Tag: carrier

Dish Closing Boost Deal to Become Fourth Carrier

Dish Network is preparing to close the deal with T-Mobile to take Boost Mobile off of its hands, making it the fourth nationwide carrier.

T-Mobile recently merged with Sprint after years of campaigning and fighting to gain regulatory approval. Even after the DOJ and FCC approved the deal, a coalition of states sued to stop it. One of the big concerns opponents had was whether consolidating to three carriers would hurt consumers.

To address the concerns, it was agreed that T-Mobile would sell its Boost Mobile business to Dish Network. This paved the way for the merger, making T-Mobile the second largest US carrier, while helping Dish enter the market as a new fourth nationwide carrier.

As part of the deal, Bloomberg is reporting that Dish will pay T-Mobile $1.4 billion for Boost. In return, Dish will also have access to T-Mobile’s network for seven years.

Dish has been aggressively optimistic about its ability to compete in a market that has seen Sprint go from a major force to being bought out by its one-time rival. Only time will tell if Dish is able to make a go of it.

June 18, 2020
Congress Approves $1 Billion to Help Small Carriers Remove Huawei/ZTE

The U.S. House and Senate have approved legislation that will create a $1 billion fund to help small carriers remove and replace network equipment from Huawei and ZTE.

The Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act doesn’t specifically mention Huawei or ZTE. As Ars Technica reports, the legislation “says the FCC must produce a list of equipment providers ‘posing national security risks’ and prohibits ISPs and phone companies from using FCC funding to purchase, rent, lease, or maintain equipment and services made by those companies.”

In November, the FCC unanimously voted to block carriers from using money from the Universal Service Fund (USF) to purchase equipment from either Huawei or ZTE. As a result, while the new legislation doesn’t specifically mention the two carriers, by deferring to the FCC’s ruling it effectively targets them and provides a way for small carriers to replace their equipment without it being a financial burden.

The legislation is specifically targeted at telecom providers who have less than two million subscribers. The Rural Wireless Association (RWA) voiced its own support of the legislation, along with anticipation of President Trump signing it into law:

“The passage of this legislation comes at a critical time. Without this crucial funding, rural carriers would lack the financial means to effectuate rapid replacement of the banned equipment.

“RWA acknowledges the valiant effort made by Congress to ensure the continuous operation of rural networks while protecting national security. Now with a funding mechanism almost in place, rural carriers can begin planning for the removal of banned Chinese equipment from their networks. RWA now awaits President Trump’s signature for official enactment of the legislation and the appropriation of funds to ensure a path forward.”

February 28, 2020
T-Mobile and Sprint Reach New Merger Agreement

Following their court win allowing their proposed merger to move forward, T-Mobile and Sprint have come to new terms.

In the aftermath of their court victory, it was reported that T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom was renegotiating the terms of the deal as a result of how much Sprint had dropped in value since the original deal was struck. When asked about it, CEO Timotheus Hottges declined to comment on any internal negotiations.

The two companies have successfully completed negotiations, with Deutsche Telekom taking a 43% stake in the new company, up from 42%. Meanwhile, Sprint parent SoftBank will have 24%, with the remaining 33% held by public shareholders.

“Today’s announcement is another significant step forward toward finally closing this transaction! Throughout this journey, T-Mobile and Sprint have been singularly focused on one thing: building a supercharged Un-carrier that will offer U.S. consumers a broad and deep nationwide 5G network, more choice and greater competition. We are now on the threshold of achieving our goal. And did I mention how fun it’s going to be sticking it to Dumb, Dumber and Big Cable along the way? This is going to be epic!” said John Legere, CEO of T-Mobile.

“With today’s agreement in place, we are now turning our attention toward our goal of closing this transaction and creating the New T-Mobile as early as April 1, 2020,” said Mike Sievert, COO and President of T-Mobile, and appointed CEO of the company starting on May 1, 2020. “We are on the verge of being able to do what we’ve set out to do from day one — reshape a broken wireless industry and create the new standard for consumers when it comes to value, speed, quality and service. The New T-Mobile is literally going to change wireless for good and now we’re almost ready to get to the fun part: bringing our teams together, building this supercharged Un-carrier and becoming the envy of the wireless industry and beyond!”

February 21, 2020
Sprint’s Former CEO Goes Rogue, Says Company Can Survive Without Merger

After testimony from both T-Mobile and Sprint executives claiming the number four carrier cannot survive without the merger with T-Mobile, Sprint’s former CEO Marcelo Claure flipped the script and claimed the company could be viable on its own.

