Mobility Watch

When Cingular Wireless bought the former AT&T Wireless for $41 billion a few years back and became the biggest cellular company in America, a lot of wireless wonks predicted the buyout would be a failure, and that Verizon Wireless would come back and catch Cingular.

Those wonks may still end up being right, at least about Verizon catching Cingular.  During the third quarter of 2006, for instance, Verizon added 1.9 million customers.  Cingular only added 1.6 million.  But Cingular is no failure these days.  With just-announced profit margins in the 40 percent range and a new Apple iPhone on its way in June, Wall Street loves Cingular and its parent company, which strangely enough is known as AT&T.

As Cingular adopts the AT&T brand, it would appear that the big are just getting bigger.  Verizon and Cingular are at each other’s throats over who’s best, particularly in terms of coverage.  T-Mobile. which has competitive signals in some, but not all, markets, can offer gimmicks like My Faves and tout the relative popularity of T-Mo’s cusomer service.

Carriers like Sprint, whose calling plans and data packages are some of the lowest in the industry, continue to struggle.  Customers find out the hard way that Verizon, with its reputation for best coverage, generally has the highest prices.  Cingular (AT&T) has poured millions into improving coverage and reputation the last few years, while generally undercutting Verizon’s prices.

As a result Cingular is enjoying the best of two worlds - it’s a “discount” carrier  (compared with Verizon, anyway) with coverage that has improved to the point that a lot of customers can’t tell the difference between Verzon and Cingular.  Until they look at their bills at the end of the month.

[via Business Week]

Since Apple chose Cingular (AT&T) as its carrier to roll out the new iPhone, does that mean there will never be a CDMA version of the device, and that Verizon and Sprint will never be able to sell it?

Apple’s decision to produce iPhone as a GSM cellular device has a lot to do with GSM’s predominant position as the cellular transmission system of choice worldwide.  About 70% of the world’s cell phones are GSM.  Certainly Steve Jobs envisioned marketing the iPhone on a worldwide basis.  And although Cingular (AT&T), a GSM carrier, has won first crack at marketing the iPhone here, there’s a strong possibility that iPhones could eventually be sold unlocked, to be used on any GSM system carrier, or that T-Mobile could wind up selling them as well.

But will Apple eventually want to go after Verizon and “the network”?  There are several good reasons for him not to.  For one, the CDMA system is awfully carrier-specific.  Steve Jobs likes the idea of controlling his product’s destiny.  He no doubt appreciates the fact that, if Cingular (AT&T) decided to stop marketing iPhones, he could cut a deal with T-Mobile in a heartbeat.  The GSM system allows for handsets to go from one carrier to another with little hassle.

On the other hand one carrier’s CDMA handsets are pretty much “locked in” to that carrier.  And the CDMA carriers maintain a lot of control over features.  Verizon Wireless is well known for disabling features like certain Bluetooth capabilities on some of its handsets.  Handset manufacturers have very little say in the matter.  Steve Jobs wouldn’t like that. 

Then there’s the matter of Qualcomm’s royalties for the CDMA system, which Apple would have to pay in order to make CDMA handsets.  Look how Steve Jobs rebelled against the idea of settling with Cisco over the iPhone trademark.  I’m sure Jobs doesn’t want share anything he doesn’t have to, when it comes to iPhone, including royalties.

While Verizon Wireless appears to be on the outside looking in when it comes to the iPhone, potential partners are reaping a windfall even before the handsets are built.  Foxconn International Holdings in China, which makes handsets for Nokia and Motorola, saw its stock jump 4 percent in a single day Friday when it was rumored to be in line to manufacture some or all of the new iPhones. 

Apple, iPhone, Steve Jobs, Verizon Wireless, Sprint, GSM, CDMA, Qualcomm

[via International Herald Tribune] 

We wrote about Sprint discontinuing its Fair & Flexible calling plans for new customers around the first of the year.  The move became official Thursday with the announcement of Sprint’s new Power Pack pricing plans.  Other than the 7PM night & weekend rate start time, there’s no gimmick for Sprint to woo new customers - nothing like Cingular’s rollover minutes or T-Mobile’s My Faves.

