 RAIN 9/29: That 4th "G" should mean a bigger, faster wireless network ·Sep 29, 12:36 PM SPRINT, OTHER CARRIERS PREPARE NEW NETWORKS TO TRY TO KEEP UP WITH AVALANCHE OF WIRELESS DATAThe fourth-generation wireless data network — called 4G — connects Sprint customers with smartphones and laptops in the U.S. to the Net at rates as high as four times the current “3G” systems. Sprint offers its version of 4G in select areas of the country now, most competitors will offer some flavor of it in the next few years.
Sprint’s 4G is actually based on Wi-Max, designed as long-distance wireless service for home and office network (and covered extensively in RAIN), not mobile phones. Rather than Wi-Max, other carriers plan to use the global standard called L.T.E. for their 4G solutions. L.T.E. reportedly has a higher traffic capacity than WiMax, and uses radio frequencies that can penetrate buildings better than Wi-Max. Verizon Wireless will begin its 4G network rollout by It’s been well-documented that many Apple iPhone customers are very disappointed in the voice performance of the AT&T network their devices use (see RAIN here). AT&T says the iPhone has caused a 5000% growth in data usage over the past 3 years (see RAIN here). In addition to network upgrades, carriers are petitioning the FCC for more spectrum. Sprint 4G is now available in Baltimore, Portland, OR, and other cities, covering eight million people. By the end of next year, the goal is to add Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, New York, San Francisco and other markets to reach a third of the U.S. population. Next year, Sprint will introduce smartphones that can use the faster 4G networks where they are available. Read more from the New York Times here. GOOM RADIO CEO STEPS DOWNGoom Radio CEO Rob Williams is stepping down, according to a report from paidContent. Williams, the former president and market manager for Clear Channel in New York, started with Goom Radio in January. PaidContent observes, “the departure is surprising not only because Williams is leaving so soon but also because the company had raised $16 million in a first round of funding a few months ago.” Online ad rep firm TargetSpot recently announced (see RAIN here) that it will sell ads for Goom Radio on an exclusive basis. Read PaidContent’s coverage here.
SQUEEZEBOX HOSTS EXCLUSIVE PRE-RELEASE STREAMING OF QUEEN HITS COMPILATIONFans of Queen who own a Logitech Squeezebox Internet radio device can, starting today, stream the band’s new “best of” collection in advance of its official 11/16 release date. Users can select the Queen Absolute Greatest “app” on their radio to stream the entire collection, access photos, lyrics and track-by-track commentaries. For more on the Queen pre-release, see T3 here. Logitech recently added two touch-screen devices to its lineup (see RAIN here). share: del.icio.us.  Reddit  Digg  Yahoo  Wink  Windows  Google  Newsvine 
CommentCommenting is closed for this article.  Other stories RAIN has upgraded (and moved)! RAIN 9/13: RAIN Summit Chicago takes place today! RAIN 9/12: First Summit in RAIN's hometown takes place tomorrow RAIN 9/9: Summer holidays, "doldrums" impact July Webcast Metrics, but audience up over last year RAIN 9/8: Clear Channel launches new customizable iHeartRadio beta; RAIN goes hands-on RAIN 9/7: Meet more speakers you'll hear at RAIN Summit Chicago in less than a week RAIN 9/6: Clear Channel taps The Echo Nest to take on Pandora RAIN 9/2: RAIN reviews Spotify's radio-like product Artist Radio RAIN 9/1: UK online radio aggregator Radioplayer campaigns b'dcasters to create "all radio" ratings RAIN 8/31: Execs from Merlin, Triton Digital, jacAPPS and more to appear at RAIN Summit Chicago |
mid-2010, and AT&T a year later. 
