News Byte

Sprint Lights Up LTE in 22 More Markets

Sprint’s laggard 4G LTE network received a nice boost Monday as the carrier lit up LTE service in nearly two dozen cities, among them Miami and Tampa, Fla.; Napa, Calif.; Raleigh, N.C.; and Baton Rouge, La.. Those along with 17 others expand Sprint’s LTE footprint to 110 U.S. markets, and take the company closer to its goal of providing LTE service to 200 million people by the end of the year. By comparison, AT&T provides LTE service in 278 markets and Verizon in 497.

Samsung Is Building a Super-Fast LTE-Advanced Galaxy S4

Not much good without a ubiquitous LTE-Advanced network, though.
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AT&T Brings 4G LTE, New Plans to GoPhone Prepaid Service

Coming June 21, fresh plans, a new phone and faster data speeds.
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A View to a Cell: San Francisco Mobile Towers Get Prime Real Estate (Video)

Like anyone looking for a home, cell providers are seeking out prime locations with great views and an understanding landlord.
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SoftBank’s New Bid Gives Shareholders More Money, but New Sprint Would Have Less Cash

SoftBank is adding a little bit more cash to the deal, but much of the revision is in how much money is going to Sprint shareholders versus being invested in the new company.
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As Nextel Shutdown Looms, AT&T Plans to Bring Push-to-Talk to the iPhone

AT&T’s service will work on the iPhone 4S and iPhone 5, and support group calling with up to 250 people at once.
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AT&T Plans to Make Customers Wait a Full Two Years to Get That Phone Upgrade

Customers had been eligible for a subsidized phone upgrade every 20 months, but will have to wait the full two years starting with those whose contracts are up in March 2014.
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The Laws That Make It Easy for the Government to Spy on Americans

Laws both existing and proposed require companies to create back doors into communications products.
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U.S. Collects Vast Data Trove

The National Security Agency’s monitoring of Americans includes customer records from the three major phone networks as well as emails and Web searches, and the agency also has cataloged credit-card transactions, said people familiar with the agency’s activities.

What the NSA Wants to Know About You and Your Phone

Time for the boss (that would be us) to start asking questions.
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