Telefónica O2 UK unveiled plans for a "market-changing," free, public Wi-Fi network across UK. O2 Wifi will operate a series of premium hotspots managed through partnerships with key venue owners.
O2 said its aims to at least double the number of premium hotspots currently offered by BT Openzone and The Cloud combined by 2013. It will begin rollout immediately by replacing its existing 450 Cloud hotspots in its retail and office estate.
Access to the hotspots will be free to both O2 and non-O2 mobile customers. All hotspots will be premium public hotspots, as opposed to using residential connections with limited bandwidth.
In addition, O2 announced plans to increase investment in its mobile network by 25% in 2011.
"Building networks is a core capability. We have pioneered the explosion of mobile data over the last three years and know better than anyone where people are accessing data. O2 Wifi hotspots will bring high quality public Wi-fi access to the majority of mobile users," said O2's New Business Development Director Tim Sefton. "Only 20% of people who have access to free public Wi-Fi on O2 tariffs actively use it despite the majority of devices being Wi-Fi enabled. We know that Wi-Fi as a technology has great potential and can be a very fast service, however customers are discouraged by barriers which include complexity in activation, uncertainty of where Wi-Fi is free and the variable quality of the current experience.
The announcement comes as BSkyB reportedly is negotiating to acquire The Cloud. This deal would provide Sky's 2.8 million fixed line broadband customers with access to The Cloud's European network of 22,000 hotspots.
http://www.o2.co.uk/
O2 said its aims to at least double the number of premium hotspots currently offered by BT Openzone and The Cloud combined by 2013. It will begin rollout immediately by replacing its existing 450 Cloud hotspots in its retail and office estate.
Access to the hotspots will be free to both O2 and non-O2 mobile customers. All hotspots will be premium public hotspots, as opposed to using residential connections with limited bandwidth.
In addition, O2 announced plans to increase investment in its mobile network by 25% in 2011.
"Building networks is a core capability. We have pioneered the explosion of mobile data over the last three years and know better than anyone where people are accessing data. O2 Wifi hotspots will bring high quality public Wi-fi access to the majority of mobile users," said O2's New Business Development Director Tim Sefton. "Only 20% of people who have access to free public Wi-Fi on O2 tariffs actively use it despite the majority of devices being Wi-Fi enabled. We know that Wi-Fi as a technology has great potential and can be a very fast service, however customers are discouraged by barriers which include complexity in activation, uncertainty of where Wi-Fi is free and the variable quality of the current experience.
The announcement comes as BSkyB reportedly is negotiating to acquire The Cloud. This deal would provide Sky's 2.8 million fixed line broadband customers with access to The Cloud's European network of 22,000 hotspots.
http://www.o2.co.uk/
SK Telecom anticipates launching commercial LTE services in Seoul by July this year and plans to expand the service to the Seoul metropolitan area and six other metropolitan cities by 2012. The service will become nationwide by 2013.
to perform a substantial network modernization in the north of the UK. The partnership will deliver greater coverage, voice and data capacity for O2 customers via a new generation network, specifically designed to handle significant growth in smartphones and smartphone applications. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Qualcomm reported record quarterly sales of $3.35 billion, up 25 percent year-over-year and 13 percent sequentially. Operating income: $1.11 billion, up 26 percent y-o-y and 33 percent sequentially. Net income was $1.17 billion, up 39 percent y-o-y and 35 percent sequentially. It was the best quarter in the company's history.
issued a conditional waiver of the Ancillary Terrestrial Component (ATC) Integrated Service Rule to LightSquared. This waiver will allow LightSquared's wholesale customers to provide either dual-mode or terrestrial-only devices as part of an integrated satellite-terrestrial broadband service. 
has acquired SpectraLinear, a start-up offering integrated timing chips, for approximately $40 million. SpectraLinear's family of low-power, highly programmable and small-footprint silicon clocking solutions is optimized for consumer electronics and embedded applications such as portable media players, residential gateways and digital cameras. 
announced the addition of Ericsson, Juniper Networks and Nokia Siemens Networks to the list of major sponsors of its upcoming "Inside the Network" event, which is scheduled for May 17-20 in Dallas, Texas. Other major participants include Alcatel-Lucent, GENBAND, and Walker and Associates.
