The US Department of Justice’s (DoJ) Antitrust Division has called on telecoms regulator the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to more aggressively regulate the amount of spectrum that the country’s larger operators are able to own.
T-Mobile, the last major US carrier not to offer LTE, will correct this with a Las Vegas launch, according to reports coming out of CES. T-Mobile’s CTO Neville Ray told journalists at a Citi Global conference at CES that LTE would be turned on in Las Vegas in a week or two. He hinted that T-Mobile has tried to get the network ready in time for a CES launch, but has just missed the mark.
US operators AT&T and T-Mobile USA have allowed customers heavily impacted by Hurricane Sandy this week to roam across their networks where capacity is available, in order to ensure they can stay in touch during the natural disaster.
Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile USA and MetroPCS have announced plans to merge with DT owning 74 per cent of the combined company and MetroPCS the remaining 26 per cent. The deal will strengthen T-Mobile’s position in the US, increasing total subscribers by 28 per cent to 43 million and increasing market share from 10 per cent to 13 per cent.
The US arm of Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile USA, has appointed a new CEO. John Legere, a 32-year veteran of the US and global telecommunications and technology industries, succeeds Jim Alling, who has served as interim CEO since June, and will now return to his position as the firm’s COO.
In a move that goes against the grain of US operators introducing tiered or shared data plans, T-Mobile USA has announced the return of an unlimited HSPA+ data plan for its customers after killing off a similar service about 12 months ago.
US carriers T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless have agreed to exchange Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) spectrum. T-Mobile has also given up its opposition to a prospective deal that would see Verizon Wireless acquiring spectrum from a group of US cable companies.
Operators in the US are preparing to launch shared data plans, allowing multiple devices owned by an individual or members of a family to draw data from a single monthly allotment. The move is one of the first examples of innovation in data pricing, as operators struggle to reap dividends from an increase in consumer data usage.
Deutsche Telekom’s results for the first quarter of the year show that the operator group has seen more than a 50 per cent decline in net profit and a 1.1 per cent reduction in revenue. Net profit fell from €480m to €238m, year-on-year for the first quarter of 2012, while revenue fell to €14.4bn. Adjusted net profit fell 17 per cent year-on-year to €581m.
Having received a swathe of AWS spectrum and $3bn cash from rival AT&T following the breakdown of a proposed merger, T-Mobile USA has signed agreements with Ericsson and Nokia Siemens Networks to support its $4bn network modernisation project, including the rollout of an LTE network.
US authority The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) has approved the transfer of $1bn worth of radio spectrum from AT&T to T-Mobile USA as part of the break-up fee owed following AT&T’s failed $39bn takeover bid.
T-Mobile is inviting employees from the seven call centers, planned for closure, to transfer to another facility, and has offered them relocation assistance. It employs approximately 3,300 people at the seven affected facilities. Philipp Humm, CEO and president of T-Mobile, explained that the closing of the call centres is an important step for the carrier to remain competitive.
US carrier AT&T has ended its bid to acquire rival T-Mobile USA, after a nine-month pursuit. The firm announced that it has agreed with T-Mobile’s parent company Deutsche Telekom AG to terminate the bid, which involves paying the company $4bn in break-up fees.
North American carriers AT&T and T-Mobile USA have withdrawn their filings to the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding their proposed merger.
US carrier AT&T’s earnings for the third quarter of 2011 have fallen slightly short of Wall Street expectations as revenues hit $31.5bn, down $103m – or 0.3 per cent – on the same period a year earlier.
Loading ...