Sprint INC. Reveals the List of Initial “1 Million Project” Participants

A lot of students don’t have access to superfast internet services at home in the United States. Taking this into consideration, Sprint INC. announced a “1 Million Project” for such disadvantaged students throughout the United States. The company announced this project during the month of October 2016.

Sprint INC. Started Receiving Applications

Sprint INC. announced “1 Million Project” with the objective of delivering one million wireless devices with mobile services without any charges to students lacking internet availability. The company started receiving applications for its “1 Million Project” pilot program immediately after its announcement.

Sprint INC. Reveals the List of Initial Participants:

The company has released the list of first participants for the program from its office in Overland Park. This list contains the names of almost 4,000 needy students participating in this program from 11 different towns in the United States.

Students of California, Missouri, New Jersey and Massachusetts Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Illinois are part of this “1 Million Project”. In addition, the company will also provide free cellular phone services in Rhode Island under the “1 Million Project” for students.

Main Features of “1 Million Project’

Let’s take a look at the main features of Sprint’s “1 Million Project” pilot program below:
•    Sprint INC. is funding the “1 Million Project”.
•    It will allow students to choose from mobile phone, tablet, computer or a hotspot device to be able to access internet services for free.
•    The pilot program of “1 Million Project” will start in January 2017.
•    Sprint will begin approaching new schools to be a part of this long-term initiative expected to reach its conclusion by the first quarter of 2022. Most importantly, this will cover students who need free cellular phone service in Rhode Island for internet access.
•    The main aim of Sprint INC. behind funding the “1 Million Project” is to ensure internet access for approximately 2,000,000 students through free wireless device services annually.
•    The company will start this program officially well in time and according to the 2017-2018 academic year.

Sprint INC. Think Tanks Have to Say Something in This Regard:

A huge number of schools are showing a lot of interest to participate in this initiative taken by the Sprint INC, says Mr. Doug Michelman, the Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications at Sprint INC. The company is also expecting to make a considerable difference in the life of many students through this program.

Sprint INC. Invites Donations:

Sprint has also provided an opportunity for phone service users in Rhode Island  and the rest of the United States to donate and be a part of “1 Million Project”, at any Sprint store. Donors don’t necessarily need to bring cash to the Sprint stores for donation. Instead, phone service users in Rhode Island and rest of the United States can also bring their useless or old wireless devices or computers which then will be sold by the company to raise money to benefit Phone service users in Rhode Island and rest of the United States, through the Sprint Foundation and its “1 Million Project”.

Final Words:

This is a very good strategic move by the company to increase its customer base and Return on Investment on the business front. This move can also be called a philanthropic way of branding by Sprint INC., to be able to rub shoulders with Verizon Wireless, AT&T and T-Mobile, the top three major carriers in United States. Moreover, students will also get access to the internet with free cell phone services in Rhode Island and rest of the United States. Time will tell whether or not this move by Sprint is a success or failure.

Meet T-Mobile’s ‘Called Digits’ Technology to Share a Single Phone Number Across Multiple Devices

Cell phone carriers in the United States are doing every possible thing within or even beyond their reach to seek new growth in the wireless sector. Companies like Sprint, Verizon Wireless and AT&T are introducing less expensive plans and many more services. T-Mobile has gone a step beyond anyone’s imagination in this regard.

T-Mobile Develops Called Digits:

The company has successfully developed and designed a new technology. T-Mobile has named this technology “Called Digits”. Gone are the days when an incoming phone call meant that only one cell phone will ring. Now all of your electronics will ring at an incoming phone call.  In simple words, if someone calls you then your computer, cellphone, landline phone, laptops, tablets and even your ears will ring. But that’s just if you want them to ring.

Calls for Cell phone Service Users on Any Devices Regardless of the Operating System:

This technology is very powerful and allows customers to use a single phone number across multiple devices. Moreover, customers don’t have to worry about the type of operating system.

Called Digits is Useful in the Reverse:

This powerful technology also allows cell phone service users to carry multiple phone numbers to relieve them of the need to have separate professional and personal cell phones.

This is to Be Totally Different from Other Carriers:

Mike Sievert (Chief Operating Officer at T-Mobile) and Neville Ray (Chief Technical Officer at T-Mobile) talked about this amazing technology through a magenta heavy video of almost 15 minutes. This is a very new kind of technology for gaining competitive a advantage over carriers like Verizon Wireless and AT&T for growing their customer base. The company has successfully added over 2 million customers during the third quarter.

It will be a Replacement to Existing Similar Products:

T-Mobile’s technical team burnt the midnight oil for two years to come up with this unique technology, says Ray. This technology will also serve cell phone service users across the United States as the perfect replacement to similar products like Google Voice and Number Sync of AT&T. This technology is capable of working on any device regardless of the cell phone service provider. Even customers of AT&T and Verizon Wireless can use the Called Digits application.

