Verizon Wireless is on track to deploy LTE in 25 to 30 markets, it has previously announced, after successful testing in Boston and Seattle. The rollout will enable LTE to finally begin catching up to WiMax, which Clearwire and Sprint currently offer in 27 U.S. markets.
- Verizon Wireless officials are saying their plans to roll out 4G Long-Term Evolution networks are coming along swimmingly. LTE trials in Boston and Seattle reportedly saw peak download speeds of 40M to 50M bps and peak upload speeds of 20M to 25M bps quot;significantly faster quot; than cu...

Motorola General Manager Bruce Brda has big plans for the company’s networks mobility business, which specializes in next-generation wireless equipment and was recently spit off from a larger division.

The networks unit, which on Feb. 11 was combined with a unit that makes radios and computers for corporate and government customers, wants to boost revenue generated from services, such as helping carriers design and make more efficient use of their new wireless networks. Services already account for more than one-third of the division’s $4 billion in annual sales. “There’s room to grow it by a few percentage points,” Brda says. The division, which employs thousands of people, is “highly profitable,” he says. The unit’s financial performance and exact employee numbers have not yet been reported separately. Brda’s business specializes in gear for next-generation mobile networks, based on technologies such as Long-Term Evolution (LTE) and WiMax.

The idea is to offer a broader array of services for carriers that may use Motorola’s – or other vendors’ – equipment in more markets, particularly in the Americas. While he wouldn’t provide any hiring projections, Brda expects to grow his services staff in the coming months.

Striking additional partnerships is also on the agenda. The unit already buys certain gear from partners such as Cisco. “We will partner as a way to expand the reach of our products and to gain [research and development] efficiency,” Brda says. “I believe we have all of the components carriers need in the next couple of years.” The division already sells LTE and WiMax gear to carriers like Verizon Wireless and Clearwire. In the coming months, Brda expects to win a large LTE contract with giant China Mobile. “We are confident we’ll get that,” he says. “We are winning as many [LTE] deals as everyone else.”

The February split from the home unit, which manufactures set-top boxes, shouldn’t affect the networks division’s ability to find customers and win business too much. “The decision Motorola had to weigh is what business has the most synergy [with the home business],” Brda says. Motorola envisions creating cell phones that act as remote controls for televisions and set-top boxes, among other functions. “My goals, my financial objectives haven’t changed whatsoever,” Brda told me this afternoon. “It’s just that I am now reporting to a different leader,” co-CEO Greg Brown. Co-CEO Sanjay Jha heads the second part of the business, which makes mobile phones and set-top boxes.

Android operating system for smartphones has more than doubled its market share in the U.S. between September and December, according to comScore's survey of more than 30,000 consumers aged 13 and up.

Android's market share rose from 2.5% in September to 5.2% in December, while BlackBerry maker Research In Motion, Microsoft and Palm lost ground in the U.S. smartphones market, according to comScore. Developed by a consortium of companies lead by Google, Android has gained traction thanks to the introduction of a slew of new handsets that run it, including Google Nexus One and the popular Motorola Droid.

But while Motorola's new smartphones enjoyed good traction this fall, that didn't prevent the company from losing more market share in the fourth quarter, as sales of its cheaper phones slowed down further. The world’s largest handset maker, Nokia, lost share as well. The company said recently that it has gained share worldwide, but it’s still having trouble cracking the U.S. market.

Research In Motion, on the other hand, actually gained cell phone market share, as more Americans switched to smartphones and picked up popular handsets like BlackBerry Pearl and Curve, according to comScore. LG gained share as well.

The biggest gainer in handsets, though? Samsung, whose market share expanded from 20.4% of the U.S. market in September to 21.2% in December, according to comScore’s Feb. 8 report. Samsung has continued to come out with highly capable yet inexpensive phones that have been a hit at AT&T, Sprint Nextel and Verizon Wireless. At Verizon, Samsung Omnia, a Windows Mobile-based smartphone, sells for only $10 after an online discount and with a two-year contract. The phone features a 5 Megapixel camera, a touch screen and full Web browser.

On Jan. 6, Qualcomm announced that accessories maker mophie has built an antenna to catch Qualcomm MediaFlo TV's programming into its cases for the iPhone and iPod touch. The move will allow Qualcomm to sell its TV service while bypassing wireless service providers, which haven't been as successful as hoped in pushing the service thus far.

Carriers like AT&T and Verizon Wireless have long offered the MediaFlo service for select phones carrying Qualcomm's antennas, but it's not taken off as fast as many analysts hoped. Many people balk at paying a monthly fee for the service when they can get plenty of free programming online. And the market growth has been inhibited by the limited availability of MediaFlo-ready phones. The iPhone -- one of the most popular smartphones in the world -- had lacked the feature.

Now that an antenna is being built into a smart smartphone case, at least one of the barriers to MediaFlo's adoption will come down. iPhone fans will no longer have to wait for Apple to built the antenna into the smartphone in order to receive MediaFlo broadcasts. They will still have to pay Qualcomm fees for using the service. But at least Qualcomm won't have to share the revenues with the carriers.

