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Tag: Verizon

  • Marissa Mayer’s New Company Launches AI-Driven Contact App

    Marissa Mayer’s New Company Launches AI-Driven Contact App

    Marissa Mayer’s new company, Sunshine, has launched Sunshine Contacts, an app that organizes iOS contacts.

    Marissa Mayer previously served as CEO of Yahoo from 2012 to 2017, when Verizon acquired the company. Prior to her time at Yahoo, Mayer was a long-time Google employee and executive.

    Since leaving Yahoo, Mayer cofounded Sunshine with the goal of creating “advanced technology to make mundane tasks effortless, free up your time, and make it easier to be thoughtful.”

    The company’s Sunshine Contacts is a perfect example, using artificial intelligence (AI) to understand the relationships between people. This helps the app organize communication, events and more. The app also uses AI to pull together the various bits of a contact’s information into one location, making it easier to keep the information organized and up-to-date.

    “We’re incredibly proud to introduce Sunshine to the world today,” said Marissa Mayer, Sunshine co-founder and CEO. “The essential technologies that help us stay connected to those who matter most are antiquated. They’ve been around forever and we all see them as ‘good enough,’ despite their outsized impact on our interactions and relationships. At Sunshine, we believe there’s an immense opportunity to make the mundane magical. It’s been an extremely challenging and rewarding problem to tackle and we’re just getting started.”

    “The idea of ‘sunshine’ elicits happiness – just as our company and the products we’ll build intend to do,” said Enrique Muñoz Torres, Sunshine co-founder and President. “Our goal is to give people intuitive insights to help them strengthen their relationships, improve how they spend their time, and make it easier to stay in touch. As first-time founders, we’re excited about the team we’ve built to help accomplish this and we look forward to addressing more everyday problems.”

    The app is available via invitation for the time being. As of yet, there has been no announcement regarding general availability.

  • BuzzFeed Acquires HuffPost, Strikes Strategic Partnership With Verizon

    BuzzFeed Acquires HuffPost, Strikes Strategic Partnership With Verizon

    BuzzFeed has acquired HuffPost from Verizon, while striking a strategic partnership that will see Verizon become a minority stakeholder in BuzzFeed.

    HuffPost has now come full circle as it joins the company founded by one of its original cofounders, Jonah Peretti. Peretti founded BuzzFeed a year after HuffPost, focusing on it full time after AOL purchased HuffPost. Over the years, BuzzFeed has evolved into a serious news source, making HuffPost a natural fit for Peretti’s latest company.

    “We’re excited about our partnership with Verizon Media, and mutual benefits that will come from syndicating content across each other’s properties, collaborating on innovative ad products and the future of commerce, and tapping into the strength and creativity of Verizon Media Immersive,” said Jonah Peretti, Founder and CEO, BuzzFeed.

    “I have vivid memories of growing HuffPost into a major news outlet in its early years, but BuzzFeed is making this acquisition because we believe in the future of HuffPost and the potential it has to continue to define the media landscape for years to come,” Peretti continued. “With the addition of HuffPost, our media network will have more users, spending significantly more time with our content than any of our peers.”

    As part of the agreement, Verizon will take a minority stake in BuzzFeed. The two companies will also syndicate content across each other’s platforms, as well as work together to monetize emerging ad formats.

  • Verizon and Apple to Host First-Ever Virtual Event For Enterprise

    Verizon and Apple to Host First-Ever Virtual Event For Enterprise

    Verizon and Apple will be holding a first-ever joint virtual event for enterprise customers to help them take advantage of the iPhone and 5G.

    Verizon has been going all-in on 5G, initialing focusing on high-speed mmWave deployment. During Apple’s October event where it unveiled the iPhone 12, Verizon announced the rollout of its nationwide 5G network. Unlike mmWave, which offers gigabit speed at the cost of extremely limited range, Verizon’s nationwide 5G network uses Dynamic Spectrum Sharing to take advantage of the company’s existing 4G spectrum, switching back and forth as needed.

    The iPhone 12 has been widely seen as a potential catalyst, making 5G more accessible and appealing to users. Verizon has been particularly eager to ride the wave, sharing the stage with Apple at the unveiling and now working with the iPhone maker on their joint virtual event.

    The event will showcase how business customers can use the new iPhone 12 lineup and Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband to power innovative solutions for industries like manufacturing, field service and healthcare. Business customers using new iPhone 12 models on Verizon’s 5G network have the potential to unlock new experiences with apps that will take advantage of the unprecedented speed, massive capacity and ultra low lag time Verizon 5G can offer.

    The event is scheduled for Thursday, November 19 at 1pm ET (10am PT). Interested parties can sign-up via the registration form.

  • Financial Network, Inc. Leaves Oracle In Favor Of MariaDB SkySQL

    Financial Network, Inc. Leaves Oracle In Favor Of MariaDB SkySQL

    Financial services firm Financial Network, Inc. (FNI) is leaving Oracle’s platform in favor of MariaDB SkySQL.

