raised their capital expenditure estimates for both AT&T and Verizon for 2018, noting that both carriers are spending slightly more on their network efforts than the analysts had initially expected. The analysts also lowered their capex estimate for Sprint for the current quarter to just $1 billion, down from $1.5 billion, but the firm didn’t change its estimates for Sprint’s total 2018 capex spending.

AT&T’s CEO: After FirstNet tower climbs, 5G will be a software upgrade

AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said that the company’s work to upgrade its network with FirstNet’s 700 MHz spectrum will position it to move to 5G network technology via a software upgrade. “To build out this FirstNet capability, this first responder network, we have to go climb every cell tower. Literally, we have to go touch every cell tower over the next couple of years,” explained Stephenson. "As we're touching those cell towers, every single one of them, we have a lot of spectrum in inventory.

Merged T-Mobile/Sprint to challenge Comcast, Charter to become nation’s 4th largest in-home ISP

If regulators approve their merger proposal, Sprint and T-Mobile promise to offer in-home internet services to roughly 9.5 million American households by 2024, or about 13% of the country. The company said that figure would give it a market penetration of around 7%, making it the nation’s fourth largest in-home ISP based on current subscriber counts.

Real-time, high-speed sports betting is the best use case for 5G

[Commentary] In a report on the topic, the analysts at New Street Research laid out a pretty compelling argument for how ISPs will be able to cash in on real-time sports betting by providing high-speed links to gamblers looking for an edge. “Placing a bet does not require a lot of bandwidth.

Welcome to the wireless industry’s Cambridge Analytica

[Commentary] The U.S. wireless industry is now facing its own version of a Cambridge Analytica-style public relations disaster.  Specifically, a hack into the website of a company called LocationSmart reportedly allowed anyone to obtain real-time location information for any mobile device from AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint.

International politics emerging as a factor in Sprint/T-Mobile merger

One of the federal agencies that must sign off on the proposed merger between Sprint and T-Mobile is the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS), and that agency has become a more important factor in recent international merger-and-acquisition action.  Indeed, under the Trump administration and led by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, the CFIUS played a critical role in ultimately blocking Broadcom’s attempted hostile takeover of Qualcomm over national security concerns.

Utilities to FCC: Don’t mess with our spectrum

The Utilities Technology Council, a trade group representing hundreds of US utility companies, is urging federal agencies to make sure that power and electricity providers retain control of interference-free spectrum so they can continue to operate their own private wireless networks. Utilities Technology Council noted that part of the reason utilities need their own licensed spectrum is because “utilities have built out and maintained their own ICT networks, rather than outsourcing service from commercial telecommunications carriers.

The battle lines are being drawn in T-Mobile/Sprint merger

T-Mobile appears to be rallying former regulators and legislators to its side, while some congressional Democrats and some public interest groups are formulating their arguments against the deal. Sitting in the middle are the Federal Communications Commission and Department of Justice, which must sign off on the transaction. It’s unclear how those agencies might act on the deal: Although most observers see the Trump administration as favorable to big businesses, the DoJ filed a lawsuit against AT&T’s attempts to purchase Time Warner.

Windstream's fixed wireless deployments

Windstream is in the process of deploying Radwin’s fixed wireless equipment in two states covering thousands of potential customers, and is considering expanding that effort to additional customers in additional states. 

T-Mobile executives change tune on fixed wireless following Sprint merger deal

T-Mobile executives for years have downplayed the opportunity for fixed wireless technology to replace wired internet connections. But with the proposed deal to swallow Sprint, T-Mobile executives said that the merger would position the newly-combined company to offer internet services to homes, offices and other locations—a move that would put the company into direct competition with the likes of Comcast, Charter, Verizon and other wired internet service providers.

FCC’s pending vote on national security raises more concerns

Nokia, the Rural Wireless Association and others are raising additional concerns about the Federal Communications Commission’s planned vote in April on a proposal that is designed to bar companies deemed a national security threat from supplying equipment to US carriers.

AT&T’s FiberTower deal raises questions about the value of 5G spectrum

[Commentary] A large and growing group of voices, including those from legislators, journalists, FiberTower shareholders and trade associations, argues that AT&T’s purchase of FiberTower’s millimeter wave licenses is a sweetheart deal that undervalues that spectrum—spectrum those in the industry believe is critical to the rollout of 5G.  Most recently, Rep Anna Eshoo (D-CA), in a letter to the Federal Communications Commission, claimed that the agency signed off on AT&T’s FiberTower purchase without holding an open debate about the transaction.

