15
Apr
verizonthumb

In Case This Carrier Buyout Nonsense Wasn't Ridiculous Enough, Verizon Also Wants To Buy Clearwire's Spectrum For $1.5B

Posted by in Carriers, News

We just got done breaking down the proposed Dish-led acquisition of Sprint which is in no small part about gaining control of Clearwire's sweet, sweet spectrum. Now we're hearing that Verizon is reportedly also throwing its bid in, but not to buy any of the companies involved. Just to gut their ability to function as wireless carriers by gobbling up spectrum.

In a recent filing, Clearwire disclosed that an unidentified "Party J" offered up to $1.5b for the airwaves that it owns. According to the Wall Street Journal, Verizon is that secret party. This could throw a kink in Sprint's plans.

15
Apr
dishtiny

DISH Proposes Alternative Sprint Buyout Plan, Is Not So Secretly Gunning For Clearwire Holdings

Posted by in Carriers, News
Last Updated: April 16th, 2013

Sprint is currently in the midst of a buyout with Japanese company SoftBank that would give the foreign telecom control of not only the Now Network, but Clearwire as well, and infuse the company with some much-needed cash. Dish Network, however, hopes to derail these plans with a bid of its own, offering more cash than Softbank has on the table, as well as synergy with its existing television and and broadband packages.

Dish is offering Sprint roughly $25.5 billion for the carrier. This is about $5 billion more than SoftBank is offering, and would keep ownership of the company within the U.S.

03
Apr
ATT-logo

AT&T Launches LTE In A Ton Of New Markets Including Fresno, Fort Smith, Las Cruces, Binghamton, And Mount Vernon, WA

Posted by in AT&T, News

AT&T took the lid off a truckload of new LTE markets today. The list encompasses the four corners of the the United States including New York (Binghamton), Washington (Mount Vernon), Florida (Palm Coast, Lakeland-Winter Haven and a bunch of others) and California (Fresno), as well as a bunch of markets in between. Here's the full list:

  • Fort Smith, AR
  • Martin and St. Lucie counties, FL
  • Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL
  • Palm Coast, FL
  • Las Cruces, NM
  • Binghamton, NY
  • Carbondale, IL
  • Jefferson City, MO
  • Mount Vernon, WA
  • Montgomery, AL
  • Fresno, CA
  • Temple/Killeen, TX
  • Beaumont, TX
  • Houma/Thibodaux, LA

All of the new markets should be live today, and may include several smaller surrounding areas so check out the gigantic list of press releases here if you want a bit more information about where you live.

28
Mar
galaxysivtiny

AT&T's Galaxy S 4 Pre-Orders Will Begin April 16th For $249 With A 2-Year Contract

Posted by in AT&T, News

The launch of the Galaxy S 4 grows ever closer and the carriers want you to know they're on it. To wit, AT&T announced today that its branded version of the new flagship will go up for pre-order on April 16th for $249 on a two-year contract. Pretty standard fare, though with a $249 up front price tag, we imagine T-Mobile will probably have something to say about that.

2013-03-28_10h52_41

Way to blow it, Jeremy.

AT&T is also quick to remind us that it's the first U.S. carrier to pick up the Galaxy series, both historically and presently. So, if you're waiting for the hardware on Verizon, Sprint, or T-Mobile, you'll have to come next in line.

26
Mar
tmothumb

T-Mobile LTE Goes Live Today In Baltimore, Houston, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Phoenix, San Jose, and Washington, D.C.

Posted by in Carriers, News, T-Mobile

Today, at a media event in New York, T-Mobile announced that it's finally ready to join the big-boy world of LTE networks. The initial round of activations match up just about perfectly with the earlier leaks. Major cities include Houston, Las Vegas, Washington D.C. and more. The proper 4G network can be used with the new "Uncarrier" plans that just went live a couple days ago.

Here's the full list of launch cities:

  • Baltimore
  • Houston
  • Kansas City
  • Las Vegas
  • Phoenix
  • San Jose
  • Washington, D.C.

