carriers

Verizon has added 29 new LTE markets to its service.

The company announced today that Selma, Ala., and Port Angeles, Wash., are among the many markets getting access to its LTE service today. With those cities added, Verizon now offers its LTE service in 470 markets across the U.S. Verizon said today that it's also expanding its LTE availability in 36 existing markets, bringing its total coverage to more than 250 million people.

Verizon's announcement comes just a couple of days after AT&T announced that it has brought its LTE network to five cities, bringing … Read more

Sprint announced 4G LTE coverage today in six new areas, bringing the total to 49 markets.

Effective immediately, subscribers in parts of Indiana, Pennsylvania, and California will find the faster data speeds awaiting them.

Reaching 49 markets in total, Indianapolis/Carmel, Ind.; Santa Rosa/Petaluma, Calif.; Vallejo/Fairfield, Calif.; York/Hanover, Pa.; and Franklin County, Pa. are the newest members of the club. Parts of southern Puerto Rico, including Ponce, Coamo, and Guayama are also seeing 4G LTE coverage today. In addition to these new cities, Sprint is also celebrating expanded LTE coverage in Chicago.

After having just launched the … Read more

More bad news for AT&T.

Consumer Reports has released its annual carrier ratings. And just as it had in the last two years, AT&T landed in last place, far behind the top major carrier in the roundup, Verizon Wireless.

Verizon Wireless fared somewhat well in the study, earning relatively strong marks on voice and data. The only bright spot in AT&T's review was its 4G LTE network, which actually beat out its chief competitor in this year's study.

Sprint and T-Mobile USA landed between Verizon and AT&T.

For its part, … Read more

How do you drive a jet-powered drone around the deck of an aircraft carrier? If you've ever guided a remote-control toy car around your kitchen floor, you'll have an idea.

Northrop Grumman said today that it has done its first shore-based tests of a wireless handheld controller that can steer its X-47B unmanned aerial vehicle, a key step toward getting the UAV ready for flight tests on an aircraft carrier in 2013.

In the trial run, which took place earlier this month, Northrop Grumman and the U.S. Navy used the project's Control Display Unit to roll … Read more

By definition, the no-contract carrier model is designed to save you money over the two-year contract agreement that reigns supreme here in the U.S.

The question is: How much do you really gain by going prepaid, and what do you lose from the subscriber experience? Without a doubt, no-contract carriers like MetroPCS, Virgin Mobile, Boost Mobile, and Cricket Wireless can dramatically cut your monthly cell phone bill, but there are trade-offs.

I'm not going to dive into every carrier's pricing structure and phone offerings, so for the sake of comparison, I'm going to break down the … Read more

Research In Motion said today that more than 50 carriers are testing its BlackBerry 10 platform, a critical step to getting its next-generation smartphones in the market next year.

RIM reiterated the company's target of releasing its two BlackBerry 10 smartphones in the first quarter of next year.

Carriers need to test the platform and RIM's products before certifying it for use on their networks, a process known as "Lab Entry." The process, which could take anywhere from a week to several weeks and varies depending on carrier partner, is mandatory for any mobile operating system, … Read more

Why do wireless carriers have to make everything so complicated? Wireless subscribers should be able to subscribe to the service they want and need and not be forced to take services they don't want or need.

This seems like a simple enough concept, and yet customers who want a smartphone but only want to pay for voice services can't get it. And customers who want to forgo voice service for data-only services are also not able to get what they want. In this edition of Ask Maggie, I offer some advice and explanation to a reader on this … Read more

Huawei, the embattled Chinese telecommunications equipment maker, has been caught in a convoluted tale over Iranian cellular sales.

Earlier this year, Huawei purchased cellular antenna equipment from a U.S.-based company, called Andrew LLC, and then through a partner in Iran, attempted to sell those products to a carrier in the Middle Eastern country, Reuters is reporting today, citing documents it obtained from unidentified sources. The carrier apparently cancelled the sale for fear of violating U.S. sanctions.

CNET has contacted Huawei for comment on the Reuters report. We will of course update this story when we have more … Read more

Verizon Wireless is set to become the next wireless provider to offer carrier billing for Google Play purchases, according to unconfirmed reports. An internal Verizon screenshot obtained by Droid Life shows that the feature will be enabled later this week, specifically on October 18.

It it follows through, Verizon would be the last major U.S. carrier to adopt the billing strategy for apps, games, and other content. With that in mind, it appears that Big Red is going to employ a somewhat different tactic from the other players.

As evidenced in the photo, Verizon will put a $25 cap … Read more