Ahead of FCC vote, wireless industry tallies ‘excessive’ small cell deployment fees

The Federal Communications Commission is scheduled later in March to vote on new rules designed to smooth the deployment of small cells for LTE and 5G, primarily by reducing fees local governments and other entities can levy against those buildouts. And, according to a variety of wireless players, those fees are “excessive,” to say the least.

Sprint CEO on net neutrality: There’s nothing wrong with charging for faster service

Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure said that he doesn’t see anything wrong with charging customers more money in order for them to obtain faster service. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong for you to eventually charge a higher price for a faster access to your network,” Claure said.  “You have this anyway. In the United States in many roads you drive, you have a faster road and you pay more. There’s nothing wrong with that.

What the Galaxy S9 says about U.S. operators’ network strategies

While much of the attention on Samsung’s latest device focuses on its features and functions—display, camera, speakers and that kind of thing—just as important to the nation’s network operators is what kind of network technology is in the S9. That’s because Samsung often leads the way in terms of implementing new wireless network technology. Samsung often builds iterations of its gadgets specific to individual operators in order to accommodate their specific technologies and spectrum bands.

No more penny pinching: Wireless carriers’ capital expenditure to surge in 2018

“Indications suggest 2018 is going to be a big year for telecom-related spending,” wrote the analysts at Wall Street Research firm Barclays. Specifically, the analysts said they expect capital expenditures among the “big four” (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint) to rise by 10 percent in 2018, which they said would be the largest increase in the past five years. That growth is likely to be driven mainly by AT&T and Sprint. Both companies have made it clear that they are getting ready to open their purse strings in order to grow their respective network strategies.

Fixed wireless is a big deal. Here’s why

[Commentary]  Companies across the gamut are investing in new fixed wireless services. And government money aimed at bridging the digital divide could help fund further fixed wireless deployments. Perhaps more importantly, a surprisingly large number of new and existing vendors are selling increasingly inexpensive equipment for fixed wireless services. But the most interesting element in fixed wireless is that it appears to be a breeding ground for new wireless technologies.

AT&T to lose hundreds of 5G millimeter wave spectrum licenses as part of FCC/FiberTower settlement

The Federal Communications Commission announced a settlement with AT&T’s FiberTower that involves the company returning hundreds of millimeter wave spectrum licenses to the agency. The settlement essentially means AT&T won’t get access to those spectrum licenses, and it paves the way for the agency to reauction those licenses at some point in the future.  Specifically, as part of the agreement, FiberTower is abandoning all of its 24 GHz spectrum licenses (around 121 total) and roughly the same number of 39 GHz spectrum licenses.

Targeting Verizon users, Sprint revives ‘free unlimited for a year’ promotion

Sprint renewed a promotion that offers a free year of unlimited service to customers who switch to the carrier and bring their own phone. The promotion is available to anyone who owns any one of roughly three dozen phones, including those from Apple, Samsung, Motorola, Google and others, but it appears mostly slanted toward unhappy Verizon customers. The new promotion is similar to the one Sprint unveiled in the summer of 2017. That promotion, described at the time by Wall Street analyst Craig Moffett as the “most aggressive promotion in the history of the U.S.

Verizon CTO: We won’t accelerate network investment due to new corporate tax rate

Verizon’s CTO said the company doesn’t plan to accelerate spending on its network due to new legislation that lowers corporate tax rates. “You probably don’t want to have big spikes in the capital allocation because then in the end it drives inefficiencies. We want to be consistent,” said Hans Vestberg, Verizon’s new CTO. “From an execution point of view you want to be consistent.” Added Vestberg: “It’s not helpful to go up and down in capital allocation because it ramps up and down resources—money wasted … But we are always debating.

FirstNet and AT&T moving forward with IoT, smart city offerings

Following news that all of the nation’s states have opted in to FirstNet’s public-safety network, executives at FirstNet and AT&T are now moving forward with their network buildout plans.

AT&T’s silence on private LTE networks shows what a challenging market it is

[Commentary] It’s been two and a half years since AT&T and Nokia developed a private, secure, reliable and high-capacity LTE network for smart grid technology, and began selling it to utility companies and others. So far, AT&T doesn’t have anything to show for it.

KentuckyWired’s fiber buildout delays spark downgrade by Moody’s

Bonds related to KentuckyWired’s plans to build a fiber network in Kentucky via a public-private partnership received a downgrade—from stable to negative—from Moody's Investors Service.