    MariaDB was forked from MySQL when Oracle acquired the database engine in 2009. Developers were concerned about the future of MySQL under Oracle, and wanted a version of the database that would remain independent of Oracle, while at the same time maintaining full compatibility.

    MariaDB Corporation pairs the database with SkySQL for “the first and only database-as-a-service (DBaaS) to bring the full power of MariaDB Platform to the cloud, combining powerful enterprise features and world-class support with unrivaled ease of use and groundbreaking innovation.”

    SkySQL is offered as a DBaaS on Google Cloud Platform, and MariaDB is used by Google, Mozilla, Deutsche Bank, DBS Bank, Nasdaq, Red Hat, ServiceNow, Verizon and Walgreens. Now, FNI is leaving Oracle in favor of MariaDB and SkySQL.

    “MariaDB has been a true collaborative partner for us in our journey to the cloud,” said Bryan Bancroft, lead database administrator at FNI. “With SkySQL, we don’t have to bother with containers or managing the database, that’s left to the database professionals at MariaDB. We also have the option of easily expanding our applications to leverage blended transactions and analytics when the time is right. Moving to MariaDB from Oracle was a key strategic business decision for us and has ultimately saved us up to 80% in database costs – allowing us to reinvest the savings into delivering new, critical solutions for our customers.”

    The announcement is a big win for MariaDB and a loss for Oracle, just as the company is doubling down in an effort to take on its bigger cloud rivals.

  • Net Neutrality and a Biden Presidency

    Net Neutrality and a Biden Presidency

    A Biden presidency could have an enormous impact on net neutrality, one of the most contested rules in recent years.

    Net neutrality laws were implemented under President Obama. The purpose of the regulation was to ensure platforms had equal footing, regardless of size or reach. Proponents of net neutrality say it is vital to ensure internet service providers can’t choke out a competitor by charging it or its customers more for access. A perfect example is AT&T recently favoring its own HBO Max service over Netflix, by now counting HBO Max access against customers’ mobile data usage.

    Opponents of the regulation say it unnecessarily regulates the internet and stifles investment. These companies, including at one point AT&T, Comcast and Verizon, point to the long and successful history of the internet without any such regulation existing.

    Shortly after Ajit Pai was appointed FCC Chairman, the FCC rolled back the net neutrality rules, despite its broad support from Microsoft, Google, Mozilla, Netflix and others. Supporters of net neutrality unsuccessfully sued to prevent the rollback. While the courts said the FCC was within its rights, it did not allow the FCC to block individual states from implementing their own net neutrality rules, as some have done.

    Throughout the campaign, Joe Biden said very little about net neutrality, although its restoration is part of the Democratic platform. As a result, it’s a safe bet we haven’t heard the last of net neutrality on a national scale.

  • Yahoo Gets In The Smartphone Game With Its First Device

    Yahoo Gets In The Smartphone Game With Its First Device

    Yahoo unveiled its first-ever smartphone, as it tries to establish itself as a budget phone service.

    Once the darling of the internet companies, Yahoo fell on hard times before eventually being acquired by Verizon. Back in March, Verizon launched Yahoo Mobile, a low-budget cell phone service. Its claim to fame is combining Verizon’s network with the ad-free Yahoo Mail Pro, all for $39.99 a month.

    Now the company is releasing its first-ever smartphone, the Yahoo Mobile ZTE Blade A3Y. The phone is $49.99 and comes in Yahoo’s trademark purple.

    “As the world continues to adapt to a new socially-distant normal, content and connectivity have become key for consumers who are craving new experiences and connections to the ones they love,” said Guru Gowrappan, CEO of Verizon Media. “With the launch of the Yahoo Mobile phone, we are bringing a unique and valuable offering to users with Yahoo’s unified suite of products, trusted content, commerce and the reliability of Verizon’s unparalleled network.”

    In many ways, Yahoo Mobile and its new phone seem like a solution in search of a problem. With the myriad of budget services that piggyback on one of the big three carriers, the new phone and service may live or die based on how much customers like Yahoo’s services.

  • IBM and AT&T Partnering On 5G and Open Hybrid Cloud

    IBM and AT&T Partnering On 5G and Open Hybrid Cloud

    IBM and AT&T have announced they are partnering to help bring 5G and open hybrid cloud services to enterprise customers.

    Edge computing has become a critical component for many enterprises, as the amount of IoT devices multiples. As IBM points out, Gartner estimates that “by 2025, 75% of enterprise-grade data will be created and processed by devices at the edge.” Processing the data on the edge saves the time that would normally be required to send it back and forth to a data processing center.

    5G is an important part of that process, as well as a way of improving the privacy and security for the enterprise. The creation of private 5G networks will power devices, while at the same time keeping the data from being transmitted over public networks.

