wireless carriers

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

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

According to a report by the Financial Times, mobile operators in Europe are stockpiling nano-SIM chips in anticipation of Apple including the new technology in the next iteration of the iPhone.

Though actions like this would suggest an impending launch, no official word has come from Apple as to when we can expect to actually see the iPhone 5 (or the new iPhone?)

The nano-SIM design was approved by the mobile phone industry's standards group earlier this year and should allow Apple to save even more space in its tightly designed iPhone interior.… Read more

Microsoft's new Windows Phone 8 devices will hit stores this fall. And support from carriers like Verizon Wireless will be crucial if the company stands a chance of competing with smartphone giants, Apple and Google.

Microsoft today took the wraps off Windows Phone 8, the next iteration of its mobile software for smartphones. Device makers Nokia, Huawei, Samsung and HTC have all committed to building Windows Phone 8 devices, Microsoft said. So far all four major wireless carriers, including Verizon Wireless, are onboard as well, which is good news for Microsoft. The big question now is how much support … Read more

Regional wireless provider U.S. Cellular has become the first carrier to offer its customers a list of curated apps from the Amazon Appstore. Announced today, these Android users will find a new menu greeting them when they launch the Amazon application. … Read more

Google is switching up Android in an effort to gain some control from wireless carriers.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the tech giant is planning to grant early access of new releases of the operating system to several mobile-device makers at once and also sell the phones directly to consumers.

Until now, Google would work with only one device maker to create "lead devices," according to The Wall Street Journal. Only once the "lead device" was produced would the company give access of the software to other mobile makers. Also, all phones were sold via … Read more

The five largest European carriers could face an antitrust inquiry for meetings they've allegedly held since 2010.

The Financial Times, citing sources, reported that Deutsche Telekom, France Telecom, Telecom Italia, Telefonica, and Vodafone have been holding so-called "E5" meetings since 2010 to discuss a host of issues they face. Financial Times' sources say that the company's top executives discussed everything from Apple and Google to mobile payments.

Those meetings have apparently not gone unnoticed in Brussels, where the European Commission confirmed to CNET today that it has "requested information" from the carriers, as well … Read more

Sprint Nextel saw its biggest surge in new customers in six years thanks to the iPhone, but that growth came at a hefty price.

Still, Sprint reported a loss of $1.3 billion, or 43 cents a share, on revenue of $8.72 billion in the fourth quarter. That compares with a loss of $929 million, or 31 cents a share, on revenue of $8.3 billion in the year-ago quarter.

The Q4 results included a loss of $241 million, or 8 cents a share, due to one-time costs related to asset charges on property, plant, equipment, as well as … Read more

Sprint is making good on its promise to eliminate the controversial Carrier IQ software from devices on its network.

On Monday Android Central reported that the HTC EVO 3D, which runs on Sprint's network, will get a new firmware update that will wipe the Carrier IQ software from the device. HTC confirmed on Tuesday its move in a statement to The Verge. The company said that the maintenance software update would "remove Carrier IQ and provide security enhancements and bug fixes beginning in January."

CNET and others reported in December that Sprint said it would disable the software in devices running on its network. … Read more