T-Mobile USA isn't planning to offer shared data plans to its customers like its competitors Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ) and AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T). In a blog post, T-Mobile USA's Senior Vice President of Marketing Andrew Sherrard said that the company doesn't think that consumers want a "one size fits all" approach to shared family data plans, nor would they benefit from that model.

T-Mobile is clearly trying to capitalize on the uproar caused by Verizon Communications CFO Fran Shammo earlier this week. Shammo told investors at a J.P. Morgan conference that the company plans to migrate 3G customers who were "grandfathered" into the carrier's $30 per month unlimited data plan to the company's data-share plan (which Verizon plans to launch in mid-summer) when those customers upgrade to an LTE device. Verizon later clarified Shammo's comments by saying that customers with unlimited plans will get to keep their unlimited plans--however, when shared data plans become available, the unlimited option will no longer be available to customers who buy a new device at a subsidized price, which usually happens with a two-year service contract. Those customers who purchase their device for full price can keep their unlimited data plan.  

At the same conference, AT&T Mobility President and CEO Ralph de la Vega said that his company is working on a data-share plan. De la Vega said he believes AT&T can increase tablet sales by allowing customers to share a single data plan among multiple devices, including smartphones and tablets.

Instead of introducing a data-share plan, T-Mobile is touting its new prepaid mobile broadband data plans for tablets, which let customers pay in daily, weekly or monthly installments starting at 300 MB per week for $15 and going up to 5 GB per month for $50. The company also offers "unlimited" data plans for smartphones that start at $10 for 200 MB per month and go up to $60 for 10 GB per month. The catch is that customers' data speeds are slowed when they surpass their monthly data allotment; customers can move to a higher tier in order to avoid having their speeds throttled.

For more:
- see this blog post

Related Articles:
Verizon will kill 'grandfathered' unlimited data plans, push users to data share
T-Mobile tweaks prepaid mobile broadband pricing
T-Mobile unveils new tiered data plans for smartphones, details throttling speeds
AT&T's de la Vega: We want to minimize phone subsidies

LTE connections will reach 90 million by the end of 2012, according to a new study by Strategy Analytics. The report said sales of LTE-based smartphones are expanding beyond early LTE hotbeds, including the United States, South Korea and Japan, and the technology will grow to 1 billion connections by early 2017.

LTE now has overwhelming support from global operators as their 4G upgrade path, said the analyst firm. Further, the technology will account for 15 per cent of all mobile connections in 2017, putting it on a faster trajectory than any other mobile technology. Article

German wireless carriers are in an uproar over what they said is a delay by the German telecom regulator BNA in approving their applications to deploy LTE network technology in key German cities. According to the Financial Times Deutschland, BNA is sitting on over 8,000 applications made by Vodafone, Telefónica, E-Plus and Telekom Deutschland for LTE deployments, thus resulting in significant delays in building LTE in urban German areas.

The head of Germany's telecom operators association VATM, Juergen Grützner, has written to the BNA claiming that the statutory maximum of six weeks to process an application is often being exceeded by several months.

The BNA said the issue is due to not having adequate staff assigned to the task. The agency said new software will be implemented that should help alleviate the delays.

Grützner has told VATM members that, "We expect the new president of the BNA to find a quick and pragmatic solution," according to the Financial Times Deutschland.

Having been restricted by their 800 MHz LTE licence conditions to initially provide coverage to rural areas, the operators are now keen to deploy the technology into more profitable urban and city locations.

The operators are required to obtain permission from the BNA for each microwave and base station antenna prior to installation.

For more:
- see this Financial Times Deutschland (translated via Google Translate)
- see this Telecom Paper article (sub. req.)

Related Articles:
Rising German mobile data usage triggers call for 2G refarming
Salanave: The (lack of) LTE impetus in Europe
Report: LTE now reaches 13M German households
Report: Europe to account for 30% for LTE devices shipped in 2012 
Vodafone Germany to charge premium for LTE smartphone access 
Vodafone Germany to launch HTC Velocity, first German LTE smartphone

Full-year revenues at pan-European MVNO Lebara are up 15 per cent to €648 million, helped by a 27 per cent increase in customers to 3.8 million.

Importantly, the company also reported operating profit of €20 million for the fiscal year 2011, together with an increase in gross profit margin from 27 per cent to 29 per cent.

Commenting on the results, company founder and CEO Yoganathan Ratheesan told Mobile News that the financial performance of the company was due to the exceptional value and service levels delivered to Lebara customers.

"We know that we have to continually evolve to remain at our best and competitive in this market place, and recent changes have ensured just that," he said. "The savings we have made across the business will be reinvested to continue to deliver maximum value to our customers through more low cost products and high quality services."

The company, which operates in seven European countries and Australia with a focus on the low-cost ethnic market, announced earlier this year that it had cut its workforce at its Group and UK divisions by 8 per cent.

For more:
- see this Mobile News article

Related Articles:
MVNO Lebara weighs job cuts as competition flares
Europe's MVNOs challenged by new threats and opportunities
MVNOs compete in a fast-changing world
French MVNOs angered by Free Mobile's wholesale rates
Everything Everywhere scoops up China Telecom MVNO deal

The owner of America Movil, Mexico's Carlos Slim, held talks with Telekom Austria shareholders over acquiring a stake in the operator, according to a report in an Austrian magazine that did not cite sources.

Slim reportedly spoke with Ronny Pecik about the 20 per cent holding he and his partner Naguib Sawiris have in the Austrian operator. Slim also reportedly held talks with Telekom Austria's biggest shareholder, OeIAG, which has a 28.4 per cent holding in the company.

According to Reuters, America Movil has approached Telekom Austria directly in the past. The action is further evidence of Slim's long-held ambitions to break into the European mobile market; America Movil recently offered $3.5 billion for a 28 per cent stake in KPN.

Pecik and Sawiris have indicated that they will seek seats on Telekom Austria's expanded supervisory board, and have previously said they would hold their stake for two years before offloading the shares to a strategic investor, according to Reuters.

Reports from within Austria claim that Norway's Telenor remains the most likely telco to acquire a meaningful stake in Telekom Austria, and is looking to negotiate with Egyptian businessman Sawiris on possible options.

Earlier this month, Telekom Austria said that its planned acquisition of Orange Austria YESSS assets was going through the approvals process and remained on track to be complete by mid-2012.

For more:
- see this Reuters article

Related Article
Telekom Austria, Turkcell eye Bulgarian operator Vivacom
Serbian government rejects Telekom Austria's bid for Telekom Srbija
Telekom Austria's M2M division is working on 19 projects
Hutchison, T-Mobile Austria clash over Orange Austria purchase

Ireland's High Court has dismissed Hutchison Whampoa's attempt to stop the financial restructuring of the bankrupt Eircom after the judge ruled there were numerous shortcomings in Hutchison's bid for the Irish telecoms operator.

Hutchison, which had bid €2 billion for Eircom, lost its legal challenge that argued its offer had not been given due consideration, according to Dow Jones Newswire.

However, a report carried by Bloomberg claimed that Hutchison's bid for Eircom was rejected by the appointed bankruptcy official partly because it would have doubled the losses incurred by the phone company's most-senior lenders.

