Verizon Stands Third In the New Wireless Speed Test

Ookla, the company known for its famous Speedtest services has conducted another speed test for wireless networks and for Verizon, the news isn’t so good! When tested for raw speed, Verizon seems to lag way behind in the race, scoring the third spot.

Ookla’s Speed Test

Ookla is the renowned company that’s responsible for conducting the speed tests for different telecommunication giants including the huge government cell phone providers.

From the data of the past few months, it has been seen that Verizon ranks third in the speed test conducted by Ookla.

It has been a great disappointment on Verizon’s part as the network has been the most expensive one among all the top free government cell phone service providers. Besides offering such pricey prepaid and postpaid plans, the network provider lags way behind in the speed test.

Verizon finds itself in third place in the test behind T-Mobile and AT&T.

However, the Ookla speed test doesn’t necessarily give a clear image of the network as the test data has been collected from the Ookla Speedtest Service users, which is quite a small portion of users.  

Thus, judging the giant government cell phone provider wholly on the basis of such a small amount of diverse users can be a little unjustified.

Also, it has been seen that users generally run a speed test when their network isn’t performing normal and this greatly depends on the devices being used and their location. Thus, the speed test results are greatly diverse and biased.

On the other hand, Ookla has been considered to be a renowned name for its speed test services, thus, people are still going to judge Verizon on the basis of this test.

The reasons behind the slowed down speed of the Verizon network are considered to be many. But as per T-Mobile, Verizon’s situation has gotten this bad because of the new unlimited plans being introduced by the giant free governmentcell phone service provider.

Also, when you look back at the recent performance of the telecom giant, Verizon has been losing its name in the market because of slowed down speed and interrupted services.

This has inversely impacted the reputation of the free government cell phone service provider.

Conversely, with an inclining growth curve towards a good reputation and success, T-Mobile has been coming out as one of the widely expanding government cell phone service providers.

According to the speed test, AT&T has also maintained its position in the top 2 networks as usual.

In a Nutshell

Recently, the news headlines have not been in favor of the biggest government cell phone service provider, Verizon. Thus, the telecom giant is losing its good reputation in the market.

It might be just a bad phase for the service provider but it’s making Verizon lose its subscribers and customers in a large amount. To get back on track, Verizon needs a great data plan and the company must start working on improving its raw speed so as to win its customers and reputation back in the market. 

AT&T Launches Stream Saver Video Regulating Feature

AT&T is an elite name, offering exceptional cell phone service and other plans to its customers. Recently, this cellular phone service provider has launched a new Stream Saver feature for its customers.

Details About AT&T

AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation, located at Whitacre Tower in downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the second largest mobile telephone services provider and the largest fixed telephone services provider in the United States. It is the largest telecommunications company in the world by revenue. AT&T has maintained a good name by offering exceptional cell phone service and other plans to its customers. It also offers broadband subscription television services through DirecTV. 

AT&T is the third largest company in Texas, and as of February 2017, it is the 12th largest company globally as analyzed by a composite of revenues, assets, profits, and market value, and the 12th largest non-oil company. As of 2017, it is also the 18th-largest mobile telecom operator worldwide, with 135 million mobile customers. It was ranked at 4 as the world's most valuable brands published by Brand Finance for the year 2017.

AT&T Inc. started its foundation as Southwestern Bell Corporation, one of the seven Regional Bell Operating Companies formed in 1983 in the divestiture of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company following the 1982 United States v. AT&T antitrust lawsuit. In the year 1995, Southwestern Bell transformed its name to SBC Communications Inc. In 2005, SBC bought previous parent AT&T Corp. and took on its branding, with the combined entity naming itself AT&T Inc. and using the iconic AT&T Corp. logo and stock-trading symbol.

This is the brief history of the renowned cellular phone service provider,  AT&T. Now, let’s talk about its latest stream saver video regulating feature:

Back in November we heard the first news of AT&T's Stream Saver feature. When it is activated, the HD video (720p) is reduced to standard video (480p), offering DVD quality video. In this way, the users with a data bucket can save some data while viewing streaming videos. This feature is now automatically enabled on AT&T and GoPhone pre-paid plans.

The stream saver video regulating feature is on by default. So, customers can turn Stream Saver off by visiting the AT&T website and its “Manage my data” account page. Once it is turned off, wait for five minutes and then perform a complete smartphone reboot for the change to fully take effect.

You can even sign up to use AT&T’s standalone unlimited plans. This will consist of the carrier’s $90 a month Unlimited Plus plan, supporting HD video streaming, though total download speeds are reduced for the rest of the month after consuming over 22GB data per billing cycle.

