The FCC, champing at the bit to auction spectrum in the AWS-3 band for a nationwide broadband network that will offer free service, is sending its engineers to Seattle next week to commence tests that will determine whether signals coming from this band would interfere with T-Mobile's WCDMA network in the adjacent [...]

Nortel Networks said it completed the first live Long term Evolution (LTE) handoff between cell sites during a recent test at a development center in Ottawa. Nortel said it was able to maintain a high-definition video stream to a handset while traveling in a car going about 62 miles per [...]

Aircell is expected to announce another deal with an airline for its air-to-ground wireless broadband service Gogo. Aircell CEO Jack Blumenstein said an announcement will come within days and, all told, some 2,000 commercial aircraft will be offering Gogo service by the end of the year, he said. American Airlines recently [...]

Femtocell vendor RadioFrame Networks garnered $28 million in a sixth round of equity and debt financing. The company has now raised $100 million since 2001. Plainfield Asset Management joined existing investors Ericsson Venture Partners, Ignition Partners and VantagePoint Venture Partners for this latest round. Article[...]

Qualcomm said it has placed an HSPA+ Release 7 data call at a transfer rate of more than 20 Mbps in a 5-megahertz channel. Such a capability would allow HSPA operators to double the data and triple the voice capacity of their networks compared with current iterations of HSPA, Qualcomm [...]

Clearwire late last week said it would issue its shareholders about $1.62 billion worth of stock (based on Wednesday's share price) in its new wireless joint venture with Sprint's WiMAX business in exchange for their existing Clearwire shares. Also, Clearwire's board, which already has recommended Clearwire shareholders agree to the deal [...]

American Airlines has launched Aircell's Gogo mobile broadband service on three coast-to-coast flights, making the service available for $12.95 per flight on its 15 Boeing 767-200 aircraft. The service is still considered a test, which means the airline could still drop the service or expand it later. The Internet calling [...]

A new report from In-Stat says that while the number of WiFi hotspots offering public access continues to grow along with users on a global basis, access revenues are not keeping pace with the growth in use. The trend could be explained by In-Stat's survey that found an increased reluctance of [...]

Google is stepping up its lobbying efforts in the white-space controversy. The search giant has launched a web site called, www.freetheairwaves.com, on which visitors can sign a petition urging the FCC to open up unused TV airwaves for super WiFi-like services that Google calls WiFi 2.0. The site clearly looks [...]

By Robert Syputa There is a growing perception that LTE is pushing down on WiMAX momentum. But perhaps it is LTE that is being driven by the accelerated development of WiMAX intellectual property rights and the quick strides the ecosystem is making in transforming these technologies from concept to reality. [...]

The FCC is expected to report its findings on field tests it conducted this month of prototype white-space devices. Soon after, the commission itself is expected to take up the contentious issue of whether the spectrum can be used for unlicensed devices or whether they pose too much of an interference threat [...]

ABI Research is forecasting more than 32 million Long Term Evolution (LTE) subscribers by 2013, despite the fact that LTE networks won't be commercial before 2010. But as major operators China Mobile, Vodafone and Verizon Wireless have announced their intentions to deploy LTE, ramp up of the technology could move [...]

AT&T has reiterated its opposition to the new Clearwire deal that involves a merger with Sprint's WiMAX business and cash infusion from Intel, Google and cable operators. The country's largest mobile operator in terms of subscribers is again accusing the stakeholders of providing inconsistent details on how much usable spectrum the new [...]

MetroPCS is the latest CDMA operator to announce plans to migrate to OFDM-based LTE (Long Term Evolution) technology as its next-generation strategy. The flat-rate operator is following CDMA operators Verizon Wireless and Alltel. During the company's conference call, MetroPCS Chairman, President and CEO Roger Linquist said a rollout will be [...]

NextWave Wireless said its cash is running out, sending the company's shares down to a 52-week low on Friday. The company, which saw its shares fall as low as 89 cents per share on Friday, said it had $71.1 million in cash, cash equivalents, marketable securities, and restricted cash at the [...]

T-Mobile USA is taking M2Z Networks to task for the company's claim that T-Mobile's interference concerns over the FCC's proposed plans for the AWS-3 band are moot given the fact that the carrier operates a wireless broadband network Czech Republic using similar spectrum and similar technical rules to those the FCC [...]

New York City is shunning the idea of muni-WiFi and instead is looking to provide Internet access to residents with affordable fiber-optic cable connections to homes. Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other members of the city's 15-member Broadband Advisory Committee are entertaining broadband ideas, and it's clear WiFi is not an option. "We're [...]

France is considering reserving part of the soon-to-be vacated analog TV spectrum for fixed and mobile broadband services. A French parliamentary commission recommended that the 790 MHz-862 MHz sub-band be dedicated to electronic communication in order to boost take-up of mobile and fixed broadband services. Article[...]

The proposed merger between Clearwire and Sprint Nextel's WiMAX business is coming under some scrutiny from the likes of AT&T and rural operators in filings with the FCC. AT&T, which has the largest subscriber base in the U.S., argued that the venture would eventually use spectrum leased from schools, cities [...]

> Motorola's Enterprise Mobility business announced new 802.11n planning tools featuring predictive networking capabilities. Release > Orange launches laptop offer. Article > Chunghwa Telecom to buy 3,000 femtocell base stations. Article And Finally... Use of WiFi on new Philly network skyrockets. Article[...]

> WiMAX vendor Soma Networks announced it has scored new $51 million round of financing. Article > The uptake of mobile data and the 3G iPhone. Editorial > Italian operator 3 Italia has deployed enhanced-HSPA using equipment from Ericsson. Article > > O2 follows BT, plans 100mbps broadband offers. Article And Finally... [...]

What is up with AT&T and its intentions to offer iPhone users free WiFi access at its 17,000 hotspots? The operator keeps dangling the carrot in front of iPhone users only to yank it back again. Last week, the company posted a web page promoting free WiFi access for iPhone users at [...]

By Adlane Fellah At the end of March 2008, Maravedis' WiMAXCounts research logged nearly 2 million broadband wireless access/WiMAX subscribers. From fourth-quarter 2007 to first-quarter 2008, subscriber quarter-to-quarter growth was 19 percent and we have noticed the same quarterly growth trend since first quarter 2007. With a residential monthly [...]

FierceBroadbandWireless has learned Sprint has withdrawn from the The Next Generation Mobile Networks (NGMN) Alliance, a group of global mobile operators that banded together last year to push for a common vision for networks and technologies beyond 3G. The operator was a founding member of the NGMN. Sprint said it ended its [...]