It is in the Testing Phase:

The company is testing the technology with a small number of cellular phone service users. The company has not spoken much about its price. However, this technology will surely be available for the public in 2017.

Called Digits will be an Advantage for Sales Teams:

Sales teams within businesses are likely to be a potential group of customers of this technology. With Called Digits technology, an incoming call will ring a number of members of a team. Therefore, the phone number registered must be tied to a cellular phone service user instead of a device. According to T-Mobile, Called Digits is an identity management platform which is connected to the login of every cellular phone service user. 

Free Cell Phone Service in Illinois

Final Words:

T-Mobile easily surpassed the cut-throat competition posed by Sprint. Moreover, the lengthy video of T-Mobile did not convey anything in this regard. T-Mobile shot to the headlines as a top 3 carrier as the Trump Administration may possibly favor deregulation and pave a way for a T-Mobile and Sprint merger. Moreover, it is too early to say anything about the success and failure of Called Digits as it is yet to be launched. Only time will tell next year.

FCC Reprimands AT&T and Verizon Wireless for Exempting Their Own Video Applications from Data Caps

AT&T and Verizon Wireless are already facing tough market competition from T-Mobile and other industrial competitors. The time seems to be getting tough for both the companies. Regulators in the United States are reprimanding both AT&T and Verizon Wireless.

What is the Story?

Verizon Wireless and AT&T have decided to exempt their own video applications from data caps of their cell phone service users. This is certainly not going to affect the way carriers conduct their operations. Howbeit, agency leaders appointed by Mr. Donald Trump, the President in waiting, are likely to monitor such practices strictly and very closely.

FCC Warned AT&T and Verizon Wireless:

The Federal Communications Commissions warned both of the carriers via letters in this regard on Saturday about the way they conduct and handle the increasingly popular practice known as “Zero Rating”. The FCC is concerned that it will seriously hurt industry competition and many cell phone service subscribers severely. AT&T had been dispatched a warning during the month of November of 2016. In a letter drafted to AT&T on Thursday, the FCC openly said that AT&T’s response did not provide any solution to the concern raised.

FCC’s Concern:

There are a number of other services like Hulu and Netflix that can pay Verizon Wireless and AT&T. This will make sure the customers are able to make use of those applications without any consumption of cell phone data. In accordance with the FCC, this is definitely going to make competition harder and more expensive for internet service providers. In simple words, internet service providers active in the market will surely find it very hard to compete with Video services owned by the carriers. This is likely to be harmful for the market of streaming services.

For Instance:

The FCC estimates that video service providers will be forced to pay the amount of $16 to AT&T on a monthly basis for a cellular phone service user streaming videos for about 10 minutes a day and that is without the consumption of any data. It could even go up to the amount of $47 a month for a user streaming videos for about a half-an-hour a day.

It will become very difficult for rivals to compete in terms of price with the new online TV application Launched by AT&T. This TV app of AT&T is known as DirectTV Now. Customers using this service have to pay the minimum amount of $35 to AT&T. Competing video service providers will have to zero their rates. If they don’t, they will surely face a lot of disadvantage.

Verizon Wireless allows its cellular phone service users to use its go90 video application without any consumption of their cell phone data.

AT&T’s Reply:

Exemption of applications such as DirectTV Now from data caps helps customers save their money. Therefore, the FCC should not try to put a stop to it.

Verizon Wireless Said…

Its practices are beneficial for cellular phone service users. Moreover, the practices are also fully in compliance with regulations.

Final Words:

This warning has come during the final days of Barrack Obama’s administration. Now Mr. Donald Trump, the president Elect, may roll back or enforce such measures with considerable leniency. The FCC still has not been able to determine whether the zero rating practices adopted/conducted by both of these carriers are a problem or not. Both Verizon Wireless and AT&T could appeal.

Rush to T-Mobile Stores for Mouth-Watering Black Friday Deals 2016

The festive season has started in the US with Black Friday on November 25, 2016. This is why T-Mobile, one of the major cellular phone service providers in the United States, is all set to feed on your hefty wallet with mouth-watering deals. T-Mobile Black Friday deals have been up and running since Thanksgiving Day on November 24, 2016.

Don’t Worry!

Are you late on grabbing these deals? It happens to most of the late comers, at least to the best of our knowledge. However, it’s still not too late. Rush to a T-Mobile store and grab any one of the following deals before the time runs out.