Rachel Channing, a Dublin-based spokeswoman at Hutchison's Three business, said the company was disappointed with the court's ruling, but noted: "Three's parent company, Hutchison Whampoa, an experienced telecoms operator, had committed to provide the stability and ongoing investment that is necessary for the Eircom business to recover."

This legal attempt by Hutchison to have its bid reviewed came after the accountancy firm handling the Irish telecom company's bankruptcy proceedings rejected the €2 billion offer in favour of giving control of Eircom to senior debt holders that are owed €2.7 billion, according to Dow Jones Newswire.

This move by the Irish court is a setback for Hutchison's wider telecoms ambitions. The company has a long-held strategy to expand its European footprint helped by the €8 billion cash currently carried on the company's balance sheet.

For more:
- see this Dow Jones Newswire article
- see this Bloomberg article
- see this Reuters article

Related Articles:
Hutchison's €2B Eircom bid spurned a second time
Report: Hutchison removes conditions in €2B bid for bankrupt Eircom
Hutchison Whampoa boosts European holdings with €1.3B Orange Austria buy
3 Sweden to pull low-cost unlimited offer amid fears of price war
Hutchison: 3 Italia is not for sale

Nokia is burning through its cash reserves at a rate that is unsustainable, causing heightened worries among industry analysts over the embattled company's ability to stay afloat.

Over the past five quarters, according to Reuters, Nokia has eaten into its cash pile by €2.1 billion--a rate that would see its entire reserves of €4.9 billion disappear in a couple years.

But, according to a poll conducted by Reuters of 30 banks and brokerages, the common view is that Nokia will burn through almost €2 billion more in just three quarters. The most bearish see the company's €4.9 billion net cash buffer completely gone by next year.

"In our opinion, the company's ability to repay even its shorter-term 2014 bond could be an issue,"  Societe Generale credit analyst Juliano Torii told Reuters.

Nokia has two bonds issues outstanding--both now rated by Fitch and S&P as junk--for €1.25 billion maturing in 2014 and €500 million due in 2019.

Societe Generale analysts last week downgraded Nokia stock to "sell" and cautioned that the company's operating losses and restructuring costs could accelerate.

"Such an additional fall could be enough to burn through most of Nokia's existing cash pile and even bring into question Nokia's very survival,"  Societe Generale analyst Andy Perkins wrote in an investor note.

Nancy Utterback, credit strategist at Aviva Investors, added to the negative sentiment claiming that Nokia's Lumia smartphones were "too little, too late."

"The company is in a negative spiral that will be hard to reverse," Utterback told Reuters.

Not all industry watchers were quite so gloomy. Jens Vanbrabant, lead portfolio manager at European Credit Management, said: "The group appears to have sufficient liquidity, even under some reasonably onerous operating assumptions."

For more:
- see this Reuters article

Related Articles:
Nokia unveils low-cost handsets to regain share in emerging markets
Is Nokia going down like the Titanic?
Nokia chairman confident of 2012 turnaround amid downgrades
Nokia wobbles as brokers turn against struggling vendor
Nokia must take radical steps to stop its continued decline
Nokia's Q1 sales plunge as company posts $1.2B loss

Much has been promised from the potential of utilising white space spectrum, which is basically unused gaps between TV broadcast channels. The broadcast industry has fiercely resisted any intrusion into these precious frequencies over fear that TV channels would be subject to interference from unlicensed devices. But now lobbying from heavyweight technology players has convinced telecoms regulators that this spectrum is too valuable to be left unused, and TV broadcasters have relented, albeit grudgingly.

While the U.S. now leads the way in liberating white space spectrum, the U.K. is not far behind. The telecoms regulator Ofcom is apparently keen to see white space being used for new services and is encouraging U.K. operators to include the use if this spectrum, along with cellular bands, in their bids to run smart grid services in the U.K.

Some operators accepted the challenge and incorporated the use of white space technology into their proposals and it could be used to complement cellular networks when the smart grid service is deployed next year.

The use of white space for an M2M service might sound like adding unnecessary risk to what, according to those in the M2M business, is already an increasingly complex environment.

To counterbalance this risk, Glenn Collinson, co-founder of Neul, a white space technology developer, said that contracts such as the U.K. smart grid calls for guarantees that the service will cover the country's entire population, something cellular still struggles to achieve.

"The way to approach this is to use technology that is better-suited to providing coverage in remote locations in the first instance, and then migrate the coverage towards the more densely populated areas. White space is so clearly advantaged over the current licensed spectrum for use in this situation," he said.

Collinson maintains that white space doesn't cannibalise or threaten the existing mobile broadband business that big cellular operators are  focused upon, and can provide them with an additional resource to make the ‘internet of things' a reality without disrupting their cellular operations.

However, a stumbling block for white space technology is the lack of an ecosystem, which is vital to lift the new technology into the mass market.

While Collinson accepts that an ecosystem will take time to build and mature, he claims--from his extensive experience with Bluetooth--that it is much easier and quicker to build an ecosystem as a private enterprise initiative rather than a regulated model.

He claims that the Weightless standard, which is being developed by a number of wireless industry players, will provide impetus to the wider use of M2M within the white space spectrum.

To help promote the use of white space a EU policy group is investigating how other European countries can follow the regulatory lead set by the U.S. and the U.K.  This initiative could significantly boost the number of firms wanting to join a white space ecosystem.

Whether mobile operators want to adopt this unlicensed spectrum to offer and manage M2M services remains in question. A worry could be that maintaining connectivity is fundamental to providing M2M services, and unlicensed bands are not recognised as being the best for achieving this. --Paul

Quick news from around the Web.

@FierceWireless: RT @phonescoop: LTE Arrives In a Handful of New Markets for AT&T. Article | Follow@FierceWireless

> ZTE confirmed a serious security hole in its Score Android phone. Article

> Worries are mounting about Nokia's cash position. Article

> Samsung said it has received 9 million pre-orders for the Galaxy S III. Article

> Research In Motion and Motorola Mobility are offering Apple a compromise on the nano-SIM standard. Article

> RadioShack recently hired a new advertising firm and plans a new ad campaign this year. Article

> Strategy Analytics predicts 90 million LTE connections worldwide this year. Article

Mobile Content News

> Amazon plans to sell the Kindle Fire homescreen for $60,000. Article

> Facebook is set to begin trading on the Nasdaq after a blockbuster initial public offering that ranks as the second largest stock market debut in U.S. history. Article

And finally... Steve Jobs reportedly aided in the design of the next iPhone. Article

Dish Network said that it will not be able to launch its proposed LTE Advanced network using 40 MHz of S-Band spectrum until 2016 or later. This is about 12 months longer than the FCC's current proposed buildout schedule, which requires Dish to launch its network in three years covering 30 percent of the U.S. population. However, Dish has indicated that when it does launch its network, it will cover 60 percent of the U.S. population.

In a filing to the FCC, Dish provided details of its deployment plans. The company said that it will take at least 48 months from the time the 3rd Generation Partnership Project finalizes the S-Band specifications for LTE Advanced for Dish to launch its network. The 3GPP is not expected to finalize those specs until December, which means that Dish will not launch its network until at least December 2016 or later.

The FCC, which approved Dish's acquisition of S-Band satellite spectrum, has so far denied the company's request for a waiver to allow it to build a terrestrial wireless network. Instead, the agency has initiated a rule-making process that covers the topic. Initial comments on the proceeding were due May 17, replies are due June 1 and the agency would rule sometime after that.

