How Government Cell Phone Service Provider Verizon’s Unlimited Plan Affects T-Mobile

T-Mobile is a well-known Government cell phone service provider that has introduced several exceptional mobile and data plans for its customers. Its new unlimited data plan, known as T-Mobile One has made enormous changes in the wireless industry. All major U.S. carriers have responded since the new plan's inception last autumn. Verizon Communications is a reputed cellular phone service provider and was the biggest holdout, however, it has also started offering an unlimited data plan.

The Government cell phone service provider Verizon’s new plan is more expensive than T-Mobile's but, the company is promoting it’s network strength to justify its higher pricing. T-Mobile is immensely targeting Verizon for charging overages. To answer this, Verizon, the Government cell phone service provider, has to ensure utmost network quality.

Recently, at a Deutsche Bank conference, CFO Braxton Carter of the renowned cellular phone service provider T-Mobile, spoke about the impact of Verizon's new plan on the Un-carrier.

According to T-Mobile, there has been a consistent net add in its subscribers against all three major Government cell phone service providers for the last several years. T-Mobile regularly reports its porting ratios, i.e. the number of customers switching to T-Mobile versus those switching from it, with each of the wireless carriers every quarter.

Before Verizon's unlimited plan, T-Mobile's porting ratio with Verizon was the highest ever in the first quarter, i.e. around 3 to 1, as per the report by Carter. After the cellular phone service provider Verizon launched its unlimited offering, "For four days we went slightly negative. You know, in the 0.9. I think one day it was in the 0.8's," Carter said. "On the fifth day, it started getting back up into positive territory."

Porting ratios have improved every week subsequently. In the first week of March, Carter reported porting ratios around 1.5. Last week, it has scaled into the 2-to-1 range. In the first quarter of last year, T-Mobile posted a 1.34 porting ratio with Verizon.

T-Mobile’s actions to keep customers away from Verizon

A prime factor in T-Mobile's capability to augment net subscribers every quarter is its ability to decrease churn, i.e. the percentage of subscribers canceling every month. From 2013 to 2016, it has been observed that the churn fell from 1.69% to 1.30%.

In the previous year, T-Mobile has bagged the top position in the Nielsen Mobile Inisghts' customer satisfaction survey. Therefore, when Verizon introduced its unlimited plan, some of the T-Mobile subscribers were actually looking to switch.

See Also: AT&T Launches Stream Saver Video Regulating Feature

The main feature for growing customer loyalty is T-Mobile's various Un-carrier initiatives. Now, it is focusing on the pricing. T-Mobile started including taxes and fees in its advertised pricing and is allowing customers to keep their pricing the same for the life of their relationship with the wireless carrier. Several customers are avoiding Verizon as they will be unable to get back to their current T-Mobile plan at their present pricing.

T-Mobile, the popular cellular phone service provider, is giving potential customers all the reasons to switch and lock in its best pricing. It is also running a promotional offer for two unlimited lines for $100 every month after the introduction of Verizon's unlimited plan.

T-Mobile is striving to deliver the best value in wireless, so that customers do not look elsewhere for options.

Get the Earnings Preview and Know What to Expect From Sprint

Sprint, a cellular phone service provider, releases its earnings, and is currently trading around $9.43. This telecom giant hit it’s record high of $69.10 in 1999. The stock still lags behind its 1999’s stock record. But it can easily move higher by posting strong numbers. Below are the details of what the Street is expecting:

Earnings Preview:

Sprint, a cellular phone service provider, is anticipated to report the loss of ($0.08)/share on $8.32 billion in revenue. Meanwhile, the whisper number, which is the Street's unofficial view on earnings, is a projected loss of $0.10.

Company Profile & Various Businesses:

Sprint Corporation (Sprint) is a Government cell phone service provider, incorporated on October 5, 2012. The Company, along with its subsidiaries, is a communications firm delivering numerous wireless and wireline communication products and services to consumers, Government subscribers, businesses, and resellers. It works through two segments, namely Wireless and Wireline.

