According to CRN and other sources, iCloud will soon be partially powered by the Google Cloud Platform by way of a deal that could also be used as leverage to cut its cloud costs with Amazon and Microsoft. Such a move is a big win for Google’s burgeoning cloud enterprise business.
This is kind of humorous. At Amazon’s AWS re:Invent conference in Las Vegas last week, Amazon Web Services Vice President of Infrastructure Jerry Hunter accidentally showed a generic picture of one of Google’s data centers. This is the kind of minor mishap that usually goes completely unnoticed, but not this time. Google’s Urs Hölzle came out on Google+ late yesterday to point out the mistake, taking the opportunity to brag about Google Cloud Platform as “the world’s best infrastructure”…
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If you’ve ever tried to developed a mobile app or website you probably know how frustrating it can be to think what you made is ready to go, only to take it for a spin on a new device in a new environment and find that something is broken. It happens a lot, and Amazon wants to help alleviate some of that frustration with its new AWS Device Farm.
After a couple of rumors, Verizon’s new XLTE network is now official and cranking out up to two times the bandwidth previously offered in some of the carrier’s major markets. Customers in cities throughout Alabama, Arizona, California, Indiana, Illinois and New York are among the first to take advantage of Big Red’s new AWS-powered setup.
Bloomberg reports that Verizon’s vice president of network support Mike Haberman confirmed the Galaxy S4 will be the first device to access the carrier’s new AWS spectrum rolling out to major cities such as New York in the coming months.
While Verizon has plans to roll out more devices that can access the higher speeds of its AWS enhanced LTE network, the Galaxy S4 is the first device with a software update planned to activate support for the AWS frequencies:
Verizon is using the AWS airwaves to help increase the capacity of its long-term evolution, or LTE, network. While Verizon will be adding more devices that can use the higher speeds, the Galaxy S4 is the only such phone currently on sale.
We told you last month that Nexus 4 owners in Canada were able to enable LTE on their Nexus 4 using a few relatively easy steps. Now, users posting in XDA developer forums claim to have LTE service up and running on AT&T’s network in select areas. However, that doesn’t exactly mean any Nexus 4 user on AT&T can get LTE working… As explained by AndroidPolice, those utilizing LTE on AT&T are likely on band 17 operating at the 700 MHz frequency, but AT&T also has band 4 AWS spectrum only in select cities and possibly not even deployed:
in some, very select areas, AT&t utilizes band 4. Also referred to as AWS, the carrier has holdings on this spectrum in select markets including Phoenix, Raleigh, San Juan, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Oklahoma City, Dallas, Chicago, Charlotte. Also Athens, GA and College Station, TX. That being said, the fact that AT&T owns spectrum here doesn’t mean it’s deployed.
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T-Mobile just announced plans to exchange and purchase spectrum from Verizon Wireless in a deal the carrier claimed would improve its “spectrum position in 15 of the top 25 markets” that covers 60 million people. T-Mobile said the spectrum would help enhance its 4G network and advance the rollout of its LTE service. The agreement includes spectrum that Verizon planned to acquire from several cable companies, so T-Mobile will first have to wait for the Federal Communications Commission and U.S. Department of Justice to approve the deal:
“This agreement will provide T-Mobile with critical AWS spectrum, enhancing both network capacity and performance and allowing us to meet the growing consumer demand for 4G mobile broadband,” T-Mobile CEO and President Philipp Humm said. “This is good for T-Mobile and good for consumers because it will enable T-Mobile to compete even more vigorously with other wireless carriers. We anticipate FCC approval later this summer, in time for us to incorporate this new spectrum into our network modernization and the rollout of LTE services next year.”
T-Mobile mentioned a few of the cities that would benefit if the agreement goes through:
T-Mobile will gain spectrum covering 60 million people — notably in Philadelphia; Washington, D.C.; Detroit; Minneapolis; Seattle; Cleveland; Columbus, Ohio; Milwaukee; Charlotte, N.C.; Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; Greensboro, N.C.; Memphis, Tenn.; and Rochester, N.Y