AT&T believes it can make a killing getting consumers to hook up as many wireless devices as possible, preferably to AT&T’s network.

That’s the view of Glenn Lurie, who serves as AT&T’s hunter for new revenue opportunities.  Lurie believes that every device that can developed to work on a wireless network can obtain that connectivity through his company, for a price.

Lurie and other wireless industry executives have gathered to discuss where the wireless industry is headed, and the answer seems to be data, data, and even more data.

Everyday consumer products, from washers/dryers to pill bottles to pet collars are all possible candidates to get the wireless treatment.  Want to know when your dryer is done?  Why not have it send a text message.  Is it time to take your medication?  Let the bill bottle page you.  Your dog roaming the neighborhood?  Have a built-in GPS unit alert you to exactly where Fido is headed.

Lurie

“Everything that has a current running through it will be connected,” Lurie tells CNET. “They need to be smarter.”

Not every idea is all that futuristic.  Some high end refrigerators support Internet connections and even include a built in small screen television.  So-called smart-home products that work with home security systems, smart electrical meters and even smartphone apps already exist.  Dishwashers can be programmed to run at off-peak energy rates.  Lights can be turned on or off remotely, and so on.

But AT&T sees even more possibilities.  In-car wireless could deliver Wi-Fi and streamed media directly to car radios and televisions over AT&T’s wireless network.  Even parcel delivery could be smarter with tracked shipping and anticipated delivery times.

Lurie believes that AT&T can earn the most keeping things simple, which means getting devices connected easily without a lot of hassle or multiple bills.

AT&T always believed business applications would be the core driver in wireless data growth, but that assumption has now proven incorrect.  Consumers are driving wireless data growth with apps, multimedia, and a need to feel constantly connected.

Apple is set to announce a new iPhone or two early this afternoon, but some in the tech media notice the frenetic excitement of the newest Apple sensation has been tempered, in part because many of the new software and cloud storage features will run into usage caps for some, speed throttles for everyone else.

The imminent arrival of anticipated models iPhone 4S, expected to sell at AT&T and Verizon and iPhone 5, which is rumored to be sold exclusively by Sprint during a short sales window, remains a big deal for all three carriers.  Verizon is reportedly allowing its call center employees to take unlimited overtime in preparation for the anticipated rush of questions and orders.  Sprint, which has 33 million customers on two-year contracts, has made a commitment to sell at least 30.5 million Apple iPhones over four years, if reports by the Wall Street Journal turn out to be accurate.  That’s a lot of phones.

[flv width=”512″ height=”308″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/Sprint Getting iPhone 10-3-11.flv[/flv]

9 to 5 Mac shows off a mock image of what the newest iPhone 5 will probably look like. Pay close attention to the rounded edges and bezel.

Reports from the Wall Street Journal, WDAF-TV in Sprint’s home base of Kansas City, and Bloomberg News discuss the implications of Sprint’s deal with Apple.  (11 minutes)

That’s also an enormous gamble for Sprint, which is guaranteed no real profits from the venture until the year 2014.  If the company does win temporary exclusivity of an iPhone model that includes support for Sprint’s 4G network, WiMax, it will also bring the company an enormous number of new customers.

Among the most important new features of the phone is iOS 5, the latest version of Apple’s mobile operating system.  It comes loaded with new ways to burn through the stingy usage caps AT&T and Verizon Wireless are now providing their customers:

1. Over the air upgrades/activations: Apple’s notoriously huge software updates can be delivered to your wireless device without syncing it on a personal computer.  That means downloading software updates that can easily exceed the 200MB “light usage” plans some carriers sell budget-conscious customers;
2. Notification Center: Puts messages from e-mail, texts, and apps in a more convenient place to access and respond, increasing usage;
3. NewsStand: Leverages newspaper and magazine content in a single app, downloading content pushed to your phone, increasing usage;
4. Safari Sync: The Safari web browser will now sync with other instances of the browser on other devices to keep your reading list updated;
5. iMessage: Send texts, photos, and bandwidth-hogging video to friends and family, potentially driving up usage considerably;

But nothing is expected to spike wireless data usage like Apple’s new iCloud and iTunes Match, both of which manage and sync multimedia content and app purchases between devices “over the cloud.”  Unfortunately, repeated journeys of this type will burn through your usage allowance, and those with significant-sized libraries of photos, music, or videos are at serious risk of blasting past their usage cap.  Even customers who use more than 4-5GB on “unlimited data plans” sold by AT&T and Verizon will face the scourge of the speed throttle, which will reduce your zippy new phone to speeds that resemble dial-up.

AT&T and Verizon Apple iPhone customers are at the highest risk of facing the speed throttle, because Apple is not expected to support either company’s 4G data network.  Verizon only exempts 4G customers from the speed throttle when they use the 4G network.