Sprint provides wireless and wireline services to subscribers residing in 50 states. Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands come under its corporate brand, which includes its retail brands of Sprint, Virgin Mobile, Boost Mobile, and Assurance Wireless. Their wireless service is provided using several technologies, such as third generation (3G), code division multiple access (CDMA), fourth generation (4G) services, and Long Term Evolution (LTE).

Wireless

Sprint, a Government cell phone service provider, delivers wireless services on a prepaid and postpaid payment basis to retail subscribers and also on a wholesale basis. The sale of wireless services that use the Sprint network, however, are sold under the wholesaler's brand.

In its postpaid portfolio, it bestows several Government cell phone plans to both consumer as well as business subscribers. It also provides family plans, covering multiple service lines under one account. Sprint delivers these plans with subsidy, installment billing or leasing programs.

Sprint’s prepaid portfolio covers multiple brands to allure a specific subscriber’s uses and demographics. Boost Mobile chiefly assists subscribers with plans offering unlimited text and talk with step pricing, according to their preferred data usage.

Virgin Mobile offers control and connectivity through diverse plan options. It is also labeled as a Lifeline-only Eligible Telecommunications Carrier in several states and offers service for the Lifeline program under the Company's Assurance Wireless brand.

To get the Lifeline Program, it is essential for applicants to qualify under certain eligibility requirements. Also, the existing subscribers have to recertify to those requirements yearly.

See Also: Sprint, Cellular Phone Service Provider Cuts the Price of Unlimited Data Plan

Wireline

Sprint, a cellular phone service provider, offers a suite of wireline voice and data communication services to other communications companies and targeted business subscribers.

It’s Wireline segment delivers voice, data and Internet Protocol (IP) communication assistance to its Wireless segment. It offers long distance services and operates all-digital global long distance and Tier 1 IP networks. Its services and products consist of domestic and international data communications using a myriad of protocols, including the following:
•    Multiprotocol label switching technologies (MPLS),
•    IP
•    Session Initiated Protocol (SIP)
•    Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
•    Managed network services
•    Traditional voice services

Its IP and wireless services can be combined together.

Competitors:

Sprint, a Government cell phone service provider, competes with several firms, including AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon Communications, CenturyLink and Level 3 Communications, Inc.

FCC Claims Verizon and AT&T are Violating Net Neutrality Laws

The Federal Communications Commission issued a report claiming Verizon Wireless and AT&T’s ‘zero-rated’ services desecrated net neutrality plans. Tom Wheeler, the Chairman of the FCC, was the main supporter of the report, published by the Commission’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau. Many people consider this policy review as one last rebellious shout before the Trump administration takes office on January 20, and Wheeler deserts his post as the head of the Government agency.

Verizon Wireless and AT&T Dismiss Allegations:

On the other hand, both Verizon Wireless and AT&T (Government cell phone service providers) have dismissed the FCC’s allegations, saying their business models only encourage competition in the market without causing any harm to the customers. Before covering all relevant details, it is essential for you to know about ‘zero-rated’ services, offered by both the Government cell phone service providers.

So, let’s gain some knowledge about zero-rated services:

In the case of wireless mobile carriers, ‘Zero-rated’ services are plans for consumers to stream content from some platforms without paying for the data they consume.

AT&T’s DirecTV Now and Verizon’s FreeBee Data 360 are subsidized data programs that offer access to certain platforms and services virtually free of data consumption charges. In the case of AT&T, the benefit to subscribers is enormous since the DirecTV catalog is immense, and the content they stream does not register on their monthly data cap. Similar is the case, but to a lesser extent with Verizon’s Go90 platform.

This Practice is Rapidly Spreading Across the Industry:

Evidently, the practice is against the Open Internet Order of 2015, which supports net neutrality above biased business practices and non-ethical competition in the consumer market. The FCC report is futile without legal action. Also, several outlets have said, the latest report by the FCC lacks purpose since the present leadership has not much time to take tangible steps against these companies and their misconduct.

