Mobile Broadband

Verizon: Mobile Web Will Cost You $30/Month

Bernie — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 22:33:30 -0500

Verizon is set to establish a $30/month minimum for mobile web access for all smartphones. The new rates discontinue current pay-as-you-go and 10 MB/month mobile web plans. The move applies to all smartphones, including BlackBerry’s, and hopes to capitalize on their growing popularity. Verizon’s competitors all have similar plans, with Sprint having the most generous. Sprint’s plan includes unlimited mobile web, email, messaging, mobileTV, and GPS. Verizon’s $30 plan only includes unlimited mobile web and email. According to this post’s source, BGR, the new rates take effect Nov. 14th and will be expanded in 2009 to include phones with "web 2.0" capability.

The move is not surprising. Mobile data services are driving revenue growth for the wireless industry and Verizon obviously believes enough demand is present in the marketplace to justify the increase. I guess this means the BlackBerry Storm won’t be available until after Nov 14th, since each sale would just about guarantees a minimum $30/month in data revenue. AT&T practices a similar strategy with the iPhone.

Cox Announces Wireless Plans

Bernie — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 09:58:27 -0400

Cox issued a press release announcing its intentions to launch wireless service in 2009, and integrate it into their successful bundling strategy. Cox intends to resell Sprint wireless services initially, and then augment that resale effort with their own 3G services from an ongoing wireless network build out project. Cox also says they are investigating LTE for a future 4G network play. “Our commitment is firm, and the wireless services we deliver will further the Cox experience. As consumers are increasingly adopting a mobile lifestyle, we will continue to deliver in ways that are uniquely Cox – offering the first truly integrated bundle that is easy-to-use, reliable and supported by the best customer service available,” said Pat Esser, president of Cox Communications in a company statement. They also offered insight into some integrated wireless features they intend to offer, including mobileTV, remote programming of DVRs, and access to content stored on home computers.

In the announcement, Cox touted its telephony track record and suggested they intend to see similar results with wireless. “Ten years ago, only Cox, a cable company, had the flexibility to introduce simpler telephone plans to the marketplace. And now, with wireless, we have the flexibility yet again to introduce a simpler and better wireless offer, making it easy for consumers to continue to choose Cox as their trusted provider. It’s an exciting future for our customers,” said Dallas Clement, senior vice president of strategy and product management. Funny how they failed to mention their first foray into wireless – the Pivot MVNO disaster, which touted much of this same promise at its launch. Cox will tell you they learned from that mistake, and will be the better for it. Next year is setting up to be quite an interesting one from a competitive standpoint. Cable companies will begin a serious foray into wireless, hoping to match their telecom competitors head on with a broadband wireless offensive.

Sprint Dramatically Lowers Phone as a Modem Pricing

Bernie — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Sprint lowered its phone as a modem (PAM) option to $15/month from $50/month. PAM options allow customers to use 3G enabled handsets as Internet modems for laptops and PCs. In effect, the PAM replaces the need for a broadband data card. The service has specific requirements including the use of qualified handsets and qualified data plans. Customers must subscribe to a Sprint data plan of $30/month or more to qualify.

Mobile Broadband Implications Are Far Reaching

Bernie — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:40:30 -0400

Nielsen Mobile released a revealing study on mobile broadband which may offer some insight into the future of broadband and wireless. The study results reveal that there were 13 million users of 3G mobile data cards in the U.S. as of the end of 2Q08. Mobile data cards connect to laptops and PCs, allowing access to mobile broadband services over a cellular network. The cards come in a variety of formats, including PCMCIA cards, USB cards, and even come embedded in laptops. The study also revealed significant momentum, citing that 55% of these cards were purchased within the last twelve months. One of the more revealing findings indicated that this mobile broadband product is increasingly being used by everyday consumers, not just traveling professionals, or “prosumers” as they are often called. “It’s clear that data cards aren’t just for business travelers but are an increasingly popular choice for in-home, personal Internet access, too” said Nic Covey, director of insights at Nielsen Mobile. “Data cards aren’t just for road warriors—but also for couch and kitchen warriors.” Other interesting findings include:

43% of mobile data card users report they most often use their data card at home
15% say they typically use the card at work
9% say they use the card while commuting to/from work
40% of card users also have cable broadband and 34% also have DSL in their home
59% of mobile data card users say they might cut their wireline Internet service for data card use exclusively

