Communities in Kansas and Colorado Look to Build Their Own Public Broadband Internet

server rack front panelsThe problem companies face when communities lack competition for services like Internet? The community might try to roll their own.

There are laws on the books in twenty states preventing communities from building out their own public high speed and fiber broadband, but communities in Kansas and Colorado are looking to move forward on their own local offerings.

Seven cities and counties in Colorado voted during the last election to exercise an escape clause in their anti-competition legislation. All that was required was allowing a community to take a vote on the matter, and every community that put it up for a vote had it pass by a large margin. Boulder Colorado passed their measure with 84% of the voter turnout supporting it.

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AT&T to Acquire Wireless Provider Iusacell in Mexico

LogoIusacell.3The second largest carrier in the United States is making a move to acquire Mexico’s Grupo Iusacell SA for $2.5 Billion, expanding their customer network by 8 million subscribers and pushing farther into Latin America.

The deal will include covering $800 Million of Iusacell debt, and should make Mexico’s third largest more competitive, especially as Mexico is building out more middle class services for consumers.

“Our acquisition of Iusacell is a direct result of the reforms put in place by President Peña Nieto to encourage more competition and more investment in Mexico. Those reforms together with the country’s strong economic outlook, growing population and growing middle class make Mexico an attractive place to invest,” said Randall Stephenson, AT&T chairman and CEO. “Iusacell gives us a unique opportunity to create the first-ever North American Mobile Service area covering over 400 million consumers and businesses in Mexico and the United States. It won’t matter which country you’re in or which country you’re calling – it will all be one network, one customer experience.”

Full PR is below. Continue reading “AT&T to Acquire Wireless Provider Iusacell in Mexico”

AT&T Reveals Availability for Moto360, Kyocera DuraForce, Lumia 830, and LG G Watch R

It’s a huge day at AT&T. Big Blue took the wraps off of their release schedule for four huge devices.

Moto360motorola moto 360 smartwatch teaser announced (1)AT&T is becoming one of the better stocked retail outlets for wearable tech, and they were early in embracing smartwatches. Now the Moto360 has an official home at AT&T stores. Starting November 7th, you can get a Moto360 for $199 if you bundle it with the purchase of a Moto X Smartphone.

LG G Watch Rlg_g_watch_r_black_storyI TOTALLY CALLED IT! We have official pricing for LG’s round, premium smartwatch, and it looks like that extra bit of style will run you $299. It’ll be stocked and ready to buy starting November 5th!

Lumia 830Lumia-830_group1Windows Phone fans have probably been feeling a little neglected of late, but AT&T will be the first carrier to bring the Lumia 830 to our shores. The mid-ranger will sell for $449.99 or you can grab it for $99 on two-year contract. If you’re signing up on contract, you can also grab a free FitBit Flex for a limited time.  You can see a brief hands on with the Lumia 830 from my trip out to CTIA!

Kyocera DuraForceduraforce_story
Kyocera is finally leaving their exclusive relationship with CDMA carriers, dropping one phone on T-Mobile, and now the DuraForce on AT&T. It looks like a redesigned version of the Brigadier which launched on Verizon a couple months ago, but there’s no word yet if the DuraForce will also have Kyocera’s incredible sapphire display. It looks like it’ll be AT&T’s most rugged phone however, and you can grab one for $389 or $49 on two-year contract. You can catch our long term review of the Brigadier to whet your appetite!

Samsung Gear S Smartwatch Hits AT&T Nov. 7 for $199 on 2-Year Contract

samsung_gear_s_image_storypage.jpg.thumb.432.946The Gear S is blurring the lines between wearable and phone. Featuring a curved AMOLED display, 4GB of storage, and a 4G radio, it’s the most connected device we’ll see people strapping to their wrist.

It’s an interesting commentary, introducing products for specific use cases which can act independently of our phones when we need them to, especially targeting the growing fitness market.

AT&T has confirmed that the Gear S will be available November 7th for $199 on a two year contract, and the Gear S should be priced like a mid-range phone for those folks who want to buy one off contract. I’m expecting it to be under $400, but probably not by much. While that might seem “spendy” for a watch, it’s still in the Apple Watch ballpark, and this will be Samsung’s third iteration of the Gear, hopefully bringing continued refinement to the Tizen OS.

You can read AT&T’s press release below for the full scoop. Continue reading “Samsung Gear S Smartwatch Hits AT&T Nov. 7 for $199 on 2-Year Contract”

AT&T Confirms LG G Watch R Will Join Its Wearable Portfolio

lg_g_watch_r_black_storyCarrier stores have become full service tech retailers. It makes sense that when you front your cash to pick up a new phone, you might also want to make sure you leave well accessorized.

This is pushing into more supplemental devices like wireless speakers and now wearable tech. AT&T is confirming they will carry the upcoming LG G Watch R when it’s released later this year. Of course, like LG, they are remaining tight lipped on what the pricing will be.

In competing against online retailers, this might be another good opportunity for folks to be able to play with one of these things in person.

Full PR Below.

Continue reading “AT&T Confirms LG G Watch R Will Join Its Wearable Portfolio”

PSA: This is the last week to Double Your Data on AT&T!

double_data_chart.jpg.thumb.282.611Just a friendly reminder! Last month AT&T started up a promotional plan for their Family Share Plans, doubling the data you can use per month for the same price. Those promotional plans will disappear after October 31st. It’s a pretty solid deal if you’ve got a number of devices on one plan. You can catch more info at http://www.att.com/shop/wireless/data-plans.html

AT&T offers up iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3 for $0 Down

ns_ipad_tablet_oct_silver_gold_2If you’re looking to score one of Apple’s new iPads with LTE and WiFi connectivity, Big Blue will be offering up these new tablets for $0 for those customers using a Mobile Share Plan.

The tablet installment plan runs twenty months with the iPad Air 2 divided up into twenty payments of $31.50 and the Mini 3 costing $26.50 per month.

You can get the full scoop from AT&T’s press release below.

Continue reading “AT&T offers up iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3 for $0 Down”

AT&T Announces Chicago and Atlanta Next Two Cities to Get Gigabit U-Verse

Progress people! Big Blue is rolling out more gigabit fiber, and the next two cities on their list will be Chicago and Atlanta.

Gigapower U-Verse is currently available in the Austin, Dallas, and Fort Worth areas, and will also be launched soon in Atlanta, Charlotte, Cupertino, Greensboro, Houston, Jacksonville, Fla., Miami, Nashville, Overland Park, Kan., Raleigh-Durham, San Antonio, St. Louis and Winston-Salem markets.

1000Mbps broadband folks. ONE THOUSAND! Remember that every time you see a cable or DSL ad…

AT&T PR below. Continue reading “AT&T Announces Chicago and Atlanta Next Two Cities to Get Gigabit U-Verse”