Dish is arguing that the FCC's buildout requirements are not feasible and are not in line with similar requirements for terrestrial services. For example, Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ) and AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T) have 10 years to cover 75 percent of the population using the 700 MHz spectrum licenses they won at auction.

In its filing, Dish said it needs 48 months after the LTE Advanced specifications are finalized to obtain network infrastructure equipment, chipsets and devices. The company also will have to upgrade its customer service and billing systems to support the new services as well as develop systems to meet regulatory requirements such as E911. In addition, the company will have to construct its backhaul network, deploy cell sites, and trial its service before launching.

Earlier this month, during Dish's quarterly earnings call, Dish Chairman Charlie Ergen noted that Dish is willing to partner with other wireless companies to launch its proposed LTE Advanced network. "We're talking to everybody out there that has some piece of the wireless business that we think can help us either as a vendor or a partner or a customer, whether that be in the chipsets, the handsets, the towers and so forth and so on," he said.

For more:
- see this Reuters article
- see this FCC filing (PDF)

Related Articles:
Dish's Ergen: We have enough spectrum for wireless biz
Dish chairman: Without LTE, we're 'a one-trick pony'
Analysts: FCC's rulemaking favors Dish's LTE network plans
FCC moves forward on 700 MHz interoperability and MSS spectrum rules
Dish won't face LightSquared's GPS issues, but spectrum's fate still uncertain

Check out this week's most-viewed stories across Fierce's wireless publications:

FierceBroadbandWireless
1. AT&T's Kris Rinne on the specifics of moving to VoLTE
2. Fresh study says Verizon beats AT&T in overall data speed
3. NewNet banking on WiMAX resurgence

FierceDeveloper
1. Mobile game developers struggle to replicate Zynga's success
2. iOS and Android users have different taste in apps
3. Android 4.0 development standards help designers embrace the platform

FierceMobileContent
1. Report: Apple ditching Google Maps for iOS 6
2. Zynga acquires mobile gaming startup Wild Needle
3. T-Mobile USA's Brad Duea on Bobsled's accelerating momentum

FierceWireless
1. Verizon will kill 'grandfathered' unlimited data plans, push users to data share
2. Clearwire: Our LTE Advanced network will be able to hit 168 Mbps
3. Carriers set to turn on emergency alert system

FierceWireless:Europe
1. Analyst: Mobile data growth could double infrastructure costs within 5 years
2. Report: Vodafone mulls European shakeup
3. SFR plans to fight subscriber declines with low-cost offers

Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ) said it offered MetroPCS (NYSE:PCS) an LTE roaming agreement in February, but that MetroPCS did not respond to the offer. Verizon said MetroPCS is stalling on the issue in hopes that the FCC will step in and mandate better roaming terms.

Verizon made the assertion in its latest filing with the FCC. The filing is part of the agency's ongoing investigation into Verizon's proposed purchase of AWS spectrum from cable companies including Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Cox Communications.

MetroPCS, in one of its previous filings with the FCC on the subject of Verizon's AWS spectrum purchase, implied that Verizon was unwilling to offer a roaming agreement. Verizon said that was incorrect.

"MetroPCS and Verizon Wireless have been engaged in roaming discussions, and they exchanged rate proposals last November," Verizon wrote in its FCC filing. "Verizon Wireless also offered to extend the negotiations, which had previously focused on voice and EV-DO data roaming, to include discussions toward an LTE roaming agreement. In February, Verizon Wireless sent MetroPCS a revised offer and attempted to contact MetroPCS to continue negotiations, but until this week MetroPCS had not responded. It appears that MetroPCS has decided to try to wring conditions out of the regulatory process rather than negotiate commercial arrangements."

A MetroPCS spokesperson provided this statement from the company in response to questions from FierceWireless: "MetroPCS is continually in talks with existing and potential partners with regards to CDMA and LTE roaming agreements."

A roaming agreement between Verizon and MetroPCS would be a first for the industry; so far, no carrier has announced a public roaming deal for LTE (except for those carriers working in Verizon's rural licensing program). Moreover, MetroPCS' LTE network works primarily on its AWS spectrum whereas Verizon's network works mainly on its 700 MHz spectrum. Thus, an LTE roaming agreement between the two companies would be contingent on devices that could support both spectrum bands.

The filing by Verizon is the carrier's latest attempt to convince regulators to approve its AWS spectrum purchases. In December, Verizon agreed to pay $3.6 billion for the nationwide AWS spectrum licenses held by SpectrumCo, a joint venture of cable companies Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks. Separately, Verizon said it will buy Cox Communication's 20 MHz of AWS spectrum covering 28 million POPs for $315 million. All of the deals include the option of Verizon reselling cable services and cable companies reselling Verizon service. The cable companies can also become MVNOs of Verizon.

A range of companies and public-interest groups are opposed to the deals, arguing they will stifle competition in the marketplace.

Despite the uproar, Verizon is "very, very confident" regulators will approve the plans, according to Verizon CFO Fran Shammo, who spoke this week at an investor conference.

The roaming dust-up between Verizon and MetroPCS isn't the first time major carriers have squabbled over the issue. Indeed, according to past FCC filings, AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T) and T-Mobile USA couldn't come to an agreement on HSPA roaming. That situation though was ironed out following AT&T's failure to acquire T-Mobile; AT&T agreed to a 3G UMTS roaming agreement with T-Mobile as part of its $6 billion breakup fee.

For more:
- see this Verizon FCC filing (PDF)

Related Articles:
FCC presses Verizon for details on proposed 700 MHz spectrum sale
T-Mobile, RCA join forces to stop Verizon's cable deals
AT&T, T-Mobile bicker over possible 3G data roaming agreement

Clearwire (NASDAQ:CLWR) CTO John Saw said the WiMAX provider will offer Voice over LTE technology when it launches its LTE Advanced-ready network by June 2013.  

"It's really up to our wholesale customers," he said in an interview with FierceWireless. "If they choose to do Voice over LTE, our network would certainly be capable of supporting that."

He added: "Because we plan to be a wholesaler of LTE bandwidth, we need to make sure our network has the RF performance and metrics to support Voice over LTE."

Clearwire plans to launch 5,000 TD-LTE base stations by the summer of next year in major metro markets including New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle. Clearwire LTE customers include Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S) and Leap Wireless (NASDAQ:LEAP). Sprint has said it will launch VoLTE devices in the first quarter of 2013.

The industry overall is moving toward VoLTE technology as a way to make voice calls clearer and the transmission of voice more network efficient. AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T) plans to have VoLTE in place by 2013. MetroPCS (NYSE:PCS) executives have said the company will launch two to three smartphones with Voice over LTE capabilities in the second half of this year. And Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ) has said it will deploy the technology in late 2012 but will begin pushing it more broadly in mid-2013.

According to research firm ARCchart, over 74 million VoLTE-enabled handsets will be in the global market by 2016.

Interestingly, Clearwire's Saw said the company currently offers Voice over IP technology on its existing network. "On the WiMAX network, we do support a number of Voice over IP customers," he said. "It's nothing new for us."

