As the week winds down join Wireless Week as we take a look back at the biggest stories in wireless from the past seven days.
Sprint Hacking Up AT&T, Verizon Wireless Bills
Today marks the start of Sprint’s outlandish offer to charge AT&T and Verizon customers half of what they are currently paying. Sprint CFO Joe Euteneuer, probably factoring in new device payments, said the offer will likely only save new subscribers about 20 percent. But he also said the carrier’s network overhaul is substantially complete so coverage and capacity could start looking up over at Sprint.
AWS-3 Auction’s Gaudy Revenue Keeps Climbing
The FCC’s ongoing auction for 65 MHz of AWS-3 spectrum is on pace to bring in more than the 2014 GDP of Serbia and it’s not even done yet. The proceedings will continue as long as new bids keep rolling in but this week the FCC switched up the bidding structure and shortened the rounds, probably to pick up the pace.
C Spire Does the Unthinkable with Mobile Data
C Spire’s latest offer got lost in the pre-Thanksgiving shuffle but it’s worth mentioning again. The Tier 2 carrier introduced three new plans that will allow subscribers to rollover unused data from month to month, like carriers used to do with minutes back when people cared about how many minutes they were using. Our Associate Editor Ben Munson went on record saying C Spire’s new deal is the best thing since sliced bread.
iPhone 6 Plus is America’s Phablet of Choice
The iPhone 6 Plus, Apple’s new 5.5-inch behemoth, has claimed 41 percent of the U.S. phablet market, according to Kantar. Phablet sales now account of 10 percent of the total, up from 2 percent last year. America isn’t quite all in on smartphones that can double as serving trays but it’s getting there.
Filed Under: Industry regulations + certifications
