Wirehead Mobility Blog: February 2013

RCR Wireless
Feb,25, 2013
by:+ Dan Meyer
AT&T seems to have usurped Verizon Wireless as General Motors carrier of choice for the auto makers OnStar telematics offering. AT&T reported today that is has signed a multi-year agreement to provide an “enhanced suite of safety, security, diagnostic and infotainment services” to OnStar deployments in GM’s range of car brands using the carrier’s LTE network. The agreement is set to begin in 2014 and will cover the United States and Canada. The Canadian network provider for the offering was not released. AT&T said the offering will include voice calling, streaming audio, Web access, applications and video for backseat passengers as well as powering GM’s planned in-vehicle Wi-Fi hotspot offering. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The timing of the deal seems to provide AT&T with enough time to fully deploy its LTE services across its current cellular footprint, which it expects to reach 300 million potential customer covered by mid-2014.
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This Week's Wireless News
RCR Wireless U.S.
Clearwire takes $80M from Sprint Nextel, remains aloof on tie up
Feb,27,2013
by:+Dan Meyer.
Clearwire’s future continued on its un-clear path as the wireless broadband company announced plans to dip into an $80 million “draw” provided by Sprint Nextel as part of its ongoing attempt to acquire Clearwire, though Clearwire’s management reiterated that it has still not decided to move forward with that deal. The draw, which was originally as much as $800 million, was offered as part of Sprint Nextel’s accepted $2.2 billion acquisition attempt of Clearwire late last year. The offer is in the form of exchangeable notes for Clearwire common stock at $1.50 per share and is set to be drawn on March 1. Clearwire did not draw on offers that were presented for January and February.
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Wireless Week
Wireless Connections Creep Into Everyday Things
Feb,27,2013
by:+Peter Svensson,
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — A car that tells your insurance company how you're driving. A bathroom scale that lets you chart your weight on the Web. And a meter that warns your air conditioner when electricity gets more expensive.

Welcome to the next phase of the wireless revolution.
The first wave of wireless was all about getting people to talk to each other on cellphones. The second will be getting things to talk to each other, with no humans in between. So-called machine-to-machine communication is getting a lot of buzz at this year's wireless trade show. Some experts believe these connections will outgrow the traditional phone business in less than a decade.
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Fierce Wireless
Samsung exec disputes notion of tension with Google over Android
Feb,26, 2013
by:+Phil Goldstein
BARCELONA, Spain--A Samsung Electronics executive pushed back against the idea that Samsung's dominant position in Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android ecosystem is a source of tension between the two companies. Nick DiCarlo, vice president of portfolio planning and product marketing at Samsung's U.S. mobile arm, said Samsung's Android sales have been "positive" for Android. His comments come after the Wall Street Journal reported that there is increasing tension between Google and Samsung, by far the largest Android OEM. The report, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter, said Google executives are concerned that Samsung has become so big and could pressure Google to alter the nature of their relationship
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Small Business Healthcare Consortium
Hello Businesses Owner,

I am writing to you because our changing health care system will have a profound effect on all of us. Now that the election is over and the Supreme Court has ruled, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is not going away. It will not be repealed and it is up to us to make sure it will work for small businesses and individuals as it was intended to do.

That’s why I joined the Campaign for Better Health Care’s newly created Small Business Health Care Consortium (SBHCC). This consortium views the needs of small businesses and their employees as a top priority.

And, as a member of the Steering Committee of the SBHCC I am personally inviting you to join our network of small businesses who know that only through our collective voices that will assure that the Affordable Care Act live up to its goal of making healthcare affordable for all.

Discussions around health reform have been confusing and, sometimes, even misleading. It is the goal of the SBHCC to provide factual information about the changes that are already happening and those coming in the near future. The SBHCC discusses the benefits and opportunities of the ACA and what Illinois small businesses need to do to make sure this law will benefit them.

Many key components of the ACA are national in nature. For instance, small businesses currently providing health insurance to their employees could be eligible for a 35% tax credit. And, while employers with fewer than 50 full time employees are not required to provide health insurance, their employees can take advantage of the ACA’s benefits.

Other components will be implemented at the State level and these decisions will either enhance small businesses or provide another hurdle. One important component is that all states must implement a health insurance exchange (marketplace). These exchanges will include a rate review process with defined, easy to understand plans to consider and review side-by-side.

As small business owners we share many of the same, serious business challenges. It is my hope that you and your small business peers do want to learn more about the ACA. Let’s take this opportunity to act collectively to get control of health insurance costs and improve access to coverage. The opportunity to create positive change is now. It is about fairness and choices for small businesses. To that end I like for you to hear my own personal story about how the new healthcare law will effect me.