For more:
- see this ARCchart report

Related Articles:
Clearwire: Our LTE Advanced network will be able to hit 168 Mbps
Sprint will deploy LTE-Advanced in the first half of 2013
AT&T's Kris Rinne on the specifics of moving to VoLTE
MetroPCS targets fall for cheaper LTE smartphones, VoLTE
All eyes are on MetroPCS as VoLTE momentum grows

T-Mobile USA revamped its prepaid mobile broadband plans by cutting prices slightly and also introducing new, higher data allotments. The nation's No. 4 carrier, which has banked on prepaid and mobile data to keep it afloat amid postpaid subscriber losses, said the new plans will go into effect May 20.

T-Mobile said its new prepaid mobile broadband plans are as follows:

• 300 MB per week for $15
• 1.5 GB per month for $25
• 3.5 GB per month for $35
• 5 GB per month for $50

Under T-Mobile's existing prepaid mobile broadband plans, the company charges $10 per week for 100 MB, $30 per month for 1 GB and $50 per month for 5 GB.

The new pricing scheme will apply to a number of T-Mobile devices, including the Samsung GalaxyTab 10.1, the Huawei-made T-Mobile Springboard tablet, the T-Mobile Sonic mobile hotspot and the HSPA+ 42-enabled Rocket 3.0 USB Laptop Stick.

T-Mobile lost 510,000 branded contract customers in the first quarter, a figure smaller than its losses in previous quarters. T-Mobile added 249,000 branded prepaid customers during the quarter and 262,000 M2M customers.

Currently, T-Mobile offers an HSPA+42 network covering 184 million POPs in 185 markets, and its HSPA+21 network covers around 220 million POPs. The company plans to launch LTE service in 2013.

For more:
- see this release

Related Articles:
T-Mobile gets a boost from prepaid in Q1
T-Mobile: Prepaid 'has doubled over the past year'
T-Mobile's ads get aggressive with 'No More Mr. Nice Girl'
Study: AT&T, T-Mobile top network speed tests

To help drive down costs and keep margins high, AT&T (NYSE:T) is focusing on smartphones that require lower subsidies yet are appealing to consumers. Speaking at the J.P. Morgan Global Technology, Media and Telecom Conference, AT&T Mobility President and CEO Ralph de la Vega told investors that AT&T studies smartphone subsidies every day in an attempt to minimize them. "We have to watch subsidies and make sure that we bring devices to market that customers love and will keep and have low subsidies."

De la Vega

De la Vega gave the Nokia (NYSE:NOK) Lumia 900 and the HTC One X as two examples of smartphones from AT&T that fit this category. "These are great devices that I think customers will like," de la Vega said.

Wireless carriers have been under increasing pressure from smartphone sales, which tend to drive up costs at a very fast rate. According to a Credit Suisse research report, smartphone subsidies have been the biggest source of pressure to mobile operators, with costs rising 34 percent from 2010 to 2011.  

De la Vega also touted Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows Phone platform. He said that sales of the Lumia 900, which uses the new OS, have exceeded expectations. He also believes Microsoft has a great opportunity with this OS, especially once it introduces Windows 8, because the company will be able to bring the same user experience to the PC, tablet and smartphone.  

Though he declined to provide specifics, De la Vega said he believes AT&T can increase tablet sales by allowing customers to connect a tablet to the network using an existing data plan and share that plan across multiple devices. "That is what we are working on," he said. Yesterday, Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) CFO Fran Shammo told investors at the conference that Verizon Wireless too is working on shared data plans. He also said Verizon plans eliminate the $30 per month unlimited data plan that it still provides to 3G customers who were "grandfathered" into the plan because they were data customers prior to the company's switch to tiered data pricing last July.  

Interestingly, de la Vega was asked about AT&T's plans to allow developers and content companies to pay for the mobile data that users generate when accessing their services. De la Vega said that the company already does this via its relationship with Amazon. "When you download a book to your Amazon Kindle, we provide the connectivity. The cost for downloading the book is something we wholesale to Amazon. That makes business sense," de la Vega noted. "We have done this for several years and there will be other cases like that."

For more:
- listen to this webcast

Related Articles:
Verizon will kill 'grandfathered' unlimited data plans, push users to data share
Is it time for a new model on handset subsidies?
AT&T, Verizon embrace Windows Phone to balance smartphone battle
Nokia: Lumia 900 sold out online but we're making more
Nokia, AT&T launch the Lumia 900 amid few lines, strong buzz

Quick news from around the Web.

@FierceWireless: A Look at Android Fragmentation: The Good, The Bad and the Pretty Charts - Article by @inafried | Follow@FierceWireless

> Klausner Technologies inked patent-licensing deals for its visual voicemail technology with MetroPCS (release), Alcatel-Lucent (release) and others.

> Boost Mobile will use visual voicemail technology from Smith Micro. Release

> Clearwire will name its TD-LTE vendors in the third quarter. Article

> The FCC chose spectrum for wireless medical devices. Article

> U.S. Cellular launched a Samsung LTE mobile hotspot for $50. Release

> LG introduced the new Optimus LTE II. Article (sub. req.)

> Wireless carriers are boosting their networks for an upcoming NATO summit in Chicago. Article

> New legislation would prohibit tampering with registry information in cell phones. Article

> Samsung may not suffer if Apple is working to take its supply business elsewhere. Article

Mobile Content News

> Sprint Nextel now supports carrier billing in Google Play. Article

> Viacom has reached an agreement with Time Warner Cable enabling subscribers to view live content from cable networks like MTV and Comedy Central across mobile devices including Apple's iPad. Article

> Groupon pins its future on mobile. Editor's Corner

> Pinterest could be worth $1.5 billion. Article

Broadband Wireless News

> AT&T's Kris Rinne dishes on the carrier's plans for LTE Advanced, VoLTE and the idea of infrastructure sharing. Hot Seat

> NewNet Communications Technologies is bullish about the WiMAX business that it acquired earlier this year from Nokia Siemens Networks and appears committed to making a stand for the technology. Article

> In a positive vote for Wi-Fi offloading, 84 percent of survey respondents who have Wi-Fi connectivity at home are proactively connecting their smartphones to it. Article

European Wireless News

> The continuing growth in mobile data could place operators under extreme financial pressure unless they implement ways to provide bandwidth in a more cost-efficient way, according to a new study from Solon Management Consulting. Article

> Telefónica's O2 UK awarded Huawei a five-year deal to plan and manage the operator's mobile core network. Article

> SFR is planning radical action to counter the success of Iliad's Free Mobile after losing 620,000 customers in its first-quarter. Article

And finally... Microsoft posts letter from user who switched from the iPhone to Windows Phone. Post

With over-the-top voice and data services emerging as a major disruption to conventional carrier business models, T-Mobile USA decided that if you can't beat 'em, you may as well join 'em. Last spring, the operator introduced Bobsled, which enables users to place free Internet calls over almost any data connection across devices including iOS and Android smartphones and tablets. On the eve of the recent CTIA Wireless 2012 conference, T-Mobile announced that more than a million consumers are using Bobsled services, which are available to consumers on any wireless operator network across the globe--in fact, 95 percent of Bobsled Calling users are not T-Mobile subscribers, and 80 percent of calls originate from international numbers. FierceMobileContent spoke to Brad Duea, the carrier's senior vice president of value-added services, to discuss the evolution of the mobile data ecosystem. Hot Seat

T-Mobile USA gave a little more clarity to its latest restructuring plans, explaining that it plans to cut a net 350 jobs instead of the 900 it had previously reported.