See Also: T-Mobile Introduces Low Cost IoT Packs Offering Wireless Data

Bernie Sanders Supports it:

Bernie Sanders is one of many Democrats who support the FCC's report. Upon learning of the FCC policy review, a Democrat parliamentary block headed by Senator Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts (D) issued a statement supporting Commission’s conclusions on ‘zero-rated’ programs. Al Franken of Minnesota, Senators Ron Wyden of Oregon, Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut backed Markey’s official statement.

At Last:

It is too early to come to a conclusion on how this will play out. Come back to this website to stay updated in this regard.

Attention AT&T Users: Get Ready to Pay Another $5 Rate Hike on Grandfathered Unlimited Data Plans

AT&T, cellular phone service provider, is augmenting the price of its grandfathered unlimited data plans by $5 per month from March 2017. This is the second such increase in the past 12 months. This price hike will affect the longtime mobile users who are availing the unlimited data plans for years after the company restricted selling them to new subscribers.

Know the AT&T's Statement on the New Pricing:

“Our Mobile Share Advantage plans and our AT&T Unlimited Plan provide several benefits that our legacy unlimited plan doesn't. If you have a legacy unlimited data plan, you can keep it; however, beginning in March 2017, it will increase by $5 per month”.

Further details of the unlimited data rate per month:

The unlimited data rate had been $30 per month for seven years, until AT&T upturned it to $35 in February 2016. Now, the price will come up to $40. This amount is for data only, including voice and texting, and it will be around $90 a month for the smartphone plans.

The company no longer provides separate unlimited data plans to its customers, but several people still hold to its unlimited data plans that were purchased before AT&T discontinued them in 2010. Those plans allow them to use unlimited data, but regulating does occur with excessive data usage.

Over last several years, AT&T has used data caps, and price hikes to encourage its grandfathered unlimited customers to switch to new plans. In the year 2014, the FTC propelled a federal court complaint against AT&T for its throttling practices leading AT&T to measure them back. In the beginning of 2016, AT&T reintroduced $100 unlimited data plans for its AT&T DirecTV or AT&T U-Verse plan subscribers.

AT&T, cellular phone service provider, encouraged customers to move to its new plans, having data limits, saying the newer packages "provide several benefits that our legacy unlimited plan doesn’t." For example, with its newer plans, users can share the Internet services with another device through mobile hotspot connections. AT&T had stopped selling unlimited smartphone data to new customers and for people who are switching plans. However, last year, they introduced a new unlimited plan, which is available to people who also subscribe to U-verse TV or DirecTV.

While Verizon Wireless encourages users to stop availing unlimited data plans if they use more than 200GB a month, AT&T has used several other tactics to limit the usefulness of the grandfathered plans. In 2011, AT&T started withdrawing unlimited data plans from customers who escape iPhones to use illegal tethering services. This cellular phone service provider also used to control unlimited data customers for the rest of the month when they used more than 3GB or 5GB, depending on what device they had. AT&T has made the throttling less disciplinary, now applying it after users use at least 22GB in a month, and even then only when customers connect to a congested cell tower. The Government agencies try to penalize AT&T for unlimited data throttling have so far come up empty.

T-Mobile Introduces Low Cost IoT Packs Offering Wireless Data

Cell phone service providers are doing everything to ensure considerable growth in the wireless sector. They are launching new devices and many kinds of schemes to attract new customers. T-Mobile, one of the four major cell phone service providers in United States, has gone a step further in this regard.

IoT (Internet of Things) Packs launched:

The company had been investing a lot of time and money to promote IoT (Internet of Things) for more than a year. The company is still making efforts in this direction.  T-Mobile has introduced two very affordable IoT access packs offering enough data for wireless service subscribers. The company has introduced these two IoT access packs with the objective of making it very easy to get IoT Devices online.

The Base Plan:

T-Mobile cell phone service subscribers can subscribe to this plan by paying just $20 for a year to get 5 MB data per device on monthly basis. This fee will get reduced to only $6 per year to get the same amount of data per device on a monthly basis. For this purpose, customers will have to complete a one year subscription successfully.

