Tag Archives: FranShammo

Verizon hoping to launch cheaper LTE-only phones in late 2014, bid good riddance to 3G

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Verizon to look at launching cheaper LTEonly phones, with no 2G or 3G support, in late 2014

A pure LTE world is still a long, long way off. But some countries and carriers could get there quicker than others, and indeed Verizon has revealed that it's considering launching LTE-only handsets, with no CDMA chip, within the next couple of years. Speaking to analysts at a recent Deutsche Bank event, the carrier's CFO, Fran Shammo, said his company's goal is to establish voice over LTE by the end of this year and then to "start to think" about pure LTE handsets in "late 2014". Shammo mentioned this possibility in the context of bringing out cheaper phones, and a general incentive for any carrier to leave 3G behind would be to avoid paying associated licensing fees to the likes of Qualcomm or Broadcom. If those savings eventually trickled down to us customers, and if we could breathe the clean air of the countryside without LTE dropping, then it'd certainly be an enticing prospect.

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Via: The Verge, CNET, FierceWireless

Source: Verizon

Verizon CFO: LTE rollout should wrap up by mid-2013, months ahead of expectations

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Verizon CFO Fran Shammo

Most of Verizon's strategy talk surrounding its long-term LTE plans has conservatively aimed at upgrading all existing coverage areas to 4G by the end of 2013. If we're to believe a CFO Fran Shammo presentation, the carrier may have underpromised and overdelivered: the executive now expects LTE to reach the whole network by the middle of next year, or as much as half a year sooner than first thought. What prompted the quicker rollout wasn't mentioned, although Shammo was eager to point out a surprisingly strong reception to Verizon's (frequently mandatory) shared plans as well as the ample number of airwaves that came from a spectrum transfer deal with cable providers. Having a lot of customers on premium plans with the capacity to support them tends to help with faster expansion, we'd say. No matter the exact reasoning, the shortened schedule could underscore the advantage of Verizon's early start on LTE versus those carriers taking a more relaxed pace.

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Verizon CFO: LTE rollout should wrap up by mid-2013, months ahead of expectations originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Nov 2012 17:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon CFO buries his head in the sand, claims unlimited data is ‘going by the wayside’

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Verizon CFO buries his head in the sand, claims unlimited data is 'going by the wayside'

"La la la la. I can't hear you." Verizon's CFO, Fran Shammo, might've just as well made those comments with his hands firmly cupped over his ears, as the firm's chief number cruncher told attendees at today's Goldman Sachs investor conference, "Unlimited is just a word, it doesn't really mean anything." While Sprint and T-Mobile would certainly take issue with that statement, Shammo then dug the hole deeper by saying, "That whole unlimited thing, I think, is going by the wayside." These comments were made in the context of Shammo playing up the carrier's shared data plans, wherein he explained his belief that consumers "think they consume a lot more data than they really do." Shammo also revealed that Verizon has converted more subscribers and devices over to the new scheme than it'd initially anticipated.

Naturally, change within any industry takes time, but now that Sprint is in a position to offer unlimited data at a meaningful speed and T-Mobile has climbed aboard the bandwagon, Verizon may have to change its tune if a significant number of consumers decide that unlimited isn't dead after all. You can view the entire transcript at the source link below, but consider this: would you take unlimited plans into consideration when shopping between carriers, or is Mr. Shammo right that consumers really don't use that much data? Give us your thoughts in the comments below.

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Verizon CFO buries his head in the sand, claims unlimited data is 'going by the wayside' originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Sep 2012 17:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon CFO says grandfathered unlimited plans on the way out

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Verizon CFO says grandfathered unlimited plans on the way outVerizon Communications CFO Fran Shammo shattered many a hopes and dreams today speaking at the J.P. Morgan Technology, Media and Telecom conference. During his address, Shammo indicated that customers who have been grandfathered in to the unlimited data plan may soon find themselves pushed into tiered territory, with the debut of the carrier's shared data plans. "Everyone will be on data share," Shammo said, clarifying that, "a lot of our 3G base is on unlimited... [and] when they migrate off 3G they will have to go to data share." Obviously, with many customers clinging desperately to their truly unlimited usage in the shift to LTE, such a move would ruffle more than a few feathers. It's not clear if this will affect customers who have already made the leap to LTE devices or if it will be limited to customers migrating from 3G phones after a particular cut off date. We've reached out to Verizon for comment, but so far Big Red is keeping mum. We'll just have to take Shammo at his word for now. We hope you like data caps. To hear the comments in full hit up the source link.

Update: We just finished listening through the entire webcast (we're still waiting for the transcript) and found the quote that is going to make most customers shake their fists in anger:

"LTE is our anchor point for data share. So, as you come through an upgrade cycle and you upgrade in the future, you will have to go on to the data share plan. And moving away from, if you will, the unlimited world and moving everyone into a tiered structure data share plan."

Doesn't get much clearer than that, but we're still hoping Verizon will come back and say Shammo was speaking out of turn... fingers crossed.

Verizon CFO says grandfathered unlimited plans on the way out originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 May 2012 13:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon shared data plans are due in mid-summer, target users with multiple devices

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Verizon shared data plans are due in mid-summer, target users with multiple devices

On a call discussing Verizon's Q1 earnings report, CFO Francis Shammo has once again touched on the company's promised shared data plans, targeting their launch in mid-summer. He also noted that he expected this to drive growth in the wireless business, because the plan is apparently designed to allow customers to easily add "other devices" to it. You can do your best to tease more meaning out of his statement from the full transcript at Seeking Alpha, we'll be carefully considering how many data hogs are allowed at our share house for the summer.

Verizon shared data plans are due in mid-summer, target users with multiple devices originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Apr 2012 15:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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