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T-Mobile is boosting speeds in Denver.

T-Mobile announced today an upgrade to its 4G network in Denver and other major markets across the country that doubles the wireless carrier’s top download speeds.

The nation’s No. 4 cellphone c0mpany says the upgrade will take top theoretical (or test) speeds to 42 megabits per second. Real world speeds could hit 24 Mbps, or twice as fast as the previous cap of 12 Mbps.

Existing T-Mobile 4G phones will not have access to the top speed. So-called “42-Mbps” compatible handsets will be released in the second half of this year.

T-Mobile will release Wednesday the Rocket 3.0 data stick that allows subscribers to connect to the “42-Mbps” network with Read more…

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Does Charlie Ergen have any interest in Sprint?

In the wake of Sprint CEO Dan Hesse’s remarks that the company could be acquired if the AT&T/T-Mobile merger is approved, Bloomberg News speculated yesterday that CenturyLink could be a likely buyer.

What about Dish Network? The Douglas County-based company, in the midst of an acquisition binge,  is clearly looking to make a move on wireless. Incoming CEO Joe Clayton suggested yesterday that more deals could be on the horizon for the nation’s second-largest satellite-TV provider.

Dish chairman Charlie Ergen said this month that the company probably won’t launch a wireless play without an established partner.

BTIG Research analyst Walter Piecyk wrote in a blog post that Sprint could be a potential partner, though he believes Metro PCS would Read more…

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Former Sirius chairman Joe Clayton will take over as CEO of Dish Network June 20.

Douglas County-based Dish Network  said today that former Sirius chairman and chief executive Joe Clayton will succeed co-founder Charlie Ergen as president and chief executive of the nation’s second-largest satellite-TV company.

The move is effective June 20.

In an interview this morning with The Denver Post, Clayton said he was asked to join the company because Ergen wants to focus on integrating a recent string of acquisitions, which include bankrupt video-rental chain Blockbuster.

“My job is to bring improved operational, commercial and financial performance to Dish Network and to help with some of the new assets,” Clayton said.  ”Taking Charlie out of the day to do day stuff and let him work on the grand strategy is indeed why he’s bringing me in.”

Clayton has served on the board of Dish sister company EchoStar since late 2008. Ergen will remain as chairman of Dish and EchoStar.

The topic of Clayton taking over as Dish CEO has been bandied about since he joined the EchoStar board, he said. Talks picked up steam about 10 days ago.

“I’ve been on several boards but I was starting to miss some of the day-to-day (work),” Clayton said. “Charlie had a need and I was ready to jump in and get reinvolved.”

Clayton said a key to turning around subscriber losses for the pay-TV industry is “providing value to the consumer.”

“It’s not always the cheapest price. It could be the best customer service Read more…

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Comcast tries to capitalize on Qwest selling out.

Five years ago, Denver-based Qwest and Comcast were engaged in a sizzling marketing battle that, for a few months, rivaled Coke Vs. Pepsi, or in today’s world, Google Vs. Microsoft.

Comcast slammed Qwest’s slower Internet speeds. Qwest, in turn, hammered away at the cable company’s annual price hikes.

With Qwest selling out to CenturyLink, Comcast launched a direct-mail campaign earlier this year that tells Qwest customers that they’re being passed off.

The letter states that “if you are a Qwest customer, you should ask yourself, are you really satisfied with Qwest? And how much do you know about CenturyLink?”

Score one for Comcast. CenturyLink, formerly CenturyTel, Read more…

Andy Vuong

The Tailgater is lightweight and portable at just 10 pounds.

Dish Network unveiled the Tailgater today, a portable satellite dish aimed at, well, tailgaters, campers and others who want to access their service away from home.

The dish, which weighs about 10 pounds and is enclosed in a cooler-type case, costs $350.

A set-top box is still required for access to the satellite-TV service. Existing subscribers can take their home set-top box with them and access the service on the go without any additional fees, while others can receive a box by subscribing to a month-by-month plan.

Douglas County-based Dish showed off the Tailgater, and other new products and services, at its annual retailer summit, held at the Colorado Convention Center this year.

Specifically, Dish will soon launch a promotion that gives new subscribers three free months of Blockbuster by Mail.

Dish acquired Blockbuster out of bankruptcy last week.

The retailer summit attracted an estimated 3,000 attendees.

Andy Vuong

The Tailgater will cost $350.

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CenturyLink CEO Glen Post said the company will decide in a few months whether to introduce IPTV in any of Qwest's legacy markets.

Reading between the lines during today’s first-quarter earnings call, the next market to receive CenturyLink’s IPTV service will probably be in Qwest’s local-phone service territory. And the roll out could come as early as this year.

CenturyLink chief executive Glen Post said the company expanded the service, called Prism TV, in the first quarter to three new markets: Tallahassee, Orlando and Raleigh, N.C.

Prism TV, which offers video content over a dedicated Internet network, is now available in eight legacy CenturyLink/Embarq markets. CenturyLink purchased Embarq in 2009 and completed its acquisition of Denver-based Qwest on April 1.

Post said the company will continue to expand Prism TV  in 2011, ultimately reaching 1 million homes with the service.

However, in response to a question from an analyst, Post said the company does not expect “any additional rollouts in the CenturyLink market” this year.

“We’ll be evaluating the Qwest markets in the coming months,” Post said. “We do think there could be some opportunity there… We’ll be making those decisions around midyear as far as any additional rollouts of IPTV in any of those markets.”

He noted that the company is working through cost estimates and a “shortening of (fiber) loops.”

CenturyLink is also dealing with burdensome video franchise laws in Colorado and other states that require companies to secure agreements with individual municipalities before offering a service that competes with existing cable-TV offerings.

Qwest revisited efforts for video franchise reform in Colorado this legislative session, but a bill wasn’t introduced. A measure in Idaho failed this year.

Note:  This post was updated at 4:10 p.m. on May 5, 2011, to clarify Post’s comments about loops.

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Dish Network will stream the title fight.

Douglas County-based Dish Network said today that the Manny Pacquiao-Shane Mosley fight on Saturday will be available online, which will make it the first pay-per-view boxing event to be streamed.

The stream will cost $54.99. Standard definition broadcast of the event to your TV will also cost $54.99, while the HD TV version will cost $64.99.

The WBO Welterweight Championship fight is slated for Saturday at 7 p.m. mountain time.

It’s nice to see Dish offer the stream, but a discount should be offered to make it worthwhile to watch the fight online rather than the standard def TV broadcast. Internet-connected TVs aren’t the norm just yet, so people ordering the stream will likely be watching it on a smaller screen.

Visit www.dish.com/boxing or www.dishonline.com for more information.