AT&T Identifies Three More Cities in its Mobile 5G Rollout

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AT&T has unveiled half of the cities that will see the introduction of its mobile 5G service this year.

The carrier in January announced plans to be the first U.S. carrier to roll out mobile 5G by debuting the service in 12 markets by the end of the year. In April, the company announced the first three cities — Atlanta, Dallas and Waco, Texas — and on Friday it added Oklahoma City, Charlotte and Raleigh, N.C., to the list.

“We’re on track to launch the first mobile 5G services and deliver the first device to customers this year,” AT&T Technology & Operations President Melissa Arnoldi said in a statement.

AT&T officials argued the company deliberately sought out mid-sized cities as part of its 5G rollout because “all Americans should have access to next-gen connectivity” — a jab at T-Mobile officials planning to upgrade their networks in New York, Los Angeles and other major cities.

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Ericsson Reports First Quarterly Profit Since 2016

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Ericsson on Wednesday reported its first quarterly operating profit since the fall of 2016 as its results beat analysts’ expectations for the April through June reporting period.

The Swedish telecom equipment giant, which slashed thousands of jobs and overhauled its management team during a prolonged downturn in the segment, disclosed a second-quarter operating margin of 0.3 percent.

Its adjusted gross margin, meanwhile, reached 36.7 percent; Bloomberg reported that analysts predicted the closely watched metric would hit just more than 35 percent.

“It’s been tons of hard work in the company, but it is rewarding to see that hard work now paying off,” President and CEO Börje Ekholm said on the company’s earnings call, according to a transcript.

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Contradictory call times sow confusion in Putnam County murder trial

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Jurors in the Clifford Andersen Jr. murder trial in Putnam County were sent home Monday with extra warnings not to “jump to any conclusions” after the day’s final prosecution witness appeared to create confusion by contradicting a key element in the prosecution’s case.

Lynn McCloskey, a criminal analyst with the Illinois State Police, testified that cellphone calls between Andersen and victim Deborah Dewey on Aug. 22, 2016, were greater in number and later in the day than prosecutors and other witnesses had previously stated.

That was the day that the Ladd woman disappeared early in the morning and was allegedly beaten to death by her brother-in-law in a vacant house in Standard and later buried in a shallow grave in the yard outside. He’s standing trial on charges of first-degree murder and concealment of a homicidal death.

A key component in the case has been the claim that the 68-year-old Standard man was the last person to talk to her, and that has been supported partly by reference to phone records. Prosecutors have maintained that Andersen called her at about 7:44 a.m., 7:49, 8:10, 8:37, and 11:42, with the last call going unanswered.

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Driver’s License? There’s an App to Carry That in Louisiana

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Louisiana residents can now carry their driver’s license on their smartphone.

News outlets report a new phone app, created through a 2016 state law, offers a digital version of the Louisiana driver’s license, allowing motorists an option aside from carrying a physical license.

The smartphone app is called LA Wallet . Though the app is free to download, a $5.99 charge is required to activate the license. Once activated, LA Wallet enables cellphones to display an image of the physical driver’s license.

“Most people never leave home without their smartphone, and with this app they will never be without their driver’s license,” Gov. John Bel Edwards said in a statement.

The digital license is good for the life of the issuance. When the physical license expires, motorists will have to renew their license with the state Office of Motor Vehicles and buy a new digital license.

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T-Mobile Tops OpenSignal Download Ratings as All Four Carriers Gain Speed

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T-Mobile once again recorded the fastest 4G download and overall download speeds among the four major U.S. carriers in the latest analysis of the domestic wireless industry by OpenSignal.

The carrier also received top honors in 4G upload speed, 3G download speed and 3G latency in the firm’s new State of Mobile Networks report for the U.S.

Verizon, however, caught up to T-Mobile to tie for the lead in 4G availability, while AT&T again led its rivals in 4G latency.

OpenSignal said the latest U.S. report comprised some 8.1 million measurements on more than 385,000 test devices between mid-March and mid-June. OpenSignal analysts noted that a “jolt of bandwidth” in the past year allowed each major carrier to improve its 4G download speeds compared to the previous study.

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