Black Friday Deals by T-Mobile for its Customers

Sync Drive Deal: The Company has branded this deal as the easiest way to monitor cars, safe driving and connection to Wi-Fi while you are travelling. If you are a T-Mobile cellular phone service subscriber then you can get this for free for a limited time. However, you must have a 2 year financing agreement and an eligible data plan for this service.

Google Pixel Deal:

The company has been doing its best to inspire you to bring your Google pixel phones to its stores. The company is making the deal mouthwatering with a $325 discount through a two year monthly bill credit after joining a T-Mobile One Unlimited plan. It is your chance to get everything unlimited at the cost of $70 on first line. T-Mobile cell phone service users can also get all this at the cost of $50 on the second line and $20 on third line.

Deal of $100 off on Samsung Galaxy On5:

Rush to your nearest T-Mobile Store immediately to get $100 off on a Samsung Galaxy On5 smartphone. This is one of the best holiday deals of the year by T-Mobile for its cell phone service subscribers. 

$200 for Every Line You Bring to The Un-Carrier through a Trade-in:

The list of deals does not end here. The company is also offering the deal of $200 for every line brought to the Un-carrier via trade-in. It means that cell phone service users bringing their line to T-Mobile will get a $200 prepaid MasterCard. More importantly, you are not going to be capped unless you hit the amount of $2400.

Earlier, T-Mobile was offering a lot more deals. These mouthwatering deals were for those using one of the following three phones:

•    Apple iPhone  7 32GB
•    Samsung Galaxy S7 32GB
•    LG V20 64GB

However, the company has now discontinued this deal.

Summary of the News:

Be on your toes post turkey and rush to your nearest T-Mobile store to get the leftover black Friday deals. Coming to the point, the company has launched these deals for better revenue and to grow its subscriber base. These are very attractive deals. Let’s see how many customers ditch their carriers and join T-Mobile in order to get these deals.

AT&T and Verizon Wireless Agree on the Deployment of Initial 5G Models; Standards Timing Becomes an Issue

It looks as if both AT&T and Verizon Wireless are getting on the same page about the initial 5G deployment models. Last week, representatives from both companies discussed this thoroughly during the 5G North America event. The Event kicked off with a keynote address and panel discussion specifically directed towards 5G’s current state.

Detail of the Event’s Key Highlights

Talking about 5G deployments, they were mainly expected to center on the fixed use of broadband. It was mainly noted during the early panel discussion conducted on topic. Its main purpose is to help carriers make use of technical specifications for powering technically superior equipment capable of supporting both higher speed of data and greater capacity for the government cellphone plans and the rest of the users.
 

Representatives from both companies welcomed this agreement. They openly spoke their mind in this regard.

Mr. Brian Daly Says…

According to Mr. Brian Daly, the director of core government and regulatory standards at AT&T, the company was waiting for such a fantastic opportunity to get some command on consistently increasing demand for video streaming services. Taking video support into consideration, it was perhaps one of the big use cases that all of us see. Moreover, the company was thinking about taking advantage of its diverse portfolio of fixed, mobile and satellite assets for meeting the demands of government cellphone plan users.

Mr. Alexander Khalin Says…

According to Mr. Alexander Khalin, the Director of Corporate Strategy at Verizon Wireless, the company agreed on initial development plans about all sorts of fixed wireless broadband services.

Twist in the Tale:

Recently, there has been a controversy between the companies about the move towards 5G standards and, the perceived difference of opinions in terms of timing for those standards is mainly responsible.

AT&T Asked for Some Extra Time:

According to some reports, AT&T has led a group at a recently conducted standards meeting for securing some form of 5G standards booked by the end of 2017. It is way ahead of the initial timeline finalized for the third-generation partnership projects of mid-2018. AT&T explained this move as the company requires some extra time for testing some standards to get ready for further testing and commercial deployments by mid-2018 for government cellphone service and other users.

Verizon Wants to Keep the Schedule as is:

The company seems to have its eyes set on promoting its own 5G agenda related to plans for network trials starting in 2017. This is why the company has come up with a counter proposal stating it would like to keep the schedule totally unchanged. Mr. Khalin did not comment on this week’s event.         

AT&T’s Explanation            

The company was waiting for an opportunity to get some form of standard committed between the time period of December 2017 and March 2018. It could possibly be for a non-standalone radio specification to help inform silicon vendors as they get ready for the development of chipsets early to support network trials. AT&T mentioned this effort under the guise of a carrier waiting for an opportunity to ensure “Learnings” from all of the existing and thought-out trials for 5G networks that could possibly be driven into a kind of standards process.

Summary of the Story:

If everything goes right, then the government cellphone service subscribers of both the companies would benefit. However, fortunes don’t seem to be supporting both the companies in this regard. It is turning out to be full of controversy between the two largest cell phone service providers in the US. It will be very interesting to see which way the decisions go.