Wholesale -- Engadget Mobile

wholesale posts

Sprint looking to wholesale bandwidth to connected gadget makers

by Darren Murph posted Mar 24th 2009 @ 4:57PM

So, what's a flagging cellular operator to do once it has succumbed to the grim realization that no one wants to sign up for your service and you've already collected the dough from selling off nearly all of your towers? Go wholesale, of course! Unbeknownst to most, all of the Kindle downloads on Amazon's white-hot e-reader go through Sprint's network, and given just how successful that little venture has been, the carrier is hoping to expand its revenues from wholesaling bandwidth (which currently sits at just 3 percent of its total) by inking similar deals with connected gadget makers. From internet-connected vehicles to GPS systems to cameras, the options are darn near limitless, and with so much free capacity on Sprint's network, it might as well find companies to use it. 'Course, it's not like Sprint's the only one out there trying to carve these kinds of deals into stone, but it's definitely the one that needs to do it most immediately.

Unlocked iPhone 3G available for direct shipment from Hong Kong, no catch at all

by Joshua Topolsky posted Jul 17th 2008 @ 8:32AM

Man, waiting in line for the iPhone 3G can be a royal pain, right? Wouldn't it be nice if you could just circumvent the whole boring, sheep-like process and have one delivered to your doorstep? Well thanks to Alibaba.com and the weird and wacky copyright laws of Hong Kong, now you can! According to the wholesale goods supply site, you can just order up the "original" Apple device direct from a company called Union Camera and have them sent to whatever poorly lit dock, abandoned warehouse, or suburban safe-house you desire. The best part? They're network unlocked. You know, something seems wrong about this, but we just can't put our finger on it...

Update: As some commenters point out, it seems to be $1000 minimum order as opposed to 1000 pieces. Guess we'll just have to start the process and find out.

[Via PMP Today]

Wholesaling of D block spectrum okayed by FCC

by Darren Murph posted Nov 19th 2007 @ 12:58AM

Landing an agreement to create a worldwide mobile broadband standard with the freed up 700MHz band isn't the only good news going on in the spectrum world, as the FCC has also waived a previous regulation that would require winners of the D block segment to not wholesale more than 50-percent of its capacity. Now, the winner will be able to wholesale up to 100-percent of the capacity so long as it abides by the other guidelines surrounding D block, most notable of which is the provision that requires the victorious bidder to "build out a nationwide wireless network that is good enough to meet public safety specifications for coverage and redundancy." The move is seen as one that will widen the range of potential bidders and encourage small business participation, and for consumers, it could offer up more competition in the mobile services marketplace. Sounds like a surefire win-win, eh?

[Via RCRNews, image courtesy of toddemslie]
Read - FCC D block waiver [PDF]
Read - Explanation of D block spectrum

Verizon preps to launch Motorola SLVR

by Michael Caputo posted Jan 4th 2007 @ 5:00PM

Looks like Sprint won't have bragging rights after all as Verizon Wireless preps to be the ~~first national carrier~~ to launch the CDMA version of Motorola's popular SLVR phone. From the L7 to the L7c, the feature set has remained the same from with a 262,000 color display, VGA camera, expandable memory via microSD, and bluetooth. We still can't figure out why Motorola didn't up the resolution on the camera like its i-mode cousin though. Stay tuned for the price details!

Update: Verizon is not the first national carrier to launch the SLVR L7c. This device was launched in November 2006 by Sprint. The device is currently an exclusive to Best Buy locations.