#TBT: iPhone comes to Canada; Testing AT&T’s MediaFLO service; Does the world need a wireless web? … this week in 2008

Editor’s Note: RCR Wireless News goes all in for “Throwback Thursdays,” tapping into our archives to resuscitate the top headlines from the past. Fire up the time machine, put on those sepia-tinted shades, set the date for #TBT and enjoy the memories!

How ’bout that iPhone, eh?

Rogers Communications Inc., the largest carrier in Canada with 7.3 million subscribers, said today it will offer Apple Inc.’s iPhone to its customers later this year. Rogers has about 37% of Canada’s approximately 20 million wireless subscribers and just reported robust profits, lower churn and an increase in ARPU, with a surge in data revenue. For Rogers, which emphasized its efforts to continue “strong growth,” the news may be important. But the relatively modest size of the Canadian market echoed the last two iPhone launches in Austria and Ireland. Details on timing and device and service pricing at Rogers remain to be announced. Rogers’ demurral had a familiar tone. “We can’t tell you any more about it right now, but stay tuned,” said Ted Rogers, CEO at the carrier, in a prepared statement. But in the context of Apple’s planned expansion to international markets, Canada resembles another baby step, after the iPhone’s blockbuster launch at AT&T Mobility in the United States last year. The American carrier, with more than 71 million subscribers, has so far been the engine propelling Apple towards its goal of 10 million units by year’s end. Apple’s second, third and fourth steps were also fairly prodigious strides, as Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile in Germany, the U.K.’s 02, and France Telecom’s Orange launched the device late last year. In contrast, Apple’s fifth and sixth international markets — 02 Ireland (1.6 million subscribers) and T-Mobile in Austria (2 million subscribers) — were decidedly minor incremental additions. … Read more

Alcatel-Lucent sees wider losses

Alcatel-Lucent’s first-quarter financials held few surprises, but the company’s new outlook — “flat” instead of the previous “flat to slightly up” — appeared to spook investors, who sent the company’s shares down around 4% to $6.74 per share on the news. Nonetheless, Alcatel-Lucent chief Patricia Russo said the company continues to hold on in a competitive market, explaining that “we are taking the right actions to position the company to take advantage of the long-term growth potential we see in the industry driven by new subscribers, more broadband deployments and video and data traffic growth.” Alcatel-Lucent reported revenues of $6 billion in the quarter, down half a percent from the same quarter a year ago. The company lost $148 million in the quarter, a wider loss than it reported in the previous quarter and a significant change from the $310 million in profit it scored in 2007’s first quarter. The results exclude expenses related to the integration of Alcatel and Lucent, and the company said they are largely what it expected. As for wireless specifically, Russo said “our wireless access business showed good resilience, as the expected decline in CDMA was more than offset by the strong year-over-year double-digit growth of our revenue in GSM, W CDMA and RFS.” … Read more

Testing AT&T Mobility’s MediaFLO mobile TV service

AT&T Mobility’s MediaFLO-based mobile TV service has not yet officially launched; after a couple of false starts, the carrier appears set to launch the service, along with a pair of devices, in the coming weeks. However, RCR Wireless News obtained an LG Electronics Co. Ltd. Vu handset that supports the service. After popping in our AT&T SIM card, we were able to purchase the AT&T Mobile TV with FLO service as an add-on for $15 a month. The service launched immediately and was working without error in our Los Angeles office. Unsurprisingly, the service offers many of the same features and functions as Verizon Wireless’ MediaFLO-based mobile TV (which runs on the same Qualcomm Inc.-built network). But what’s holding our attention right now is a channel on the AT&T programming guide with “CNCRT” as its call letters. “Coming soon. Concerts exclusively on AT&T Mobile TV with FLO,” the screen reads alongside a stock photo of Avril Lavigne. No sound, no moving pictures yet, just that single image staring back at us. AT&T declined to comment on what content will make its way to the channel once it’s live, but we’ve seen a few ads on the channels indicating bands like U2 and Dave Matthews Band might be hitting our LG Vu’s touchscreen soon. AT&T promises we’ll know more once the service launches. We also had fun comparing the service with our at-home programming. Network shows are re-broadcast multiple times throughout the day on the MediaFLO deck, for instance. CNN and ESPN frequently use larger, full-screen text blocks to make news nuggets easier to read. And, audio and video quality has been consistent when there is a solid signal for the service while some pockets we visited in the Los Angeles and Orange County area went completely dark. At times, one channel would come in clear, then another would take awhile to acquire a signal. … Read more

T-Mo offers prepaid for $1 a day

T-Mobile USA Inc. took the wraps off a new prepaid calling plan the carrier hopes will counteract growing competition in the prepaid sector. T-Mobile USA’s new Pay By The Day option costs $1 per day and allows users to place calls for 10 cents per minute. Users also get unlimited in-network calling all day, and unlimited nationwide, out-of-network calling in the evenings starting at 7 p.m. The plan stands as an alternative to T-Mobile USA’s current Pay As You Go prepaid offering, which does not include a daily access charge and offers tiered buckets of minutes starting at $10 for 30 minutes. The Pay As You Go offering also does not include unlimited in-network calling. With the successes of Tracfone, Virgin Mobile USA and others, the market for prepaid wireless calling in the United States continues to expand. … Read more

iPhone subsidy from AT&T

AT&T Mobility plans to subsidize the price for the 3G version of Apple Inc.’s iPhone by as much as $200, according to a report from Fortune. The wireless service provider believes it can attract more customers away from nationwide competitors Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel Corp. and T-Mobile USA Inc. with the attractive pricing. Today’s 2G version of the iPhone costs $400. According to Fortune, the new, subsidized iPhone would be locked to the carrier’s network and only offered at AT&T Mobility stores, not through Apple channels.
In reporting its first-quarter financials last week, AT&T CFO Rick Linder noted iPhone users were generating average revenues per user nearing $100 per month, and that more than 40% of customers purchasing the iPhone were porting from another carrier. AT&T also reported it counts 11 million smartphones on its network. … Read more

Is the mobile web ahead of its time?

Does the world really need a wireless Web? It’s a question that has come up repeatedly in the years following the introduction of WAP, the standard used to display Internet content on mobile phones. At the turn of the century, a number of companies invested heavily in the intersection of cellphones and the Internet. At the time, networks were slow, most phones had black-and-white screens, and there were few, if any, mobile-specific Internet pages. Most of those problems have now been resolved, but to this day it’s rare to find enthusiastic mobile Web surfers. Many expected the novelty of Internet information on cellphones to foster interest and draw users, but the wired Internet’s evolution into a multimedia smorgasbord of Flash animations, Ajax applications and Web 2.0 widgets serves only to highlight the limitations of mobile browsing. I’m not saying wireless data is a failure; data ARPUs from carriers are nearing 20%. However, research shows much of this revenue comes from messaging, gaming and other services, and not straight Web browsing. My point is that the promise of WAP has not really been fulfilled. The reasons are obvious. Even the industry’s most advanced phones balk at graphically rich Web pages with Flash, not to mention the networks such pages fly over. Indeed, full-bodied Web pages can slow desktop computers from just a few years ago. … Read more

Check out the RCR Wireless News Archives for more stories from the past.