Policy

Wave Broadband buys fiber partner

January 10, 2013 3:04 pm | by Brian Santo | News | Comments

Expanding its Northwest footprint, Wave Broadband has acquired a fiber network operator that specializes in high-capacity links to public and business customers. Wave Broadband’s parent, WaveDivision Holdings, paid $50 million for Black Rock Cable, which provides fiber connectivity in northwest Washington State.

Report: Sprint doesn't see need to up Clearwire bid

January 10, 2013 3:01 pm | by Ben Munson, Wireless Week | News | Comments

Sprint isn't sweating Dish Network’s offer to buy Clearwire for $3.30 per share, an 11 percent increase over its $2.97 offer, and doesn't foresee needing to up its bid in acquiring a 100 percent stake in the WiMAX provider. Clearwire stock rose 8 percent on news of Dish’s offer.

FCC to move on better Wi-Fi

January 10, 2013 2:57 pm | by Andrew Berg, Wireless Week | News | Comments

The FCC is pursuing a plan to open a nationwide swath of unlicensed spectrum specifically for the deployment of "Gigabit" Wi-Fi technology in major hubs, such as airports and convention centers. The plan increases the capacity and speed of Wi-Fi networks in public spaces.

Dish jumps in with unsolicited, $3.30-per-share offer for Clearwire

January 9, 2013 2:06 pm | by Ben Munson, Wireless Week | News | Comments

Dish Network has offered to buy up to all of Clearwire’s common stock at $3.30 per share in a proposed deal that would allow Dish to purchase some spectrum assets from Clearwire. Under the conditions of the preliminary offer, Dish would acquire approximately 11.4 billion MHz-POPs from Clearwire, or 24 percent of its total spectrum holdings, for $2.2 billion.

Aereo to make its streaming service available in 22 more cities

January 9, 2013 1:58 pm | by Mike Robuck | News | Comments

Bolstered by a $38 million second round of financing, controversial streaming provider Aereo plans on expanding its service to 22 more cities across the nation this year. Aereo launched its streaming service in New York City and was promptly sued by major broadcast networks.

Google to offer public Wi-Fi in NYC neighborhood

January 9, 2013 1:55 pm | by The Associated Press | News | Comments

Google said it is teaming up with a New York City neighborhood business group to provide the company's first urban Wi-Fi network. The network will be available free to about a 10-block area surrounding Google's offices in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood.

CES: Motorola provisions new media server for Verizon

January 8, 2013 3:42 pm | by Mike Robuck | Product Releases | Comments

Verizon’s new media server made its official debut at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, along with an IP-based set-top box. Motorola made both the media server and set-top box, with the former rumored to be in the works for some time.

Waz back at Comcast as senior strategic advisor

January 8, 2013 3:28 pm | by Mike Robuck | News | Comments

After semi-retiring last year, policy expert Joe Waz has returned to Comcast full-time as its senior strategic advisor. Waz had 17 years of service at Comcast prior to his retirement but remained active as a consultant for the company and the rest of the cable industry.

Can MVNOs help peel the cap off Big Data?

January 7, 2013 2:24 pm | by Ben Munson, Wireless Week | News | Comments

Imaginative minds have sometimes pegged the Internet as the new Wild West, a vast land of opportunity fraught with peril. That’s a bit of a stretch, but if there’s one ideal that should hold as true in this new frontier as it did in the old, it’s Roy Rogers’ plea to never fence him in

Rural proponents come out for LightSquared proposal

January 4, 2013 2:15 pm | by Andrew Berg, Wireless Week | News | Comments

A number of comments were filed with the FCC, encouraging the Commission to approve LightSquared’s most recent proposal to give up 10 MHz of spectrum located closest to the GPS band and instead share spectrum currently used by the NOAA.

CED Person of the Year

January 4, 2013 12:26 pm | by Brian Santo | Articles | Comments

For Cequel Communications Holdings, doing business as Suddenlink, 2012 was the occasion of a remarkably simultaneous culmination of several multi-year efforts. These efforts included both engineering and business aspects, which ultimately amplified each other.

Al-Jazeera buys Current TV from Al Gore

January 3, 2013 2:44 pm | by The Associated Press | News | Comments

Al-Jazeera has long struggled to get carriage in the U.S., and the deal suffered an immediate casualty as Time Warner Cable announced it is dropping Current TV due to the deal. Current TV is carried by Comcast and DirecTV. Neither company announced plans to drop the channel.

LodgeNet to reorganize

January 2, 2013 3:00 pm | by The Associated Press | News | Comments

LodgeNet, which provides Internet and on-demand movies to hotels and hospital rooms, is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and will be acquired by investment firm Colony Capital. LodgeNet says it will form a strategic partnership with DirecTV.

Sidera Networks merges with Lightower Fiber Networks

January 2, 2013 2:57 pm | by Mike Robuck | News | Comments

Berkshire Partners announced it was brokering a deal, which is valued at $2 billion, that will merge Lightower Fiber Networks and Sidera Networks once it’s completed. Sidera was formerly RCN Metro Optical Networks until Abry Partners spun it off from RCN.

FCC eases airlines’ path to in-flight broadband

January 2, 2013 2:49 pm | by Brian Santo | News | Comments

The Federal Communications Commission has adopted rules that will serve to help airlines more expeditiously roll out in-flight broadband. The rules streamline the process for airlines applying for a license to offer Internet service onboard during flights.