Remember yesterday when we wondered aloud if Clearwire was about to default on its loan payments? Well, the day has come and big-daddy Sprint has saved the day with a big bag of money, adding to its already huge stake in the mobile broadband provider. Sprint has announced a plan to give Clearwire as much as $1.6 billion over the next four years.
Mobile broadband provider Clearwire is facing a tough decision as a massive debt payment comes due tomorrow and the company is scrambling to get network upgrades underway. The company is set to pay $237 million in interest, but despite having the cash, it may choose to skip the payment in order to spend more on building an LTE network to replace the current WiMAX one. If Clearwire can’t work this out, its carrier partner Sprint could be hit hard down the line.
If you’ve watched any television over the holiday weekend, you probably saw one of Sprint’s iPhone commercials, which claims that the company “doesn’t limit the iPhone” thanks to its unlimited, unthrottled data plans – something no other major mobile carrier provides. It’s been a big marketing ploy for the company for a while now, but a new report suggests that limited airwave space may force Sprint to yank its unrestricted plans off the table sometime soon.
Android fans in the US have been waiting with bated breath for Verizon to announce availability of the 4G LTE Samsung Galaxy Nexus. After various rumors of delays, an interesting Big Red holiday ad started running last night, with the Galaxy Nexus listed for a downright reasonable $199.99 on a 2-year contract. This is much lower than the expected cost of $299.99. Could this be the best deal on Verizon this holiday season?
Nokia’s recently announced Lumia 800 seems like a competent smartphone, the only problem is that it’s not available in the US. The Verge is reporting that there’s a perfectly good explanation for that. Nokia is working closely with AT&T to bring the Lumia 800 to the US with LTE 4G data on the carrier’s brand new network.
The whole idea of having a mobile data cap blows, especially when you consider the things we're using our smartphones for, like downloading games, surfing all corners of the Web, streaming Netflix, tapping into streaming music, and so forth. Snug fitting data caps become even more bothersome when you have access to a fast 4G LTE connection, but there's a bit of relief in sight.
It’s been a long time coming, but the HTC Rezound, the device once known as the Vigor, has been announced. This high-end Android smartphone is destined for Verizon’s 4G LTE network on November 14th, and will sell for $299.99 on a two year contract. This phone will be the first to bring several features stateside, which makes the high price seem almost reasonable.
AT&T seems to have figured out that at this point in time, mobile broadband access Ain't Nuthin But a 4G Thang and beginning November 6, 2011, the wireless carrier will offer its first 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) smartphones. These include the HTC Vivid and Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket, a pair of 4.5-inch smartphones that will bring the total number of AT&T Android devices introduced in 2011 to 21 (AT&T had originally committed to a dozen).
What's that you say, Sprint doesn't even have a 4G LTE network yet? Be that as it may, the wireless carrier isn't about to let such a minor detail prevent it from looking forward to LTE-Advanced, which by the way Sprint is planning to deploy in the first half of 2013. Sprint reckons its customers will see download speeds ranging from 12Mbps to 15Mbps.
Fast LTE networks are expanding at a breakneck pace, it's just too bad compatible devices aren't coming out at a steadier clip, not yet anyway. The good news is the transition has already begun and it's expected there will be more than 154 million LTE handset shipments by 2015, according to market research firm In-Stat. Are wireless carriers ready?
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