While the nation's No. 4 carrier is still cutting 900 positions across the company, it also said late Wednesday it would add 550 additional jobs in 2012 "to support the needs of the business and strategic opportunities." The figures bring the carrier's net loss down to 350 employees.

"The majority of the new positions will be located in the Puget Sound area," the company said in a blog post. "These 550 new positions are in addition to the 1,000 new B2B sales representatives T-Mobile plans to hire in the coming years as we aggressively pursue that opportunity."

The carrier said employees who are affected by the restructuring are encouraged to apply for openings that suit their qualifications. The job cuts do not affect technicians in engineering, customer service representatives in T-Mobile's 17 remaining call centers, or front-line retail employees in corporate-owned T-Mobile stores.

T-Mobile announced a net loss of 1,900 jobs in March to consolidate the number of its call centers around the country from 24 down to 17. At the time, the carrier also said it would restructure other parts of its business by the end of May.

Parent company Deutsche Telekom plans to spend up to $4 billion upgrading T-Mobile's network. Speaking at the 40th Annual J.P. Morgan Global Technology, Media and Telecom Conference earlier this week, Deutsche Telekom CFO Timotheus Höttges said T-Mobile USA would be able to stand on its own as it transitions to LTE next year, and would not need to partner or merge with another carrier. However, he also noted that the carrier plans to cut $900 million in costs, though he did not give a specific timeframe for the cuts. He said T-Mobile might reinvest some of that money into the business.

For more:
- see this T-Mobile post

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MetroPCS (NYSE:PCS) expects to cover between 102 million and 104 million POPs with its LTE network by the end of the third quarter when it finishes its network buildout, a senior executive said. The carrier is also bringing in a new handset supplier, Chinese vendor Yulong, to help it offer inexpensive LTE smartphones.

Speaking at the 40th Annual J.P. Morgan Global Technology, Media and Telecom Conference Thursday, MetroPCS COO Tom Keys reiterated that the flat-rate carrier currently has built out LTE to 85 percent of its CDMA footprint and will complete the buildout over the next several months. He declined to say what speeds customers will get, in keeping with company policy of not commenting on average downlink speeds, but noted that the company is investing in microwave backhaul to supplement fiber and improve capacity for its LTE network, particularly in urban areas.

Interestingly, Keys also discussed the company's handset strategy. He discussed two of the company's forthcoming LTE devices, which MetroPCS hopes to sell for below $150. One, he said, is a phone from LG Electronics with a 3.5-inch screen and 1.2 GHz processor. Another is from the Chinese vendor Yulong, and will have a 4-inch screen and 1 GHz processor. The phone, which Keys said will be Yulong's first handset for the U.S. market, will be sold under the "Coolpad" brand.

Both phones will presumably run on Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android platform. Keys said by year-end MetroPCS hopes to have three to four LTE smartphones retailing for under $150.

Both Keys and MetroPCS CFO Braxton Carter, who was also speaking at the conference, noted that the company is in a transition period as it waits for cheaper LTE smartphones. Once those are available, they said, the migration of customers to LTE can accelerate.

Keys said the carrier hopes to decrease the number of CDMA-1X Android smartphones it sells, and that in the future the company would offer mainly LTE smartphones and then one or two feature phone models.

"We don't think there's going to be a forced migration where we're going to have to do things to take 1X Android devices off the network," Keys said, explaining that the natural upgrade cycle of customers will lead them to LTE smartphones. By the end of 2013 Keys said around 95 percent of the company's handset lineup will be LTE phones. 

Carter also touched on the company's prospects for buying spectrum. He noted the company has built up a "war chest" of money to buy spectrum (MetroPCS had $1.88 billion of cash and cash equivalents on hand at the end of the first quarter). Carter noted that MetroPCS owns Lower 700 MHz A Block spectrum, and that MetroPCS might be interested in purchasing A Block spectrum from Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ), especially if the FCC takes steps to clear up interference concerns between A Block spectrum licensees and Channel 51 broadcast operations.

For more:
- see this webcast

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MetroPCS adds data throttling to LTE, increases unlimited data to $70
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MetroPCS to launch at least one VoLTE handset in second half of 2012

Clearwire (NASDAQ:CLWR) CEO and President Erik Prusch said the carrier would announce its TD-LTE equipment suppliers sometime in the second half of this year, likely in the third quarter.

Prusch

Clearwire has said it will light up on 5,000 TD-LTE base stations by June 2013. Then, according to Prusch, Clearwire will increase that number to 8,000 "sometime thereafter." The buildout will occur mainly in dense urban areas in top markets where Clearwire already offers WiMAX service (New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle are the markets Clearwire has named for LTE). Clearwire's current WiMAX network covers 120 million POPs and comprises around 16,000 towers.

It's unclear which vendors will supply network equipment to Clearwire, but Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) is likely a lead candidate. Clearwire outsourced its network operations to Ericsson in May 2011, following Sprint Nextel's (NYSE:S) lead. Sprint inked a $5 billion, seven-year outsourcing deal with Ericsson in July 2009. Ericsson has also supplied LTE to virtually all of the nation's major carriers.

Clearwire has also said it would engage in vendor financing in order to fund its LTE buildout. Prusch said Clearwire likely would announce its vendor financing details when it announces its LTE equipment suppliers.

Speaking Wednesday at the 40th Annual J.P. Morgan Global Technology, Media and Telecom Conference, Prusch said Clearwire's LTE deployment is a much more "intricate process" than its WiMAX buildout. He said the carrier is carefully selecting which of its existing WiMAX sites will be upgraded to LTE, in consultation with wholesale customer Sprint, in order for Clearwire to maximize its return on investment. Prusch said that, in many cases, workers would only need to swap out a card and install a software upgrade to add LTE to Clearwire's cell sites, rather than installing a completely new antenna.

"That is all going as planned," Prusch said of Clearwire's LTE buildout.

For more:
- listen to this webcast

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Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S) CEO Dan Hesse said he thinks regulators at the Department of Justice and FCC would be open to wireless industry consolidation if the resulting combination created more competition for Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ) and AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T), the nation's two largest carriers. 

Hesse

"I actually believe that Washington would be receptive to consolidation to provide more balance to the big two," he said, speaking Wednesday at the 40th Annual J.P. Morgan Global Technology, Media and Telecom Conference. While Hesse said it depends on who the individual regulators are deciding proposed transactions, he noted that he was very close to the process last year as regulators ultimately blocked AT&T's proposed $39 billion deal for T-Mobile USA, which Sprint vigorously opposed.

"I honestly believe that both the Department of Justice and the FCC have a very open mind with respect to any industry consolidation and want to see a competitive industry," Hesse said. He said in an ideal world, Sprint would not have to think about potential M&A activity until after it has largely completed its Network Vision network modernization plan by the end of 2013, but he said that may not happen. He said right now is not a perfect time for Sprint to consider a merger. "Clearly, the time is not ideal based upon where our shares are currently trading," he said.

Last week at the CTIA Wireless 2012 conference in New Orleans, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowksi defended the agency's decision to block the deal. AT&T fired back that while the FCC was within its rights to withhold approval from the transaction, "it is incorrect when it denies the impact such decisions have on the price of wireless services."

When asked about Verizon's bid to acquire AWS spectrum from a group of cable companies and Sprint's decision to join a group with T-Mobile and the Rural Cellular Association, dubbed the Alliance for Broadband Competition, which opposes the deal, Hesse said it would be going a little too far to say that Sprint had joined forces with any other companies. However, he said the FCC is cognizant of the need to fight against too much spectrum consolidation.