The Step-Up Plan:

This is the second IoT Access Pack introduced by T-Mobile. The company is offering unlimited data to its cellular phone service users at the speed of 64Kbps. As far as the fee for this plan is concerned, it will not exceed $25 per device for an entire year. The company also seems to be executing a marketing strategy on a psychological level by offering $5 off for every device for the first year. It is a limited time offer with the Step-Up Plan.

There are Plenty of Reasons for the Plan:

1. “Like everything they do, the carriers overcomplicate the Internet of Things, and that leads to more hassle and cost for customers,” says Mr. Doug Chartier, the Senior Vice-President at T-Mobile.
2. Usually cell phone makers get wireless modules from one vendor.
3. They also have to buy a data plan from a cellular phone service provider in order to be able to introduce their IoT solutions in market.
4. These plans offered by cell phone service providers are heavily overpriced.
5. All these things together make the process very complex for all device makers active in the market at present.
6. All customers using T-Mobile cell phone services will get modules and data for the development of the next great solution related to The Internet of Things.

What Else?

The company has announced covering the cost of the Sequans Cat1 Module through bill credits regardless of the plan chosen by cellular phone service users.

The T-Mobile think tank continuously is working on Category M and Narrowband IoT next generation modules capable of making use of T-Mobile’s LTE coverage to the fullest.

These next generation IoT modules are also capable of helping IoT customers using T-Mobile cell phone service get options for longer lifecycles and faster data as compared to 2G Networks.

A Few Words about This Announcement by T-Mobile:

The launch of the Base Plan and Step-Up plan for IoT customers, the latest effort by T-Mobile, is to be a recognized part of the fast growing IoT market. Partnerships with companies like Twilio, Sequans and Novatel Wireless proves it perfectly. Now we just need to wait and watch the impact of these IoT plans on the T-Mobile customer base and ROI. It won’t take much time.

Keep coming back to our website and stay updated in this regard.

Verizon Wireless Agrees to Roll out Update to Brick Samsung’s Galaxy Note7

Verizon Wireless seems to be changing its tunes very soon. The cellular service provider has decided to issue a software update. This software update will affect its remaining customers using the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phones.

What is actually cooking?

Samsung had issued a worldwide Note7 recall during the month of September 2016 because of battery issues. The compact body of the Note7 was causing some of those smartphones to catch fire in many parts of the world. An overheating problem was also identified. The company somehow came up with some solutions to the problem but, those solutions did not work at all. Samsung even tried to solve the problem by giving replacement units to the customers who returned their phones to the company. But even the replacement units had their own problems. This forced Samsung to issue a second global recall of the Note7 and permanently stop its production. Almost 93% of Samsung Galaxy Note7 owners returned their phones to Samsung and to their respective cellular phone service providers.

Samsung officially announced its plan about issuing an update for the rest of the 7% of the Galaxy Note7 owners. The company took this step with the objective of ensuring that the remaining 7% of the Galaxy Note7 owners turn their phones in. This specific update prevents the phone from charging and functioning as a mobile device.

Verizon Wireless Initially Refused to Issue This Update:

The largest cellular phone service provider in United States had initially refused to issue this update for its customers using the Samsung Galaxy Note7 phone because it will be a huge inconvenience for those that chose not to switch to some other phone. 

Verizon Wireless has Delayed This Update

However, Verizon Wireless Cell Phone Service users will not get this update because the company has delayed it. The company wants its customers using the Samsung Galaxy Note7 phone to be able to stay connected to their personal and professional contacts, first responders and all sorts of medical emergencies during the holiday travel season. This news has been confirmed by the largest cellular phone service provider in United States on its Note7 Recall website. Verizon Wireless customers having Samsung Galaxy Note7 will get this update either on 5th January 2017 or a little later.

What about the Rest of the Carriers in US?

