This saga involving T-Mobile’s massive $23 billion merger takes a fresh twist as the company is pushed into the spotlight over allegations of anti-competitive activities. Seven complainants allege that the consolidation of the mobile space resulted in AT&T and Verizon hiking their prices. With these lawsuit-triggered questions featuring at the heart of the upcoming Connected America conference, the telecom industry braces itself for this landmark case’s outcomes.
Deutsche Telekom, Telefonica and Orange test blockchain technology Deutsche Telecom is testing a blockchain solution that can be used to generate and sign secure inter-operator roaming discount agreements. T-Mobile US, Telefonica, Orange and the GSMA are collaborating to test the software that will reduce the complexity of the current process, which usually involves drafting, signing and manually implementing the contracts. Deutsche Telecom said that this is the first time operators are able to jointly test blockchain as a solution that also incorporates a corresponding legal framework, governance model, and integration into corporate IT infrastructures. Read more at https://tinyurl.com/rpwsegx The world’s biggest phone show has been canceled due to coronavirus concerns The GSM Association (GSMA) has canceled the world’s largest mobile phone show, Mobile World Congress (MWC), in Barcelona due to concerns related to the growing coronavirus pandemic. The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide uniting more than 1,200…
New Jersey, US-based Synchronoss Technologies has announced that it is working with a new joint venture formed by the four largest mobile operators in the United States – AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon – to speed up the delivery of an advanced mobile messaging service to consumers and businesses in all four mobile networks. The US tech giants have recently launched Cross Carrier Messaging Initiative (CCMI) and will cooperate with cloud, messaging, digital and IoT product specialist Synchronoss to offer a compatible Rich Communications Services (RCS) application to Android devices in 2020. This platform, based on the RCS standard that was developed together with technology partner WIT Software, can create a messaging ecosystem that allows consumer brands to attain a new level of engagement. The solution can also help meet the growing demand for content rich, personalized interactions through messaging communications, Synchronoss said in a press release. The company…
US telecom giant Sprint Corporation has announced that it is working with Arizona State University (ASU) to promote economic, educational, technological and social growth in the entire Arizona region, leveraging the power of Sprint’s True Mobile 5G and Curiosity™ IoT’s advanced dedicated network and operating system. This groundbreaking collaboration will combine the innovations of 5G and Curiosity™ IoT, create a new IoT curriculum and reach millions of residents. Sprint’s Curiosity™ IoT is the first dedicated, virtualized and distributed core IoT network that is purpose-built for software. Hosted on a solid foundation from technology leaders including ARM, Ericsson and AWS, this service leverages bare-metal design, and enables the delivery of low latency, high availability connectivity. The fourth-largest mobile network operator in the US stated that they designed Curiosity™ IoT “to solve the challenges of today and be ready for the needs of the future.” In a press release, Sprint said it will work alongside ASU…
Verizon to enable spam call filtering by default on select Android phones Verizon has begun auto-enrolling eligible customers in its free Call Filter service, thus automatically protecting Android users through spam-detection and blocking of high-risk calls. The Federal Communications Commission’s recent ruling has given phone carriers more authority to block spam calls, and Verizon is taking advantage of it to better protect customers. The Call Filter app will automatically block calls from any numbers reported as fraudulent and forward them to voicemail. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/y5ctqelq Google and Dell team up on the first Chromebooks made for business Dell Technologies Inc. and Google LLC have announced the launch of their jointly developed laptops – the Dell Latitude 5300 2-in-1 Chromebook Enterprise and Dell Latitude 5400 Chromebook Enterprise. These two laptops are based on existing Dell’s Latitude models, except they run Chrome OS and offer extra security and organisational features.…
InMobi, a tech company providing marketing solutions to enterprises, has announced the acquisition of the mobile data and advertising company, Pinsight Media. This all-stock deal between Pinsight Media’s previous owner Sprint and InMobi is part of a broader strategic partnership between the two companies, covering devices, data, media and marketing. “Sprint’s partnership with InMobi goes beyond this acquisition. We have been looking for a strategic partner that can deliver the latest digital marketing and mobile advertising technologies, besides having a deep appreciation of regulatory, privacy, and data concerns. This partnership provides Sprint with an innovative partner for driving our marketing success,” commented Rob Roy, the Chief Digital Officer at Sprint. Pinsight Media works with leading US telecoms service providers and advertisers to improve targeted advertising on mobile devices. InMobi will benefit from the deal by bringing the user behavior analysis and marketing strategy insights from Pinsight to the…
Sprint announced that 5G PCs will be available to buy in their stores next year. Those computers will be built around Intel’s chips. The operator won’t be the only one to offer 5G PCs as Acer and Asus also recently declared their plan to produce 5G Intel-based computers. With Microsoft, Dell, HP and Lenovo having already announced their plan to launch 5G laptops, the market will see a total of six companies battling for this new segment, until others tech companies come out with their own project. Intel has fought hard for this, as the company met difficulties competing with Qualcomm in implementing its chips in connected devices, especially in 4G PCs that are supposed to be available in stores this year with Snapdragon chips inside.
FreedomPop, the California based company operating in the US and UK, will launch a new MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) called Unreal mobile. Until now FreedomPop focused on its free-of-charge mobile plan for customers with small needs, making money from their other plans. With Unreal Mobile, they offer a full service carrier using the Sprint network. Unreal will offer unlimited data for $15 per month, with no contract. Not only that, but Unreal Mobile number can be used on any device, meaning not only on smartphones but also on tablets and computers. The way it works is a SIM card is needed for the main smartphone, that works with a regular voice network, then Unreal Mobile, with VoIP technology, allows the user to use different devices with the same number. This announcement is a direct result of Sprint and T-Mobile merger. Mauricio Sastre, FreedomPop SVP Strategy and Carrier Relations said…
After months of battle and negotiations, the third and fourth largest wireless carriers in the U.S.A. finally agreed on a merger. The fusion between the two companies is one of massive proportions in terms of capital and clients, as it will be a $26 billions all-stock deal and will concern 127 millions customers. The main goal of this deal is to give birth to a strong opponent to AT&T and Verizon. Actually, the announcement might be due to T-Mobile’s fail to acquire a company called Straight Path a year ago, that focuses on providing technology, in the 28 GHz z to 39 GHz millimetre wave spectrum. Verizon, who won the bid gets an advantage in the 5G market. In order to be competitive in this new 5G technology the merger became necessary. T-Mobile and Sprint tried to merge 7 years ago, in a much different environment and the failed, as…
Sprint and T-Mobile, two important mobile operators in America, have resumed discussions on a merger of their activities in the United States. In the world of telecoms, it seems that there are some things that never end. In the US, the prospect of a marriage between the mobile operators, T-Mobile and Sprint, regularly makes headlines. According to the Wall Street Journal, discussions have recently resumed between these two players, respectively number three and four of the market, behind the unstoppable tandem formed by the giants Verizon and AT&T. According to the business daily quoting sources familiar with the matter, the negotiations are “at a preliminary stage”. With all the failures of mergers that they faced in the past, we understand that the two boards are cautious … As a reminder, the two actors had once again attempted to join forces late last year. But they failed to reach an agreement, ending their…
