LightSquared to Build Nationwide, Wholesale 4G Network
Posted by Jesse Ward on Wednesday, July 21, 2010 · 
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LightSquared, backed by Harbinger Capital Partners, is investing billions to create a nationwide, wholesale, 4G wireless network, using satellite and terrestrial technology. The new company, which was launched just yesterday, has received $2.9 billion in assets from Harbinger, and raised a portion of $1.75 billion in debt and equity from unnamed sources.
LightSquared does not plan to compete directly with retail providers, but rather offer wholesale access to a variety of other mobile broadband providers. ”As the nation’s first wholesale-only integrated wireless broadband and satellite network, LightSquared will provide wireless broadband capacity to a diverse group of customers, including retailers; wireline and wireless communication service providers; cable operators; device manufacturers; web players; content providers; and many others,” LightSquared said in a release. LightSquared plans to offer its partners three coverage options: satellite-only, terrestrial-only or a combination of the two.
The company has selected Nokia Siemens Network to build, operate and maintain the wireless network in an eight-year deal valued at $7 billion. The network will consist of approximately 40,000 cellular base stations, and the company plans to cover 92% of the U.S. population by 2015. LightSquared controls 59 MHz of nationwide spectrum. Read more
Engadget: Verizon’s LTE Rollout is Imminent
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, July 19, 2010 · ·
Tech blog Engadget got its hands on some (alleged) internal Verizon documents late last week which detail the carrier’s 4G network plans.
The documents confirm what Verizon, and the New Edge, have already reported — Verizon’s LTE network will offer 5-12 Mbps downstream, aircards will be available before smartphones, and the carrier is still on track to serve 100 million connections and 30 cities by year-end.
But the docs also claim that the planned LTE isn’t just fast, it offers a minimal 30 ms latency too. The docs also note that we can expect 4G tablets in 2011 as well.
A pair of loyal Engadget readers and tipsters supplied the blog with (real?) shots of Verizon LTE SIM cards.
If the documents and devices are indeed legit, it suggests that Verizon is in the final preparation stages for its LTE network launch.
See the documents for yourself at Engadget.
Verizon Begins ‘Friendly’ LTE Field Trials
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, June 21, 2010 · ·
Verizon Wireless announced that is LTE technical trails have ended, and the company is now moving on to “friendly user trials” in five cities. Verizon said it is still on track to roll out 25 to 30 LTE markets by the end of 2010.
Verizon had been testing its new 4G network in Boston and Seattle throughout 2010. Boston trials have shown data speeds of between 5 Mbps -12 Mbps on the downlink, and 2 Mbps- 5 Mbps upstream. In comparison, 3G speeds typically top out at 1.5 Mbps down and 0.5 Mbps up. Read more
Verizon Launches Website: LTE in Rural America
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, June 7, 2010 · ·
Just a few weeks ago, Verizon revealed that it was negotiating with a number of rural telcos on partnership agreements to deploy a 4G, LTE network in rural territories. The carrier just launched a new website, LTE in Rural America, which offers more details on its plans and invites interested parties to contact the company directly. Read more
Verizon in talks with Rural Carriers on LTE
Posted by Jesse Ward on Thursday, May 13, 2010 · ·
Verizon dropped another bombshell in the Wall Street Journal this morning. CEO Lowell McAdam says the company is negotiating with a number of rural telephone carriers to license its 4G wireless spectrum.
Under the proposed arrangements, Verizon would license spectrum for a small fee to local carriers, which would sell the service. Either Verizon or the carrier could handle the job of installing the equipment. Verizon is also striking data roaming agreements with the rural carriers to let their customers use the rest of Verizon’s network when they’re traveling… Read more
Verizon Trials LTE Running at 8.5 Mbps
Posted by Jesse Ward on Wednesday, May 12, 2010 · ·
Verizon is marching full-steam ahead with its LTE plans.
In a YouTube video released last week (see it after the jump), Verizon is showcasing the technology to users who are accustomed to older and slower wireless connectivity. Speedtests in the video (on a completely uncongested network) show users achieving downstream speeds of up to 8.5 Mbps, and upstream speeds of up to 2.8 Mbps. This is consistent with Verizon’s promise to deliver between 5 and 12 Mbps downstream. Read more
Cox Trials Voice and Video over LTE
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, January 25, 2010 · ·
Cox Communications announced today that it has successfully completed trials of voice and high-definition video over LTE, the first clear sign that the company is moving toward deploying the 4G technology.
The 4G trials were conducted in Phoenix and San Diego, utilizing both 700 MHz and AWS spectrum. Cox collaborated with Alcatel-Lucent and Huawei to test wireless services and applications. Read more