See Also: Get Verizon's 5G broadband service for Free

If you are using the carrier's Unlimited Plus data plan, you will want to disable Stream Saver immediately  because it streams video without limits at a 720p resolution. If you are subscribed to AT&T Unlimited Choice, you do not have to make any changes since streaming is done at 480p.

There is a mixed response to AT&T’s new feature. Let see how it works in the future.

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 Planning to Limit Video Quality by Default Even for Unlimited Cell Phone Plan Users

The wind does not seem to be blowing in the favor of AT&T cellular phone service users. Now the company has decided to limit the quality of videos on mobile for all of its customers. This is likely to happen in early 2017. The company is all set make good use of a new feature called the Stream Saver for controlling the quality of videos on mobile to DVD resolution of about 480p.

What is the Big Deal?

AT&T Cellular Phone service subscribers definitely have something to worry about in this news. Users can opt out of Stream Saver. However, it is surely going to be enabled for customers by default. Even customers with an unlimited data plan have not been spared.

Reason:

This decision by AT&T is nothing less than Donald Trump’s shocking win in the US Presidential election. AT&T has solid reasons of its own for making this decision. Let’s take a good look at all of them below:
•    AT&T Cellular Phone Service customers will be able to keep their data usage under 22 GB.
•    The company reserves the right of reducing unlimited data plans when any customers exceeds the data usage of 22 GB a month.

AT&T Says…

The company will surely notify users after their Saver has been activated. According to the announcement made by AT&T, all the users will also be guided about how to switch the Stream Saver off and back on. AT&T customers using an unlimited data plan may welcome this feature wholeheartedly as it helps them keep their data usage way less than 22 GB every month.

"It’s your choice. You can still stream video in higher resolution, when available, whenever you choose," Says AT&T. "You control Stream Saver and can turn it off or back on for any qualified line at any time at myAT&T or Premier for business customers. There is no charge to disable or enable Stream Saver."

Coming to the multi-line accounts, it will feasible to turn Stream Saver off for some lines only. It is likely to be available both for AT&T’s postpaid cell phone plan and AT&T GoPhone prepaid plans.

In addition, Stream Saver will play a huge role in the process of limiting the quality of most video. Some content owners can be held responsible for this decision taken by AT&T. They provide content in a way that Stream Saver fails to detect and then optimize the entire video for its cell phone plan users, said AT&T. Stream Saver is applicable only to cell phone plans. Therefore, video will stream in normal quality through Wi-Fi or residential internet connections.

Summary of the Story:

Stream Saver is very much similar to the system applied by T-Mobile for controlling the quality of video. Stream Saver is here to stay. This is why AT&T cell phone plan users will have the luxury of saving their preferences until you decide to change them. This is going to be a very impactful decision for its customers. And it will be very interesting to see the kind of response this decision gets from customers.
Just signup with our blog list and get all the latest news in this regard delivered directly in your mailbox.

Sprint Cell Phone Service Subscribers Will Now Be Able to Pay for Napster through Their Sprint Bill

Finally, Sprint INC. comes forward with some kind of good news for its customers. And the good news is for Sprint’s cellular phone service customers using Napster.

What is so special about it?

The company is putting in some efforts to make it easier for its customers to be able to pay for their Napster subscriptions through their Sprint Bills.  In simple words, if you are a customer of both then you will certainly find it easier to pay for both through your Sprint bill.

Any Advantage Associated?

To be honest, there are not many advantages for cellular phone service users- apart from the fact that they will have the luxury of paying the bills of both Sprint and Napster via their single Sprint Bill. Automatic access to Napster or something like that could make this partnership of the two companies meaningful/advantageous to some extent for Sprint customers.

But Why?

As for reason, anyone signing up for Napster gets one month free access to Napster. Besides this, cell phone service customers of prepaid brands of Sprint like BoostMobile and Virgin Mobile are likely to get access to Napster without having to bother about using up their data.

Who Will Get Benefited by This Partnership?

Only Sprint INC. and Napster are going to be benefitted with this deal to some extent. But the lion’s share of benefits will fall in the lap of Napster. As far as benefits for Sprint INC. are concerned, the company is merely going to get some new cell phone service users and nothing else. Apart from this, this deal is not likely to bring anything special to the company.

This Deal Indicates Something Very Special:

This partnership of the two companies is a strategically thought out move that specially indicates the way different companies are attempting to gain new customers for rapid growth. Napster specially depends on such strategically thought out partnerships for growth. 

However, there is something to notice for every customer. Customers will still be able to pay for their Spotify bills via their Sprint cell phone service bills.

What Else?

This is not the end of everything. Sprint is certainly not the first or new partnership of Napster in any way. The company also declared its partnerships with the likes of Even, known for conducting rigorous audio tests for the iOS app of Napster. In addition to that, Lufthansa Systems, an Airline technology provider, is also in line for offering high quality music for every customer aboard Lufthansa Airline’s Flights.

