mobile data

Most of us have cursed poor mobile connectivity in our home towns at some point or other, but if you want to know whether you really have something to complain about, the latest RootMetrics report has the answers.

RootMetrics is a mobile analytics company that tests cell networks across the USA, measuring reliability, speed and performance across data, calls and text to come up with an overall performance ranking for 125 metro areas …

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With ever more devices trying to squeeze growing volumes of mobile data through a limited number of LTE frequencies, Verizon is leading the push for use of unlicensed frequencies – known as LTE-Unlicensed, or LTE-U. As well as increasing capacity, LTE-U would potentially offer faster speeds.

The problem? These are the same frequencies used by WiFi, Bloomberg reporting that Google, Microsoft, Comcast and other oppose rapid adoption for this reason.

The three companies have been among a group lobbying the Federal Communications Commission to delay LTE-U’s adoption pending further tests [claiming that it] “would substantially degrade consumer Wi-Fi service across the country.”

The companies argue that while both existing LTE frequencies and WiFi play nicely when it comes to competing demand for use of the same airwaves, LTE-U doesn’t … 
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Google is reportedly working on a way for users of Android One devices to get free data when using some apps, as data plans are expensive and can sometimes prevent potential customers from getting online. Zero rating is most commonly done in deals between carriers and third-party apps that will let users of those apps use them without it tolling their data usage. But Google has a bigger plan, bringing zero rating to many third-party apps in developing markets like India.

The company may go as far as to make it possible for any developer to zero-rate the mobile data used by their application…

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