Verizon

Comcast has just made a move that is causing quite a bit of speculation about their future plans for wireless service. Although there has been no official announcement yet, the cable giant has hired the former CTO of Telefonica O2 Europe, Dave Williams to "explore wireless options." He apparently took the role of Senior Vice President of wireless and technology strategy.

Williams has been in wireless for several years and has held positions at several major companies. Before Telefonica he was VP of strategic planning at Cingular Wireless, a position he rose to in the aftermath of the SBC Wireless-BellSouth Cellular merger. He also helped create the Pacific Bell Mobile network.

His experience in wireless has led to speculation that Comcast is positioning its pieces to move into the wireless market with Verizon and AT&T. Both Verizon and AT&T offer the quad pack of

Verizon Wireless today announced that it will be offering Loopt, a social mapping service, on select handsets starting next month.

Loopt will allow Verizon customers to share their locations as well as geo-tagged photos with other customers who are in their community of friends. Loopt users will be able to view a map that displays the locations of their network of friends and even provides directions to meet up with them. Users can share their location information with anyone in their address book or AIM buddy lists. Loopt effectively

The FCC has announced the winners of the anonymous 700 MHz auction that ended on Tuesday, and it appears that Verizon Wireless has come out on top. The company, a joint venture between Verizon Communications and British telecom giant, Vodaphone group, won almost all the licenses in the spectrum's C-Block, including licenses that cover every region of the U.S. save Alaska. The C-Block is subject to "open access" rules that will allow network customers to use any phone or software they want.

AT&T was a top bidder along with Verizon. Google also made a bid for the C-Block licenses, but it wasn't enough to win. In fact, Google did not win any licenses, so despite the rumors, it will not be

Sprint has not yet responded to the recent unlimited calling plans for $99.99//month offered by AT&T, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile but, when they do, some analysts think they could undercut the competition by up to 40%. As the third largest U.S. wireless provider Sprint is under pressure to at least match these plans, which "increases the potential for an all out pricing war" according to analyst Michael Nelson of the Stanford Group.

However, Sprint will most likely offer a better plan. "They're not going to be competitive if they simply match these prices because their networks are weaker and their brands are not as strong," according to

Verizon Wireless intends to "change the way people think about wireless" and move the industry forward with its new unlimited voice and data plans, according to Mike Lanman, chief marketing officer. Today, Verizon Wireless announced several of these new plans.

The Nationwide Unlimited Anytime Minute Plan will allow customers all their calls, anytime, anywhere in the U.S., including landline phones for a flat rate of $99.99 per month. Two new BroadbandAccess plans include one for $39.99/month that allows 50 MB data usage and the other for $59.99/month that allows 5 GB data usage. According to Lanman, "the new flat rate voice plans truly free customers from

Verizon Wireless today introduced the Venturi Mini, a portable device that allows you to stream music to your car's FM radio from any Bluetooth enabled music phone you may have. Additionally the

Venturi Mini can turn your car's speakers into a speakerphone system. It connects to your vehicle via the standard 12v outlet and to your device via Bluetooth. The Mini's built in FM transmitter then broadcasts

The auction for the 700 MHz part of the spectrum that will be vacated by television broadcasters in February 2009 is set to begin on January 24 of this year. Yesterday the FCC finalized the rules of the auction and the bidders list. The spectrum to be auctioned has been divided into five blocks

labeled A - E with blocks A, B and E consisting of regional licenses that will allow smaller companies

Verizon has added the Samsung Gleam SC-U700 to its repertoire. The Gleam is a 3G clamshell, fairly thin at .55 inches (and light at 3.35 oz), with some nice features including a 2 megapixel camera that features Night Shot, which allows the camera capture pictures in low light. It also has a camcorder, supports Bluetooth, mono or stereo headsets, dial-up networking and object push for vCard.

Of course it also features VZ Navigator and VCAST Video and Music, for downloading video, music and