AT&T's Focus Seems to be Wireless Broadband: [23rd Jun 2011]

Despite the AT&T protestations that their merger with T-Mobile would result in job creation it seems to already be having the opposite effect. The Wall Street Journal has this week pointed out that even though the deal is not due to be closed until March of next year, some T-Mobile independent store operators are starting to close down their stores. Together AT&T and T-Mobile have 9,200 stores and in 41% of cases an AT&T store has a T-Mobile store less than one mile away. It is thought that most of these stores are unlikely to survive the merger. The resultant job losses should be taken into account by regulators according to experts.

From June 26, AT&T customers will be able to purchase a new unlimited plan for just $50. The GoPhone plan will provide unlimited talk, text and web access and represents a saving of more than 20% compared to other plans. The plan is for prepaid customers who own certain phones and those with a smartphone will need to pay slightly more for extra data. To coincide with this launch, AT&T are releasing a new phone at just $60 which is aimed at those who like to send messages.

A group of providers including AT&T, Comcast and Verizon have entered talks with the Recording Industry Association of America and the Motion Picture Association of America and their trade groups to establish tougher punishments for customers who use their networks to pirate films and music. A final agreement has not yet been made but a deal could be unveiled next month. Providers have long been encouraged to take a stronger stance against pirating and it seems that the current plan is to use a graduated approach. This would mean that written warnings would be issued in the first instance with follow up notices which lead to more serious action. Providers will be given the option of throttling the users bandwidth, limiting web access or even requiring the user to attend a program to educate them on copyright law. Music and movie companies have claimed that the availability of music and video online legally has made it easier for them to tackle this problem now.

A report by Morspace Consulting has discovered that 48% of those questioned could not not identify the benefits of 4G technology. Just 40% would be willing to pay a premium for the service on their smartphone. The research looked into the things which customers want from their mobile carrier and low prices combined with good coverage came in at the top of the list. It is thought that the figures indicate that consumers currently feel that 3G coverage is good enough for their needs. However of those who already have 4G, 83% say they are satisfied or highly satisfied with it.

LightSquared has struck a deal with Sprint regarding the sharing of expansion costs and the equipment to provide high speed wireless for Sprint. The negotiations for this deal have been underway since march this year. It is thought that LightSquared will pay Sprint $2 billion each year to have access of its 40,000 base stations. Meanwhile Sprint will take advantage of the technology from LightSquared to move into an LTE network from later this year. The deal had been under a black cloud after it was found that LightSquared had interference problems with GPS signals. However that issue has now been resolved as it says it will not use the frequencies which cause the problem.