Sprint also announced brutal news this week for its workforce.  That workforce will be shrinking by 5,000 this year.  It’s part of the hangover from Sprint’s merger with Nextel, which has been drawn out and painful.  The biggest challenge has been hanging onto Nextel customers.  They’ve been leaving for other carriers because Nextel hasn’t been able to improve service and coverage as quickly as those customers would like. 

Nextel has been fighting to keep those customers by introducing “hybrid” phones that allow Nextel customers to access Sprint’s voice network when Nextel’s own network is unavailable.  Sprint Nextel will also invest $8.5 billion in 2007 to add more cell sites and build out its WiMax wireless broadband network.  Chicago and Washington will be the first cities to get that new technology. 

But Wall Street doesn’t like Sprint Nextel’s overall outlook.  The problem for any wireless carrier is, once you lose a customer to another carrier, it takes two years for that customer’s contract to expire before you can hope to woo that customer back.  It’ll take Sprint $1.1 billion just to cover marketing and handset subsidies this year, to try to do it.  The fact that Sprint doesn’t usually get first crack at the flashy phones like BlackBerry’s Pearl or Apple’s iPhone doesn’t help.

Sprint Nextel and its employees are going through some difficult times.  We’d hate to see them cash it in and be merged with some other wireless company.  Even those of us who aren’t Sprint customers benefit from increased competition.  If 4 major carriers in the U.S. (Cingular, Verizon, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile) were to become 3 carriers, the loss of competition would almost certainly lead to higher rates for us all.

Sprint, Nextel, Verizon Wireless, Cingular Wireless, AT&T, T-Mobile, Fair & Flexible, Power Packs, WiMax, Apple iPhone, BlackBerry Pearl 

[via CBR]

O.K., I promise I’ll try to sound just as excited about the MOTOKRZR K1 rollout on Cingular as I was about the iPhone.  Although even the Cingular Wireless people haven’t bothered to put out a news release on this.  (I guess they’re worn out from all the press hubbub that Steve Jobs’ little announcement caused for them.)

But if you head for Cingular’s website it’s there, all right.  It’s the official replacement for the V3 and it’s already appeared in a CDMA version for Verizon Wireless and Sprint.

When you get past the flashy, glossy front and dig into the phone you’ll find: 

The GSM version does NOT include 3G capability, but Motorola promises that this puppy is about as video-friendly as a non-3G phone can be.  It’s really all about multimedia capabilities.  And its slinky appearance, of course.  It may not be slinky enough to satisfy Steve Jobs, but then, what is?

Expect to spend $200 on this one after the usual incentives and 2-year commitment to Cingular.

Motorola, KRZR K1, Cingular Wireless, AT&T, iPhone, Steve Jobs, Verizon Wireless, Sprint

[via Motorola]

It’s incredible.  All Steve Jobs has to do is get up on stage, dangle a phone in his hand with Apple’s name on it, and by the end of the day stock in the parent company of BlackBerry drops almost 8 percent.

The iPhone may be one very cool product, but it can’t and certainly won’t replace BlackBerry.  Analysts like Michael Gartenberg at Jupiter Research are grousing about iPhone’s shortcomings, which include no 3G (third generation high speed data) capability, no third-party software capability (no Slingplayer!), and no support for Microsoft Office attachments.  And why didn’t Apple include wireless download capability from iTunes?

Then there’s Larry Dignan of ZDNet, who says his own Motorola Q handset feels like an Edsel next to iPhone.  Dignan predicts doom not only for Motorola, but for LG and Samsung to boot.  And as for Sprint, Dignan says Cingular’s marriage to Apple is the next to last nail in Sprint’s coffin.  (Yes, I’ve read the reports about Sprint’s layoffs and gloomy outlook for 2007.  iPhone is not Sprint’s biggest problem.  Not even close.)