Bloomberg is reporting that T-Mobile CEO John Legere had previously testified that Sprint’s $40 billion in debt and unfavorable position in the market meant it would be “sold for parts” without a merger. However, when Claure—currently executive chairman of Sprint; COO of Sprint’s parent company, SoftBank Group Corp.; and CEO of SoftBank Group International—took the stand, he had a different outlook.

“Those are possibilities,” Claure responded. “I don’t necessarily agree completely.”

Claure did go on to say that without the merger, the road ahead would be a difficult one and likely require Sprint to leave some markets.

“Sprint two years from now would be a very different from Sprint today, because we would cease to be a national competitor.” Claure added. He also indicated the carrier would likely have to borrow additional money and raise prices.

Similarly, current CEO Michel Combes testified that without the deal, Sprint would have to pull back from some markets, although it would still cover three quarters of the U.S. population.

Given that opponents of the merger do not want to see the U.S. wireless market go from four national carriers to three, Claure and Combes testimony may still help the case for the merger. In effect, both executives are implying that Sprint will cease being a national carrier and join the ranks of a regional carrier should the merger fail.

In addition, as part of the deal, T-Mobile and Sprint would sell off wireless assets to Dish Network to help it become a new fourth carrier. Dish’s CEO Charlie Ergen testified that his company would be ready to compete with the other carriers “from day one,” once the deal is finalized and it acquires the assets involved.

Ultimately, the court may decide that the market would be better served by Dish Network acting as the fourth carrier, rather than a crippled Sprint.

December 19, 2019
United Technologies CEO on Split: “There’s No Weak Sister Here”

The CEO of United Technologies says they are breaking UTC up into three independent companies because it’s the right thing to do. “There’s no weak sister here,” says Greg Hayes, United Technologies chairman, and CEO. “This is not a spin to get rid of something that doesn’t fit, doesn’t belong. We’re doing this because we think it’s the right thing for our employees, for our customers, and for the shareowners.”

Greg Hayes, United Technologies chairman, and CEO discussed their decision to break UTC up into three independent companies on CNBC:

We Don’t Get Paid for the Diversity the Way We Used To

We can go back and look at any one point in history and say the commercial businesses have outperformed the aero business and over time we always said balance works at UTC. I would tell you that as I’ve gone out and spoken to all of our investors over the last year there is almost unanimity that the businesses would perform better as separate focused businesses. Frankly, we don’t get paid for the diversity and for the benefit of consistent earnings the way we did ten years ago.

Investors Have Told Us… Let Us diversify

What the investors have told us is, let us diversify, if we want to be in aero stock we’ll buy aero stock, if we want to buy a commercial HVAC business we’ll buy commercial HVAC. UTC is so big, and I would tell you complicated because of the different markets that we operate in and different cycles that our businesses go through, it just will be so much simpler for people to think each companies story.

There’s No Weak Sister Here

What is the story around Otis Elevator and the two million elevators that we service every day around the world? What about the Carrier business? Over a hundred million air conditioners installed in the US, we’re going to service those and we’re going to replace those over the next ten years. That’s phenomenal growth. The aerospace business standalone today with Rockwell, $50 billion in revenue. There’s no weak sister here. This is not a spin to get rid of something that doesn’t fit, doesn’t belong. We’re doing this because we think it’s the right thing for our employees, for our customers, and for the shareowners.

November 27, 2018
Verizon Announces New “MORE Everything” Deal

Verizon today announced a new pricing initiative that could provide subscribers with significant savings.

The new pricing scheme will bring lower “MORE Everything” pricing to its month-to-month customers. Starting on April 17 Verizon customers on a month-to-month contract will be able to join a MORE Everything plan and see an immediate discount for their device fee.

Customers who take Verizon up on this offer can sigh up for a MORE Everything plan with a data cap of 8GB or below and pay only $30 per month to add a smartphone to the plan. This is $10 less than the $40 Verizon charges month-to-month customers to use a smartphone on their plan. Verizon customers who sign up for a Verizon Edge plan and purchase a new smartphone from Verizon will also receive the lower monthly access price.

The deal should provide a slight discount for Verizon subscribers who have already paid off their smartphone device. The device will, of course, have to be compatible with Verizon’s network.

Verizon’s announcement is yet another significant change that has come to the U.S. mobile market over the past year. Since last year T-Mobile, the fourth-largest mobile provider in the U.S., has been announcing a series of initiatives meant to increase subscriber numbers. T-Mobile’s offers have created significant competition in the mobile space, forcing larger carriers such as Verizon to announce plans such as the MORE Everything.

