Cricket Wireless to Become a National Carrier?

Cricket Wireless is known as one of the best pre-paid carriers in the country. However, this company serves 5.3 million prepaid customers in select communities in 25 states and it is projected to expand in the next few years. Well, Cricket Wireless may decide t enter the national scene in the near future.

Al Moschner, the executive vice president and chief operating officer of Cricket Wireless recently told Kent German of CNet that,

It's about national reach. An important part of our strategy is to become national. We're not going to stop building out our own infrastructure, but given that real growth in the industry is with prepaid users, we need to be a national carrier today. And more importantly, if you believe that a significant shift of sales is moving to a national carrier footprint, the only way for us to be relevant is to be national.

Moschner also talked about smartphones, music services, 4G plans and other endeavours.

Head on to CNet to read the entire interview.

That's it for this post. Stay tuned regularly to get more news on wireless networks.

The Best Verizon Wireless Mobile Phones for 2010

The official announcement of the Motorola DROID 2 for Verizon Wireless has inspired me to publish a list of the carrier's top mobile phones. Verizon has really worked hard to combat the iPhone 4 this year and its line-up has been great so far.

Here's my list of the top Verizon Wireless cell phones for 2010:

• Motorola DROID 2
• HTC DROID Incredible
• Motorola DROID X
• BlackBerry Bold 9650
  
• Palm Pre Plus
• LG Ally
• LG Fathom

The best Verizon Wireless mobile phones list is dominated by smartphones. That's mainly because smartphones have begun to bridge the gap between business-centric devices and feature phones. They now offer entertainment features alongside its business centric functionalities.

That's it for this ist of the top Verizon Wireless cell phones for 2010. Tune in to this blog for more lists.

T-Mobile Wireless Network Outage

A number T-Mobile customers were recently alarmed when they found that they were unable to contact family and friends visa their handsets. Text and voice communication across the country were being disrupted for unknown reasons.

Fortunately, the company moved quickly to fix the T-Mobile current outage. Rapid response teams were mobilized to restore service as quickly as possible to appease customers who are experiencing voice and data outages.

The company did not mention the scope or severity of the T-Mobile current outage. However, a press statement did indicate that approximately 5 percent of T-Mobile customers are experiencing service disruptions.

After several hours, another announcement was released indication that the T-Mobile current outage has been fixed. The rapid response team has done its job and all voice and data services had be restored.

Unfortunately, the cause of the incident is still being investigated. This probably means that the cause is still unknown and the outage may may happen again.

T-Mobile appears to be on shaky ground. This problem occurred recently after the serious service interruption for its Sidekick line of devices. I hope that the carrier can fix its problems and focus on providing quality service.

That's it for this post on the T-Mobile outage,. Tune in more to this blog for the latest news and information on the wireless network industry.

Sprint to Purchase the iPCS Wireless Network

The powerful Sprint wireless network is planning to gobble up another minor carrier. The major US wireless service provider is in the process of assimilating Virgin Mobile and just announced plans to buy its affiliate, iPCS.

iPCS wireless is a company that has acquired exclusive right to sell wireless mobility communications network products and services under the Sprint brand in 81 markets including markets in Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio and Tennessee. This regional wireless network serves an estimated 710,200 subscribers.

Sprint and iPCS has been a fixture of the wireless network news lately as the regional network has sued the larger network over a number of reasons, including breach of contract. However, as part of the merge all of the litigation concerning both companies will cease.

The Sprint acquisition of iPCS is ertimated to involve $831 million. The deal also involves assumption of $405 million of net debt. The deal is expected to be completed by late 2009 or early 2010.

AT&T 3G Network Map

AT&T's 3G network is one of the fastest wireless networks in the US and in North America. The company is the process of moving into the faster 4G technology called LTE but the current 3G speeds are still capable of providing efficient and quality service.

One look at a AT&T 3G network map will tell you that it covers nearly every area in the nation. It's influence and coverage reaches over all states and nearly encompasses the whole country. But what is 3G anyway? What are it's uses and benefits?

Let's delve deeper into this topic.

This nationwide wireless network uses HSDPA/UMTS technology (High Speed Downlink Packet Access/Universal Mobile Telephone System) to provide users with accelerated data speeds. This service is also able to offer quality wireless voice and data experience by providing simultaneous voice and data capabilities.