Jeez, remember how expensive the iPhone is, and all the things it doesn’t do.  Dignan seems to think phones like BlackBerry’s Pearl will be relegated to the trash heap by Apple’s iPhone.  I think the opposite:  People who wander into a Cingular store to see the iPhone might just fall in love with the Pearl and everything it can do.  Especially when they realize they can buy three Pearls for the price of one iPhone.

Don’t get me wrong.  iPhone is a game-changing product for wireless manufacturers and service providers.  It’s liable to be the new phone of choice for the likes of Paris Hilton.  But it offers no serious advantages for business people, who will remain attached to their BlackBerrys or Palm Treos.  And for non-business users, any phone over $200 is a tough sell.  Never mind $500 or $600.

Eventually I believe Apple will extend its product line (just as it extended its line of iPods) to include lower-cost handsets, that appeal to “the rest of us”.  But by then, the other manufacturers will have developed handsets to compete with the iPhone’s heightened coolness factor.  The game may be changed by Apple’s iPhone, but the game is by no means over.

Apple, iPhone, Cingular Wireless, AT&T, Sprint, Palm Treo, Motorola Q, LG, Samsung, BlackBerry Pearl

A Mobility Watch reader named Wes wondered why he couldn’t locate the Motorola SLVR L7c phone, which had been announced by Sprint as coming soon, back in November.  He’d gone to the Sprint website, and his local Sprint store, and saw nothing.

He was going to the wrong place.

Everybody knows that if you want a Sprint phone, you don’t go to Sprint.  You go to Best Buy.

Huh?

It turns out that the MOTOSLVR L7c is a Best Buy exclusive.  It is unavailable from Sprint stores or Sprint’s own website. 

Here’s the deal.  It would seem that Best Buy is so big, so important to Sprint’s marketing strategy, that Best Buy is able to convince Sprint to make certain handset models available at Best Buy exclusively.  These models won’t even be available at Sprint stores.  Probably not ever.

If you’re working for Sprint and being judged on how many cell phones you can sell, this ought to make you crazy.  Why should the big retailer down the street get an offering from your own company, that you yourself can’t offer?

Then again - Sprint needs to have a presence in the big retail stores, because its competitors are there.  Sprint has had more of a business-focused client base and it especially needs to reach out to Joe Consumer, who shops at Best Buy, Circuit City, etc.  Sprint probably has no choice but to offer exclusives like the MOTOSLVR to Best Buy in order to keep that relationship and get shelf space, alongside Verizon and Cingular.

And Sprint may make more money in the long run letting other retailers sell its phones, than it makes selling them in its own stores.

This is the “Wal-Mart” effect:  Give in to the demands of the mega-retailers, because in the end you can’t survive without them.

Whatever the case, it’s confusing for customers who don’t get to see a cellular provider’s entire product line without having to go to multiple websites or several different stores.

But once you find the product, the good news is, the price is often lower at the big retailer than it would have been at the company store.  The $59.99 deal Best Buy is offering for the MOTOSLVR from Sprint beats the heck out of the $99.99 price Cingular charges for its MOTOSLVR on Cingular’s own website.

Sprint, Best Buy, Cingular Wireless, Verizon Wireless, Motorola, MOTOSLVR L7c, Wal-Mart 

The Wall Street Journal helped generate buzz about a possible buyout of Alltel, the fifth largest cellular carrier in the U.S.  It seems that its stock is a relative bargain and the company has very little debt.  And private equity takeovers of public companies are all the rage right now.

A private equity takeover of Alltel would probably mean practically nothing to its 11 million-or-so mostly-rural subscribers. 

So why are we talking about it here?

Because when a buyout this big is talked about, competing companies start thinking about whether they should offer their own bids.  In this case, both Sprint and Verizon Wireless would be candidates, since they are the bigger service providers, and use the same CDMA technology as Alltel uses to route their calls. 

So Alltel customers might wind up as customers of Sprint or Verizon, whether they like it or not.

For Verizon Wireless, the biggest obstacle to acquiring Alltel might be the Federal Trade Commission, which might object to already-big Verizon getting much bigger.  Verizon would probably have to dump subscribers in some areas where it currently competes with Alltel.

