US 5G performance surges as carriers deploy mid-band spectrum

The US is experiencing a significant boost in 5G performance as major carriers deploy newly acquired mid-band spectrum. Recent data from Ookla's Speedtest Intelligence reveals substantial improvements in download speeds and network quality across the country.

T-Mobile has maintained its leadership position, leveraging additional 2.5 GHz spectrum acquired in Auction 108. The carrier's median 5G download speed increased by an impressive 29.64 Mbps in just one month, reaching 287.14...

24 June 2024 | 5G

AST SpaceMobile stock soars following Verizon partnership announcement

AST SpaceMobile stock soars following Verizon partnership announcement

AST SpaceMobile, a provider of satellite-to-phone services, saw its stock soar recently after announcing a partnership with Verizon. This deal follows the company's recent agreement with AT&T to provide remote coverage across the United States.

AST SpaceMobile is constructing satellites to deliver broadband service directly to unmodified smartphones, tapping into the emerging "direct-to-device" communications market. The company's chairman and CEO, Abel Avellan, hailed the...

30 May 2024 | AT&T

FCC fines major telcos for selling users’ location data

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has fined major US telcos for illegally selling their subscribers' location data to third-party data brokers.

According to an FCC statement, AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile US – the latter two having merged in 2020 – were ordered to pay $57 million, $47 million, $12 million, and $80 million, respectively, for their involvement in the unauthorised sharing of customers' sensitive location information.

"Our...

30 April 2024 | 5G

Glance eyes full US expansion with telco partnerships

Glance, a Google-backed Indian startup known for its smartphone lockscreen platform, is intensifying its efforts to penetrate the US market. This follows a recent pilot program with Verizon and Motorola.

Glance's platform offers customised content such as news feeds, local events, sports updates, media content, and interactive games without requiring additional app installations. The company has already made significant strides in the Indian market, Southeast Asia, and Japan after...

24 April 2024 | Operators

GSMA Open Gateway unlocks mobile network capabilities for developers

A new collaboration between the world's leading mobile operators will accelerate innovation across industries from finance and retail to transportation, healthcare, and beyond. The GSMA Open Gateway initiative provides developers simplified access to core network capabilities via open application programming interfaces (APIs).

Initially focused on security, new APIs for number verification and SIM swap detection are being implemented by operator groups across 42 countries so far....

23 February 2024 | 5G

Widespread cellular outage hits the US

A cellular outage has swept across large portions of the US, causing disruptions in services provided by major telecom companies including AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile.

Data collected from outage tracking website Downdetector revealed that more than 32,000 incidents were reported with AT&T's service around 4:30am Eastern Time. The outage affected cities including San Francisco, Houston, and Chicago, according to information displayed on the website.

Users of...

22 February 2024 | 5G

Verizon deploys over 130,000 O-RAN radios

Verizon has deployed over 130,000 O-RAN capable radios – including massive MIMO antennas – as part of 15,000 O-RAN compliant cell sites utilising virtualised baseband units. This marks a major milestone in Verizon’s transition to Open RAN architecture, which promises greater flexibility, innovation, and supplier diversity in the radio access network ecosystem. 

The open and interoperable interfaces enabled by O-RAN standards allow different hardware and software components...

6 February 2024 | 5G

Verizon will maintain controversial surcharge despite lawsuit

Verizon customers may soon receive payments up to $100 each as part of a $100 million settlement in a class-action lawsuit over its monthly "Administrative and Telco Recovery Charge." However, Verizon plans to continue charging the fee and may raise it further.

The settlement comes after a lawsuit alleged Verizon failed to properly disclose the nature and basis of the administrative surcharge, which helps fund regulatory compliance, taxes, and network operation costs. The fee...

16 January 2024 | Operators

Amazon could bundle wireless plans with Prime

Amazon is reportedly gearing up to offer wireless plans alongside its Prime subscriptions in the United States.

According to a Bloomberg report, the e-commerce giant has engaged in negotiations with major US operators including Verizon, T-Mobile, Dish, and AT&T to explore the possibility of leveraging their networks to provide wireless services.

The report further stated that Amazon could offer this service to Prime subscribers either as part of their existing...

5 June 2023 | 5G

Verizon finally shutters its 3G network

Verizon has switched off its 3G network following years of warnings to holdouts still relying on the legacy network.

Any customer using a 3G CDMA device that does not support newer technologies “will be suspended without billing and will lose the ability to call, text, or use data.”

The operator is the last of the US big three carriers to switch off its 3G network. The spectrum used for the network will be repurposed for newer technologies.

Customers have...

3 January 2023 | Networks