CenturyLink gets $35 million FCC grant to connect 45,000 rural homes to the internet (updated)

DNP CenturyLink gets $35 million FCC grant to connect 45,000 rural homes to the internet

CenturyLink has announced that it’s getting $35 million from the FCC’s Connect America Fund to hook 45,000 homes in rural areas up to the internet. The company isn’t hiding its disappointment at the donation, since it was originally angling for closer to $90 million. However, the conditions attached to the extra cash made further deployment “uneconomic,” so the company will have to settle at this first target to begin with. There is some hope for countryside folk: CenturyLink mavens have filed a waiver application which, if granted, would let the company connect a further 60,000 homes where service is currently too expensive to install.

Update: The FCC has made its own announcement, pledging that it’ll connect up to 400,000 unconnected citizens in the next three years and up to seven million in six. The full text is after the jump.

Continue reading CenturyLink gets $35 million FCC grant to connect 45,000 rural homes to the internet (updated)

Filed under:

CenturyLink gets $35 million FCC grant to connect 45,000 rural homes to the internet (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Jul 2012 12:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Samsung SGH-i547 runs through certification gauntlets with quad-band LTE, shroud of mystery

Samsung SGHi547 runs through test gauntlets with quadband LTE, shroud of mystery

Samsung is already cooking up a lot of mid-range phones for Sprint and Verizon in the near future. Why not throw an AT&T model on the stove? Based on a flood of certifications (and Samsung’s own browser profile), the SGH-i547 will sit squarely in the mid-range of Big Blue’s Android phones — with one exception. Its 800 x 480 screen, 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0 and NFC won’t rock most people’s worlds, but the quad-band LTE still sticks out like a sore thumb despite other in-testing devices going the same route: the 700MHz, 850MHz, 1,700MHz and 1,900MHz bands may give the i547 more 4G support than AT&T-compatible 3G. We suspect the support is either an early sign of LTE futureproofing or for roaming on LTE networks as they go live around the world. Globetrotter or not, the i547 still has a lot left hidden under its kimono; we’re expecting one or two more surprises before all is said and done.

Filed under:

Samsung SGH-i547 runs through certification gauntlets with quad-band LTE, shroud of mystery originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Jul 2012 12:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceBluetooth SIG, FCC, Samsung (XML), Wi-Fi Alliance (PDF)  | Email this | Comments

Samsung SGH-I547 stops by the FCC with AT&T’s LTE radios on board

It looks like Samsung is pretty busy with its Android portfolio and if you’re looking for a Samsung Android handset that will play nice with AT&T’s LTE network, here’s another you can add to the list. Spotted recently at the FCC is none other than the SGH-I547 which shows support for AT&T’s radios, along with WiFi, Bluetooth and NFC connectivity. The folks at Pocket Now also pulled the User Agent Profile for the device which revealed a WVGA display, indicating that we might be looking at a mid-ranged Android device. Unfortunately apart from the diagram above, photos of the SGH-I547 have yet to surface, which means that apart from its connectivity options, a possible screen size, its features, specs and design remain unknown. Either way we will be keeping our eyes peeled for more info, so be sure to stay tuned for more updates in the future!

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: AT&T LTE capable Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 spotted at the FCC, AT&T rumored to be testing Galaxy Nexus with LTE,

Motorola Droid RAZR HD raises hopes during its brief encounter with the FCC?

Motorola Droid Razr HD

What do we know about Motorola’s Droid RAZR HD? It’s likely to arrive clad in a Kevlar body, run Ice Cream Sandwich and be quick off the blocks. Now we can possibly start looking forward to a release date for such a teasing device since it’s been passed fit for human consumption by the boys at the FCC. The test documents revealed it’s got CDMA and GSM radios, will slurp down Verizon’s LTE and pack an NFC chip — but alas, no hint of whether we should be waiting for a version with a bigger battery.

Filed under:

Motorola Droid RAZR HD raises hopes during its brief encounter with the FCC? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Jul 2012 09:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceFCC  | Email this | Comments

Motorola XT926 (Droid RAZR HD) spotted at the FCC with Verizon’s 4G LTE radios

If you’re looking forward to getting your hands on the Motorola Droid RAZR HD, it seems like we are one step closer to seeing its release, thanks to a recent FCC filing which revealed the Motorola XT926, also known as the Motorola Droid RAZR HD. As expected, the device came with 4G LTE bands that are compatible with Verizon’s network along with global roaming capabilities and NFC. Unfortunately apart from these details which many had already speculated on, not much else was revealed. Assuming the rumors and speculations are to be believed, other features that we can expect from the phone include a 720p HD display, a 13MP rear-facing camera, 1GB of RAM, a 3,300mAh battery and will run on Android, although it is unclear if it will come with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich or Android 4.1 Jelly Bean (we have a feeling it’s probably the former). Either way if the Droid RAZR HD is a phone you’re looking forward to, be sure to stay tuned as we will keep you updated with the details!