Other leading cellular phone service providers in United States such as AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile, are also pushing this specific software update from Samsung for their customers having the Note7 phone. T-Mobile cell Phone Service users may get this update on December 27, 2016. Talking about AT&T cellular phone service subscribers, they will get this update on 5th January 2017 whereas Sprint will push out this new software updates for its customers on 8th January 2017.

Final Words:

It looks like Verizon Wireless cell phone service users must gear themselves up for returning their expensive Samsung Galaxy Note7 smartphones to their carrier. Verizon Wireless is already going through a topsy-turvy time in the wireless sector and this update from Samsung has suddenly come like a bolt from the blue for the company. Nothing can be said about the impact of Verizon Wireless’s decision to provide this update to its customers. Only the time will tell. Keep coming back here as we will keep on updating you in this regard.

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.

T-Mobile Restores Cellular Phone Services After Serious Network Connectivity Issues

It appears as though this is not a good time for T-Mobile. Recently, T-Mobile’s cell phone service users faced network connectivity issue again. The customers certainly did not appear to be happy with it. They logged into their social media accounts and started expressing their annoyance in this regard.

What Exactly Happened?

A lot of T-Mobile customers lost cellular their connection in places where they should otherwise have full connectivity signals. Customers faced this problem mainly because of a carrier settings update that is related to iOS 10.

Apple Insider Confirmed the Glitch

This glitch has been confirmed by Apple Insider. This technical glitch kept the editor’s iPhon6 totally offline in an area which generally receives full strength of signals. He had to reboot the phone in order to get rid of this annoying problem. 

Customers Reaction

The T-Mobile Cell phone service network wasn’t facing such a problem for the first time. It has happened in the past too, and the customers didn’t seem to be in a forgiving mood this time. They started complaining to the company through social media. Some of the complaints were aggressive as customers were openly expressing their annoyance about the quality of T-Mobile’s network.  Some of the customers even predicted expected excuses about this problem by T-Mobile. Some of them openly threatened to give up using T-Mobile Cellular phone services, particularly after facing a similar problem for a second time in less than 30 days. Customers were also asking for some kind of compensation whereas some customers also complained of their work suffering.

T-Mobile Acknowledged Some Calling Issues

The company acknowledged some sort of calling problem nationwide for a particular period of time during the early hours on Friday morning. Therefore, CEO Mr. John Legere tweeted and said that the company is aware of this issue. He further assured a quick solution to the problem.

T-Mobile Support Staff Got into Action

The Company’s support staff advised all customers facing this problem to restart their phones in order to get connected to the network. Restarting the phone helped many cellular phone service users get connected to the network again. However, this solution did not work well for some subscribers. Some received five bars on their cell phones whereas some users hardly got one or two bars on their phones in the same area. However, they were happy to get connected again to the network. They applauded the way T-Mobile handled the problem and resolved it.

T-Mobile Issued a Statement in This Regard

Now the T-Mobile media department got into action and released a statement on the situation. Actually, the company’s media department confirmed to the associated press that “the issue is fully resolved”. As for the cause of the service interruption, T-Mobile’s media department kept quiet but thanked all customers for keeping their patience.

Although the problem has been resolved, the company should not relax as this has happened twice in less than 30 days. Instead, the company think tank needs to do a lot of serious work to determin appropriate actions to make sure that this does not happen again. Now it will be very interesting to see the way T-Mobile prepares itself to eliminate any possibility of such a problem in future.

Enjoy HD Videos, Superfast Tethering and Internet with T-Mobile and Sprint's Expensive Unlimited Data Plan

These days wireless customers seem to be very fond of high quality video content. Considering their penchant for high quality videos, T-Mobile and Sprint Communications, two of the premiere government cell phone service carriers in the United States, are ready to thrive on this craze of their valuable customers.

They are Heeding Calls:

Both of the premiere government cell phone service carriers have introduced “Easy to Afford” unlimited data plans for cellular phone service users with some compromises.  Sprint Communications added more expensive data plans offering less compromises. Similarly, T-Mobile also followed the footsteps of Sprint Communications and came up with a bit more expensive of a data plan for all of its customers on Monday. 

