AT&T’s 4G LTE network went live this past weekend in the Chicago area, and initial speed tests reveal impressive download speeds. AT&T has yet to announce the availability of LTE service in Chicago or any other launch market, but BGR has obtained exclusive images and speed test results from a source who has tested the network there. Ahead of an official launch, AT&T 4G LTE service is likely to be available only intermittently during testing, though it is also possible that Chicago has bee...

AT&T senior vice president of mobility and consumer markets Pete Ritcher took the stage during the Oppenheimer Technology and Communications Conference on Wednesday, where he confirmed that AT&T will launch its first 4G LTE smartphone by the end of this year. Ritcher reaffirmed AT&T’s intention to deploy its LTE network in 15 markets covering 70 million people by the end of 2011, and it hopes to continue its roll-out on a market-by-market basis, Fierce Wireless reported. AT&T will initia...

Sprint announced on Tuesday that it is now selling access to its 4G WiMAX network, currently available in 71 markets across the United States, to its wholesale customers. Typically the carrier only sells its 3G network to wholesaler customers and it is now the first U.S. carrier to sell 4G wholesale. Sprint said that it will offer its customers the Sierra Wireless 250U 3G/4G data card as well as the HTC Detail 4G handset and the EVO Shift 4G. Mitel is among the first of Sprint’s wholesale customers to d...

Verizon Wireless just announced that it will activate its 4G LTE network in 28 new markets on Thursday. The new markets include Decatur and Huntsville, Alabama; Colorado Springs, Colorado; Lakeland and Sarasota-Bradenton, Florida; Augusta, Georgia; Hilo, Honolulu, Kahului-Wailuku and Lahaina, Hawaii; Carbondale, Illinois; Wichita, Kansas; Louisville, Kentucky; Baton Rouge and Hammond, Louisiana; Springfield, Massachusetts.; Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point and Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina; Toledo, Ohio; ...

Later this month, Sprint will formally announce its plans to bring 4G LTE service to its subscribers via a network-sharing deal with Virginia-based LightSquared, CNET reports. The move, seen as inevitable by some, was outed last month when LightSquared owner Philip Falcone revealed the deal in a letter to Harbinger Capital Partners investors. “Sprint will become a significant customer of LightSquared’s 4G LTE network,” Falcone stated in the letter. The deal, which could be worth as much as $20 billion o...

Nokia and Siemens have given up efforts to sell Nokia Siemens Networks, Reuters reported on Wednesday. The firms had been trying to sell the joint venture, which has had troubles reporting a profit, for the past year. “The timing for selling the unit could hardly have been worse; there are clear signs from companies like LG and ASML of European handset market descending into a slump and selling a mobile network company on the eve of a handset market downturn is a tough challenge,” MKM Partners ana...

Sprint, Clearwire and Time Warner Cable announced on Tuesday that the current 4G WiMAX footprint in New York City has been expanded by 21%. The network now covers an additional 91,363 people across the New York metropolitan area in Alpine, Bayonne, Elizabeth, Fair Lawn, Newark, Paramus, Secaucus and Union, New Jersey; and Hartsdale, New Rochelle, New York, Rockville Centre and Yonkers, New York. Clearwire’s 4G network currently covers more than 130 million U.S. residents, including a total of 11,927,000...

With Research In Motion’s annual shareholder meeting scheduled to take place later today, one popular RIM-focused analyst is calling for the company to split its handset and network businesses into two separate companies. “RIM’s organization, like its handsets, needs modernization. By acting now, splitting RIM into network and handset businesses may target opportunities and unlock significant shareholder value,” RBC Capital Markets Managing Director Mike Abramsky wrote in a note to inves...

On Thursday, Rogers and Ericsson officially activated the first Canadian 4G LTE network in Ottawa. “This network will power the next generation of innovative products and services in ways we’ve never seen before,” Rob Bruce, Rogers’ president of communications said. “[It] will be the backbone of Canada’s digital economy as we continue to move from a wired to a wireless world. We’re thrilled to welcome Ottawa — and Canada — to the future of the fast.” Rogers ...

A hacking group named LulzSec made headlines recently for attacking high visibility targets, including Sony and the U.S. government. LulzSec announced earlier this week that it was stopping its operations, and rumor has it many of the members joined up with Anonymous’ “AntiSec” hacking group. Now that group is making its own headlines. On Tuesday AntiSec claimed responsibility for attacks against Universal and Viacom. According to The Wall Street Journal, the hackers released personal data, ...

Verizon Wireless announced on Tuesday that it will expand its 4G LTE network to cover several new markets on July 21st. The following areas will receive coverage at that time: Huntsville, Alabama.; Augusta, Georgia.; Scranton Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.; Springfield, Massachusetts.; Raleigh-Durham, Greensboro-Winston, and Salem-High Point, North Carolina; and Knoxville, Tennessee. The carrier also said that it will expand the size of its current 4G LTE network in San Diego and Los Angeles. Read on for a press...

Following the lead set by its chief executive Dan Hesse, Sprint has been one of the most outspoken opponents of AT&T’s proposed $39 billion T-Mobile USA takeover. Hesse said the deal would “stifle innovation” and hurt U.S. wireless subscribers, and Sprint subsequently voiced its concerns formally on numerous occasions. Among AT&T’s main arguments are the deal’s potential to bring high-speed 4G LTE coverage to over 95% of the U.S. population, and the fact that it needs T-M...

Sprint has reached a deal to deploy a 4G LTE network with LightSquared, Bloomberg reports. The deal could be worth as much as $20 billion over the next 15 years according to the report. “LightSquared and Sprint will jointly develop, deploy and operate LightSquared’s 4G LTE network,” LightSquared owner Philip Falcone wrote in a letter to Harbinger Capital Partners investors on Friday. “Sprint will become a significant customer of LightSquared’s 4G LTE network.” It is unclear what i...

AT&T confirmed on Wednesday that it will deploy its 4G LTE network in five markets this summer, including Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. The carrier did not specify additional markets slated to be rolled out in 2011, but it did say 10 additional markets will be deployed this year and 70 million Americans will be covered by the end of 2011. By contrast, Verizon Wireless’ 4G LTE network is currently available in 55 markets and it expects to deploy in 23 more markets next month. AT...