Later on, mophie could make similar cases available for other devices, such as BlackBerry and Android-based phones, I suspect. Qualcomm is sure to benefit from no longer having to depend on carriers for so much of its MediaFlo traction and revenues.

By 2013, carriers will sell 31% of all notebooks, according to a Nov. 18 report from consultant In-Stat. What this means is, in three years, nearly a third of new laptop buyers will be paying carriers like Verizon Wireless and AT&T a monthly laptop service fee, which stands at around $60 in the U.S. today. That fee would come in addition to what consumers pay for their mobile phone service.

For carriers, this additional fee spells a revenue bonanza. An average American pays $50 in wireless service fees today, according to industry association CTIA. As consumers tuck on additional data services, such as those for their new laptops, netbooks and smartphones, that amount could begin to climb, even if voice minute charges keep on shrinking. Average monthly bill amount has been essentially flat since 2003.

This morning, Verizon Wireless announced Droid Eris, a new phone from HTC. The announcement comes on the heels of another, of Motorola Droid, another smartphone device based on Android software developed by Google and its partners. So Verizon Wireless has decided to develop a single brand for all Android-based phones it puts out: Droid, a company spokesperson confirms.

This strategy is a smart one: Currently, very few consumers are even aware of Android, or know what it is. With the Droid brand, Verizon Wireless is likely hoping to change that, and to make Droid phones stand out in the consumers' minds in the same way the Apple iPhone does. Indeed, Android-based phones are highly differentiated products: They are the only phones that can connect to and download apps from the Android Market, an app store for mobile games, calendar and productivity applications. They also can access services such as Google Maps Navigation, which offers voice turn-by-turn directions. It's important to point out these differences to consumers, and a single Droid brand can help achieve just that.

Not since the launch of the iPhone in 2007 has the announcement of a new product had as dramatic an effect on the competitive landscape of the smartphone business as did yesterday's Verizon Wireless release of the Motorola Droid. The day after Droid, the handset, wireless networks, mapping, and navigation markets all look very different.

Although the Droid handset itself is a very nice piece of hardware, the real news here is Google's Android 2.0 software. This major overhaul of the operating system and basic applications has taken Android from an interesting wannabe to a top-tier contender in the mobile software market. And the inclusion of Google Maps Navigation, with its free real-time, turn-by-turn driving instructions turns the nav business on its head.

The coming of age of Android could be very bad news for the weaker competitors in the smartphone business. Droid is no iPhone killer--the idea is silly--but it is a viable competitor. At worst, Apple's penetration into the market will grow a bit more slowly.

Who was the big winner of today's much-hyped Droid launch?

Sure, the warm reception that the new Android-based smartphone is receiving is a big win for all of the parties involved: Verizon Wireless, Motorola and Android-maker Google. (Personally, I was impressed by the phone, and thought it represented a nice package of features, design and functionality.)

And the stock market seemed to agree. Today, Verizon's stock was up nearly 3% and Motorola's stock was up 1%, while the Nasdaq tanked nearly 3%. Google fell about 1.5%. And Apple took a hit, falling 2.5%.

But I'd venture to say that Motorola was the big winner, if only because the company was in such desperate need of a win. After all, the cell phone biz is a hits-based business. A best-selling product can reverse a company's fortunes quickly, as Motorola has seen first with its popular StarTAC, and then with the Razr line of devices.

Since Motorola has bet the farm on Android, technologists and investors would have lost a whole lot more confidence in the company's ability to manage a turnaround if it blew this launch. There was so much at stake with Droid that they had to nail it, or come close to nailing it.

At today's unveiling at the W Hotel in New York City, Verizon Wireless Chief Marketing Officer John Stratton went out of his way to pump up the fallen icon. "This is a new Motorola," said Stratton. "We took a chance, some would say a big risk at this early stage in their turnaround. But I am delighted at the level and quality of work. We will continue to work with Motorola."

Motorola co-chief executive Sanjay Jha, who seemed nervous at first, grew more comfortable as the event wore on and the media got their hands on the devices. Next year, Jha said Motorola would release at least 20 Android-based handsets. The strategy, he said, is to offer more smartphones for the lower end of the market, as well as selling more devices around the world. "Android is evolving faster than any other platform," said Jha.

For now, though, Jha was all about the Droid, claiming it was the world's best current smartphone.

Stratton agreed wit Jha's assessment, arguing that the Droid could "compete head to head" with the Apple iPhone. But he acknowledged that consumers would be the ultimate judge. "The market will tell us how well we did," said Stratton.

- Spencer Ante also publishes the Creative Capital blog. Click here to read more.

The number of applications such as games and calendars that developers have begun working on for cell-phone operating system Android has jumped 94% between September and October, according to Flurry, which provides in-app analytics software for mobile devices.

The increased developer hustle and bustle around Android comes as no surprise: In November, Verizon Wireless is expected to launch its first Android phone from Motorola, and the carrier has already started a major marketing blitz around the device. Android-based phones from other makers, like HTC, are selling well. About 20 Android-based devices are expected to come out this year, and 30 more in 2010, according to analysts. As more Android phones get into users' hands, more people will start using these devices to download apps from the Android Market, which currently features more than 10,000 applications. Naturally, developers want to get in on the game.