The threat to wireline broadband service is fairly obvious. There will be a segment of mobile broadband users who will go exclusively wireless, just as they’ve done with voice. The advent of 4G wireless in coming years will certainly accelerate that trend. But I also believe there will still be significant opportunity to leverage both wireline and wireless broadband together. I interpret the findings of this study to also support the notion that broadband carriers who augment their wireline broadband with a wireless value add option can gain competitive advantage. If your value proposition to customers communicates a robust wireline broadband option, complemented by a broadband “lite” wireless option, at an acceptable price point, you may have a winner. Indeed, some leading companies are already executing such a vision. This strategy is exactly what Cablevision has in mind with their pending Wi-Fi mesh network in New York. The idea that I can buy a service that will seamlessly extend my broadband experience, both inside and outside of the home, is quite compelling. As the Nielsen study reveals – compelling to not only prosumers, but soccer moms too.

700 MHz Results: Usual Suspects with a Twist

Bernie — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 09:16:31 -0400

The FCC released results from the 700 MHZ auction and it looks like the pre-release consensus was right. Verizon Wireless and AT&T were the big winners, with Verizon gaining a national 700 MHz footprint. They both bid a combined $16.3 billion, with AT&T bidding $6.64 billion for 227 B-block licenses and Verizon Wireless bidding $9.63 billion for the large C-block regional licenses. An additional 99 bidders won 754 licenses, including familiar names like Echostar (DISH Networks) and Cox. The outcome of the auction did not produce a viable national wireless competitor, as many had hoped, but there are some interesting twists.

Echostar bid $711 million for 168 E-block licenses, which covers a large portion of the U.S. Cox bid close to $305 million for 22 licenses in the A and B blocks. Their licenses will include areas of California, Virginia, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Arkansas, Kansas and Oklahoma. These two winners will probably be the most interesting to watch from a competitive angle. Echostar now has a conceivable way to offer broadband, although speculation is that they have their eyes on mobile video, which the E-block spectrum is much better suited for. Among smaller service providers, CenturyTel won 69 B-block licenses for $149 million, raising the potential for CenturyTel to launch its own wireless service. Several tier 3 carriers won licenses including Horry Telephone of South Carolina, Pioneer Telephone in Oklahoma, and PVT Networks in New Mexico. While the auction failed to bring a competitor to the national stage, and may have fallen somewhat short from an overall competitive standpoint, it did empower several entrants into the wireless space. Time will tell whether those entrants can actually have a competitive impact in their respective territories, but it will be interesting to observe over the coming months and years.

Sprint First to Market with Mobile Broadband Handset

Bernie — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 17:03:19 -0400

In what is surely a sign of things to come, Sprint will provide an EVDO Rev. A software upgrade for its HTC Mogul handset, making it the first mobile broadband enabled handset. Upgraded Mogul’s will have true broadband wireless access, with download speeds ranging from 600 kbps to 1.4 Mbps, and upload speeds of 350 to 500 kbps. Previous speeds available to the Mogul before the upgrade, range from 400 kbps to 700 kbps downloads and uploads of 50 kbps to 70 kbps. Prior to the Mogul, mobile broadband has been limited to laptops which utilize either a laptop card or a built in wireless modem. Broadband enabled handsets have been in play for some time, but have used primarily Wi-Fi for their broadband access. The Mogul will now have true broadband anywhere there is EVDO Rev. A coverage (BTW, don't you love our industry’s acronyms – try explaining EVDO Rev. A to a lay person).

Mobile broadband should see considerable expansion in the months and years to come. Wireless carriers are positioning it as a differentiated and value add service. A knock on the popular iPhone is its lack of a true mobile broadband option. Sprint seems like an unlikely first to market candidate given their troubles of late. But they may prove to be a big early player in mobile broadband with the Mogul and with promised WiMAX enabled handsets due by the end of this year. It may prove to be one of the few competitive bright spots available to Sprint – one that they would be wise to exploit.