These new, expensive data plans offered by both of the companies to the users differ in terms of data and other things currently on offer. Let’s see what both of the companies are offering to their valuable customers in these expensive data plans.

T-Mobile One Plus Data Plan:

The company has launched the One Plus data plan during the month of August 2016. It was initially priced at $70 per month. As T-Mobile noticed that some of the cellular phone service users are ready to pay an extra amount of money for enjoying high quality video content, it now has increased this plan price up to $95.

What Is the Difference Between This Expensive Data Plan and more Affordable Data Plans of T-Mobile?

Expensive Data Plan

There is some difference between T-Mobile’s recently launched expensive data plan and the other cheap data plans for cellular service users.

·        Consumers willing to pay more money for the best video content experience can relish full HD videos on their mobile phones.

·       They will be able to use their phone to connect or tether other devices such as a laptop for enjoying superfast internet speed.

Cheap Data Plan:

Coming to the cheap data plan, let’s take a look what it offers: 

1.  It only provides DVD quality video.
2. The tethering speed was very slow.

However, users are given unlimited data usage, texting and calling in both of the plans.

This is what Sprint Communication’s Plan is:

Talking about Sprint Communication’s expensive data plan, it was launched by the company at least a week before T-Mobile came up with its own expensive data plan. However, Sprint Communications, a premiere government cell phone service carrier, successfully undercut T-Mobile’s price of the expensive data plan. Sprint Communications raised the price of its expensive unlimited data plan from $60 to $80 as a starting price.

The Difference:

Both the cheap and expensive unlimited data plans of Sprint Communications offer unlimited calling, data usage and texting. The only difference is in terms of the quality of the video content limited by Sprint Communication’s cheap unlimited data plan.

The latest pricing battle is the result of constantly slowing growth of the US wireless market. Consumers are not taking any significant interest in switching their careers either. This has also played a crucial role in slowing down the growth of the wireless market in the entire United States at least for the last five to six years. But with the arrival of Apple’s iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, most of the carriers, including T-Mobile and Sprint Communications, can expect an increase in the defection rate. 

T-Mobile Issues Tips for Customers to Stay Connected with Their Loved Ones During Hurricane Hermine in the Southeast

A hurricane named Hermine is expected to strike in the southeast as a category 1 storm tomorrow early in the morning. This is why T-Mobile, one of the government cell phone service carriers in the United States, is preparing its network. The company has deployed its operations and engineering teams and is continuously monitoring weather patterns.

Some of the necessary steps being taken by T-Mobile:

As a government cellphone service provider, the company is leaving no stone unturned to prepare necessary equipment as well as providing supplies to help its valuable customers stay connected before, during, and after the storm.

The company is preparing…
•    Generators for backup
•    COW (Cell-on-Wheels)
•    Fuel tanks

The company has also decided to set up a command center in crucial areas where the storm is likely to impact. The company will closely manage network traffic with the help of its GEO-Redundant Network Operation Centers. If needed, further coordination for responses will be initiated.

Mentioned below are some of the tips suggested by T-Mobile, a government cell phone service provider, to increase their chances of getting connected with their loved ones before, during and even after the storm.

•    Keep your Phone fully charged
•    Save the battery life of your phone
•    Prefer texting over calling
•    Keep your calls short and to-the-point.
•    Don’t let your phone get wet
•    Utilize Wi-Fi calling

Let’s see how following these useful tips will help you connect with your loved ones and do many important things before, or after the storm.

1. Keep Your Phone Fully Charged:
T-Mobile has suggested all of its private and cellular Phone Service users to keep their phone battery fully charged.  You should also charge your cellphone in case of electricity breakdown. Car chargers and portable chargers will be very handy in such a situation to keep you connected with your loved ones. If possible, look for several other options right now in your nearby retail stores.