    As part of the partnership, IBM is building on its previous commitment to retool its software around Red Hat OpenShift. The company has been working with telcos all over the world, citing Verizon, Vodafone, Bharti Airtel and roughly 83% of the world’s largest telcos as its clients.

    It’s not just telcos that benefit, however. IBM cites healthcare, manufacturing, retail, banking and finance as some of the principles markets that will benefit from its partnership with AT&T.

    “The advancements in 5G and edge are impacting every industry, bringing the promise of enhanced experiences for consumers and new revenue opportunities for businesses,” said Howard Boville, senior vice president, IBM Hybrid Cloud. “Together with AT&T, we will be helping clients securely leverage 5G and edge offerings in any environment with IBM’s open and secure hybrid cloud platform. This marks a significant step forward increasing the possibilities of 5G and edge in the enterprise.”

  • FCC Established 5G Fund for Rural America to Speed 5G Deployment

    FCC Established 5G Fund for Rural America to Speed 5G Deployment

    The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has established the 5G Fund for Rural America in a bid to close the digital divide.

    Because of the sprawling nature of the US and its large geographic footprint, there is a long-recognized digital divide between urban areas and rural communities. While urban areas and cities often have access to multiple types of high-speed broadband, rural communities have few—or in some cases no—choices available.

    The FCC is working to close that divide with a $9 billion fund aimed at improving 5G access.

    The Federal Communications Commission today adopted rules creating the 5G Fund for Rural America, which will distribute up to $9 billion over the next decade to bring 5G wireless broadband connectivity to rural America. 5G represents the latest advance in mobile wireless technology, promising increased speeds, reduced latency, and better security than 4G LTE networks.

    Carriers, especially T-Mobile and Verizon, have been deploying 5G home broadband in an effort to help cover these areas. T-Mobile, in particular, rapidly expanded its home 5G internet in the wake of AT&T’s announcement it was phasing out its DSL service, a move likely to widen the digital divide even more.

  • Verizon, Ericsson and Qualcomm Deliver 5 Gbps 5G

    Verizon, Ericsson and Qualcomm Deliver 5 Gbps 5G

    Verizon, Ericsson and Qualcomm have hit another major 5G milestone, delivering download speeds of 5 Gbps.

    Verizon has mainly been focusing on mmWave 5G, the fastest variety of 5G. It promises speeds in the gigabits, with latency in the single digits, or low double digits at most.

    Now, a week after announcing speeds of 4 Gbps, Verizon, Ericsson and Qualcomm have achieved 5 Gbps download speeds.

    “We have been driving the evolution of 5G technology from the early days and we continue to aggressively drive innovation — pushing the limits of the technology farther and faster for our customers,” said Brian Mecum, Vice President of Device Technology at Verizon. “This latest achievement is yet another milestone in providing a genuinely differentiated service for our customers on mmWave.”

    Verizon says that, when fully mature, its mmWave 5G will deliver speeds up to 10 Gbps, along with latency under 5 milliseconds.

    “Our strategy from the beginning has always been to reshape the world by driving innovation and leading the way in deploying the keenly differentiated 5G Ultra Wideband experience customers can only get from the mmWave based 5G network. It is the 21st century infrastructure that will shape the future,” said Mecum. “Today’s demonstration shows the advancements we are making to provide our customers with the mobile technology and capabilities they don’t even yet know they need.”

    The one issue Verizon still faces, however, is coverage. While it offers blazing speeds, mmWave has extremely short range and terrible building penetration. Verizon recently invested heavily in mid-band spectrum at the latest FCC auction. Prior to that, the company did not have enough mid-band spectrum to effectively compete with T-Mobile, especially since most experts consider mid-band spectrum to be the 5G sweet spot for both range and performance.

    Similarly, the company does not have enough low-band spectrum to roll out a dedicated, nationwide 5G network. Instead, it has had to rely on Dynamic Spectrum Switching (DSS) to share the spectrum used by its 4G LTE network. Unsurprisingly, early reviews report less-than-impressive performance.

    While Verizon’s 5G is the undisputed king of speed, it has a long way to go before it can effectively deliver that performance to the majority of its users.

  • Verizon and Nokia Partner On Private 5G For Businesses

    Verizon and Nokia Partner On Private 5G For Businesses

    Verizon and Nokia are working on private 5G networks, aimed at replacing WiFi networks for businesses.

    There are a number of advantages to 5G over traditional networks. The fastest variety of 5G, mmWave, offers speeds measured in gigabits. In addition, latency is often measured in single digits, or very low double digits. Verizon is also touting the security benefits, as a private 5G network eliminates the need to transmit data through public networks.

