Hasta La Gadget!

The power outage during the Super Bowl was a good thing for both AT&T and the 49ers, it would seem, with the carrier experiencing the highest-ever mobile traffic usage figures in-stadium. A total of 78GB of data was used within the Superdome during the half-time show, an 80-percent increase over 2012. The number jumps to 388GB of total traffic during the game.

The traffic surge happened between 8 and 9pm EST, and was accompanied by 73,000 calls that took place during the Super Bowl, a tad higher than the Superdome’s approximately 71,000-person audience. In addition to the record achieved during the traffic burst, the total traffic of 388GB was also a record for the carrier. The traffic encompasses mobile uploads, texting, and social media usage, among others.

This is a boon for the carrier, which experienced a $3.9 billion net loss in the fourth quarter of 2012. Likewise, last Q4′s numbers for the company were substantially better than the same quarter the year before, which had experienced a $6.7 billion loss.

About 780,000 new subscribers joined AT&T during the fourth quarter of 2012, which has seen a steady rise in data usage over the last several years, due in part to the explosion in the number of smartphone users. The carrier experienced a record number of smratphone sales in Q4 of 2012 with 10.2 million devices sold.

[via Bloomberg]

AT&T experiences record mobile traffic usage during the Super Bowl is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

If you’re always on the go, finding hotspot to be able to access your e-mail and other networks can be difficult in some areas. A company called TP-Link has announced a new product that will make it easy to stay connected on the go called the M5350. The device is a battery powered 3G mobile Wi-Fi hotspot.

The device is designed to provide high-speed wireless Internet access using 802.11n technology. The mobile hotspot has a high capacity internal 2000 mAh battery to power its internal 3G modem. The device promises operate for 7 to 10 hours per charge.

The device can also be powered by a micro USB cable connected to a laptop, portable charger, or an included power adapter to extend runtime and recharge the device. The portable hotspot has a SIM card slot supporting HSPA+ 3G broadband connectivity with download speeds of up to 21 Mbps. The portable modem also supports upload speeds of up to 5.7 Mbps.

Other features include an internal microSD card slot supporting cards up to 32 GB allowing the hotspot to function as a portable hard drive. That storage space can be shared with any device is connected to the portable modem. Little device also supports multiple security formats including WEP, WPA, and several others. Pricing and availability are unknown at this time.

TP-Link unveils battery-powered 3G mobile Wi-Fi device is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

AT&T has been expanding its 4G LTE coverage to new locations on a fairly regular basis, with the latest expansion covering six new locations in Michigan. This is following its expansions that rolled out last month in Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, and Phoenix, as well as the new markets in Green Bay, Springfield, and Tucson, among other places. In addition, AT&T has also boosted cell service in the Detroit Marriott Renaissance Center.

A total of three cell sites have been upgraded in Ann Arbor, Birmingham, and Beverly Hills, one site has been upgraded in Monroe County, and four site have been upgraded throughout Kent and Ottawa Counties. This represents a fairly significant portion of Michigan, improving service for a lot of users. Although no new markets were introduced this time around, the carrier has been busy adding additional locations to its coverage map over the last couple months.

Meanwhile, AT&T also installed a 4G LTE Distributed Antenna System, DAS for short, in the Detroit Marriott Renaissance Center, improving its Internet coverage. This was achieved by placing several antennas throughout the location to provide coverage in all the essential places: guest rooms, lobbies, meeting and executive offices, the fitness club, and more. According to the carrier, this will increase call reliability and network consistency while enabling higher amounts of data.

AT&T Michigan’s President Jim Murray offered this statement. “Our goal is for our customers to have an extraordinary experience, and they’ll be able to download, upload, stream and game faster than ever before on our 4G LTE network. As part of the Metro Detroit community, we’re always looking for new opportunities to provide enhanced coverage, and our investment in the local wireless network is another way we’re accomplishing that.”

AT&T expands 4G LTE service in six Michigan locations is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

In light of Hurricane Sandy and other recent natural disasters, the FCC is considering having carriers provide information on how well their networks performed in a disaster. The requirement would only concern major natural disasters, and will provide consumers with relevant information, such as how their carrier performed compared with other carriers. The issue is one of several slated for discussion during several hearings the FCC has scheduled throughout 2013.

The Federal Communications Commission has several hearings set to take place throughout next year concerning national disasters, the latest of which was Hurricane Sandy. The series will kick off in New York, and will then take place in various locations across the nation. In addition to talk about having carriers report on their performance, the agency will also discuss disaster preparation for carriers, service provider cooperation, how to speed up recovery, and better backup power systems.

Several carriers and cable providers experienced outages during Hurricane Sandy, including T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T, and Time Warner. The agency noted that several companies shared their resources, including cellular sites, during the process, and questioned how such sharing can be better facilitated in the future. Another major focus of the hearings will be backup power, which is an integral part of keeping systems up and functioning.

Said the FCC, “Users of communications services appear to lack information about the performance of the services they pay for … Would it help consumers to know the performance and reliability of the companies’ service or devices as compared to competitors during past emergencies?” The agency’s chairman said the disasters in recent history have prompted a need for “ideas and actions to ensure the resilience of communications networks.”

[via PC World]

FCC considers making carriers report their disaster performance quality is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Earlier today, Opera unveiled its new Web Pass service, which provides a means for operators to offer pay-as-you-go Internet access to subscribers. The service is being touted as a “one-click experience” that tailors data access to the needs of users who don’t have a mobile data plan. A user can shell out $2, for example, to get data access while waiting to catch the bus.

This feature will potentially bring Internet access to those who, for whatever reason, don’t have a data plan with their carrier. One of the touted features is the convenience of choosing a web access duration rather than a data limit, such as 100MB. There’s no set price for the service, since it would depend on the carrier, which needs to have a deal with Opera in order for subscribers to take advantage of this service.

Opera Software’s CEO Lars Boilesen offered this statement. “We see this as a great way of lowering the bar for millions of users who are taking their first steps out to the mobile web. We are excited about working with our operator partners and making the web even more accessible and tailored to the needs of a growing mobile internet community.”

For now, DiGi Telecommunications in Malaysia has signed up as the first operator to offer subscribers Web Pass. Subscribers can access the Internet on either an hourly or daily basis, with 1 hour of service costing 1RM and a day of service costing 2RM. Facebook-only service is also provided at half the cost of full web access. Operators can set up their own pricing and access structure, including duration, websites that can be visited, and the cost for each pass.

[via Opera]

Opera announces Web Pass one-click Internet access is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.