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Motorola Photon Q hits FCC with Sprint LTE, Photos taken with the Droid RAZR HD appear on Picasa,

Samsung Galaxy Stellar pops up in Verizon docs, might light up our skies soon

Samsung Galaxy Stellar pops up in Verizon docs, might light up our skies soon

Having launched an all-out blitz on the high-end of US smartphones, Samsung must be eager to conquer the mid-range as well. A Verizon rebate list finding its way to Droid-Life has the previously unknown Galaxy Stellar showing up amongst the carrier’s more budget-minded smartphones for a $50 discount sometime between now and an August 19th expiry date. There’s little we can definitively attach to that starry-eyed name so far, although we have our hunches: first and foremost is that it’s the Jasper, the Snapdragon S4-touting spiritual successor to the Droid Charge. It might alternately be the even more mysterious SCH-i415, which just showed up at the FCC this weekend and could be a world-roaming sequel to the Stratosphere (SCH-i405) with CDMA, LTE and GSM all rolled into one. Whether the Galaxy Stellar is one of these two devices or something entirely off of the map, there’s a strong indication between this, Sprint’s mystery SPH-L300 and the slightly more tangible Galaxy Reverb that Samsung will leave no CDMA corner unturned in the near future.

Filed under:

Samsung Galaxy Stellar pops up in Verizon docs, might light up our skies soon originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Jul 2012 19:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceDroid-Life  | Email this | Comments

FCC Fridays: July 20, 2012

FCC Fridays July 20, 2012

We here at Engadget tend to spend a lot of way too much time poring over the latest FCC filings, be it on the net or directly on the ol’ Federal Communications Commission’s site. Since we couldn’t possibly (want to) cover all the stuff that goes down there individually, we’ve gathered up an exhaustive listing of every phone and / or tablet getting the stamp of approval over the last week. Enjoy!

Continue reading FCC Fridays: July 20, 2012

Filed under: ,

FCC Fridays: July 20, 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Jul 2012 18:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Acer Iconia Tab A110 clears the FCC

The good people over at the FCC have had time to play with yet another device, where this time round it would be the Acer Iconia Tab A110 which is in question. Of course, Acer of Taiwan has yet to step forward and make an official announcement surrounding their Iconia Tabs A210 and A110, but to follow where the larger sized 10-inch A210 left off, the Acer Iconia Tab A110 is ready to see action in the US market. Not many details were released in this FCC filing, but we do know that it will have NVIDIA’s Tegra 3 chipset running underneath the hood of this 7-inch device. Hopefully additional details concerning its release date will follow – and without too long of a delay to boot!

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Acer Iconia Tab A120 receives FCC nod of approval , Acer Iconia Tab A700 hits the FCC,

Sony Xperia GX hits the FCC

Everyone, clear the FCC decks – there is a new smartphone from Sony Mobile, and this time around it is the Sony Xperia GX which is being lined up for inspection. First announced in May earlier this year, the Sony Xperia GX was slated for a summer release in the Land of the Rising Sun, and we bring you good tidings that it is finally making its way to the US, although it will first have to pass through the tests and probes that it will be subjected to by the FCC. What else do we know about the documentation surrounding the Sony Xperia GX? For starters, it will come with a pentaband 3G radio that is capable of HSPA speeds. Hopefully in due time, additional details concerning the Xperia GX will surface – and that would include the kind of carriers it will most probably be made available from.

We already know that it will be powered by the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system and have a 13-megapixel camera in tow – the question is, how soon will the Jelly Bean update be released for it?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Sony Xperia GX hits the FCC, Sony Xperia tipo arrives at the FCC ,

Xperia GX goes through federal inspection, is still the Sony phone we want

Xperia GX goes through federal inspection, is still the Sony phone we want

Sony’s forthcoming 4.6-inch Android ICS slab has appeared at the FCC, and has revealed a few more details on what appears to be the company’s next flagship smartphone. The highlight of the federal-sanctioned autopsy of the Xperia GX reveals an interesting point; a pentaband 3G radios capable of HSPA speeds, something that’s still a rarity among global smartphones. The filing otherwise offers up a not-so-thrilling glimpse at the hardware labeling and, well, not much else. See for yourself at the link below.

Filed under:

Xperia GX goes through federal inspection, is still the Sony phone we want originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Jul 2012 20:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceFCC  | Email this | Comments