In a wide-ranging conversation, Hesse, who was re-elected Tuesday to Sprint's board, also touched on smartphone data pricing and subsidies as well as Network Vision, which he said remains on track. Hesse noted that improving customer satisfaction metrics allowed Sprint to keep its unlimited smartphone data plans but raise the price last year by $10 per month to a base amount of $80.

Hesse said Sprint always has the option of raising prices again to keep unlimited, but repeated his mantra that simplicity and unlimited plans serve customers well. He also said that Sprint has not seen a change in customer's data usage patterns, even with the addition of Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone, as customers have switched from other carriers to take advantage of Sprint's pricing. "We have not seen a change in usage pattern of the customers that have moved to Sprint since our competitors have gotten away from unlimited," he said. "We'll continue to watch that pretty closely."

And of course, Hesse could not resist trumpeting the fact that Sprint topped the charts in terms of customer satisfaction, according to a new report from the American Customer Satisfaction Index. Sprint's score of 71 nudged it just ahead of Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ), which scored a 70 on a 100-point scale. Both carriers recorded scores of 72 in last year's ACSI survey.

Interestingly, Hesse provided several metrics to back up his assertion that "good customer service costs a lot less" for the overall business. He said customer care costs used to cost Sprint $3.7 billion a year and now run around $2 billion a year. By simplifying Sprint's rate structure since he took over as CEO in late 2007, he said Sprint has reduced its total billing costs by one-third. Those improvements have seen the number of customers on the "Sprint" (i.e. non-Nextel) brand jump from 26 million to 51 million in last two years, he said.

For more:
- see this webcast
- see this Dow Jones Newswires article (sub. req.)

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Sprint's Hesse: DOJ lawsuit against AT&T/T-Mobile won't prevent consolidation

Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ) plans to eliminate the $30 per month unlimited data plan that it still provides to 3G customers who were "grandfathered" into the plan because they were data customers prior to the company's switch to tiered data pricing last July. Speaking at the 40th Annual J.P. Morgan Technology, Media and Telecom conference, Verizon Communications CFO Fran Shammo said that as these 3G unlimited data plan customers migrate to 4G LTE, they will have to purchase the company's data-share plan (which Verizon plans to launch in mid-summer) and move off the $30 per month unlimited data plan. "Everyone will be on data share," Shammo said.

Shammo

Verizon's data share plan is scheduled to launch in mid-summer but no pricing details have been announced. Shammo said that he believes this new plan will make it easier for families and small businesses to connect multiple devices. The industry, Shammo said, has constrained the market around connected devices because people think they need an additional data plan. "If I can add as many devices as I want, that is more efficient from a family perspective and a small business perspective," he said.

However, Shammo said that with the launch of this new data share plan, the industry will have to change a key metric--average revenue per user. Shammo said that Verizon will move to a "revenue per account" metric that will more accurately measure the company's business.

When asked how Verizon will drive customers to this new data share plan, Shammo said that LTE will be the anchor for the new plan and that as customers upgrade from 3G to LTE, they will have to be on a data share plan, allowing the company to sunset its unlimited 3G data plan. "So as you come through an upgrade cycle and you upgrade in the future, you will have to go onto the data share plan," Shammo said, according to a transcript of his remarks. "And moving away from, if you will, the unlimited world and moving everybody into a tiered structure data share-type plan."

"So when you think about our 3G base, a lot of our 3G base is unlimited," he added. "As they start to migrate into 4G, they will have to come off of unlimited and go into the data share plan. And that is beneficial for us for many reasons, obviously."

Verizon later issued a statement clarifying Shammo's remarks, as there was some confusion about when the unlimited data plan would sunset. Specifically, the company said that customers with unlimited plans will get to keep their unlimited plans. However, when shared data plans become available, the unlimited option will no longer be available to customers when they buy a new device at a subsidized price, which usually happens with a two-year service contract.

In an unrelated note, Shammo also said that the company will launch Voice over LTE technology at year end, but will not push the technology until mid-2013 when it has a bigger LTE footprint. In fact, Shammo noted that by the end of 2013 Verizon's LTE footprint will be equal to or even bigger than its existing 3G footprint.

For more:
- see this webcast
- see this Verizon transcript
- see this New York Times article

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Verizon's McAdam: Family data plans coming in 2012

This article was updated May 17 to include the statement from Verizon providing more details about what happens to unlimited data plans when consumers upgrade their devices.

The latest smartphone sales data released by Kantar Worldpanel ComTech shows that Google's Android platform retained its the top position in the UK in the latest 12 weeks. According to the report, Android now has a 50.1 per cent share, up from 44.6 per cent a year ago. HTC and Samsung are dominating Android handset market sales, Kantar found, holding 86 per cent share between them. Dominic Sunnebo, global consumer insight director at Kantar, said: "With less than one week of sales, the HTC One X is already one of Britain's 10 best-selling smartphones over this period. The release of the Sony Xperia S and the announcement of the Samsung Galaxy S III have also added to a surge of interest from consumers looking for their next upgrade." Article

The continuing growth in mobile data could place operators under extreme financial pressure unless they implement ways to provide bandwidth in a more cost-efficient way, according to a new study from Solon Management Consulting.

The research firm expects data traffic to increase 15-fold between 2011 and 2016 for Germany alone, which could see operator costs doubling for access and backhaul networks.

Mobile operators need to act now to meet the mobile cost challenge, according to Stephan Kalleder, principal at Solon and author of the study. Without adequate countermeasures, "network capacity requirements would almost double network Opex from 12 per cent of revenues in 2011 to 23 per cent of revenues in 2016," Kalleder wrote.

The consultancy recommends that operators need to adopt two approaches so as to reduce the danger of cost outstripping data revenues: network optimisation and network sharing.

Solon claims that accelerating the migration to LTE will provide strong benefit from additional spectrum allocation and higher spectral efficiency. Additionally, operators can benefit from actively managing network data traffic by implementing different tariff and policy models or by offloading mobile traffic to Wi-Fi or fixed lines. The company also believes that a focus on optimising video delivery--which is likely to be around 70 per cent of anticipated traffic growth over the next five years--will help limit costs.

Negotiating network sharing deals is also proving to be a highly successful strategy especially for smaller to mid-size operators, clams Solon. "By sharing the same infrastructure--from base stations to backhaul, mobile operators can save between 25 to 35 per cent of the cost of the shared site," Kalleder wrote.

Even further cost saving potential can be realised from extending access sharing to the core network, and setting up a joint network company would allow operators to take full advantage of integration. If operators adopt these infrastructure improvements, Solon believes that mobile operators will be able to increase transmission efficiency significantly and partly contain network operating expenses growth.

However, without optimisation, Solon says that operator EBITDA margins could decrease by 11 percentage points. The proposed network optimisation measures will help to limit margin risk to 5 per cent, and if the operator also enters into a network sharing agreement for its UMTS and LTE sites, network cost could almost be maintained at today's levels.

For more:
- see this release
- see this Solon Management Consulting white paper

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Telefónica's O2 UK awarded Huawei a five-year deal to plan and manage the operator's mobile core network. The contract will see over 50 O2 employees and 62 contractors transfer over to Huawei.

