Carriers - 2/4 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Feb

These 184 Carriers And Major Retailers Across The Globe Will Carry The HTC One

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Carriers, HTC, News, One

HTC this morning officially unveiled its new flagship for 2013: the HTC One. So far, we've posted the full specs, our hands-on, and the list of carriers in the U.S. and Canada, but if you live outside those territories, you might be wondering exactly which carriers and major retailers to visit to pick up the One when it becomes available in March.

We've got the current list, courtesy of HTC, right below. I imagine it may grow in the future, but in the meantime I applaud the company for itemizing it in such great detail - something you don't get to see too often these days.

Feb

PSA: Straight Talk And Net10 Sold Out Of AT&T SIM Cards Online – Don't Panic

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in Carriers, News

We've been hearing for the past few days that users have been unable to get new AT&T-compatible SIM cards from Straight Talk and Net10 websites. The only option seems to be the T-Mobile SIM. This was causing quite a bit of consternation as the Nexus 4 is finally starting to ship again. The complete absence of AT&T SIMs from both sites led many to wonder if AT&T service was no longer being sold by these Tracfon-owned entities. Well, we've investigated and there appears to be no cause for alarm.

Straight Talk and Net10 are mobile virtual network operators (MVNO). That means that neither company runs its own towers – they just buy access from the big carriers.

Jan

Carrier-Unlocking Smartphones Will Be Illegal In The U.S. Tomorrow: Here's How (And If) It Affects You

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Features, News

At this point, you've probably heard that starting tomorrow, it will become illegal to unlock your smartphone to use it on another carrier. You certainly should have heard so since the decision was made three months ago. That being said, there are still quite a few questions that folks want to have answered. Chief among them, 'How does this affect me?' Well, I'm glad you asked, dear reader.

For a bit of context, first, let's take a look at exactly what has changed. This is not new, sweeping legislation. What happens is that every three years, the Librarian of Congress issues a set of exemptions to the DMCA.

Jan

T-Mobile Confirms Unlimited Data Plans For Monthly4G Prepaid Service

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in Carriers, News, T-Mobile

We reported a few days ago that T-Mobile was rumored to be implementing an unlimited data option for its prepaid phone service. Well, now the carrier is confirming it. Starting on Wednesday January 9th, customers will be able to sign up for unlimited 4G HSPA+ data, voice, and text on prepaid for just $70 per-month.

This plan replaces the $70 unlimited talk/text plan with 5GB of 4G data. T-Mobile's data plans can be a little confusing because the carrier likes to still call them "unlimited" at times. What T-Mobile means is that all its data plans are technically unlimited if you don't mind downloading at a snail's pace.

Dec

Galaxy Note II Developer Edition (16GB) Shows Up On Samsung's Site, Proves Its Existence

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Galaxy Note II, News, Samsung

One of the biggest frustrations of dealing with Verizon, if you're someone who likes to tweak their phone, is that the carrier insists on locking the bootloaders on its phones that otherwise would not be locked. Samsung has offered Developer Editions of its phones in the past, including the Galaxy S III, largely to avoid that problem and appease the dev crowd. Today, that tradition continues with the Galaxy Note II which has now appeared on the company's site in a similar hacker-friendly model.

Samsung hasn't announced pricing or availability for this model just yet, but if previous patterns hold, you can expect this to take a bit of a toll on your wallet, as it's going to be sold off-contract and unsubsidized.

Dec

Verizon Flipping The Switch On 4G LTE In Multiple Markets Out West On December 20

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in Carriers, News, Verizon Wireless

It can be hard to hear how speedy and wonderful Verizon's 4G LTE is when there isn't a 4G tower within 100 miles of your home. Well, that's about to change for some lucky folks in the western half of the US come December 20. Big Red continues to creep closer to a 100% overlay with its 3G network all the time.

All of the following cities are going to see LTE go live on December 20:

Port Angeles, WA
Port Townsend, WA
Sequim, WA
Kennewick, WA
Pasco, WA
Richland, WA
Klamath Falls, OR
Roseburg, OR
Jackson Hole, WY
Teton Village, WY
Kemmerer WY
Pinedale, WY
Price, UT
Richfield, UT
Lamar, CO
LaJunta, CO

Of course, you need an LTE handset to take advantage of the faster 4G speeds, but most phones Verizon has sold in the last few years are 4G-capable.

Jul

Verizon's Galaxy S III Has Been Rooted, Custom Recovery Flashed Despite Verizon's Lockdown

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Galaxy S III, News, Verizon Wireless

Of the four major US carriers to receive the Galaxy S III, Verizon is the only one to lock down the bootloader. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move. Nevertheless, enterprising hackers over at XDA and RootzWiki have successfully managed to circumvent the lock, achieve root, and flash ClockworkMod recovery. If you're on Verizon and anticipating owning a Galaxy S III, congratulations: your phone is yours again.

The process is laid out on both sites. Achieving root seems to be a fairly simple process if you're familiar with Odin (a common, easy-to-use tool for flashing Samsung devices).

Jun

Verizon And T-Mobile Strike Agreement To Swap Spectrum, T-Mobile Reiterates Plans For LTE Next Year

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in News, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless

Verizon and T-Mobile may not regularly make headlines together, but this morning the two companies have announced that they've struck a deal to swap spectrum (and some money) to bolster both companies' LTE networks. Yes, including the one T-Mobile has yet to build. While specifics haven't been disclosed, it sounds like T-Mobile will be the big winner here, walking away with a net gain in spectrum holdings—something the company desperately needs—while paying an undisclosed amount of money to Verizon for the trouble.

The deal isn't solid yet, though. Some of the spectrum that Verizon is offering to T-Mobile technically belongs to SpectrumCo, Cox, and Leap at the moment.

Jun

Qualcomm Working On A Chip That Would Support Multiple LTE Bands, Carrier Networks

Posted by Liam Spradlin in 4G, Android OS, Carriers, News

According to a recent FCC filing, Qualcomm is hard at work on a new radio chipset that would support seven spectrum bands, including three below 1GHz. The introduction of this chipset could offer an effective solution to LTE spectrum fragmentation, which is a thorn in the side of manufacturers looking to cleanly execute broad product releases.

LTE fragmentation has also stirred debate among carriers, though. Smaller carriers operate within the Lower A block of the 700MHz band, in Band Class 12 while larger carriers like AT&T operate on the Lower B and C blocks in Band Class 17. For this reason, smaller carriers are urging the FCC to mandate interoperability.

May

Google Is Reportedly Planning A Renewed And Expanded Nexus Device Assault This Fall, And This Is Why I Love It

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, Carriers, Editorials, Google, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, Jelly Bean 4.1, News, Rumors

This is the sort of quasi-rumor (it's fairly detailed and comes from the Wall Street Journal, so we're inclined to trust it) that makes me happy to be an Android fan.

According to the WSJ, Google is in cahoots with up to five device manufacturers to provide early access to the next iteration of the Android OS (Jelly Bean, we assume) so it can have an entire "portfolio" of Nexus devices ready by Thanksgiving - that's late November for those without turkey day. It will then sell said devices, phones and tablets, unlocked through (again, presumably) the Play Store, much as it has done with the unlocked GSM Galaxy Nexus.