    “Today, we’ve announced the next phase of Verizon’s global 5G vision with the launch of private 5G for our international customers,” said Tami Erwin, CEO, Verizon Business. “If the past few months have taught us anything, it’s that there’s never been a more critical time for mobility, broadband and cloud products and services. Private 5G networks will be a transformative technology that will drive the new era of disruption and innovation for enterprises around the world.”

    The joint effort will initially target enterprises in Europe and Asia-Pacific, although it wouldn’t be surprising if it expands to the US once 5G gains more ground. The two companies clearly see 5G as a transformational technology, with implications far beyond the basic cellphone.

    “Private wireless connectivity has become central to many industries in realizing their long-term digital transformation goals. By delivering private 5G together with Verizon, we’re paving the way to accelerate digitalization for the most demanding industries who crave reliable wireless connectivity,” said Brian R. Fitzgerald, SVP Global Solutions at Nokia.

  • T-Mobile: Verizon 5G Speeds About To Hit a Massive Speed Bump

    T-Mobile: Verizon 5G Speeds About To Hit a Massive Speed Bump

    T-Mobile President Neville Ray says that Verizon’s speeds on 5G and LTE are about to hit a massive speed bump. He adds, “You can’t enjoy 5G if you can’t get 5G.” Ouch!

    In a snarky blog post, T-Mobile says that new data released today from Ookla proves that T-Mobile customers get a 5G signal more often than anyone else. T-Mobile says that Verizon customers only connected to 5G a paltry 0.6% of the time. 

    “You can’t enjoy 5G if you can’t get 5G. I can’t believe I have to say this, but apparently, some providers think 5G you can’t find is perfectly OK. T-Mobile has America’s largest 5G network, and Ookla’s report shows T-Mobile customers get the benefits of 5G more often,” said Neville Ray, President of Technology at T-Mobile. “We’re building 5G for All on dedicated airwaves to deliver both coverage and speed … while Verizon and AT&T force 5G and LTE customers to share already-crowded bandwidth.”

    The Un-carrier’s 5G network is the largest by far, covering 260 million people in more than 7,500 cities and towns. And thanks to the merger with Sprint, T-Mobile is rolling out the best spectrum for 5G — mid-band 2.5 GHz 5G — across the country. It’s already live today in 210 cities and towns and will be in thousands of cities and towns by the end of the year. Where mid-band is deployed, it can deliver average download speeds around 300 Mbps — that’s 7.5x faster than our LTE today — with peak speeds up to 1 Gbps. Verizon’s “Ultra Wideband” can only deliver fast speeds outdoors on specific street corners near base stations. T-Mobile’s mid-band 5G is the sweet spot, it can give customers fast speeds across broad geographies.  

    T-Mobile has dedicated spectrum for 5G across low, mid and high bands. And that’s important because 5G devices will use a lot of capacity. Verizon and AT&T are stealing LTE spectrum from their existing customers to broaden their 5G coverage. Using Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS), Verizon and AT&T force 5G and LTE customers to share bandwidth, splitting up the capacity so each technology only gets part of it. DSS is an important network feature and should be used in limited scenarios — not to provide an entire nationwide footprint. So, what’s the problem with Verizon’s broad use of DSS? Well, they are already spectrum-constrained and have limited sub-6 GHz spectrum. And now, they’re forced to share that limited resource with their 5G customers too. More traffic, same roads – sounds like a slowdown ahead.

    “The physics are simple. When you force more devices to share crowded airwaves, speeds decrease. I predict Verizon’s speeds on 5G and LTE are about to hit a massive speed bump,” added Ray.

    “By contrast,” says Ray, T-Mobile is building 5G on free and clear dedicated spectrum in all bands with its “layer cake” multi-band strategy. With all three major bands dedicated to 5G, only T-Mobile has wide open freeways ready to take on massive amounts of 5G traffic. And with more low and mid-band spectrum than anyone else, T-Mobile is building an even wider and faster freeway.”

  • Verizon Teams With Microsoft For State of the Art 5G IoT

    Verizon Teams With Microsoft For State of the Art 5G IoT

    Verizon partners with Microsoft to create new ways for enterprises to accelerate the delivery of fast and secure 5G applications to enable state of the art low-latency IoT solutions.

    Verizon’s on-site 5G Edge network integrated with Azure edge services can enable ultra-low latency, many times faster than the blink of an eye, according to Verizon, which can help businesses tap into real-time data analysis and delivery. Applications incorporating computer vision, augmented, mixed and virtual reality, digital twins or machine learning can be enhanced with 5G and MEC on the customer premise, helping transform the way industries such as retail, transportation, and logistics operations.

    Think of automated high-precision asset localization, tracking and positioning in manufacturing. In healthcare, the increased speed, reduced latency and high bandwidth connectivity of 5G networks could enable real-time precision medicine leveraging mixed reality and AI capabilities as well as seamless and fast sharing of large files to improve patient care.

