"Signs" that Alltel-to-AT&T conversion is still a year away

Recently I noticed a new sign posted at Alltel stores in Sioux Falls. The signs says "Now doing 1 year contracts."

I think this is a sign of how long it will take AT&T to get moving on the network conversion. I knew network conversion was going to be a long process. My original guess was 2 years until full network conversion. I still see Sioux Falls being fully on the AT&T network by mid-summer 2010 with the I-90 and I-29 corridors completed by Thanksgiving 2010. That is just an estimated guess. Note that AT&T might not actually turn on the new equipment until the entire network conversion is complete (or nearly complete) for the area. This is a "flip the switch" theory of tower conversion.

I heard (not from the most reliable source) that Alltel towers had GSM (AT&T, T-Mobile technology) on them already for roaming revenue. If this is true, it would just take a software update at each physical tower location to make the switch for AT&T official on the Interstate corridors...kind of. --explanation of kind of...Each site will need full antenna upgrades and new equipment to switch the main antenna system to GSM from CDMA (Alltel, Verizon, Sprint technology). The "backup" system used for roaming is not intended to handle as much traffic as the primary system.

Until the new AT&T system comes on line...keep dreaming about owning an iPhone.

AT&T Purchases Alltel in South Dakota

Friday, AT&T announced they bought the Alltel properties that Verizon Wireless was required to divest under the agreement with the U.S. Government. This means AT&T will be coming to North and South Dakota.

I know there will be a burst of iPhone sales in the Sioux Falls area. I know many technology minded people will upgrading or making the switch. All current Alltel customers will need a new phone when the cut-over from CDMA to GSM takes place.

From AT&T's press release:

AT&T* today announced a definitive agreement to acquire wireless assets from Verizon Wireless for $2.35 billion in cash. Under terms of the agreement, AT&T will acquire wireless properties, including licenses, network assets and 1.5 million current subscribers in 79 service areas, primarily in rural areas across 18 states. Verizon Wireless is required to divest these properties as part of the regulatory approvals granted for its purchase of Alltel earlier this year. The states represented are: Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia and Wyoming.

The FTC Official Free Annual Credit Report Video

From the Federal Trade Commission:

Anyone can dance a jig, but only AnnualCreditReport.com provides you with a truly free credit report. It’s the only authorized source to get your free credit report under federal law.

Verizon Wireless Selling Home Cell Tower

This press release was delivered to me email inbox. I think it was a great idea. I have lived where the cell phone reception was terrible, no matter which carrier you used (the towers for VZW and Alltel were right next to each other).

The details on the personal cell tower:
1X CDMA2000 service covering 5,000 sq ft.
Provides active service (phone calls) to 3 phones
Provides 1 special channel just for 911 calls (open to all Verizon phones)
The device costs $249.99 with no monthly reoccurring fee.

The device can be configured to Open Access (on by default) allowing any cell phone to access your portal or restricted allowing only the phone numbers you want to access it (up to 50 different phones). The device doesn't support any EVDO service or EVDO Location based services.

There is a GPS chip in the extender to allow Verizon Wireless to know where the extender is. This is for E911, but mostly so that the extender only works in Verizon's service area (not a Verizon rule, a licensing rule...aka FCC).

I thought about this news for a few days and then I discovered that AT&T is releasing a similar device. The problem for people like me, it can only be used in an AT&T native service area (again a FCC rule). I would consider the AT&T extender because it works only with 3G phone...ala Apple iPhone...since I would use my phone mostly at home or in Sioux Falls.

If there wasn't a territory rule for having these devices, I would have a mobile AT&T tower in my car so that I could have an iPhone. I have Redwood Wireless mobile Broadband (www.redwoodwireless.com) that covers Sioux Falls with 1 MB down speed with truly unlimited access.

There are femtocells on the market, each servicing a different service provider:

Sprint Airave - costs $100 (equipment) + $5/month for use.

Verizon Network Extender - $250 (equipment) - no monthly fee.

T-Mobile - requires a wifi enabled phone - ~$100* (equipment) + $10/month - *equipment may be optional

AT&T - coming soon - The cost and monthly charge is not known at this time.

KSFY may not be on your small town cable provider

I recently started noticing the scrolls that Sioux Fall local ABC affiliate KSFY was putting out. I wanted to know what the hell was going on. I noticed a familiar name on the list and one that I trust. I finally found the information that I was looking for.

The scrolls are telling customers starting January 1st, 2009, KSFY will not be available on certain cable systems. Long Lines in IA and the SDN Communications provided digital cable service (providing under names such as Santel).

I think charging a large sum of money for over-the-air broadcasts is a load of crap and a poor move on KSFY's part, or at least on the Texas based owner's part. Some of the towns that will be left out because they will not pay their extortion fees are outside of the KSFY tower's footprint. Towns like Mt. Vernon and Woonsocket (Santel Headquarters) are totally outside of the 56 dBu footprint according to the FCC (FCC.gov source link)


Here is what Santel is telling their customers. (Santel source link)

KSFY TV Owners Strong Arm Santel Cable Customers to Pay for Signal That Was Free
Television viewers can’t miss the threat. KSFY television started running on-screen crawls December 5 saying rural South Dakota communities will lose their ABC affiliate programming if small-town cable companies and their rural customers don’t pay up.

Historically broadcast stations have offered their signals for free. That is until the Federal government pushed them to digital delivery by February 2009. In exchange for the digital investment, the Federal government now allows broadcasters to charge cable companies and their customers for delivery of the signal.

