Carriers

ORLANDA, Fla.--After a slow start, the gloves came off at the CTIA panel of wireless CEOs hosted by CNBC's Jim Cramer here today.

Cramer, who was hosting the panel as part of the morning keynote at the CTIA 2011 trade show, started off the quick-fire discussion with AT&T wireless chief Ralph de la Vega, Verizon Wireless CEO Dan Mead, and Sprint Nextel CEO Dan Hesse by addressing the "elephant" in the room: AT&T's $39 billion proposed acquisition of T-Mobile USA, which was announced Sunday afternoon--two days before the big industry event … Read more

Verizon's 4G network proved the fastest and most consistent among those of the four major U.S. carriers, according to a study (PDF) out today by mobile testing company RootMetrics.

With the four (but soon to be three, what with yesterday's surprise announcement that AT&T plans to buy T-Mobile USA for $39 billion) major carriers all trumpeting the respective performance of their own high-speed mobile networks, RootMetrics set out to determine which was truly the speediest by testing 4G-capable phones from each one.

Included in the study were the HTC Thunderbolt running on Verizon's LTE network, … Read more

ORLANDO, Fla.--Sprint got an early start at CTIA 2011 today when it announced that it would add the Samsung Nexus S to its lineup. Not only will it be the first CDMA Nexus device--Verizon reneged on its promise to add the HTC Nexus One to its lineup--but also it's the first Nexus handset with support for a 4G network.

From the outside, Sprint's Nexus S is largely the same as its T-Mobile counterpart. It has the same sleek profile and shiny, polished exterior, and a 4-inch "Contour" Super AMOLED display.

Inside you'll see mostly … Read more

In a year from now, the chart that you see below you might be out-of-date. After the news broke that AT&T would be acquiring T-Mobile USA, one of the first concerns was if T-Mobile customers would be able to keep their plans. Thankfully,T-Mobile has released an FAQ that answered just that; T-Mobile will keep things as they are for about 12 months, and any agreement you enter into in the meantime will be honored once the changeover goes through.

But we wanted to see just exactly what T-Mobile customers might be giving up in terms of monthly … Read more

Just when CTIA 2011 was shaping up to be a snoozer, it suddenly got a lot more interesting today when AT&T announced that it was acquiring T-Mobile for $39 billion. A rumored acquisition of T-Mobile has long been percolating for a few months--up until today Sprint was listed as the likely buyer--but the news of AT&T swooping nonetheless is shocking. And as I see it, it's not very good for T-Mobile customers.

Absolutely, AT&T and T-Mobile are a natural fit on the surface. They both are GSM, they have broad international coverage, and … Read more

AT&T and T-Mobile rocked the United States this morning with merger plans that would make T-Mobile USA part of AT&T's empire. (That's assuming the buyout receives regulatory approval; until then, it's business as usual at T-Mobile for now.)

Both T-Mobile and AT&T have a claim to fame in recent smartphone history. AT&T was first to get the Apple iPhone, in an exclusive two-year deal no less, but it was T-Mobile that first got the Android ball rolling with the T-Mobile G1.

CNET will have much more news and analysis … Read more

AT&T announced today it had entered into an agreement to acquire T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom for $39 billion. The news was unexpected and sent the technology world into a frenzy, and naturally, it has many AT&T and T-Mobile subscribers wondering what's next.

Of course, T-Mobile customers have more to gain or lose in this deal, and to ease some of the early anxiety, the carrier has posted a FAQ on its Web site, outlining how the acquisition will impact their service.

For now, you won't see much of a change. T-Mobile will continue to act as an independent company until the merger goes through, which the company expects will take about 12 months. Until then, your service, data plans, selection of phones (read: no iPhone just yet), and billing will remain the same. In addition, T-Mobile states that any contract plans entered into before the change of ownership will be honored.

The carrier goes on to explain how the acquisition is good news for customers, as it will improve voice and data service and ensure 4G LTE coverage for 95 percent of the population--something T-Mobile says that neither it or AT&T could have done on its own.

We have reached out to T-Mobile for additional information on how the acquisition might impact the product portfolio, data plans, and contracts and will update this story once we have more information, but the carrier says that customers will receive advance notice of any changes to service.

Despite this reassurance, the reaction from T-Mobile customers has been apprehensive to say the least. Let us know what you think in the comments section below. … Read more

Just a month after we returned from Mobile World Congress, the wireless trade show marathon continues with CTIA 2011. As the larger of two annual events held by the industry's trade group, CTIA always delivers a batch of new handsets and a welcome focus on the U.S. market. After a few sessions in Las Vegas, the spring jamboree returns to Orlando, Fla., this year where it last made camp in 2007. CNET's entire team of wireless reporters and reviewers will be on the ground in Orlando to bring you the hottest news including a keynote address by the CEOs … Read more

It appears that Verizon Wireless won't be retaining exclusive rights to the Xoom for very long. Late yesterday an image of a Sprint-branded version of the tablet landed in an online forum.

Presumably, the device will be largely the same as the Verizon model, but it's unknown whether this edition will be ready to support Sprint's WiMax network out of the box. Sources close to site Android and Me have indicated that the Sprint model may come WiMax-equipped from the beginning.

The Verizon Xoom currently features 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity options with an option for users to … Read more