Cellular

Verizon Wireless' plan to buy regional cell phone company Alltel will make it the largest cell phone operator in the country with more than 80 million subscribers. But for consumers, is a behemoth Verizon a boon or a beast?

That's the question that regulators will ultimately decide. The biggest fear for consumer advocates when companies merge is that consolidation means fewer choices for consumers, and fewer choices often leads to higher prices.

So far consumer advocates seem split on the issue.

"If the deal goes through, two companies, Verizon and AT&T, will control about 150 million … Read more

Monday could be the day that iPhone fans have been waiting for. According to News.com reporter Tom Krazit, who I interviewed for Thursday's Daily Debrief video, Apple CEO Steve Jobs will most likely announce big news on the second iteration of the phone at Monday's Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco. Updates could possibly include, but are not limited to, the inclusion of GPS, a slimmer body, and the ability to connect to the 3G network.

Traditionally, Jobs has used the WWDC to discuss changes to the Mac and OS X. This year, Krazit expects less sexy … Read more

Updated 12:34 p.m. PDT to correct the attribution of the cellular phone tracking story. The story that focused on the privacy issues was written by Seth Borenstein of the Associated Press.

Cell phone usage tracked in an undisclosed industrial nation revealed a majority of users tend to remain close to home for months at a time, according to a study conducted by Northeastern University and cited Wednesday in the journal Nature.

While the study of 100,000 cell phone users in a country outside the U.S. demonstrated that 75 percent remained within a 20-mile radius of their … Read more

The third time must have been the charm for Verizon Wireless and regional cell phone operator Alltel.

Verizon Wireless supposedly has looked at buying Alltel twice in the past three years. And on Thursday it finally pulled the trigger, announcing that it plans to buy Alltel in a deal valued at $28.1 billion. As part of the deal Verizon will pay $5.9 billion and assume $22.2 billion in debt. The acquisition will make Verizon Wireless the largest cell phone company in the U.S., stripping AT&T of that title.

Verizon Wireless expects to close the … Read more

Verizon Wireless is taking another look at buying regional wireless operator Alltel, according to a story published Wednesday afternoon by The Wall Street Journal.

The deal, which could be valued at around $27 billion, is at a sensitive stage and could fall through over the next few days, the newspaper reported.

Alltel was sold only last year for $27.5 billion to the buyout arm of Goldman Sachs and private equity firm TPG Capital. And, according to the Journal, the banks that financed the deal, including Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Barclays, and Royal Bank of Scotland Group, still owe about $24 … Read more

AT&T's wireless network has just gotten a little faster.

The company announced on Wednesday that enhancements to its HSPA, or High Speed Packet Access, third-generation cellular network will allow wireless laptop users to upload and download content from the Internet faster than they can with 3G services from other carriers.

The top three major wireless operators, AT&T, Verizon Wireless, and Sprint Nextel, have been touting the speeds and feeds of their 3G wireless networks for more than a year in an attempt to lure profitable business customers to their wireless laptop services. These services, which … Read more

Motorola is getting close to hiring someone to head up its soon-to-be-spun-off handset division, according to a story in The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday.

Hewlett-Packard executive Todd Bradley has emerged as one of two final candidates for the position, according to the article, which cited sources close to the situation. The newspaper reported that the other person under consideration for the position is a top telecom executive whose identity is still unknown.

Motorola, which said in March that it was spinning off the fledgling cell phone division, is supposedly considering two candidates. The Wall Street Journal contacted Bradley by … Read more

The Federal Communications Commission has scheduled a June 12 hearing to debate whether the agency should regulate early termination fees (ETFs) on cell phone contracts. According to The Washington Post, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin hopes to address growing consumer complaints over ETFs, which have become the subject of class action lawsuits in several states.

The FCC already is negotiating with several carriers on how it would assume federal oversight over EFTs, which currently are subject to state laws. The proposals include capping the fees at an undisclosed amount, requiring carriers to prorate ETFs, and prohibiting the providers from charging an … Read more

AT&T's free Wi-Fi access for Starbucks coffee shops is finally here.

Starting Tuesday, Starbucks coffee shops across the country are offering two hours of free Wi-Fi Internet service through AT&T. In order to get the free service, customers must buy a Starbucks Reward Card with a minimum of $5 credit on it. Customers also must sign up for the free Wi-Fi online at Starbucks.com. To keep the card active, customers must also use their Starbucks Card at least once a month.

The free service is only for two hours and must be used in … Read more