While most South Dakota stations have negotiated fairly, rural telephone companies that also offer cable television services say KSFY’s Texas ownership, Hoak Media Corporation, refuses to be reasonable.

“While KSFY has only a quarter of the viewers in the market, its parent company demands that customers pay more than all other area broadcasters combined,” says Ryan Thompson, General Manager of Santel Communications in Woonsocket. “And in Rapid City, the dominant, locally-owned television station isn’t charging anything for the signal delivery because they want to make sure their signal gets delivered to local viewers.”

Thompson says KSFY’s management claims the costs are pennies a day, but when he adds up the charge per cable subscriber the station’s owners are looking to charge South Dakotans in these rural markets a quarter of a million dollars to receive a signal they used to get for free.

“We’re not opposed to paying a fair price,” Thompson says. “We recognize KSFY has costs involved in the digital transition, but its demands are beyond reasonable, especially for South Dakota. They’re the highest in South Dakota and even higher than some national cable stations. Ultimately those costs get passed on to cable customers.”

Here’s what you can do to help! Call KSFY and tell them that you want them to negotiate a fair and reasonable price. Local cable customers can call the station at 1-800-955-KSFY (5739) or 605-336-1300 or email Kelly Manning at kmanning@ksfy.com.

Verizon Wireless -- Alltel Merger Approved

I found out yesterday, just minutes after the FCC approved the merger of the two companies. I waited until today to make any comments, but no new information that I wanted is known yet.

Verizon Wireless will merge Alltel into their company. How this will affect my local market in the South Dakota area is still unknown. Under the deal, Verizon Wireless is forced to sell off the Alltel licenses in areas where Verizon now holds multiple licenses. This means South Dakota and North Dakota will see a new provider. It would be interesting to see AT&T come to our area, but my bet is on Sprint because they also use CDMA (the technology used by the local Alltel towers--AT&T uses GSM). The other possibility I have heard of is US Cellular, but I don't know the details of their company.

According to the WSJ:

To win over regulators, Verizon Wireless agreed to divest 105 markets in 22 midwestern, western and southern states where its network overlaps with Alltel's.

If Verizon Wireless's deal to acquire Alltel closes, as expected, Verizon Wireless will be the largest U.S. wireless carrier by subscribers.

The deadline for bids on those assets is Nov. 14, said people familiar with the matter. Potential bidders could include small wireless operators like U.S. Cellular and Centennial Wireless, as well as AT&T Inc. The Verizon assets could be worth between $3 billion and $4 billion, the people said.

VZW EVDO in South Dakota is Official

I reported yesterday that EVDO appears to be here and today comes the official press release:

05/07/2008 Official Release
Verizon Wireless Launches First Phase Of Rollout Of Wireless Broadband Network In South Dakota

High-Speed Network Gives Verizon Wireless Customers Access to Fast Wireless Internet, E-mail, Mobile Music, Videos, and More

SIOUX FALLS, SD — Verizon Wireless announced today that it has expanded the national rollout of its high-speed wireless network to Sioux Falls. This rollout marks the first phase of the company’s planned expansion of its wireless network in South Dakota. Over the next two months the rollout will include further coverage around Sioux Falls, contiguous coverage along Interstate 90 to Rapid City and coverage north of I-90 to Pierre.

“Sioux Falls represents a vital market with dynamic, tech-savvy business people, residents and students who want to stay connected,” said Nancy B. Clark, president – Great Plains region, Verizon Wireless. “The launch of our broadband network here provides our customers with access to the very latest wireless technology.”

The Sioux Falls high-speed network overlays the company’s existing data network within Minnehaha and Lincoln counties and extends north of Sioux Falls along Interstate 29 to 246th Street, west along I-90 to Buffalo Ridge, east along I-90 to State Highway 11, and south along I-29 to County Road 140.

With the wireless broadband network, Verizon Wireless customers in the area now enjoy two prime services:

* BroadbandAccess, the enhanced high-speed wireless service that equips Verizon Wireless’ business customers with a truly untethered mobile office experience, enabling them to wirelessly access their calendars, the Internet, e-mail, and critical business information residing behind their companies’ firewalls; and
* V CAST, a consumer-oriented multimedia service that gives customers access to the most comprehensive selection of downloadable music, high-quality videos and the coolest 3D games found anywhere.

BroadbandAccess
Based on Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO) Revision A (Rev. A) network technology, BroadbandAccess provides mobile workers with the ability to access their corporate information as if they were attached to this data via a high-speed wired connection but with the freedom of true mobility. Developed with a range of users in mind, the service enables large enterprises, small- to medium-sized businesses and mobile professionals to conduct business anytime, anywhere in the BroadbandAccess coverage area via a secure, true high-speed data connection.

With BroadbandAccess, business customers, residents and visitors to Sioux Falls can expect average download speeds of 600 kilobits per second (kbps) to 1.4 megabits per second and average upload speeds of 500-800 kbps. That means they can download a 1 Megabyte e-mail attachment – the equivalent of a small PowerPoint® presentation or a large PDF file – in about eight seconds and upload the same-sized file in less than 13 seconds.

BroadbandAccess also enables Verizon Wireless customers to download files significantly faster than customers of wireless service providers that use different broadly deployed network technologies. Furthermore, customers who travel outside the enhanced BroadbandAccess coverage area with an EV-DO device will switch seamlessly to the company’s NationalAccess service.

“Our enhanced BroadbandAccess service gives our customers three key advantages in wireless communication – speed, mobility and security,” Clark said. “With these advantages comes an increase in productivity and bottom-line business benefits.”