Wireless

Verizon: Sandy Could Have 'Significant' Effect on Q4

Telco Says It Cannot Yet Estimate Cost of Storm Recovery
By: Todd Spangler Nov 2 2012 - 10:15am
Telco Says It Cannot Yet Estimate Cost of Storm Recovery

Verizon Communications said dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy could have a “significant” effect on fourth-quarter 2012 operating results, but that it could not yet estimate the cost.

Thousands of the telco’s employees are still working to restore service for wireline and wireless networks, with the storm directly affecting a large portion of Verizon’s Northeast footprint, including New York City and New Jersey. (Photo above: Verizon pumps out a flooded central office facility in Lower Manhattan.)

Sprint: 75% of Network Operational in NYC

Wireless Carrier Says Service Fully Restored in Areas Including D.C., Virginia, Maryland
By: Todd Spangler Nov 2 2012 - 9:00am
Wireless Carrier Says Service Fully Restored in Areas Including D.C., Virginia, Maryland

Sprint Nextel was still working Thursday night to bring back service in areas swamped by Hurricane Sandy, particularly in New York City where the carrier said about 75% of the network is operational.

Overall, in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, Sprint’s network is more than 80% operational. The company said it has faced challenges in bringing back service, particularly in New York City and portions of the New Jersey coast, in obtaining commercial power, backhaul connections and gaining safe access to cell sites.

TWC Deploys Vehicles With Wi-Fi, Charging Stations in NYC

MSO to Donate $600,000 for Storm Recovery Efforts
By: Todd Spangler Nov 1 2012 - 5:05pm
MSO to Donate $600,000 for Storm Recovery Efforts

To aid New Yorkers left without power or communications after Hurricane Sandy, Time Warner Cable is deploying vehicles with mobile charging stations and free Wi-Fi access throughout the Big Apple, while the MSO also is donating $600,000 for recovery efforts.

The operator said an initial fleet of nine vehicles, equipped with 4G wireless, will make extended stops starting Thursday afternoon in hard-hit areas including Chinatown, the Flatiron District and West Village.

FCC: Sandy-Related Cable Outages Fall 'Well Under' 20%

Cell Phone Outages Also fall; Issues Remain for Only Handful of Broadcasters
By: John Eggerton Oct 31 2012 - 3:11pm
Cell Phone Outages Also fall; Issues Remain for Only Handful of Broadcasters

 

Cable video, phone and broadband outages from superstorm Sandy as of 10 a.m. (ET) Wednesday had dropped "well under" 20% of subs in the core area of the storm's impact, according to David Turetsky, chief of the FCC's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau.

NBC Affils Concerned About Simultaneous Spectrum Auction

Tell FCC Staffers They Could Be Working Without a Net with Broadcasters' Fate at Stake
By: John Eggerton Oct 25 2012 - 7:28am
Tell FCC Staffers They Could Be Working Without a Net with Broadcasters' Fate at Stake

NBC's TV station affiliates are concerned about the FCC's plans to hold reverse and forward spectrum incentive auctions at the same time.

The FCC has sought comment on that suggestion, but said in its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that it might make more sense to hold the reverse auction, in which broadcasters bid to see who will give up their spectrum to the FCC for the lowest price, and the forward auction -- that spectrum goes to the highest bidder -- at the same time.

AMC Networks, Dish Shares Up on Settlement Carriage Deal

Programmer, Satellite Giant Reach New 52-Week Highs
By: Mike Farrell Oct 22 2012 - 4:40pm
Programmer, Satellite Giant Reach New 52-Week Highs

Shares of AMC Networks and Dish Network were up strongly on Monday, the first trading day after the two inked a $700 million settlement that caused the programmer to drop a contentious breach of contract suit and brought carriage to its quartet of channels.

TWC, Cox Roll Verizon Wireless Bundles Into More Markets

MSOs, Wireless Carrier Offer Joint Customers Signup Deals in Texas, California, Massachusetts and New York
By: Todd Spangler Oct 22 2012 - 1:04pm
MSOs, Wireless Carrier Offer Joint Customers Signup Deals in Texas, California, Massachusetts and New York

Time Warner Cable and Cox Communications continue to widen their “quad play” marketing agreements with Verizon Wireless, with the companies launching bundled deals in the MSOs’ markets in four states.

Sprint Makes Moves to Consolidate Clearwire

Agrees to Buy Eagle River Shares, Pushes Voting Stake Past 50%
By: Mike Farrell Oct 18 2012 - 12:08pm
Agrees to Buy Eagle River Shares, Pushes Voting Stake Past 50%

Sprint-Nextel wasted little time in trying to consolidate its holdings in WiMax provider Clearwire, agreeing to purchase more than 30 million shares from cellular telephone pioneer Craig McCaw in a deal valued at about $100 million.
According to an Oct. 18 Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Sprint has agreed to purchase 30.9 million Class A and 2.7 million Class B shares for $2.97 each, or about $100 million. The transaction pushes Sprint’s voting stake past 50%, effectively giving it control of the WiMax provider.

Cable-Tec Expo: Spirent Intros High-Scale Wi-Fi Hotspot Test Suite

Landslide System Can Emulate Up to 32 Million Simultaneous User Connections
By: Todd Spangler Oct 18 2012 - 7:47am
Landslide System Can Emulate Up to 32 Million Simultaneous User Connections

Orlando -- Spirent Communications is showing a Wi-Fi testing solution designed to let cable operators test what would amount to an estimated 32 million users having access to hundreds of thousands of hotspots.

The vendor’s Landslide Wi-Fi Offload Gateway Testing solution stress-tests equipment that aggregates data from sources such as mobile video, as well as traditional services such as voice calling and SMS, from a 3G/4G/LTE network to Wi-Fi for transport over cable networks. Spirent is showcasing the solution at the Cable-Tec Expo here.

Clearwire Shares Up Again on Sprint Deal

Second Day of Double-Digit Gains
By: Mike Farrell Oct 15 2012 - 4:41pm
Second Day of Double-Digit Gains

Clearwire stock continued its impressive run on Monday, gaining as much as 28% in early trading after Japanese wireless giant SoftBank officially announced its agreement to take control of Sprint -Nextel for $20 billion.
Sprint-Nextel is Clearwire’s largest shareholder with nearly half of its outstanding shares. SoftBank has said that the Clearwire stake is a critical component of its deal with the phone carrier.

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