Over the years, the wireless service provider has built the network into a nationwide entity. Checking out the AT&T 3G network map will show the areas that are covered by this service.

The company's website offers a coverage viewer that allows users to look at a number of AT&T 3G network map that helps to determine if an area is being served.

The BroadbandConnect network of AT&T is currently live in over 13,000 cities and towns and along nearly 40,000 miles of highway. Most major metropolitan areas in the nation can enjoy the benefits provided by this high-speed wireless network.

Big Blue's HSDPA/UMTS technology provides:

• faster on-demand viewing of high quality video clips
• faster wireless Internet faster and significantly lower wait for page loads
• significantly faster files download and email access
• efficient Multi-tasking

That's it for this post on the AT&T 3G network map. Just check out the coverage viewer if you want to find out about the service in your area.

Review of Cell Phone Carriers

The competition in the mobile phone industry is very tight. Millions and dollars are involved and US carriers are constantly jostling for position in an effort to get the most customers into their business.

So how does one determine the best deals or services in the market? Well, there are plenty of sources in the web that provide review of cell phone carriers and other information that would be useful to consumers. Some websites offer specific information such as cell phone plans comparisons or mobile phone comparisons to help a consumer to choose a specific rate plan or handset.

Review of cell phone carriers can provide the basic information on a service provider to give consumers an idea on the strengths or specialty of a company. For instance, carriers like Sprint or Verizon operate a CDMA wireless network so consumers know that GSM phones may not work with them.

Sources that provide review of cell phone carriers also offer information on the plans, exclusive handsets, mobile phone line-up, and other service details on a service providers. One can obtain the details if the carrier provides prepaid or postpaid plans and if they offer competitively priced plans and extensive international roaming.

The web also offers useful information on wireless network service providers such as customer service rating by J.D. Power and Associates and other performance related details. Fees and rates are also included in websites that provide reviews of the top service providers.

There is a wealth of information available online so I recommend every consumer to take advantage of it. The recession is making it tough to waste money so looking at reviews of mobile phone service providers can help one to save money. It may also allow you to save time. Most of the information is for free so there's no excuse to doing a bit of work.

That's if for this post on the importance of sources that provide review of cell phone carriers. Tune in to this blog to get more useful news and information on US wireless carriers.

AT&T 3G Network Upgrade Deployed!

AT&T has rolled out the new HSPA 7.2 speed for its nationwide 3G wireless network. I blogged about the plans for the AT&T 3G wireless network upgrade last June. It appears that the provider has successfully tested the improved speeds for its network.

The new and improved network with HSPA 7.2 data speeds will be launched by the end of the year in:

• Charlotte
• Chicago
• Dallas
• Houston
• Los Angeles
• Miami

According to the carrier's plans, the AT&T 3G wireless network upgrade with HSPA 7.2 data speeds is expected to be in effect in 25 of the top 30 markets. One of the goals is also to achieve the roll out in 90 percent of its 3G network area by the end of 2011. The company is also hoping to expects to have six HSPA 7.2-compatible smartphones available by the end of the year.

What are the updates involved in this major upgrade. Well, the carrier is also upgrading the backhaul connections at each tower location and providing each tower with faster data connections to the network and the Internet. This upgrades will allow the towers to HSPA 7.2 and the even faster LTE technology in the future.

John Stankey, president and CEO of AT&T Operations describe this 3G wireless network upgrade:

“Our deployment of HSPA 7.2 and supporting backhaul connectivity will enable our customers to continue to ride the leading edge of emerging devices and thousands of mobile applications. Our network is based on the predominant technology platform used by operators worldwide and has been tested by today’s most popular devices. That experience gives us an important advantage in developing and deploying new technologies to meet customers’ future needs.”

This roll-out may elicit a response form other wireless network providers. The other carriers may also improve their services to counter this AT&T 3G wireless network upgrade with HSPA 7.2 data speeds. Well, that's to the benefit of the customers. We'll enjoy faster speeds and improved mobile phones.

That's it for this post on the AT&T 3G wireless network upgrade with HSPA 7.2 data speeds. Tune in to this wireless network information blog to get the latest news and updates on mobile phone carriers.