The deal is the first managed services contract that Huawei has secured in the UK and is not, according to the company, linked to the sale of any network infrastructure. Commenting on the agreement, a Huawei spokesperson told Mobile Europe, "The team that's transferring is much more about the monitoring and planning and design of the core network, rather than operations."

"For us this is about building our capability as a managed service business in the U.K. People assume that we would win this deal in a network or part of the network where we have kit deployed, but we have no kit in this network," the spokesperson said.

While neither company revealed the value of the contract, a Telefónica spokesperson told Mobile Europe that the deal centred around the planning and implementation of core elements such as RNCs and switching centres. O2 UK already has an agreement with BT to manage some elements of its backhaul network.

Huawei has been pushing hard to gain sales traction in Europe with its mobile devices and its infrastructure business, and in April 2011 it would hire 500 peopleto its UK staff as it beefed up its enterprise and device business.

For more:
- see this Mobile Europe article
- see this ZDNet article

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Nokia is attempting its rebuild its market share in developing markets with the announcement of two new dual-SIM handsets. The low-cost devices will ship with a licence to download 40 games by Electronic Arts and offer Internet access using a new browser from Novarra, which Nokia acquired in 2010.

Nokia 110

The new Nokia 110 model will sell for €35 with delivery during the second quarter, while the Nokia 112 model will cost €38 and become available in the third quarter. Both handset are based upon Nokia's Series 40 software.

"Today's mobile phone users want a quick Internet experience that allows them to discover great content and share it with their friends--but without being held back by high data costs," Mary McDowell, Nokia's executive vice president of mobile phones, said in a statement.

The need for the company to take urgent action to stop any further decline in developing markets came after Nokia revealed that unit sales of its low-end handsets had plunged 16 per cent in the first quarter of 2012.

Commenting on the new handsets, Geoff Blaber, analyst at CCS Insight, told Reuters: "These products are critical for Nokia to maintain traction in the face of mounting competition from Samsung and the Chinese rivals. Nokia's Series 40 platform is under attack from all sides. Full touch support is a must if Nokia is to fend off the challenge from aggressively priced Android devices."

Nokia began introducing dual-SIM devices for emerging markets in the second quarter of 2011. Since then, the company has introduced its Asha sub-brand to appeal to consumers, especially young ones, in emerging markets.

For more:
- see this Nokia statement
- see this Reuters article
- see this Dow Jones Newswires article

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The departure of Vodafone's European head, Michel Combes, could trigger a dramatic reshaping of the company's European operations, according to a Bloomberg report. The report, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter, claim that the decision by Combes to become head of SFR could lead to Vodafone separating its European subsidiaries into Western and Eastern entities.

Colao

Any reorganisation, which is said to be at an early stage, could see Vodafone divide its operations into three large units: Western Europe, Eastern Europe (comprising Turkey and its Central and Eastern European properties) and a third unit that would include the company's assets in southern Africa and India.

Will Draper, an analyst at Espirito Santo Investment Bank in London, told Bloomberg that Vodafone's Italian head Paolo Bertoluzzo and Serpil Timuray, the CEO of Vodafone Turkey, as internal execs that could take on greater responsibilities, together with Michael Joseph, the former CEO of Vodafone's Kenyan subsidiary who is now director of global payments.

After Combes's departure, "any person who fills that similar position has the potential to move to a bigger role," Guy Peddy, an analyst at Macquarie Securities in London told Bloomberg. "That's the opportunity that's now been provided."

Of note, Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao said last week that it Turkish unit, which had the fastest growth in service revenue last quarter over any other market, doesn't fit within the current structure "I cannot put it either in mature and sophisticated Europe or in emerging markets because it is at the same time sophisticated and emerging," Colao said when asked how he viewed the Turkish market.

"I have to say in this sense it's clearly an engine for growth, it's also a sophisticated market and so in that sense it's also a European market," he told Bloomberg.

For more:
- see this Bloomberg article

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Quick news from around the Web.

@FierceWireless: What was the biggest winner at the #CTIA Wireless 2012 show? Poll #ctiaw12 #ctia12 | Follow@FierceWireless

> LG announced a new Android user interface for its Optimus phones. Article

> Hewlett-Packard said it sold its AppSystem for the SAP HANA database and related services to T-Mobile USA. Article

> T-Mobile USA's new Small Business Productivity Plan goes for $99.98 per month and includes unlimited data, talk and text plus overage-free 5 GB Mobile Broadband service with a two-year agreement. Release

> Apple defended Siri's performance in a class-action lawsuit. Article

> Gartner said worldwide mobile phone sales declined 2 percent in the first quarter of 2012. Release

> According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple could release an iPhone with a larger screen. Article (sub. req.)

> Sprint Nextel shareholders voted to re-elect Dan Hesse. Article

> Sprint reportedly plans to further tighten its upgrade policy. Post (reg. req.)

> China Mobile is in talks with Apple for the iPhone. Article

> Virgin Atlantic rolled out an in-flight cell phone service. Article

Mobile Content News

> A month after acquiring photo-sharing application Instagram for $1 billion, Facebook has scooped up the similar Lightbox. Article

> U.S. smartphone owners now average 41 applications per device, up 28 percent from the 2011 average of 32 apps, according to new data from Nielsen. Article

> Mobile social gaming powerhouse Zynga is committed to acquiring new talent and startups, a key company executive said, indicating Zynga will continue its buying streak. Article

And finally... According to a new survey, nearly half of all iPhone users would buy an Apple iTV. Release

HTC's smartphone troubles appear to be worsening. The company acknowledged that U.S. customs officials are reviewing two of its new flagship devices, the One X for AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T) and the Evo 4G LTE for Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S), to ensure that the devices comply with an exclusion order issued in December by the U.S. International Trade Commission. The ITC ruled then that HTC had violated an Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) patent, which covers the ability to convert clicking on phone numbers and email addresses into actionable links on smartphones. HTC said it was developing a workaround to the patent for its phones. "The U.S. availability of the HTC One X and HTC EVO 4G LTE has been delayed due to a standard U.S. customs review of shipments that is required after an ITC exclusion order," HTC said in a statement. "We believe we are in compliance with the ruling and HTC is working closely with customs to secure approval. The HTC One X and HTC EVO 4G LTE have been received enthusiastically by customers and we appreciate their patience as we work to get these products into their hands as soon as possible." Article

The FCC pressed Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ) for more details on its proposed sale of Lower 700 MHz A and B Block spectrum, which Verizon has said is contingent on the carrier getting regulatory approval to buy more attractive nationwide AWS spectrum from cable companies.

In a letter to John Scott, Verizon Wireless' general counsel, Rick Kaplan, the chief of the FCC's wireless bureau, asked pointed questions about why Verizon has now chosen to potentially give up the 700 MHz spectrum it spent billions of dollars on in 2008. In the letter, Kaplan noted that Verizon's Lower A and B Block spectrum covers around 175 million POPs, but that as of January 2012 Verizon had not deployed the spectrum (Verizon's existing LTE network, using 700 MHz Upper C Block spectrum, covers two-thirds of the U.S population).

