Deutsche Telekom considers Sprint Nextel bid

Deutsche Telekom, the parent of T-Mobile, hired Deutsche Bank as an adviser to assess a possible takeover bid for Sprint Nextel, the no. 3 US cellular operator, the UK Telegraph reported, states MarketWatch.

The report comes just after the German telecommunications giant agreed to a joint venture between T-Mobile UK and Orange UK to create Britain's top mobile service provider.

DT chief executive Rene Obermann now wants to turn his attention to strengthening T-Mobile US, the Telegraph reported.

Vodafone has confirmed plans to deploy the MiFi mobile broadband hotspot in three markets, but may face a challenge in marketing the device to end-users, reports Telecoms.com.

The concept of a mobile broadband hotspot is gaining traction in the tech world, but may be a difficult one to pitch to consumers.

The MiFi, manufactured by Novatel, is a pocket-sized box powered by batteries or a mains supply and can connect up to five WiFi-enabled devices with a cellular backhaul connection - a sort of 3G dongle on steroids.

A new study has looked at the popularity of wireless broadband systems and has concluded that the success of the mobile format looks set to continue well into the future, according to Broadband Finder.

Put together by Infonetics Research, a company which specialises in market trends in the telecommunications sector, it was advised revenues collected from cellular service providers last year totalled $624 billion.

In addition to this number being up by 13% on the previous year, it was noted that projected figures between now and the end of 2013 could see the value of this field reach $877 billion worldwide.