The one company well-positioned to capitalize on these realities happens to be Sprint, which is keeping its truly unlimited data plan.  If Apple comes through with 4G support for Sprint, customers could not only say goodbye to AT&T and Verizon’s slower 3G speeds, they would also be able to rest easy knowing they won’t experience bill shock or a month in the dial-up speed penalty corner if deemed to be using “too much” service.

Customers of the two biggest carriers need to get familiar with switching to Wi-Fi as often as possible, and avoid using data-intensive features on usage-limited plans.  For Verizon and AT&T, it’s the best of all worlds — another two year contract for a usage-limited data plan that guarantees increased revenue and reduced costs.  For you, it’s an improved phone you can never use to its full potential.

[flv width=”512″ height=”308″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/Little Buzz Over New iPhone 10-4-11.flv[/flv]

The Wall Street Journal reports there isn’t as much buzz over this year’s newest iPhone.  Bloomberg talks about the software changes in the new phone, and WWLP-TV in Springfield notes Verizon’s unions are calling on Americans to boycott the new phone until Verizon workers get a fair contract.  (8 minutes)

Update 2:00pm ET:  The Wall Street Journal reports the Sprint iPhone will not support their 4G network: According to people familiar with the company’s plans, the hotly anticipated device won’t operate on long-term evolution or WiMAX fourth-generation networks. Those wireless networks promise speedier downloading to mobile devices of episodes of television programs, as well as cute baby photos. The people said the device will work on 3G networks, which are broadly in use today and are the standard for the current iPhone 4. AT&T says its HSPA+ network has 4G-like speeds.

Update 4:00pm ET: The announcement event finally concludes with news the iPhone 5 is vaporware for now.  Sprint will end up with the same Apple 4S phone AT&T and Verizon will sell on their respective networks. The San Jose Mercury News was not thrilled with the event:

At a rollout that lacked some of the thrills and surprises of past product releases — and disappointed some in attendance who expected a completely made-over iPhone 5 — Siri stood out as the sexiest new feature on an iPhone that, contrary to speculation, isn’t any thinner or different looking on the outside than its predecessor, the iPhone 4.

“This phone is better than the iPhone 4 in many ways, even though it looks the same,” said Avi Greengart, an analyst with Current Analysis on hand for the unveiling before several hundred reporters, bloggers, analysts and other guests. “Sales will be wildly successful, but Apple fanboys’ expectations probably were not met today.”

The new phone, which will be available Oct. 15 after pre-orders begin Oct. 7, will cost $199 for a 16-gigabyte version, $299 for 32GB and $399 for 64 GB. It had been center-stage in the tech blogosphere for months, as pundits weighed in with what they saw as the most obvious bells and whistles Apple would unleash on their growing fan base. Tuesday, some were surprised by how wrong that had been.

The phone that everyone thought would be thinner than the iPhone 4, pretty much resembled its older sibling. But as analysts had suspected, the new phone is much faster, thanks for the new A5 chip inside it, and it has plenty of consumer-pleasing attributes, most of them inside the case.

A ZCom owned Verizon Wireless store in New Jersey

Verizon Wireless executives forced independent authorized resellers of the company’s prepaid wireless service to buy cheap phones and activate them with their own money, fraudulently boosting the number of so-called “new activations” Verizon reports to its stockholders.

That is the chief allegation in a new lawsuit filed not against Verizon Wireless itself, but its largest franchisee, ZCom.

The NY Post reports Verizon Wireless executives who managed independent New York Verizon retailers masterminded the alleged scam by suggesting Verizon Wireless’ biggest franchisee, ZCom, “fraudulently increase the number of Verizon Wireless new account activations through the fabrication of fraudulent prepaid accounts,” the suit charges.

ZCom, which sub-leases authorized retail locations for Verizon products, was the defendant in the suit because ZCom can make or break independent store owners who sub-lease, staff, and manage the retail stores.

Plaintiff Shelly Bhumitra, who sub-leased several Suffolk County stores from ZCom, told The Post he was pressured to fraudulently activate pre-paid phones when a Verizon Wireless executive came to his store with ZCom’s owner, Iminder “Vikas” Dhall.

“They suggested that with our own money we should buy inexpensive phones [not smartphones],” and then load them with $30 of prepaid minutes, he said in an interview.

Bhumitra said he was then told to “give them away as bonus phones” to customers so that when used they would count as new activations.

The store owner said he was also instructed to load prepaid minutes onto phones that customers were throwing away and activate them with fictitious names. He was told to keep them in a drawer and make calls on them once or twice a month, echoing charges in the suit.

A store owner would ultimately earn $55 from each activation — enough to more than make up for the $30 outlay.

The three Verizon Wireless executives outed for allegedly taking part in the scheme have all recently resigned, according to the lawsuit.