Of course, you'll need a device to go with that new network and data plan.

24
Mar
tmothumb

T-Mobile's New Contract-Free Plans Go Live, Unlimited Everything For $70/Month And No Commitment

Posted by in News, T-Mobile

The rumors were true and now T-Mobile has launched its new, simplified, contract-free plans. Starting at $50/month for unlimited talk and text with 500MB of high-speed data (throttled, but sans overage fees after that), the new services allow customers to forget about counting minutes and messages and focus solely on data. This could be good or bad news, depending on your usage, but perhaps the most important aspect of these new plans is that you can get them without a 2-year commitment.

2013-03-24_14h15_14 2013-03-24_14h15_21

You can select to get the new plans with or without a new device (which some carriers will allow you to do already), but if you do decide you want to buy a phone from T-Mobile, you'll have two tabs: 'Monthly Payments' or 'One Payment'.

17
Jan
ATT-logo

AT&T Is Going Shopping For A European Carrier To Buy Or Merge With, Says WSJ

Posted by in AT&T, News

AT&T has a problem on its hands. It's big, but is it big enough? If you're a CEO of a major corporation the answer to that question is always "no." However, the carrier has difficulty expanding on the home front. An overwhelming majority of U.S. citizens have phones with one carrier or another, so there's very little wiggle room to grab new customers. And gaining in market share when you (and all  your competitors!) are dead set on locking people into two-year contracts is very difficult. In short, growth isn't much of an option outside acquisitions, and those haven't gone so well.

16
Nov
2012-11-16_11h15_44

[Updated] WSJ Reports Google And Dish Network Have Had Talks Discussing Possible Wireless Service

Posted by in Carriers, News

If you thought Google Fiber sounded like a game changer, you may want to keep an eye on this story. According to the Wall Street Journal, which has a history of having well-placed sources, Google has held talks with Dish Network discussing the possibility of partnering on a wireless carrier to compete with AT&T, Verizon, and all the rest. At first, it sounds like a pipe dream. The kind we've been hoping for since the G1. Thing is, this time, it has a shot of not being complete bupkis.

Before we get into why this might be true, though, let's take a look at why it might be false: for starters, according to WSJ's own sources, the talks are not very advanced and "could amount to nothing." Keep in mind companies talk to each other all the time without releasing products.

07
Nov
sprintlogothumb

Sprint Spending $480 Million To Acquire U.S. Cellular Spectrum And Customers In The Midwest Area

Posted by in News, Sprint

Call it a new found boldness after the Softbank acquisition, or just an attempt to bolster its numbers in the continued fight against AT&T and Verizon, but Sprint is not letting up. Today, the nation's number three carrier announced it's going to buy up some of U.S. Cellular's spectrum and customers in mid-west states including Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri and Ohio. Among the newly Now Network'd markets are Chicago and St. Louis.

The spectrum offerings that the company is picking up will be used to bolster LTE service for the markets that Sprint is taking off U.S. Cellular's hands. It's not a monumental deal, by any means, but given that the Softbank-owned carrier could use any advantage it can get as it races to compete with the near-duopoly, it's definitely a good sign.

26
Oct
gavel

New DMCA Exemptions Allow Rooting Phones (But Not Tablets), Unapproved Phone Unlocks Will Be A Thing Of The Past

Posted by in Legal, News

Good news, bad news, and really bloody ridiculous news, Android fans. Today, the latest round of DMCA exemptions has been passed and if you've ever jailbroken or rooted a phone, you'll be happy to know that this will continue to be legal. At least, for your phones. If, however, you want to gain su access to your tablet, you're fresh out of luck. Also, phones purchased after January 2013 cannot be legally unlocked for use on a carrier that didn't give you explicit permission. Yeah, it's kind of a mess.

Wait, What Are DMCA Exemptions?

A brief intro, for the uninitiated: the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, signed into law in 1998, has a certain set of rules concerning circumvention of DRM.

Page 1 of 512345