In the midst of this change, U.S. mobile providers are gearing up for more intense competition in the coming years. Market watchers are now seeing the U.S. smartphone segment begin to saturate as consumers upgrade to smartphones. This has led to an ever-shrinking pool of potential new customers – the engine that mobile providers have been running on for years. With so few new customers to gain, mobile providers are now battling for customer retention while developing new monetization schemes (some of them very shady).

April 14, 2014
USS Gerald Ford Gets Christened By Navy

The Navy christened its newest, most efficient carrier which will join the fleet in 2016. The USS Gerald R. Ford is the prime ship in the next fleet of aircraft carriers in the Navy. This represents the first new aircraft carrier design in more than four decades.

(image)

image via Wikipedia

The USS Gerald R. Ford is named after President Gerald R. Ford, who served on the carrier USS Monterey during World War II. Gerald R. Ford later became president of the US after President Richard Nixon resigned in the wake of Watergate scandal.

According to CNN, one of the things the ship will be able to do is to launch jets faster than previous carriers and will need fewer crew members. This will save the country about $4 billion over the next 50 years (the Ford is expected to survive until 2057).

(image)

image via Wikipedia

“She will carry unmanned aircraft, joint strike fighters, and she will deploy lasers.” Said Jonathan Greenert, who is Chief of Naval Operations Administration in a webcast ceremony at the Newport, “She is truly a technological marvel.”

Layout Of USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier

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image via militaryphotos.net

The ship is indeed a classic example of a technological marvel as it features state-of-the-art naval architecture and is nuclear powered. The ship will use electromagnetic force to propel planes off the deck instead of the pressurized steam used in today’s fleet. It also features an arresting gear that grabs planes when they land. Moreover, the gear will be software controlled so as to prevent wear and tear on the planes.

The sponsor of the ship is the former Ford’s president daughter, Susan Bales Ford. She also had the duty of performing the ceremonial breaking of the bottle of American sparkling wine into the ship.

In her speech, the daughter of the former president said that she hopes that future sailors will show the integrity her father showed in his time of public office. “Dad, their message fills this shipyard. You kept your promise. You healed the nation. You gave the American people a president that was a shining beacon of integrity at the helm,” she said. The keynote speech was delivered by Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich.

(main image via militaryphotos.net)

November 9, 2013
Sprint to Shut Down Nextel on June 30

Sprint Nextel today announced that it is still planning to shut down the Nextel National Network by the end of June.

The company has stated that June 29 will be the final day of full Nextel iDEN network service. On Sunday, June 30, iDEN phones will not receive voice or data. Sprint stated the equipment that powers the network will be switched off that day “in rapid succession.” The Nextel push-to-talk service will be converted to Sprint’s CDMA network.

By the time the shutdown comes, Nextel customers will have had just over one year to prepare for it. In addition to the letters and emails Sprint has already sent throughout the year, the company will also be sending text messages and using “other communications tactics” in the days leading up to the shutdown.

“Our shutdown communications are meant to give customers more than enough lead time to plan their migration,” said Bob Azzi, SVP of the network division at Sprint. “This has been especially important for public safety, first responders, health care users and others who rely on the service to protect and preserve people’s lives. We strongly urge customers to migrate now, rather than wait until the last minute.”

Sprint has been losing large numbers of subscribers who are leaving the Nextel platform. The wireless carrier is currently in talks for a $20 billion merger with SoftBank, though it is also entertaining a $25 billion offer from Dish Network.

May 1, 2013
Tucows Launches Wireless Carrier Ting

Tucows, a company that specializes in providing a variety of web services to businesses, has launched their own wireless carrier. Built on Sprint’s wireless network, Ting promises to be a more thoughtful wireless carrier. Unlike other carriers out there, Ting has no overage fees. If you go over your allotted minutes in a month, Ting automatically bumps you up to the next rate plan. On the other hand, if you use less than your allotted minutes Ting will drop you down and issue a refund for the difference.

Ting’s rate plans are highly customizable, allowing you to choose how many minutes you think you’ll use, how many texts, and how much data. Moreover, the plans increase in fairly small increments, so going over and getting bumped up shouldn’t break the bank. For example, if you have the 500 minute plan and go over, getting bumped up to the 1000 minute plan will only cost you $9. Depending on how much you go over, that could be a pretty significant savings over the overage fees charged by some mobile carriers.

Ting uses Sprint’s wireless network, so their phone lineup is much like Sprint’s. They have a decent selection of Android-based smartphones, two basic feature phones, and four wireless data devices available.

If you’re thinking about switching, Ting provides a helpful savings calculator to show you how much you could save by switching. Just plug in how much you pay for which services, and Ting will tell you how much you could save by switching. Head on over to Ting’s website and check it out, then let us know what you think in the comments.

February 2, 2012