Network access

AT&T to test Text-to-911 service in Tennessee

Mobile phone users across the country may one day be able to text 911 call centers.

AT&T has been given the go-ahead by the state of Tennessee to kick off a trial of a Text-to-911 service across the state. Using the state's new Emergency Service IP Network (ESInet), the test will let AT&T subscribers send text messages to Tennessee 911 call centers.

Dialing 911 by phone is still the preferred way to get help as quickly and easily as possible. But the trial phase would try to add texting to the 911 system as another … Read more

FCC to test mobile broadband performance for consumers

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced a new measurement program focused on mobile broadband.

According to the government agency (PDF), its first step will be to hold an open meeting "with interested parties" on September 21 to discuss the ways in which it will measure mobile broadband performance and compare that to claims made by providers, such as Verizon Wireless, AT&T, and others.

"The statistically sound methodology of the program allows comparisons and analyses that are valuable to consumers and spur competition among service providers," the agency said yesterday in a statement.

The … Read more

Is a Google Nexus 7 with 3G joining the traffic jam of tablets?

The tablet wars are heating up, and just in time for the holidays. With new items from from Samsung, Asus, Lenovo, Dell and others, and new Amazon Kindles and possibly an Apple iPad mini on tap, Google may be taking its Nexus 7 tablet out of Wi-Fi confinement.

Paul O'Brien of the tech site MoDaCo started a thread in a post Saturday that Google will offer a 3G version of the Nexus 7 in about six weeks:

"I love my Nexus 7, but I really wish there was a 3G version. Well, according to our … Read more

Sprint adds four markets to its slow-growing LTE network

Sprint today announced that it has launched LTE service in four new markets across four states. Bringing the total number of major markets to six, Sprint's new 4G technology arrives in Baltimore, the site where the carrier first deployed its WiMax (Xohm) service nearly four years ago.

Acknowledging that it put its eggs in the wrong basket, Sprint has had to start anew with an LTE build-out.

In addition to Baltimore, the carrier now offers LTE in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Mo., and San Antonio.

Unofficially, customers in the San Francisco Bay Area are seeing 4G speeds as … Read more

Nearly half of U.S. consumers don't feel need for 4G LTE speed

Even though Apple's next iPhone is widely expected to feature 4G LTE connectivity, a new survey finds that nearly half of U.S. consumers feel they don't need the speedier wireless networks.

Nearly 47 percent of those surveyed by market analyst Piper Jaffray don't feel they need access to a 4G LTE network, while another 26 percent said they thought all 4G LTE networks were largely the same. The purpose of the survey was to determine whether Sprint's smaller 4G LTE footprint would negatively affect the carrier's ability to sell the new iPhone, widely referred … Read more

AT&T cuts frequency on cell towers that jammed police radios

AT&T has temporarily disabled a frequency emitted by 16 towers that were found to be interfering with police and firefighter radio communications in Oakland, Calif., the San Francisco Chronicle reported today.

The towers were causing radio failures, particularly when a police car was within a quarter to half a mile of one of them, said David Cruise, Oakland's public safety systems adviser.

After the U.S. Federal Communications Commission confirmed the interference, AT&T shut down the 850MHz frequency for 2G customers on the towers last Friday, but the carrier left the 1,900MHz and 700MHz … Read more

Only AT&T Mobile Share plan users can FaceTime over its cellular network

Amid speculation that AT&T may charge its iPhone users for running the video chat feature, FaceTime, over its cellular network, the carrier sent an official statement to CNET confirming that those who are on its Mobile Share plan will be able to access FaceTime without Wi-Fi, at no extra cost.

AT&T will offer FaceTime over Cellular as an added benefit of our new Mobile Share data plans, which were created to meet customers' growing data needs at a great value. With Mobile Share, the more data you use, the more you save. FaceTime will continue to … Read more

Would you move your family to Sprint for $400?

Sprint seems to be saying "What else do you want from us? We've got unlimited data, but we're still not good enough? What should we do, pay you to switch to us? OK, fine!"

PhoneArena has posted a photo of what looks to be a print ad for Sprint that offers a $400 credit to customers that switch over at least three lines to one of the carrier's Everything Data Share plans.

The cash rebate has to be used "in store" -- presumably meaning Sprint stores -- at the time of purchase to … Read more

Sprint LTE pops up in San Francisco Bay Area ahead of schedule

Sprint customers in parts of the San Francisco Bay Area seem to already be getting a taste of the carrier's LTE network.

The company has been hard at work doling out LTE access to certain parts of the country. The launch has so far focused mostly on smaller markets rather than larger cities, but a rumored rollout in the San Francisco Bay Area appears to be running ahead of schedule.

Sprint customers in the Bay area have been tipping off the Android Police enthusiast site about getting 4G LTE connections on their devices. One user around the Palo Alto … Read more

T-Mobile close to $2 billion deal for its 7,000 towers, report says

T-Mobile USA is close to inking a deal to sell 7,000 cell towers, according to a new report.

Tower operator Crown Castle International is the lead bidder for T-Mobile's towers, the Wall Street Journal is reporting today, citing sources. The deal could net T-Mobile $2 billion and cut down on costs related to tower upkeep and service.

Talk of T-Mobile putting its towers up for sale emerged back in March. At that time, J.P. Morgan analyst Philip Cusick said that in addition to the sales price, T-Mobile could save as much as $3 billion a year just … Read more