2. Save the Battery Life of Your Phone:
You must utilize the power saving mode available in your cellphone to save the battery life. Reducing screen brightness, turning all of your location based service completely off and reducing application’s usage and downloads will also help.

3. Prefer Texting over Calling:
Since text needs less network resources, it will be the most productive and easy option to know about the wellbeing of your loved ones during and after the storm, suggests T-Mobile.

4. Keep Your Calls Short and To-The-Point:
The company has also suggested that users keep their calls short and to-the-point to ensure network availability for others during severe weather conditions.

5. Don't Let Your Phone Get Wet:
T-Mobile has strongly suggested everyone to keep their phones dry or cover them using some waterproof covering. This will save your phone from getting damaged because of moisture.

6. Utilize Wi-Fi Calling:
Just in case cellular phone service does not work, then utilizing Wi-Fi is the best option for you for calling or texting purposes. Using Wi-Fi calling, T-Mobile customers will be able to call or text their loved ones. You just need to have a Wi-Fi capable phone in the absence of cellular phone service network, and have a Wi-Fi network connection.
•    iOS users should go to Settings> Phone> Wi-Fi Calling
•    Android Users should go to Settings > More Connection Settings > Wi-Fi Calling

If needed, T-Mobile has suggested all its customers to drop a call to 611 (Customer Care Number) using their handset.

Sprint and T-Mobile Swoop Down on Price Hike by Verizon

Verizon ups the charges for its monthly plans as well as the amount of data offered in these plans, to which the competitors, namely T-Mobile and Sprint were quick to react.

The United States' largest carrier hikes its monthly service by $5 to $10 monthly along with adding supplementary data in each of these plans. Some additional features were also introduced such as "Safety Mode" feature that lets users stay connected even if they reach their monthly allocations, while decreasing speed to 128 Kbps and enabling users to keep unused data from the last month.

But several offers were already sailed out by its competitors, to which the competitors pounced upon quickly. John Legere, CEO of T-Mobile tweeted that his company has introduced a data rollover feature through its Data Stash offering long before.

He tweeted "If you're going to copy #DataStash, why copy @att's sad version of it?" "A copy of a copy = a terrible @verizon version of @TMobile #DataStash."

Marcelo Claure, Sprint CEO also mentioned "GREAT strategy @Verizon," "Step 1: Raise prices. Step 2: Tell them you aren't raising prices. Step 3: Tell them to be thankful. #SwitchtoSprint."

While this seems to be a price hike, some analysts noted that the company actually dropped the prices in terms of cost per gigabyte of data. And the move is looked at as an effort to better monetize its users. For instance, "Safety Mode" charges $5 per month for customers who are not currently on the company’s two costliest data plans. 

Read more: Free Cell Phone Lifeline Program

As per a research note written by Wells Fargo Securities analysts "While Verizon continues to lead the industry in network performance (as shown from numerous third-party studies), in some ways a case could be made with these new plans and offerings Verizon is acting more 'me too' to meet some of the perks which Verizon's competitors are already offering." "While an increase in the monthly recurring charge is a positive for ARPU – with things like Data Rollover and Safety Mode offered – there are more opportunities for customers to be smarter with their data usage and limit the upsell capability of this ARPU."

The Most Expensive Plans of AT&T’s MVNO H2O Gain Significant Data

AT&T’s MVNOs are known to offer some of the best whole nationwide coverage maps per dollar. H2O Wireless, an MVNO that runs on AT&T Mobility's network and is managed by Fort Lee, N.J. based Locus Telecommunications has revised three of its most expensive monthly plans, a move that will shower a whole lot of supplementary data on its customers. A significant amount of additional data has been added to each plan, while no change to pricing is made.

The $60 monthly plan which initially holds 3GB of data will now offer 4.5GB data and unlimited talk and text. Another monthly plan worth $50 doubled the data from 2GB to 4GB. The third plan to upgrade data is the $40 monthly plan in which the data has been tripled from its previous amount.

No changes were made to the MVNO’s cheaper plans. All of its plans offer unlimited text and calling that includes unlimited international talk and text to more than 50 countries. Varying sums of credit for international voice calls are also part of the plans.