For Sprint, the biggest obstacle to acquiring Alltel is the fact that the company has struggled after it acquired Nextel. 

For wireless customers generally, there’s a delicate balance between having enough competition to keep prices low, and having your provider be big enough to give you decent nationwide (or worldwide) coverage.  Alltel’s existing service and roaming agreements with Verizon Wireless seem to make its subscribers happy. 

So there are lots of good reasons why Alltel could and should remain independent - even if it does get swallowed up by private equity money. 

Alltel, Wall Street Journal, Verizon Wireless, Sprint, Nextel

[via Wall Street Journal]

Every time someone tells me they’re about to announce the “next big thing”, I say to myself, “Yeah, sure!”. 

Unless it’s coming from someone responsible for the last big thing.  Someone like Steve Jobs.

So here’s another “next big thing”.  And Stevie has nothing to do with it.

The concept:  In-car WiFi.

AutoNet Mobile, the “first ISP for cars”, is creating a black box device that’ll hook up to your car’s cigarette lighter, assuming it isn’t already crammed with other device chargers or portable GPS units.  It’ll get third-generation (3G) high speed broadband hookups via both Sprint and Verizon Wireless, and distribute them to all the laptops, handhelds and other WiFi devices in your car.

Price:  $399 for the box, $49 a month additional for the service (even if you already have a broadband card from Sprint or Verizon).

I have two takes on this.  Take one:  Unless you have three kids in the back, each with a laptop, wanting Internet access at the same time, getting a simple broadband card directly from the wireless carrier would seem to make more sense.  Hmmmmm.

Take two:  It’s reported that this system will be made available in some Avis rent a cars for $11 a day.  That could make some sense, for travelling business people.  And there will be mobile-based businesses which will get some use of it.  Along with police, fire, disaster relief and other government agencies that operate on the go.  One rolling WiFi unit could theoretically connect an entire remote command center.

This “next big thing” will be demonstrated - where else? - at the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas next week.  Where so many “big things” happen.

Mobile WiFi, Verizon Wireless, Sprint, Consumer Electronics Show, AutoNet Mobile

[via AutoNet Mobile, ComputerWorld]

When we last spoke about Sprint’s impending Motorola Q handset rollout, we said it might happen in December, or it might happen in January.

Update:  Forget about December.  Think January.  Sprint now says its Motorola Q will be available online and through its business channels later this month.  If you want to see it in a Sprint retail store, think February.

Sprint’s version offers NFL Mobile capability, the Sprint Powerdeck and its On Demand web content services.  It’ll also have the same Microsoft push email, Windows Mobile features and EV-DO third-generation broadband capabilities as the Verizon Wireless Q has.

LAPTOP Magazine got a review version of the Sprint Moto Q and gripes that it runs a tad slower than Verizon’s, and that it’s not quite as snazzy as Cingular Wireless’ Samsung Blackjack.  But - and this is a big but - Sprint’s unlimited monthly data package at $15 is way cheaper than Cingular’s $39 or Verizon’s $40.  For Sprint customers looking for a smartphone, Laptop says it’s the ”best option for the money”. 

According to Laptop Sprint will sell the Q for about $200 with incentives and 2-year commitment, which is $50 more than Verizon wants for a similar Black Motorola Q, and $100 more than Verizon’s original silver Motorola Q. 

But with much-cheaper unlimited data prices, you’ll save big bucks in the long run with Sprint’s version.

Motorola Q, Sprint, Verizon Wireless

[via Sprint, Brighthand, Laptop]

We’ve heard about YouTube’s deal with Verizon Wireless to provide some of its user-created content over V-Cast-equipped handsets.  We’ve also heard that the content will be edited, which means a lot of the most compelling must-see stuff may be deemed inappropriate for a Verizon-branded service.

Enter MyWaves, Inc. which has just launched its own video service, by repackaging video content from other sites including YouTube, Comedy Central, CNN, VH1 and more.  Mywaves promises you the opportunity to create your own channel lineup along with automatic text message updates when new material you’ve chosen is available for viewing.