In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the Android Market catches up to the Apple App Store, which currently offers more than 85,000 apps, in the number of applications it carries in the next year or two. Consider: By 2012, Android should become the world's second-largest mobile operating system, according to consultant Gartner. At that point, more people will be buying Android-based phones each year than the iPhones. And users of Android devices download as many applications -- about 10 -- each month as iPhone owners do. Since developers always want to make apps for the largest possible pool of users, Android Market's applications count should skyrocket.

UPDATE As expected, the FCC today adopted the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that begins the process of formalizing network neutrality rules for the Internet. Here's a link to the full text of the notice (PDF). Comments are due Jan. 14, 2010.

On the eve of a Federal Communication Commission vote that will start the formal process of imposing network neutrality rules on Internet service providers, the seemingly united front of the big telecommunications companies is showing cracks. The big development was a joint statement by Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam and Google CEO Eric Schmidt expressing their commitment to the idea "that the Internet remains an unrestricted and open platform" and pledging to work together to find common ground on the issue.

The shift is more symbolic than substantive. Google and Verizon still differ sharply on the question of how neutrality rules should apply to wireless services. And shortly before the Schmidt-McAdam statement was released, Ivan Seidenberg, CEO of Verizon Communications, which owns 55% of Verizon Wireless, attacked "proponents of net neutrality [who suggest] that network providers like Verizon and applications providers like Google, Amazon and others occupy fundamentally different parts of the Internet ecosystem - a binary world of 'dumb pipes' on the one hand and 'smart applications' on the other." (Courtesy of FierceWireless.)

Talks to bring the Apple iPhone onto Verizon Wireless's network might have broken down, according to an Oct. 20 note from Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Craig Moffett. "Looking ahead, Verizon may have provided a clue as to the state of its (presumed) efforts to land a CDMA version of the iPhone for its network when it recently started airing 'iDon't' advertisements bashing the device," Moffett writes. "The ads set the stage for the launch of a competing device, the Motorola Droid, powered by Google's Android operating system. Running negative ads bashing the iPhone seems an improbable way to win friends in Cupertino; it is not implausible, then, to guess that the new Droid campaign might signal a breakdown in relations between the two firms."

The negative ad campaign points out many of the iPhone's shortcomings, such as inability to run applications in the background. And it's a risky move: Until now, most carriers hadn't dared to compare their smartphones with the iPhone, though Sprint Nextel had designed a Web site comparing its Samsung Instinct with the legendary Apple device. So far, I don't know of a single iPhone-bashing campaign that worked.

There's a possibility that Verizon Wireless is simply using the negative campaign to apply more pressure on Apple to come to an agreement. Or, Moffett might be right, and instead of waiting for Apple to come around and offer the iPhone through Verizon, Verizon Wireless is now betting the house on rival makers' smartphones.

Google and Verizon, often at odds in the past, this morning announced a deal to co-develop handsets and other services using Google's Android operating software. (Full release is below.)

In the next few weeks, Verizon will introduce Android-based handsets. Whether those handsets will come anywhere close to the utility and, let's face it, sexiness of the iPhone remains to be seen, but if Verizon wants to get some of those iPhone lovers who now reluctantly use AT&T because that's the only choice (in the U.S.), they'll need to come closer than most Android phones have so far. For Google, though, getting Verizon, the largest wireless carrier in the U.S., on board no doubt will give a boost to Android, which has been seen as slow to take off.

The conference call with Google CEO Eric Schmidt and Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam is now underway. Cutting through the marketing-speak, here are the highlights:

Less than a year after Verizon Wireless declared the Hub as the landline of the future, the nation's No. 1 carrier quietly drops the VOIP phone.
- Well, back to the drawing board. Verizon Wireless said Sept. 30 it was discontinuing sales for its Verizon Hub, a VOIP home phone that also served as a Web tablet. In January, Verizon Wireless said it was reinventing the standard home phone with the Hub. The Hub retailed for $199 and required a ...

On Sept. 10, consultant iSuppli released a report that claims that, based on feverish and expensive improvements AT&T is making to its network, there's reason to believe that Apple will renew its contract to deliver the iPhone to AT&T in the U.S. exclusively. iSuppli believes the current contract will expire in mid-2010.

However, iSuppli believes that Apple may start selling non-iPhone devices to other carriers, like Verizon Wireless. Verizon Wireless may, perhaps, get a much-rumored Apple tablet, according to iSuppli.

If that's the case, here's one tricky issue that Apple and AT&T will have to resolve: How do you define what is, and isn't an iPhone? Distinctions between different types of mobile devices are becoming increasingly blurry. Many smartphones nowadays look like small tablets. Some netbooks can be called a Mobile Internet Device (MID).

It seems to me there's potential for an Apple tablet -- if it does come out -- to compete with the iPhone head to head. After all, most tablets nowadays can also do calling. Would AT&T really allow and welcome such competition? Because it needs the iPhone to grow, the carrier may not have a choice.