Sidecut Reports

A little busy here at Sidecut central as we put the finishing touches on a new report — but several news nuggets from the past few days bear a bit more questioning, at least from where we sit:

AT&T’s Network ‘Upgrade’ — While it’s good news that AT&T now plans to upgrade the speed of its 3G network, the question that seems to go unasked anywhere we look is what devices will be able to experience the speeds of HSPA+? While the network may be getting faster in spots, most all customers with current equipment will have to purchase new gear to experience the new speeds. So it’s ostensibly an upgrade — but one you will have to pay extra to enjoy.

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When we heard about plans for a big Sprint HTC EVO 4G shindig in New York tonight, we sort of figured we’d hear some more details about the first WiMAX smartphone for the U.S. market. Turns out it will be available June 4. So what will you pay for a handheld device that can surf at either 3G or 4G speeds, and can also act as a portable Wi-Fi router or Pocketspot for up to eight additional devices?

Now we know: According to a Sprint blog, the pricing for the phone itself is $199 (after rebate and with a 2-year contract). To get the standard Sprint “everything data” package (unlimited mobile-to-mobile calling, unlimited text, unlimited web and 450 anytime minutes) it will cost you $79.99 per month, a $10 “premium” fee for having WiMAX support whether you use 4G or not. To enable the EVO’s pocketspot capabilities will run you another $29.99 per month, a decided discount from standalone Pocketspots like Sprint’s Overdrive, which was priced at $60 a month last we checked.

With the EVO 4G’s dual video cams, superb screen and other bells and whistles it seems like a great deal at $199 for the phone. While we’re not thrilled by the emergence of a “premium” fee for WiMAX access, it’s a good guess that when Verizon launches its Long Term Evolution (LTE) 4G networks later this year you will see a similar “3G Plus” pricing plan. The $30 a month for pocketspot support is a huge bargain when you consider how much it would cost to upgrade as many as eight additional devices to 4G speeds. We’d compare it to AT&T’s costs for data tethering off an iPhone, but unfortunately that feature is… not yet supported.

With the EVO intro, Sprint and its WiMAX partner Clearwire stole the show at CTIA. Can Sprint steal the summer smartphone thunder from the expected iPhone upgrade in June? Having the EVO available early will help. Let the smartphone games begin!

We’re about a week behind here but think it is worthwhile to highlight DigitalBridge Communications’ recent win of a $4.3 million grant from the first round of the NTIA’s broadband stimulus funding. Though the award is just a small portion of the funds that rural-market WiMAX provider DBC had applied for, in a phone call with DBC last week executive VP William “Bill” Wallace said that the company is hopeful that it will get more of its last-mile requests approved in the second round of stimulus funding, now underway.

“It’s a good thing to have,” said Wallace of the grant, which will be used to extend DBC’s services to a few more towns in rural Idaho. The grant seems to be somewhat unique for the first round of NTIA funding, a process that seemed to put a priority on infrastructure projects like backhaul or other transport-related fiber builds. What Wallace and DBC really want to see, however, is some more last-mile love during the second stimulus round; according to DBC, it has submitted 31 round-two applications for a total of $150 million in potential grants.

“Receiving the stimulus dollars allows us to go [with network builds] to places we would not go otherwise,” said Wallace. According to Wallace many of the proposals revolve around extending services from some of DBC’s existing markets in what he calls “mid-size” cities to the rural neighborhoods near those cities.

And even though the Idaho grant is seriously small potatoes when it comes to infrastructure investment dough, Wallace said DBC is pleased with the NTIA process so far and hopes that the definitions of “underserved” markets that were shook out in the round one process carry on to round two.

“As a taxpayer, I felt that they [the NTIA] put us through the right amount of due diligence — the questions asked throughout the application process were very hard and very thorough,” Wallace said. “People may complain, but we felt it was an analytically driven process and was very merit-based.”