The company announced the updated plans a fortnight ago, as reported by the Prepaid Phone News. The change is also propagated via the company’s twitter page.

H2O is managed by a subsidiary of Japanese telecom KDDI. The company proudly holds 45 million mobile users and a good number of 8 million fixed-line broadband customers and generated approximately $43 billion the previous year. 

Buy Free Government Cell Phones in Illinois

The company keeps updating its offerings in order to be in line with the competitive market. As per a statement passed by H2O sometime back "H2O Wireless faces fierce competition in the market so we are always looking for ways to continuously expand our consumer offerings.” In 2013, it offered unlimited data at $60 per month by withdrawing the offer and substituting it with a 2GB cover in 2011. Also, the service provider boosted its data allotments last year in Oct, relapsing to its previous plans.

AT&T Announced the Launch of Equipment Instalment Plan for Accessories, Up to $400

AT&T, a leading network carrier in the US, has recently expanded its equipment installment payment plan to cover accessories. The carrier said its wireless customers can purchase accessories such as LG Tone Infinim headsets and Bose SoundLink speakers through the plans and pay them off in monthly installments with zero down payment and zero interest.

The network said the offering is only available through itsretail stores. And, the customers can only purchase one accessory per phone number or two per account. The offering only covers accessories priced between $149 and $400. The launch is notable because it will allow AT&T to potentially sell more accessories through its retail outlets, thereby deriving more revenues from the sale of accessories.

The move is also not surprising considering how popular equipment installment plans have become for the purchase of smartphones. The plans generally allow customers to break up the cost of devices into monthly payments stretching across 12, 18 or 24 months, depending on the plan they select, thereby making it easier for customers to afford expensive gadgetry. 

Indeed, AT&T said that fully 90 percent of its postpaid smartphone sales in the first quarter used the carrier's "Next" branded equipment installment plan (EIP), or were customers who brought their own devices to the carrier. That's an impressive figure, considering AT&T only introduced EIP pricing a few years ago. Previously the carrier only sold devices under a subsidized model through two-year service contracts.

Over the past several years, wireless carriers have worked carefully to finance the cost of EIP plans, since they don't immediately receive the full payment for customers' devices. "We continue to find ample demand and great rates in the securitization market to help us manage our Next receivables," said AT&T CFO John Stephens on the carrier's first-quarter conference call.  He further added, "We have received about $1.5 billion in the first quarter, or about the same amount as last year's first quarter."

Hunting For Free Government Cell Phone Service?

The advent of mobile phones in our lives has completely changed the way we communicate with our business partners, friends, and family throughout the globe.  Mobilephones can be used in many applications like social connectivity, personal safety, business operations, on-line banking, and more. These portable devices have conquered a prominent place in people’s life. It’s hard to imagine a world without mobile phones.  

Why mobile phones are important?

•   Modern phones are equipped with GPRS and navigation systems.
•  They allow you to make calls from nearly anywhere, anytime.
•  These handheld devices are equipped with internet facilities.
•   Cell phones allow you to transfer data like emails, documents, and videos just in a span of minutes. 

Considering the fact that without a mobile phone you are at an economic disadvantage in life, the government has introduced a program whereby people can get free government cell phone service. Under this program, a person can have free cell phone service because of a monthly subsidy. With this free cell phone service, he/she gets up to 250 anytime minutes per month, depending on the state in which they live. Most importantly, with this government-assisted cell phone, you are able to make long distance calls. With most providers, you can get the facility of sending text messages as well. 

People who are participating in any of the government services have this free cell phone service available for them. These services include Medicaid, Food Stamps, and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), Federal Public Housing Assistance (Section 8), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), National School Lunch Program (NSLP), or even Household Income Based on Federal Poverty Guidelines. There could also be more qualifying programs available in your state.

With www.mygovernmentcellphone.com, it is very simple to apply for the free government cell phone service. This free cell program comes absolutely at no cost!