Mobile Broadband Usage Grows by 157%

Bernie — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 09:11:46 -0500

According to comScore, access to the Internet through mobile broadband connections grew by 157% in 2007. Mobile broadband technology includes EV-DO Rev. A which is offered by both Verizon and Sprint. Mobile broadband connections are achieved through PC/laptop cards, built-in adapters, or by tethered smartphones. comScore pegs the number of unique mobile broadband users at 2.1 million. “Though mobile broadband access is currently used by about 1 percent of the total U.S. Internet population, it is poised for significant growth over the next few years,” said Serge Matta, senior vice president of comScore.

Mobile broadband will certainly increase dramatically, especially if Sprint’s Xohm gets off the ground soon. In fact, mobile broadband will increasingly impact the competitive landscape as more and more users find its convenience appealing. Mobile broadband has the potential to have a similar impact on landline broadband that cellular has had on landline voice. Additionally, telecom carriers will increasingly add mobile broadband to quad play bundles to create differentiation and competitive advantage. The numbers are low today because we are just leaving mobile broadband’s "embryotic" stage. But we will soon see "hockey stick" type growth and its competitive impact will be undeniable.

AT&T Announces 3G Expansion

Bernie — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 09:26:21 -0500

AT&T announced an expansion of their 3G network, that will bring coverage to 80 additional markets. The expansion will involve 1,500 new cell sites. AT&T claims its 3G network delivers typical downlink speeds ranging between 600 and 1,400 Kbps, and uplink speeds ranging from 500 and 800 Kbps. AT&T says the expansion includes migration to a GSM based High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA) network.

Microsoft-Yahoo Combination Could Create Wireless Juggernaut

Bernie — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 12:15:46 -0500

Let the speculation begin. Microsoft’s unsolicited bid for Yahoo has the tech world abuzz. There are numerous implications if such a merger were to materialize. We’re far off from that happening - it will take some time to shake everything out. There are already rumors that Yahoo is exploring other options, including an alliance with Google to either thwart the Microsoft bid, or try to extract a bigger selling price. Perhaps one of the more interesting implications centers on wireless. Both Yahoo and Microsoft have impressive wireless strategies. Among the more obvious goals of this Microsoft bid, it may also be an attempt to head off Google advances into the coveted wireless space.

Yahoo and Microsoft have some pretty impressive wireless forays already. Microsoft’s mobile operating system, Windows Mobile, is on 150 handsets and is available from over 100 different wireless operators from across the globe. Windows Mobile will ship on about 20 million handsets this year alone. Yahoo has struck wireless alliances with the likes of AT&T, Vodaphone, T-Mobile, and Rogers to feature Yahoo mobile wireless applications, including ad and search capabilities. A combined Microsoft-Yahoo could create a compelling integrated suite of services for wireless operators and consumers that may trump anything Google tries to do with Android. Mobile wireless represents the next big growth engine for broadband. Microsoft, Yahoo, and Google understand that, and they are now positioning themselves to take full advantage of it.

Mobile Broadband Extending Reach into Rural Markets

Bernie — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 10:14:05 -0500

Recent announcements by Alltel about EV-DO launches in Montana and North Dakota illustrate the maturation of mobile broadband wireless beyond downtown urban clusters. Much of the attention around 3G deployments focuses on Sprint and Verizon Wireless’ EV-DO strategy of blanketing urban markets. But Alltel claims the largest EV-DO footprint (geographically speaking), and much of it is well beyond urban cores. Alltel’s latest announcement says they’re bringing mobile broadband to “Helena, Missoula, Billings and communities along Interstates 94 and 90” in Montana. That follows on the heels of similar moves by Alltel in North Dakota. Mobile broadband and the competition it empowers has arrived in rural America.

Rural America is no stranger to broadband wireless. But it’s typically been in the form of fixed wireless, where service providers have used Wi-Fi and other unlicensed spectrum options to expand the reach of their broadband footprints. Alltel, to some extent Verizon, and other smaller wireless players are now using EV-DO to provide more auspicious competitive broadband options to rural consumers, making it more enticing to “cut the chord” entirely. Wireless voice and now wireless broadband is within reach of millions of rural subscribers in much the same way that their urban counterparts have enjoyed it for some time. These mobile broadband solutions will broaden the competitive landscape for rural wireline providers and their DSL offerings. As mobile broadband continues to evolve through upcoming 4G technologies, its competitive implications will only broaden. Some rural service providers who historically have been somewhat shielded from wireless competitive pressures, may start to see the tides turn.