Verizon itself is taking several measures to distance itself from the case.  Not being named as a defendant has allowed the company to avoid commenting, claiming it would be “inappropriate.”  The company also canceled its contract with ZCom, which generates $150 million in revenue for Big Red every year and holds the “master lease” to 130 Verizon Wireless stores, which are all over downstate New York.  For now, those store locations will remain open.

ZCom’s lawyer denied the allegations in the lawsuit.

Quarterly financial reports can make all the difference for shareholders who can make or break a stock based on financial results.  Verizon Wireless has had an increasingly challenging time managing to grow its prepaid division, which industry observers say used to charge more than its competitors for no-contract plans.  By inflating the number of new activations in company results, shareholder value is artificially protected.  Store owners can be convinced to play along because of lucrative new customer signing commissions, and to meet required sales targets.  Poorly performing store manager/owners can find their leases terminated and, in a worst-case scenario, the store location itself can be closed.

Bhumitra claims he was intimidated into going along with the alleged scam.

Verizon Wireless has tried to compete more aggressively in the prepaid category in 2011, with some success.  After creating new monthly packages bundling voice minutes with data and texting at lower pricing, the company added 879,000 new prepaid customers in the first quarter, and 1.3 million in the second, the Post reports.

Comcast Ventures, the venture capital affiliate of Comcast Corporation today announced it has launched a new company — CTI Towers, Inc., which will own, operate, and develop telecommunications towers throughout the United States. CTI Towers’ is launching with a portfolio of approximately 800 towers that were previously owned and operated by Comcast Cable subsidiaries. Headquartered in Boston, CTI Towers will actively lease tower space to wireless operators and other tenants, creating additional tower capacity for rapidly evolving businesses and technologies across the U.S.

“Consumers are increasingly relying on their mobile devices and consuming high bandwidth applications, such as streaming video, requiring a next generation of wireless communications infrastructure,” said Dave Zilberman, Principal at Comcast Ventures. “Newly formed CTI Towers will work with mobile operators and other service providers to improve the quality of the wireless network experience to their customers by leveraging the extensive footprint of urban and suburban towers in CTI’s portfolio. With Tony Peduto’s significant experience managing and developing towers and his deep understanding of the tower business, CTI is well positioned to aggressively support the build-out of new wireless networks.”

CTI Towers will take its place among more than a dozen other multiple tower owners as 12th largest in the country.  Its management of 800 towers pales in comparison with Crown Castle, which owns more than 22,000 towers across the United States.

But Comcast’s cable infrastructure comes with the deal, and that could be very lucrative for the venture.  Cable companies are increasingly leasing space on their cable networks to provide backhaul connections between the cell tower itself and the mobile operator.  LTE and other 4G networks require bandwidth greater than traditional telephone company circuits.  While many towers increasingly rely on fiber connections, cable companies that have room to spare on their own networks can more than meet the needs of most cell tower operations.

Courtesy: Wireless Estimator

Wall Street is pushing back against Justice Department efforts to unwind a merger proposal between AT&T and T-Mobile that will leave America with three national carriers.  Some investment firms even believe three carriers are still “too many” and want mergers and acquisitions to accelerate to allow two dominant national carriers to emerge.

“It’s pretty clear what the end game is in wireless,” said Julie Richardson, managing director at Providence Equity Partners Inc. “LTE, 4G — you have to have those services to compete. One of the most interesting things to watch in telecom will be these players coming together.”

Richardson shares the view among many on Wall Street that carriers forced to build costly 4G services like LTE need less competition and more cash-on-hand to pay for upgrades and to obtain needed spectrum.

Only AT&T and Verizon Communications have the resources to support a national 4G Long Term Evolution network, Richardson said. Sprint, the third-biggest U.S. wireless operator, is struggling to compete against larger rivals and has lost money for 15 consecutive quarters, Bloomberg News reports.

Among smaller players, Richardson believes the future is clear: mergers, acquisitions, and partnerships.  Sprint is moving increasingly closer to the nation’s cable companies, which have sought a cost-efficient way to deliver the ultimate “quad-play” service package that includes wireless, landline, cable-TV, and Internet service, all from the cable company.  But talk of constructing competing cell networks has gone largely nowhere, and cable companies that do offer some type of wireless service typically resell an existing service under their own brand.  Road Runner Mobile, from Time Warner Cable, for example, is really Clearwire under a different name.  Same for Comcast’s wireless Internet service.  Cox is pitching “unbelievably fair” wireless phone service that actually comes from Sprint.

But cable operators currently don’t seem to be interested in outright acquisitions of cell companies like Sprint, preferring to partner with them instead.

Clearwire, which needs financing and better wireless spectrum, may eventually find a friend in Dish Networks, the satellite TV company.  Dish controls wireless frequency spectrum it currently does not use, and has expressed an interest in expanding beyond a traditional satellite television provider.  An acquisition of Sprint or Clearwire could help them accomplish that.