 RAIN 9/29: That 4th "G" should mean a bigger, faster wireless network ·Sep 29, 11:36 AM 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 
Comment Other stories RAIN 9/2: Apple makes iTunes experience more social, more "radio-like" RAIN 9/1: FilterMusic.net excels at helping you discover new streams RAIN 8/31: Pandora's Les Hollander to speak at RAIN Summit East RAIN 8/30: Former Forrester analyst to deliver second keynote of RAIN Summit East RAIN 8/27: Radio vet Bill Gamble to consult AccuRadio's country stations RAIN 8/26: Clear Channel's digital chief Evan Harrison to leave at end of year RAIN 8/25: Pandora spotlights improved "genre-based" listening options RAIN 8/24: NAB presents details of proposed royalty settlement to members RAIN 8/23: Mobile media growth will even outpace Internet, predicts Nielsen RAIN 8/20: New deadline for Internet Radio Awards is August 31 |
mid-2010, and AT&T a year later. 