And unlike Verizon Wireless’ YouTube offering, there’s no charge for MyWaves’ service, other than the data download expenses involved.  Now the fine print - this service will work best with 3G (third generation) high speed data capable handsets, and they have to be capable of running Java applications.  But they’re signing up customers from the four major U.S. cellular carriers - Sprint, Verizon Wireless, Cingular Wireless, and T-Mobile.

The developers of MyWaves promise that instead of editing (or censoring) material, they’re grouping content into channels that will make it easier for you to get to see whatever it is you’re looking for, from the comfort of your 2 inch handset screen.  They claim it’s designed “similarly to the way Apple created iTunes”. 

Whatever.  We won’t argue with free stuff, this early in the new year.

MyWaves, Cingular Wireless, Verizon Wireless, YouTube, T-Mobile, Sprint, user created video, iTunes

[via Slashphone, MyWaves]

If you’re a Sprint customer and you’re happy with its “Fair & Flexible” plans that give you a nice break on overage minutes, just hang onto your plan.

It’s reported that later this month, Sprint will be dropping “Fair & Flexible” in favor of a new set of “Power Pack” calling plans that will pretty closely track offerings from Verizon Wireless and Cingular Wireless.

But if you’re a current ‘Fair & Flexible’ customer you’ll get to hang onto your plan as long as you don’t do anything to trigger a change in your contract status, such as buying a new handset or changing to a different calling plan.

Sprint spent big bucks promoting the advantage of reasonably-priced minutes for customers who go over their allotted minutes.  But Sprint claims fewer than 1 in 5 of its Fair & Flexible customers actually go over the limit.  Sprint will keep one advantage:  Night & Weekend Minutes starting at 7PM instead of 9PM.  (For an extra $5 a month, Sprint will offer 6PM N&W access.)

As Sprint drops ’Fair & Flexible’, carriers like Cingular (with ‘Rollover Minutes’) and T-Mobile (with ‘My Faves’) would seem to have a distinct advantage in the realm of airtime gimmicks.

Sprint, Fair & Flexible, Cingular Wireless, Rollover Minutes, T-Mobile, My Faves, Verizon Wireless

[via Phone News]

Here’s the word we get, as reported on Howard Forums:

“Effective January 21, 2007, the pay-per-use pricing for SMS and IM will increase to $0.15/msg. This will affect all postpaid and Pick Your Plan customers who do not currently subscribe to an SMS package.

Notification will be in the December bill and in SMS sent to Pick Your Plan customers.”

So the question being asked (and the issue for Cingular to resolve) is:  does this constitute a material change in your contract with Cingular, that would allow you to cancel your agreement with Cingular without penalty?

The answer appears to be no, if you don’t subscribe to any kind of rate plan for text messaging from Cingular.  (But you may want to argue the point.  Or an enterprising class action attorney might.)

If you do subscribe to a text messaging rate plan, affected by this price change, the following contract language may be of interest:

IF WE INCREASE THE PRICE OF ANY OF THE SERVICES TO WHICH YOU SUBSCRIBE, BEYOND THE LIMITS SET FORTH IN YOUR RATE PLAN BROCHURE, OR IF WE MATERIALLY DECREASE THE GEOGRAPHICAL AREA IN WHICH YOUR AIRTIME RATE APPLIES (OTHER THAN A TEMPORARY DECREASE FOR REPAIRS OR MAINTENANCE), WE WILL DISCLOSE THE CHANGE AT LEAST ONE BILLING CYCLE IN ADVANCE (EITHER THROUGH A NOTICE WITH YOUR BILL, A TEXT MESSAGE TO YOUR EQUIPMENT, OR OTHERWISE) AND YOU MAY TERMINATE THIS AGREEMENT WITHOUT PAYING AN EARLY TERMINATION FEE OR RETURNING OR PAYING FOR ANY PROMOTIONAL ITEMS, PROVIDED YOUR NOTICE OF TERMINATION IS DELIVERED TO US WITHIN THIRTY (30) DAYS AFTER THE FIRST BILL REFLECTING THE CHANGE. 

