Carriers

LAS VEGAS--After months of trial tests in select parts of the country, AT&T announced Wednesday that it'll begin rolling out its 3G MicroCell femtocell solution nationwide beginning in mid-April. Yes, that will include San Francisco and New York City, two of the more maligned cities when it comes to AT&T coverage.

As a reminder, AT&T's 3G MicroCell acts as a mini cell tower in the home to improve both signal strength and data connections via your home's broadband connection. The 3G MicroCell unit will sell for $149.… Read more

LAS VEGAS--MetroPCS leaped ahead two of its larger rivals today when it announced that it would introduce 4G LTE networks in the second half of this year. The network, which will come first to Las Vegas, will run on a Samsung-powered infrastructure. Sammy also will provide Metro PCS's first LTE phone, the SCH-r900.

Samsung didn't reveal any details about the SCH-r900, but we know that it will run support CDMA and LTE. Metro PCS's remains light on smartphones so we don't expect the SCH-r900 to go that route. Previous Metro PCS Samsung handsets include the touch-screen … Read more

LAS VEGAS--To no one's surprise, Sprint kicked off CTIA 2010 here by announcing its first 4G phone. The HTC Evo 4G is not only the carrier's first WiMax cell phone--previously the carrier only has offered 4G laptop cards and the Samsung Mondi--but also the first commercially available 4G handset with a major U.S. carrier. The Evo runs Google Android OS 2.1; finally, a new Android phone meets the world with the latest Android OS available.

From the outset, the Evo is an attractive touch-screen device that closely resembles the HTC HD2. We got a taste of the Evo's candy bar design when photos of the HTC Supersonic leaked in late January. And in the end, the final product doesn't stray far from those initial impressions.

The massive 4.3-inch display is quite a looker. Its rich resolution and color support make for a pleasant browsing experience. The touch screen also appeared to be accurate and responsive in our brief hands-on. Below the display are four touch controls for the home screen, main menu, search, and backing out of a page. There's physical navigation control, but that's fine since we rely on the touch screen for most navigation anyway.

… Read more

LAS VEGAS--AT&T executives are pushing the government to allocate more spectrum for wireless broadband and back off on regulation in order to keep the mobile broadband growth engine revving.

Ralph de la Vega, head of AT&T Mobility and the new chairman of CTIA, and Randall Stephenson, the CEO of AT&T, each spoke at the CTIA 2010 wireless trade show here Tuesday about how the U.S. leads the world in wireless broadband, but they emphasized the need for more spectrum and a light regulatory touch from the government to keep the momentum going.

De … Read more

Though it feels like I just got off the plane from Europe and Mobile World Congress--and claimed my broken suitcase, thank you very much, Lufthansa--it's time to board another flight to another cell phone trade show. Next week, the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA) holds its spring wireless bash in Las Vegas. It's the larger of the industry association's two annual events and we're expecting to be busy chasing news. Though last year's show--check out this retrospective for a look back--was a bit quiet, a few trends are emerging for 2010. The fun … Read more

The cell phone has joined your passport and a power adapter as an essential tool when traveling abroad. And as any smart traveler can tell you, texting when roaming is much cheaper than making calls.

Normally, AT&T customers 50 cents per sent text message--and $1.30 per sent picture message--but today the carrier announced a new option for international texters. For $10 per month the new Global Messaging 50 Package lets customers send up to 50 text and picture messages from more than 90 countries. The plan will be available beginning March 20.

On Call runs every two weeks, alternating between answering reader questions and discussing hot topics in the cell phone world.

It wasn't so long ago that the cell phone world was just transitioning to 3G technology. But now, just as we're getting settled, the ever-restless industry is moving on again. Fourth-generation technology, or 4G, is gaining traction and carriers are promising even faster data speeds.

So what is 4G? To start, think of wireless technology as a family that gets faster with each generation. Second-generation (2G) networks were faster than the original first-generation wireless technology; third-generation (3G) is faster than 2G; and 4G is faster than 3G. Speed is important for data transmission (not so much for voice) because a faster network lets you do more with your phone. The 3G networks that we use today allow us to stream video, download music tracks and other large files, and surf the Web on full HTML browsers. Think of it like moving from a dial-up Internet connection to cable or DSL--suddenly you could do more with your computer and do it faster.

That's why it's easiest to think of 4G not in terms of what it is, but rather in terms of what it can do. While 3G offers data speeds of about 1.5 to 2 megabits per second (Mbps), 4G will double that--and it could go even faster. It's important to remember, however, that promises are just that. As any iPhone user can tell you, 3G speeds can vary widely in everyday use, so 4G performance won't always be perfect.… Read more

As part of Sprint's acquisition of Virgin Mobile, the carrier will cease providing postpaid service by May 25 of this year. While current Virgin Mobile postpaid subscribers won't be automatically transferred to Sprint, the company is giving a whole bunch of incentives for people to switch over. They include a $50 credit toward a Sprint postpaid handset with a new two-year agreement and an additional $150 off handsets as part of Sprint's new customer offer. Plus, Sprint will waive all activation fees.

Virgin Mobile began its outreach effort to existing postpaid customers as early as March 1, … Read more

Editors' note: Sprint also advertises on CNET.

We've always followed Sprint's television ads with interest, primarily because they've been a roller coaster ride. We were never fans of the black-and-white spots with CEO Dan Hesse, but we liked the most recent campaign that tried to demonstrate what users could do on the carrier's network at that given moment.

Now Hesse is back, and frankly his claws are out. On Monday, Sprint announced a new commercial that will focus on its "Any Mobile, Anytime" calling plan. In the TV spot, Hesse informs viewers that unlike … Read more