    “We have built a network that provides real-world, 5G-enabled solutions TODAY,” said Rima Qureshi, EVP and Chief Strategy Officer at Verizon. “By bringing together Verizon’s 5G network and on-site 5G Edge platform with Microsoft’s expertise in cloud services, we will enable the development of the next-generation technologies everyone has been envisioning.”

    The collaboration brings Azure cloud and edge capabilities together with Verizon’s on-site 5G Edge, a mobile edge computing platform designed to enable developers to build applications for mobile end-users and wireless edge devices with ultra-low latency. By utilizing on-site private 5G, businesses will be able to realize increased power efficiencies and reduced costs of end user devices while addressing their privacy and security needs.

    Logistics and supply chain solutions company Ice Mobility is already testing on Verizon’s on-site 5G Edge platform, integrated with Microsoft Azure. The company is using 5G and MEC to help with computer vision assisted product packing. By gathering data in near real-time on product packing errors, the company has the potential to improve on-site quality assurance and save 15% to 30% in processing time.

    “We are especially excited to join Verizon and Microsoft to test how 5G and MEC can improve the quality assurance process,” said Mike Mohr, CEO of Ice Mobility. “They truly have listened to our needs to provide automated real-time quality oversight and feedback, which will enable us to cost-effectively launch unique new products, while maintaining the highest execution standards, significantly increasing throughput and reducing costs. And, this is just the beginning.”

    “By leveraging Verizon’s 5G network integrated with Microsoft’s cloud and edge capabilities, developers and businesses can benefit from fast, secure and reliable connections to deliver seamless digital experiences from massive industrial IoT workloads to precision medicine,” said Yousef Khalidi, corporate vice president Azure for Operators at Microsoft.

    Moving forward, Verizon will explore opportunities to co-innovate with Microsoft to deliver new value to industries ranging from manufacturing to healthcare.

    Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network enables throughput at least 25 times faster than today’s 4G networks*; delivers ultra-low latency; and offers very high bandwidth. Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband is expected to eventually enable 100 times larger data volumes than 4G; and the ability to connect more than a million devices per kilometer. Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband service is available to people in 55 cities and its 5G Nationwide service is available to more than 200 million people in more than 1,800 cities around the U.S.

  • Verizon Purchasing Kentucky-Based Bluegrass Cellular

    Verizon Purchasing Kentucky-Based Bluegrass Cellular

    Verizon has announced its intention to purchase Bluegrass Cellular, the oldest wireless carrier in Kentucky.

    Bluegrass Cellular serves rural areas in central Kentucky, and has approximately 210,000 subscribers in 34 counties. The acquisition of Bluegrass Cellular will help Verizon improve its coverage in the state.

    In many rural areas, Verizon has licensing agreements with local and regional carriers. In some areas, as a result of the licensing fees, Verizon has ended those agreements, leaving their own customers stranded. It appears Verizon is choose a different route with central Kentucky.

    “We are excited to acquire certain assets of Bluegrass Cellular and expand our footprint in Kentucky,” said Ronan Dunne, Executive Vice President and Group CEO, Verizon Consumer Group. “We look forward to welcoming Bluegrass customers and employees into the Verizon family and providing them with reliable wireless service alongside a best-in-class customer experience.”

    “We launched the first wireless company in central Kentucky 29 years ago,” said Ron Smith, President of Bluegrass Cellular. “We’ve always known that our customers were the most important part of our business, and we pride ourselves on playing an important role in connecting our community. I’m confident that Verizon will continue to be the same good neighbor that we’ve been and will provide crucial and reliable wireless connectivity to our rural communities.”

    The deal is subject to FCC approval. If it goes through, however, Bluegrass Cellular customers will not need to take any further action. Verizon will inform customers at a later date of what services are available to them.

  • Verizon Launches Nationwide 5G Network, Early Reviewers Unimpressed

    Verizon Launches Nationwide 5G Network, Early Reviewers Unimpressed

    In combination with Apple’s 5G iPhone 12 launch, Verizon has announced the immediate availability of its nationwide 5G network.

    As US carriers have rolled out their 5G networks, Verizon has taken a much different approach than AT&T and T-Mobile. Until now, Verizon has largely focused on its high-band, mmWave 5G. AT&T and T-Mobile, while deploying mmWave of their own, were quick to roll out nationwide 5G networks using low-band spectrum. AT&T used its 850 MHz spectrum, while T-Mobile used 600 MHz.

    While low-band spectrum doesn’t offer nearly the same speed as mmWave, it offers much better coverage and building penetration. In many cases, low-band 5G matches or exceeds 4G LTE’s range and penetration, much of which is in the 700 MHz range. Verizon now joins the other two carriers with a nationwide 5G network using its low-band spectrum.

