Sprint to Add LTE in its CDMA Spectrum?

Neither Sprint nor Clearwire executives have been too shy about saying they both could switch to Long Term Evolution for fourth-generation services, rather than using the WiMAX platform. In fact, if either firm wants to benefit from LTE ecosystem experience curves, they would have to. It is a foregone conclusion that the LTE ecosystem, from base station solutions to handsets, is going to eclipse the WiMAX ecosystem in relatively short order.

But network transitions of that sort can be messy in the interim, as the operator has to continue to support existing users and devices that operate on the older platform, while adding new users to the next-generation platform. If Sprint intends to shift to LTE on its fully-owned spectrum, that means adding LTE to the network now running CDMA.

Clearwire has other options, as it can light a separate LTE network alongside its existing WiMAX network.

In an interim period, while lots of users continue to use CDMA gear, Sprint would likely introduce new devices that support both CDMA and LTE. There are some cost considerations, but it is an approach mobile operators and suppliers are quite familiar with.

That move would need to be made at some point even as Sprint continues to use Clearwire facilities, as the CDMA network itself will have to be entirely replaced at some point by a 4G solution.

Sprint Looks Poised to Enter an LTE Future - PCWorld

Intuit Extends GoPayment No Monthly Fee and Free Credit Card Reader Offer

Intuit has extended its offer of GoPayment, its credit card processing service for mobile devices, with a free credit card reader and no monthly fee.

Intuit first offered GoPayment with a free credit card reader and no monthly fee in early January. Due to a high level of demand, Intuit will continue the offer indefinitely so that the smallest of small businesses, such as dog walkers, nannies and jewelry makers, can affordably start processing credit cards on their mobile phones. Since the initial offer, Intuit has more than tripled the number of customers signing up for GoPayment each day.

Intuit Extends GoPayment No Monthly Fee and Free Credit Card Reader Offer

Unintended Consequences of "Consumer Protection"

Debit card transaction fees charged by debit card issuers to retailers would decline by about $12 billion under provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

The law contains an amendment appended by Senator Richard Durbin, (D-IL) that sharply limits the fees debit card issuers can charge to retailers for use of those cards. Some have estimated losses of about $12 billion annually to card issuers, with the logical consequence that those institutions will raise fees and charges for other services to recoup the lost revenue.

The law sounds good, to some, as it promises lower transaction costs for retailers, who some believe might pass some of the savings along to consumers. Those of you who follow business to any extent will realize the logical unintended consequence, however. Debit card-issuing firms are not simply going to take a $12 billion hit to top-line revenue, but will look elsewhere to recoup those losses. And end to "free checking" and higher fees, plus new fees, will be the unintended consequence.

The rules will allow some legislators to posture about "doing something to help consumers and retailers." What also will happen is that consumers will find themselves paying additional costs elsewhere, wiping out the "savings." No rational executive running a debit card operation would do any less.

Assuming the losses can be recouped over time, one also has to expect job losses and less-generous working conditions and compensation. The $12 billion revenue hit will be immediate; the replacement revenues will take time to create. In the interim, costs will have to be attacked. So the other "unintended consequence" will be job losses.

Top 10 Mobile Trends of 2010

Location, social and mobile commerce are among the top-10 mobile trends of 2010, says comScore. Location-based check-in services like Foursquare, Gowalla and Facebook Places have begun to gain consumer adoption. Other GPS-enabled apps like Google Maps and Garmin have also proved to be among the most popular and widely downloaded.

Social media also has become one of the most prevalent and fastest-growing activities on the mobile phone. In the United States the number of mobile social media users grew 56 percent to lead all content categories, and in the United Kingdom Facebook accounts for 40 percent of all time spent on mobile sites.

Mobile commerce, especially related to “mobile wallet” functions, also is among the top-10 trends.

Top 10 Mobile Trends of 2010: Highlights from comScore’s Mobile Year in Review (comScore Voices)

EBay Says Retailers Want PayPal for Mobile In-Store Payments

"Offline retailers are knocking on eBay Inc.’s door and asking its PayPal unit to provide an in-store payment alternative to credit cards and debit cards, the company’s chief executive said Wednesday.

CEO John Donahoe added that eBay is working to develop device-agnostic solutions that will enable consumers to pay for goods in stores using PayPal accounts linked to their cell phones, tablets or other mobile devices.

“Merchants are beating down the door saying: ‘We want to migrate customers to non-card solutions’,” said Donahoe during a question-and-answer session at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference in San Francisco."

PayPal has been offering some ways to make mobile payments since at least 2009.

EBay CEO John Donahoe Says Offline Merchants Interested in PayPal - Digits - WSJ

Antitrust Issues for Apple's Subscription Service?

The U.S. Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission apparently are looking at Apple's new subscription service as having potential antitrust issues, but the investigation is at an early stage, and might not develop into either a formal investigation or any action against the company, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Apple's terms for the new content subscription service require companies that sell digital subscriptions to content on Apple devices also make it available for sale at the company's iTunes App Store at the best available price.

Apple also would prohibit media companies' apps from linking to stores outside its App Store or from offering better terms to subscribers elsewhere, making it difficult for them to attract buyers to their own sites. Legal experts say some of those rules could pose antitrust problems.

Groupon Super Bowl Ads Don't Hurt Traffic

Traffic data from Hitwise suggests Groupon's Super Bowl ads have failed to hurt the group-buying platform in its battle with LivingSocial.

Groupon had been hemorrhaging traffic to LivingSocial for weeks leading up to the days before the Super Bowl. The Chicago-based group-buying platform lost nearly 23 percentage points of market share, while LivingSocial gained 14. Part of each brand's respective skid and rise had to do with LivingSocial's mid-January $20-for-$10 Amazon deal, which sold 1,301,296 vouchers.

But for the week ending Feb. 5, 2011Groupon grabbed back seven percentage points from LivingSocial. And while last week Groupon (7.7 million unique visitors) dipped by 1.5 percentage points as people complained about its TV spots, its Washington, DC-based competitor (1.9 million) experienced a similar slip.

Exclusive Data: Groupon Unscathed By Super Bowl Fallout | ClickZ