So if you DO subscribe to a package, make sure Cingular isn’t trying to raise your rate.

Otherwise, once your lawyer has gone over all this, you can write your cancellation note to Cingular and see if it sticks.  We suspect there will be many angry calls to customer service, and more than a few calls to retentions (that’s the department in charge of retaining customers who want to cancel). 

Keep in mind other carriers, particularly Sprint, have already upped their text price to 15 cents.  You may want to shop around, before you pull the plug.

Cingular Wireless, text messaging, SMS, IM, Sprint

[via Howard Forums, GigaOM]

Hybrid CDMA/GSM phones for international use are nothing new.  The Samsung a790 was introduced some time ago, and both Sprint and Verizon Wireless have offered it at one time or another.  Samsung is now updating the technology with its new W531, headed for Sprint (and also probably Verizon Wireless).

These combo phones operate with CDMA technology in the U.S., on the home networks of Sprint or Verizon.  Then when you travel to places like Asia or Europe where GSM wireless technology prevails, these hybrid phones are set up to use it, by roaming on local carriers.  These phones come bundled with flat rate roaming plans for use abroad.   This is not as cheap as buying a prepaid SIM card and putting it in an unlocked GSM phone, but it’s a lot more convenient.  And for busy international business travelers, convenience means a lot.

In spite of rumors that this phone might support the Sprint Music Store, we’re led to believe this will NOT be a multimedia phone (no memory card slot or dedicated media controls, etc.).  But it is much more stylish and compact than previous “world” phones. 

And if you have any ideas about using this phone to access GSM carriers in the U.S. like T-Mobile or Cingular, forget it.  This phone is NOT expected to support GSM frequences in the States.

No idea what the price will be, but based on previous experience with similar models expect it to cost at least several hundred dollars.

Sprint, Samsung, W531, Verizon Wireless, a790, GSM, CDMA

[via Geekzone, PCS Intel]

While Sprint customers wait patiently to be able to get the Motorola Q at all, Verizon has just rolled out its second color choice for the Q - black. 

Is it cooler looking than the silver version?  We think so.  However, the price for the black Q after incentives will be about $150.  That’s $50 extra you’ll have to pay versus the silver one.

The black one is packaged with a carrying case (instead of the dinky holster that comes with the silver one) and there are software updates on the new one.  And scratches probably won’t show up as much.

For now, the black Q is only available from Verizon online.  It’s not expected to show up in Verizon Wireless stores until after the first of the year.

And when you figure the price, don’t forget that Verizon’s entry-level voice/data plan for the Q (the so-called Data Choice Bundle) is $80 a month.  For those of us who aren’t on company expense accounts, that’s a lot of beans. 

And if you’re waiting for the rumored GSM version of the Q to show up, check back next year. 

Verizon Wireless, Motorola Q, black, Sprint

[via Verizon Wireless]

If you were Verizon Wireless, you were thrilled when you heard that a Consumer Reports survey ranked you #1 among wireless providers.

Then you read the rest of the article and found out that Verizon being “the best”, means it’s only slightly less lousy than all the others.

Cell service as a category ranks as “one of the lowest rated services that Consumer Reports tracks”.  With a satisfaction rating of 66 out of 100, it’s about as satisfactory as cable service or computer tech support.

If Verizon Wireless doesn’t have much to brag about, the ratings are a PR disaster for Sprint and Cingular.  Both were mentioned as “poorer” performers among U.S. carriers.

For Sprint’s part, a company spokesman admits they have a “perception problem“. 

Since cellular service quality varies greatly from city to city, Consumer Reports’ survey breaks each city out separately.  But since these are not posted online, you’ll have to buy the magazine, or glom onto a copy in the checkout line at the supermarket, to find out which carrier rates best where you are.

Verizon Wireless, Cingular, Sprint, Consumer Reports, cell phone service, cable service

[via Consumer's Union, Kansas City Star, Washington Post, Geek.com]