    Unfortunately, unlike T-Mobile and AT&T, Verizon does not have enough low-band spectrum to create a dedicated, nationwide 5G network. Instead, it has to use Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS) to share the same spectrum between its 4G LTE and nationwide 5G networks. In pre-launch tests—the couple of days before the announcement when 5G started showing up on Verizon devices—the new network was actually slower than Verizon’s 4G LTE.

    “I wouldn’t worry too much about the 5G being slower than 4G yet,” write Sascha Segan & Steven Winkelman for PCMag. “This is pre-launch and either our devices or the network may not have been fully configured. But I think 5G being the same speed as 4G is more relevant, because DSS 5G is really just a shell game. You get faster speeds when you add spectrum to a carrier’s pool. The power of 5G comes from its ability to use wider channels than 4G—up to 100MHz each where 4G channels max out at 20MHz.

    “DSS simply shifts some existing 4G channels to 5G when they aren’t being used by 4G phones. So you’re going to end up with narrow odds and ends of airwaves that don’t expand the carrier’s portfolio any, but let it show a “5G” indicator for marketing purposes.”

    It remains to be seen how Verizon’s nationwide 5G network will stack up now that it’s officially launched. If the early tests are to be believed, however, it shows why T-Mobile is widely considered the 5G carrier to beat, especially with its acquisition of spectrum-rich Sprint.

  • Apple Launches 5G iPhone 12

    Apple Launches 5G iPhone 12

    Apple CEO Tim Cook announced today the launch of iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro with 5G:

    Today we’re bringing 5G to iPhone. This is a huge moment for all of us and we’re really excited. 5G will bring a new level of performance for downloads and uploads, higher quality video streaming, more responsive gaming, real-time interactivity, and so much more. 5G networks are more advanced with lower latency and less network congestion so you can get higher network speeds even in densely populated areas. 5G even helps protect your privacy and security since you won’t need to connect to unknown unsecured public wi-fi hotspots as often.

    Each generation of cellular network technology on the iPhone has enabled breakthrough innovations and entirely new opportunities for our developers and our users. 5G is the most exciting step yet. For so many people this all becomes real with 5G coming to iPhone.

    Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg also spoke at Apple’s launch event about the impact of 5G for the iPhone:

    5G just got real. Of course, what’s the most exciting part for me as a guy who has worked in networking for 25 plus years? The fact that for the first time ever iPhone can now access Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband. It’s built with large quantities on millimeter wave spectrum that enable unprecedented performance. 5G Ultra Wideband has already been recognized as being the fastest 5G in the world and it’s getting even faster. Our 5G network now gives you double the peak download speeds, over 4 gigabits per second today in ideal conditions. And even higher over time.

    It also gives you double the upload speeds at over 200 megabits per second. So whatever you’re watching, a high definition movie or you’re planning business workflows with real-time augmented reality, you can be sure that there’s no faster 5G anywhere on earth. 5G Ultra Wideband has also a massive capacity. We’re building it to help remove bottlenecks in crowded places where thousands of people use their phones at the same time. Because one day we’ll be safely back in those places.

    Watch Apple’s 5G launch even in full:

  • Verizon LTE Home Internet Now Available In 48 States

    Verizon LTE Home Internet Now Available In 48 States

    Verizon’s LTE Home Internet service has been expanded to 189 markets across 48 states, according to the company.

    As more and more workers have been forced to work from home during the pandemic, home internet access has become more important than ever. The same is true of remote learning. More children than ever are enrolled in remote learning programs that require good internet access.

    Unfortunately, the US still has a major disparity between the internet options individuals in cities have, versus those in rural areas. Increasingly, wireless companies are looking to bridge this gap, with both Verizon and T-Mobile offering LTE home service.

    Verizon has now expanded their offerings to include 189 markets in 48 states, giving customers more choices than ever before.

    “This summer, we introduced LTE Home Internet in select pilot markets, and the response from customers was incredible,” said Frank Boulben, Senior Vice President of Consumer Marketing and Products at Verizon. “It’s clear the need for connectivity has never been greater during these challenging times, that’s why today, we’re expanding LTE Home Internet to even more customers in rural areas of America who may not have access to broadband Internet.”

    For those customers that fall in Verizon’s market, this will be a welcome option.

  • AT&T Takes Page From Verizon, Unveils Mix and Match Plans

    AT&T Takes Page From Verizon, Unveils Mix and Match Plans

    AT&T has unveiled Unlimited Your Way, a mix and match option for its wireless plans.

    Verizon has heavily advertised its mix and match plans, touting the benefits of each family member having a plan that works for them. It appears AT&T is jumping on board with its new plans. The company will allow customers to mix and match Unlimited Starter, Extra and Elite plans, starting at $35/mo.

    “At AT&T, we’re always listening to our customers and are dedicated to providing them the best wireless experience for their needs,” said David Christopher, executive vice president and general manager, AT&T Mobility. “We recognize that individuals have different wireless needs and not all family members want the same rate plan. With the launch of Unlimited Your Way we’re making it simple – now customers can pick the best combination of unlimited wireless plans for each family member – all with access to fast, reliable and secure nationwide AT&T 5G included at no extra charge.”

