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Western Digital has jumped on the 802.11AC bandwagon, revealing a new flagship wireless router selivering speeds up to 1,300 Mbps and promising no drops in your online gaming performance even under heavy load. The WD My Net AC1300 HD Dual-Band Router – and its My Net AC Bridge sibling – promise the fast speeds the latest generation of WiFi can deliver, as well as super-straightforward setup.

The AC1300 router has a 3×3 antenna array and can simultaneously run 2.4GHz and 5GHz band networks for up to 450 x + 1300 Mbps rates. It also uses WD’s FasTrack automatic bandwidth prioritization system, which makes sure streaming applications like YouTube and Netflix video, VoIP such as Skype, and online gaming, have a stable connection no matter what other uses your broadband is being put to.

WD also equips the router with four gigabit ethernet ports and two USB 2.0 ports, allowing external storage, printers, or scanners to be hooked up and shared across multiple devices. The My Net AC Bridge, meanwhile, is intended to get wired ethernet devices – such as your smart TV, console, or cable box – online without a cable snaking across your living room, and has four gigabit ethernet ports.

Both WD models are on sale now in the US. The My Net AC1300 router is priced at $189.99, while the My Net AC Bridge is $149.99.

Western Digital outs 802.11AC My Net router and bridge is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
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Clearwire’s figures show that the network it isn’t cool to love will be making placating faces at its bank manager for yet another quarter. It pulled in revenues of $313.9 million for the three month period, but with business costs (and depreciation) clocking in at $646.7 million, the company posted an operating loss of $332 million and a net loss of $41.3 million. If that wasn’t bad enough, it’s also hacked back a target to add TD-LTE to 5,000 sites before mid-2013 to just 2,000. A similar problem has occurred over at newly-minted majority owner Sprint, which has found itself a quarter behind its own LTE timetable thanks to parts shortages — so let’s hope the folks over at Softbank can help both companies improve their estimating skills.

Continue reading Clearwire sees wholesale revenues dip, LTE delays as it posts a $41.3 million net loss in Q3

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Sprint

Clearwire sees wholesale revenues dip, LTE delays as it posts a $41.3 million net loss in Q3 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Oct 2012 07:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In a joint press conference, Softbank has officially announced that it is buying a 70 percent stake in US mobile carrier Sprint for $20.1 billion. The Japanese company is paying $12.1 billion for existing shares, with a further $8 billion for new shares that the network is issuing. CNBC has reported previously that it would net Sprint around $3 billion in much-needed cash, which it could use to regain control of Clearwire and bolster its LTE rollout. When Dan Hesse took to the stage, he said that the company’s heavy investment (both in Network Vision and in its iPhone gamble) would bring a “margin expansion” in 2014.

Continue reading Softbank confirms 70 percent Sprint acquisition for $20.1 billion

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Internet, Mobile, Sprint

Softbank confirms 70 percent Sprint acquisition for $20.1 billion originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Oct 2012 04:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Leap customers, go ahead and jump for joy. The CDMA-based carrier is finally rolling out its first LTE market next week after about a year of testing it in Tucson, Arizona. (The first official market has yet to be named, however.) With its spectrum swaps finally complete, Leap hopes to spread LTE to around 21 million POPs by the end of this year and to around two-thirds of its current network by the end of 2015. Its only LTE offering is a Huawei Boltz mobile hotspot, but it promises LTE-capable smartphones soon. Curiously, the carrier does offer the LTE-capable iPhone 5, but there’s no word if Leap’s LTE network will support it. The only nationwide carrier without LTE at this point is T-Mobile, though it has promised rollouts starting next year; here’s hoping that merger with MetroPCS (which already has LTE) will hurry that along.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile

Leap finally gets LTE, rollout starts next week originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Oct 2012 16:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Observing the mantra that the enemy of its enemy is its friend, Vodafone and O2 have gained regulatory approval to begin merging their cellular networks to better compete with Everything Everywhere. As such, they can begin spinning off infrastructure and towers to a new company called CTI, which will manage both company’s hardware as a single network. It’s hoped the new tie-up will cover 98 percent of the country and enable LTE services to roll out two years ahead of Ofcom’s 2017 deadline. Worried about another awkward T-Mobile and Orange-style merger? Don’t be, since in every other respect, the pair have pledged to operate as competing entities in a quest for your custom.

Continue reading UK regulators approve Vodafone and O2’s network merger

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile

UK regulators approve Vodafone and O2’s network merger originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Oct 2012 11:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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