Kaplan noted that Verizon's Lower A and B Block licenses have buildout requirements that mandate coverage to 35 percent of the licensed geographic areas by mid-2013. "What steps to date, if any, has Verizon Wireless taken to deploy mobile services using the Lower 700 MHz A of B block licenses (either or both)?" Kaplan asked. "On what timetable has Verizon Wireless been planning to deploy mobile service in these Lower 700 MHz blocks?" Kaplan also asked for Verizon's assessment of the challenges of deploying Lower 700 MHz A Block spectrum.

Additionally, Kaplan asked Verizon about the relevance of the sale of the Lower A and B Block spectrum to the FCC's review of Verizon's planned $3.9 billion purchase of AWS spectrum from cable companies. Kaplan also asked Verizon what steps it took to sell the Lower A and B Block spectrum before announcing its plans last month to do so, and if Verizon will abandon plans to sell the spectrum if the FCC does not approve Verizon's purchase of all of the AWS spectrum licenses.

Verizon declined to comment on the letter, according to multiple reports.

In December, Verizon agreed to pay $3.6 billion for the nationwide AWS spectrum licenses held by SpectrumCo, a joint venture of cable companies Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks. Separately, Verizon said it will buy Cox Communication's 20 MHz of AWS spectrum covering 28 million POPs for $315 million. All of the deals include the option of Verizon reselling cable services and cable companies reselling Verizon service. The cable companies can also become MVNOs of Verizon.

For more:
- see this FCC letter (PDF)
- see this Reuters article
- see this GigaOM article
- see this Bloomberg article

Related Articles:
T-Mobile, RCA join forces to stop Verizon's cable deals
U.S. Cellular interested in buying Verizon's 700 MHz spectrum
T-Mobile's Ray: We're not interested in Verizon's 700 MHz spectrum
Analysis: AT&T, MetroPCS might purchase Verizon's 700 MHz spectrum
Verizon: We'll sell 700 MHz spectrum to get cable companies' AWS spectrum

Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) plans to give multiple Android device vendors early access to the next version of its operating system as it expands its Nexus device program and tries to husband more control over the devices from carriers, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

The report, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter, said Google may expand its Nexus program--previously reserved for one OEM to build a "lead" device with the latest Android software--to as many as five vendors. Google plans to sell the devices, including smartphones and tablets, to consumers in the U.S., Europe and Asia through its website and potentially through retailers, the report said. The devices will run the next version of Android, codenamed Jelly Bean.

Google declined to comment, according to the Journal.

Interestingly, the report also noted that the expansion of the Nexus program is being done to temper the concerns of other OEMs that Google might favor Motorola Mobility (NYSE:MMI) over other vendors once Google's $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola officially closes. Google has said Android will remain an open platform once the deal closes, and the new model could allow Google to give Motorola and other OEMs a leg up at the same time.

The report follows a separate Journal report from March that said Google is going to sell co-branded Android tablets directly to consumers later this year via an online store.

The last two Nexus smartphones have been made by Samsung Electronics. Motorola produced the first tablet running Android and HTC produced the Nexus One, the first Nexus smartphone. Google's new Nexus strategy could potentially benefit other Android OEMs such as LG Electronics and Sony Mobile Communications that are struggling to keep pace with Samsung.

Additionally, since the new devices will be sold unlocked without carrier contracts, the plan could allow Google to bypass wireless carries even more, something that it has tried to do with middling success in th United States. Carriers have subsidized smartphones heavily in the U.S. market in return for customers signing up for two-year contracts.

Last month Google began selling an unlocked, HSPA+ version of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus smartphone via its online Google Play store for $399, marking a return to direct Android smartphone sales for the mobile search giant. The device works on the GSM networks of networks of AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T) and T-Mobile USA; currently Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ) and Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S) sell CDMA-LTE versions of the Galaxy Nexus for $199.99 with a two-year contract.

The strategy is similar to the one Google employed to sell its Nexus One smartphone. The HTC-made, Google-branded device went on sale online from Google in January 2010 and was intended to be a showcase of the latest Android software at the time, 2.1, or Eclair. However, Google, HTC and T-Mobile USA, the carrier Google partnered with for the device, faced criticism from customers who were unsatisfied with the level of customer service they received, and unsure of which company to approach for customer service. Google shuttered the Nexus One online store after five months.

For more:
- see this WSJ article (sub. req.)
- see this Wired article
- see this CNET article
- see this Computerworld article

Related Articles:
Google to sell unlocked HSPA+ Galaxy Nexus for $399
Report: Google, Motorola still unsure how to integrate
Report: Google to sell its own co-branded tablets to consumers
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Google shutters Nexus One direct sales channel
Is it game over for Google's direct-to-consumer Nexus One plans?

In separate transactions, AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T) and U.S. Cellular are looking to purchase 700 MHz licenses, mainly from Cox Communications. Terms of the deals were not disclosed.

Pending FCC approval, AT&T is hoping to buy eight Lower 700 MHz B Block licenses from Cox covering areas on the East Coast, including cities in Florida and Virginia. Cox paid around $28 million for the licenses during the FCC's 700 MHz spectrum auction in 2008. An AT&T spokesman declined to say how much the carrier paid for the spectrum.

"The entire industry is focused in ensuring there is enough spectrum to meet surging customer demand for mobile Internet users," wrote AT&T spokesman Steven Schwadron in an email to FierceWireless. "AT&T's purchase of the 700 MHz licenses will support our continued deployment of 4G LTE services and is consistent with our strategy to pursue additional spectrum to support a great mobile Internet and voice experience for our customers."

Separately, U.S. Cellular purchased four Lower 700 MHz A Block licenses from Cox covering mainly locations in Kansas. Cox paid around $30 million for the licenses during the FCC's 2008 auction.

"USCC plans to use the acquired spectrum to develop its ‘fourth generation' LTE facilities," U.S. Cellular said in its FCC filing. A U.S. Cellular representative declined to answer further questions on the topic.

Finally, in another separate transaction, AT&T purchased four Lower 700 MHz C Block licenses from Peoples Telephone Cooperative covering locations mainly in Texas. AT&T said it would use the spectrum for its LTE services.

The spectrum transactions, taken together, reflect a number of notable trends in the U.S. wireless industry. First, they represent AT&T and U.S. Cellular's continuing spectrum needs. Both carriers are building out LTE networks and both have said they will need additional radio waves to meet demand.

Indeed, U.S. Cellular has said it would be interested in purchasing the 700 MHz Lower A and B Block spectrum Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ) has said it would sell if the FCC approves its purchase of spectrum from cable companies. (In December, Verizon agreed to pay $3.6 billion for the nationwide AWS spectrum licenses held by SpectrumCo, a joint venture of cable companies Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks. That transaction is still awaiting FCC approval.)

Second, the spectrum deals represent the further withdrawal of Cox from the wireless market. The company purchased AWS and 700 MHz spectrum licenses covering much of its wired footprint and had begun constructing a wireless network, but ultimately gave up that effort and has been selling off its spectrum licenses since. In December, Verizon said it would buy Cox's 20 MHz of AWS spectrum covering 28 million POPs for $315 million. 

For more:
- see these two AT&T-Cox FCC filings (PDF)
- see this U.S. Cellular-Cox filing (PDF)
- see these two AT&T-Peoples filings (PDF)

Related Articles:
U.S. Cellular interested in buying Verizon's 700 MHz spectrum
Analysis: AT&T, MetroPCS might purchase Verizon's 700 MHz spectrum
Cox abandons wireless service

Article updated May 16 with comments from AT&T.