    With Verizon still comfortably in the lead as the top US wireless carrier, and T-Mobile recently moving into the second-place spot, it’s probably a safe bet that AT&T will continue to roll out new deals and promotions.

  • Verizon Buys TracFone For $7 Billion

    Verizon Buys TracFone For $7 Billion

    Verizon has announced that it is buying TracFone, the country’s largest prepaid wireless reseller, for $7 billion in cash and stock. Over 13 million TracFone subscribers currently use the Verizon cell network via a reseller deal. The acquisition expands Verizon’s offerings in the low-priced market segment, enabling it to upsell its premium products and services to a new set of customers. Verizon says that the “portfolio of Tracfone brands creates a platform for growth and innovation in Verizon’s support of the value and low-income segments. “

    Verizon Chairman and CEO Hans Vestberg tweeted: “We are excited about the opportunity to bring Tracfone and its brands into the Verizon family where we can put the full support of Verizon behind this business and provide exciting and compelling products into this attractive segment of the market.” Tracfone is the largest reseller of wireless services in the US, serving 21 million subscribers through a network of over 90,000 retail locations nationwide.

    “This transaction is aligned with what we do best: providing reliable wireless service alongside a best-in-class customer experience,” said Vestberg. “We are excited about the opportunity to bring Tracfone and its brands into the Verizon family where we can put the full support of Verizon behind this business and provide exciting and compelling products into this attractive segment of the market. We are pursuing this important strategic acquisition from a position of strength given our very strong and prudent financial profile.”

    Ronan Dunne, Executive Vice President and Group CEO, Verizon Consumer Group added: “Since its launch, Tracfone has developed strong consumer brands and has established itself as a clear leader in the value mobile segment. This transaction firmly establishes Verizon, through the Tracfone brands, as the provider of choice in the value segment, which complements our clear leadership in the premium segment.”

    “We’re looking forward to welcoming all of Tracfone’s customers and each of Tracfone’s nearly 850 valuable employees. We are excited to expand our relationship with Tracfone’s distribution partners, and when Tracfone’s customers become part of our family, they will get the best of both worlds – more choices, better services, and new features thanks to Verizon’s investment–but with the flexibility and control that they have come to value with its prepaid plans. Being connected is now more important than ever, and Tracfone customers will benefit from Verizon’s innovations–both now and in the future,” Dunne added.

    Verizon is paying $3.125 billion in cash and $3.125 billion in Verizon common stock. The company will also pay up to an additional $650 million in future cash consideration related to the achievement of certain performance measures.

  • PCMag Releases Fastest Mobile Networks 2020 Test

    PCMag Releases Fastest Mobile Networks 2020 Test

    PCMag has released its 11th annual testing data of US wireless networks, and it doesn’t paint a pretty picture for the state of 5G.

    Each of the three major carriers are rushing to get on the 5G bandwagon, although each of them are taking different approaches. Verizon has been focused almost exclusively on high-band, mmWave spectrum. This is the fastest variety of 5G, with speeds measured in gigabits. Unfortunately, it has very limited range and building penetration, making it hard to find.

    T-Mobile and AT&T have both rolled out mmWave networks in urban areas, much like Verizon. Both of them, however, have also rolled out low-band nationwide 5G networks. This variety of 5G is only marginally faster than 4G LTE, but has excellent range and penetration.

    Mid-band spectrum promises to offer the best of both worlds, with decent range and penetration, combined with speeds in the 700 Mbps range. T-Mobile has a wealth of this spectrum, thanks to its merge with Sprint, but has yet to fully repurpose it.

    PCMag’s report falls largely inline with what one would expect, given the technologies in use. Of the three, PCMag’s Sascha Segan says “Verizon’s 5G is often mind-blowing, but very difficult to find.” This is exactly what one would expect from a 5G rollout focused exclusively on mmWave.

    T-Mobile, on the other hand, has the largest nationwide, low-band 5G network. At the same time, its speeds have not increased as fast as either AT&T or Verizon. This is believed to be the result of T-Mobile absorbing millions of Sprint customers post-merger, resulting in added congestion on the network. T-Mobile says it will be able to deal with the congestion once it finished integrating Sprint’s spectrum.

    On the other hand, Segan said, “AT&T 5G right now appears to be essentially worthless.” This is largely because of how AT&T has chosen to roll out its nationwide 5G. As Sagan explains:

    ”AT&T’s 5G slices off a narrow bit of the old 850MHz cellular band and assigns it to 5G, to give phones a valid 5G icon without increasing performance. And because of the way current 5G phones work, it often reduces performance. At locations with both 4G and 5G, our 5G phone was slower than our 4G phone in 21 out of 22 cities.”

