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AT&T has talked to smaller rivals about divesting spectrum and customers in an effort to salvage its deal with T-Mobile USA, according to Bloomberg.

AT&T has talked to MetroPCS Communications and Leap Wireless about selling some of its assets. The telecom giant is also talking to CenturyLink, Dish Network, and even Sprint Nextel--which has opposed the deal--about their interest in buying assets.

AT&T has been scrambling to save a deal that was put in jeopardy when theU.S. Department of Justice recently sued to block the merger, which would create the nation's … Read more

Verizon Wireless plans to launch a cheaper contract-free plan nationally this week, allowing it to better compete for bargain-seeking consumers.

The nation's largest wireless carrier will offer the plan, which includes unlimited calling, text messages and Internet use for $50 a month and is known as "Unleashed," on Thursday, according to the Dow Jones Newswires. The offer will be available in Verizon stores, Best Buy, Wal-Mart and Target.

Verizon's move underscores the growing allure of the prepaid business as one of the last areas of growth in the wireless industry. Verizon has long held a lackluster … Read more

T-Mobile USA may look to split itself into pieces for multiple buyers if its deal with AT&T falls through.

That's according to Mizuho Securities analyst Michael Nelson, who said in a research note issued today that companies such as MetroPCS, Leap Wireless, and U.S. Cellular have significant interest in picking up new markets. T-Mobile could also break itself up into multiple parts as part of a divestiture plan that AT&T would work out with regulators to get approval for the deal.

"Our analysis indicates MetroPCS, Leap, and U.S. Cellular could have significant … Read more

The prepaid business, long an engine of growth for the wireless industry, is starting to sputter.

TracFone, MetroPCS, and Leap Wireless all reported disappointing second-quarter financial results. The period is typically weaker for the prepaid providers as the business takes a breather following two consecutive quarters of growth.

But their performance fell below even the lowered expectations placed on them, underscoring the pressures that the companies face with intense price competition and a still weak economic environment. Furthermore, some of the companies warned of a weaker third quarter, leading some to wonder if the prepaid business is poised for slower … Read more

Verizon Wireless is expected to end up as the carrier with the most momentum in the second quarter when the dust settles after earnings reports, which will begin in earnest in two weeks.

An impressive quarter for Verizon's version of the iPhone 4, along with strong interest in the company's speedier 4G wireless network, helped it add an estimated 1 million customers. Best of all, they're the kind of customers willing to sign up for long-term contracts. A recent study by Localytics showed that Verizon already accounts for a third of all U.S. iPhone 4s, an impressive statistic considering the phone's February debut.

Certainly, Verizon can thank the iPhone for its expected strong showing. But there's another factor: an established, speedy 4G network. Sprint Nextel saw similar benefits from its 4G network in past quarters and, no surprise, AT&T has moved up its timetable for deploying its own next-generation network, which uses a technology called Long-Term Evolution.

Verizon's shiny new wireless network unsurprisingly drew in a lot of curious consumers. By comparison, Verizon's rival carriers saw only modest customer growth, while a few lost customers in the period. Sprint, which also has a 4G network--that doesn't look quite so superior anymore with Verizon in the game--is expected to lose contract customers.

Regardless of whatever losses Sprint might experience, 4G networks remain crucial to the carriers' efforts to lure customers, particularly customers who are willing to sign up for long-term contracts. Such customers are highly coveted because they're less likely to leave the carrier and more willing to spend additional money each month for the best smartphones and service plans. Prepaid customers, on the other hand, aren't bound by contracts and can leave anytime, and they're more likely to look for the best price regardless of carrier. … Read more

Leap Wireless apparently has a hit on its hands with its fledgling Muve Music service.

The company, which sells prepaid wireless service under the Cricket brand, said its music download service has surpassed 100,000 customers and 100 million song downloads after five months.

Muve's milestone is a positive for a company that has been attempting to catch up with the smartphone and 4G craze. The company has hoped that Muve, which is a music download and rental service, would draw in customers as it began rolling out its lineup of smartphones.

In comparison, Apple's iTunes took 15 … Read more

Al Moschner probably wouldn't blame you if you've never heard of Cricket Wireless. But if he has his way, you'll know about his company soon enough.

As the executive vice president and chief operating officer of the nation's seventh-largest wireless carrier, Moschner directs marketing and branding efforts for Cricket's products and services. A subsidiary of Leap Wireless International founded in 1999, Cricket serves 5.3 million prepaid customers in select communities in 25 states, or about a third of the country. Though that focus has served Cricket well over the past year--total revenues for parent company Leap Wireless increased 10.2 percent from the second quarter of 2009 to the same period this year--the carrier isn't standing still. Even as it stays true to its prepaid roots, it is embarking on plans to attract new customers, expand into smartphone content services, and develop the network necessary to become a national carrier.

Last Tuesday, just before Cricket released its first smartphone, the Sanyo Zio, Moschner dropped by CNET's San Francisco offices to talk about how his company and the wireless industry is changing. We covered a range of topics, including the growth in prepaid, an impending music service, cheaper data plans, and, of course, a CDMA iPhone.

Q: You operate your own network, yet you also act as an MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) for Sprint. Why be an MVNO, too? Why not just funnel people onto your own network? A: 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.

Q: What's driving the growth in prepaid? Is it just the economy? A: The economy is a very significant piece of it. It's forcing people to question if they can afford a $100-per-month wireless bill. The second is that folks are looking for value. We provide value in our space. We can offer voice and data much cheaper than other carriers. The third point is that consumers are no longer viewing prepaid as something that only someone else buys. There used to be that overhang in [prepaid] for good reason. If you go look at what prepaid was 15 years ago, it was more expensive than postpaid, it offered crummy devices, and it was difficult to get. Now, all of that has changed and prepaid has gone mainstream. We're offering just about everything that the major carriers offer, but at prices that are very compelling.

… Read more

Doing it's best to compete with handheld devices like the Nintendo DS and even the iPhone and iPod Touch, LeapFrog has announced its next-generation Leapster educational gaming device, the Leapster Explorer.

This Explorer features a sharper, 3.2-inch 420x420-pixel touch screen and improved processing power that allows the device to run video, 3D graphics and Flash-based games. The $69.99 Explorer launches on July 12 with 12 games and 18 Leaplet Learning Apps, which are are akin to some of the smaller, simpler educational games found in Apple's App store. A two-pack of the Learning Apps will run $… Read more

Reports are still scattered, but after testing our own PS3, it appears the global 8001050F error that left most non-Slim PS3 consoles essentially unplayable seems to be fixed. We're guessing this issue was corrected on the server side of things, as there was no update or download required; our console just worked.

Even better, all trophy and game save data remains intact, so worries about corrupted information can be put to rest.

We still don't have an official word from Sony, but it looks like the worst is behind us. That said, we'd still recommend waiting for … Read more