    In many ways, this is reminiscent of how AT&T labeled souped up 4G LTE as “5G Evolution,” a claim the BBB’s National Advertising Review Board (NARB) and National Advertising Division (NAD) found misleading. Similarly, in the transition from 3G to 4G, AT&T drew criticism for labeling souped up 3G as 4G.

    While offering some nuggets of hope for the state of the US 5G market, PCMag’s report illustrates that it still has a long way to go before it reaches the level of maturity needed to compete with existing 4G networks.

     

    Image Credit: PCMag

  • Verizon Future-Proofs Network With Quantum Key Distribution

    Verizon Future-Proofs Network With Quantum Key Distribution

    Verizon has become the first wireless carrier to pilot the use of quantum key distribution (QKD) to help secure its network.

    Quantum key distribution is a type of cryptography that relies on the principles involved in quantum mechanics, and specifically quantum entanglement. As a result, because information is transmitted in a quantum state, it’s impossible for a third-party to snoop on the transmission without being detected. This makes QKD one of the only types of encryption that is future-proofed in a world where quantum computing will render other forms of encryption obsolete.

    Verizon has now demonstrated how QKD can be used to protect its network. Quantum keys were created and exchanged over a QKD network and used to encrypt video streams. The recipient was able to watch the videos in real-time, while any hackers would be instantly detected.

    “We continue to innovate and discover new ways to ensure safe networks and communications down the road for both consumers and enterprises,” said Nicki Palmer, chief product development officer at Verizon. “In testing advanced security technologies, our QKD trial demonstrates how quantum-based technology can strengthen data security today and in the future.”

    “The use of quantum mechanics is a great step forward in data security,” said Christina Richmond, analyst at IDC. “Verizon’s own tests, as well other industry testing, have shown that deriving “secret keys” between two entities via light photons effectively blocks perfect cloning by an eavesdropper if a key intercept is attempted. Current technological breakthroughs have proven that both the quantum channel and encrypted data channel can be sent over a single optical fiber. Verizon has demonstrated this streamlined approach brings greater efficiency for practical large-scale implementation allowing keys to be securely shared over wide-ranging networks.”

  • T-Mobile Adds Mid-Band 5G In Over 80 Cities; Verizon Calls ‘Foul’

    T-Mobile Adds Mid-Band 5G In Over 80 Cities; Verizon Calls ‘Foul’

    T-Mobile has rolled out high-speed, mid-band 5G in over 80 cities as it continues to utilize the spectrum it acquired with Sprint.

    Mid-band 5G is widely considered to be the sweet spot for 5G spectrum. It provides faster performance than T-Mobile’s low-band nationwide 5G network, reaching speeds up to 1 Gbps. At the same time, it offers better range and penetration than high-band 5G, which requires repeaters and base stations every couple of hundred meters.

    One of the driving factors in T-Mobile’s acquisition of Sprint was the wealth of mid-band, 2.5 GHz spectrum Sprint had. Since the acquisition was completed, T-Mobile has been integrating the spectrum as fast as possible, with today’s news being the biggest gain yet.

    “T-Mobile has the competition in the rear-view mirror on 5G, and they’re only getting farther behind. While the other guys are playing catch-up, we’ve had nationwide 5G since last year, and we’re now adding faster speeds across the country with mid-band 5G,” said Neville Ray, President of Technology at T-Mobile. “This is our 5G strategy in action. Mid-band is the 5G spectrum, and T-Mobile has more of it than anyone. We have nearly twice as much low and mid-band spectrum as AT&T and nearly triple that of Verizon. And that means T-Mobile is the only one capable of making the world’s best 5G network a reality.”

    At this pace, T-Mobile’s competitors will be playing catch-up for some time. This is likely why Verizon has recently appealed to the FCC to prevent T-Mobile from gaining access to additional 600 MHz spectrum. Never mind the fact that Verizon chose not to bid on any 600 MHz spectrum when it was up for auction, believing they didn’t need the additional spectrum.

    Suddenly Verizon is changing its tune:

    “As shown above, it is T-Mobile that has the most substantial total low- and mid-band spectrum holdings of any provider at the national level,” Verizon stated in its appeal.

    Verizon goes on to quote T-Mobile’s Neville Ray on the status of the company’s advantage:

    “T-Mobile’s President of Technology, Neville Ray, recently boasted that, even before these arrangements take effect, T-Mobile’s low- and mid-band spectrum holdings give it such a ‘material advantage’ in the marketplace that its ‘competition doesn’t have a path to match [it] for some time.’ Indeed, Mr. Ray claimed that T-Mobile has a ‘2x’ or ‘3x multiple’ in the ‘mid- and low-bands’ over AT&T and Verizon.”

    It appears Verizon may now be regretting its decision to not purchase more spectrum when it had the opportunity.