Moral of the Story:

Coming back to the point, this deal is not of much meaning for Sprint customers as they already get the benefit that both Sprint and Napster are talking about. The deal will simply earn Sprint INC. some new customer whereas Napster will have another strong partnership to rely on for further growth. Now it will surely be very interesting to see the impact of this deal or partnership between the two companies on cellular phone service users and the growth of both the company’s themselves.

Do you want to know more in this regard? Just signup to our blog.

Verizon Wireless Plans to Launch LG V20 Ahead of Other Carriers

Some of the major US carriers like T-Mobile and AT&T have already been expecting a significant number of pre-orders related to LG V20. On the other hand, another major US carrier named Sprint is yet to start taking pre-orders for the same phone until 21st October, 2016.

Although T-Mobile, Sprint and AT&T might be releasing the LG V20 on 28th October 2016, Verizon Wireless seems to have some other plans. The company is all set to make the competition fierce. Verizon Wireless has announced the launch of the LG V20 on Thursday October 20, 2016 for its Nevada phone service users. The company has also decided to release the phones for users in its stores a day earlier to beat the competition. The company plans to do it ahead of other carriers in order to seek new growth in the wireless sector. The company announced the availability of LG V20 this week.

The Exact Date of Availability in Stores:   

LG’s V20 is surely going to be ahead of the other carriers as it is likely to be available on Verizon Wireless this week. According to the report by Droid Life, Nevada phone service users will be able to get this phone in Verizon Wireless stores on 27th October, 2016. Otherwise, users can buy this phone on the Verizon Wireless’ website before the date specified.

The Price of LG V20:

Coming to the price, the company has not revealed it yet. However, according to some rumors doing rounds on internet in this regard, the device is likely to cost around $769 to $800. In addition to that, the company plans to offer a free pair of B&O Play earphones to Nevada phone service users who buy LG’s V20. Needless to say, every cellular phone service subscriber in Nevada must be expecting slightly higher prices as compared to the prices set by the other carriers.

The Purpose of launching LG V20 Ahead of Other Carriers:

The company has been struggling to gain new growth in the wireless sector for a long time. Therefore, launching LG V20 ahead of the other carriers in the United States could give Verizon Wireless an opportunity to seek new growth in the wireless sector. This is possible only when the company beats other carriers to the punch. And this might just be a perfect opportunity for the company.

This Is Exactly What Phone Service Subscribers in Nevada Will Get in the LG V20:

At this juncture, it is worth stating that there will surely be some promotions by the company about the handset. Users can expect a 5.7 inch display that is very much capable of supporting 1,440x2560 resolution. It has 4 GB of RAM, a powerful Snapdragon 820 processor and a 3200 mAh Battery. The phone has plenty of other features too.

Coming back to the point, the company may have decided to seek new growth in the wireless sector, yet it will not be easy for Verizon Wireless in the presence of other strong carriers like T-Mobile, AT&T and Sprint etc.

Keep coming back to our website as we will keep posting all sorts of latest news in this regard. 

Verizon Wireless Has Fine-Tuned Its Network to Keep Customers Communicating During Hurricane Matthew

A hurricane named Matthew continues to head towards the eastern cost of the United States. This is why Verizon Wireless, one of the premiere government cell phone service carriers in the United States has already taken necessary measures to ensure hassle-free cellular phone service for all its consumers in Florida, up the eastern seaboard and across the region. The company is relying on the most reliable and largest 4G LTE network to carry out the task.

The Company Has Fine-Tuned Its Network Significantly Since Last Year's Storm Season:

Following are the highlights of this network enhancement:

•    Additional Services related to the most advanced 4G LTE (Long-Term Evolution) network.
•    Significant addition of capacities at many cell sites.
•    Considerable fortification of coverage along evacuation routes.
•    Deployment of Long-Term Evolution (LTE) advanced technology and installing new in-building network systems at important places like hospitals, high-traffic public places, government and other emergency facilities and other key venues.
•    Super-switch network processing centers specifically designed to resist any catastrophe such as category 5 hurricanes.

What Else:

With hardened shells, power generation at a very large scale, various types of redundant operations and technologies as well as other backup systems deployed/installed, and hassle-free cellular phone services to the users are the main highlights of the efforts put in by Verizon Wireless.

Deployment of Engineers and Technicians:

All the practiced engineers and technicians of Verizon Wireless are burning the midnight oil in order to prepare all sorts of emergency services. They are also focusing on staging extra equipment and continuously conducting drills to ensure that their cellular phone service subscribers can rely on their services when they need it at crunch time, says Mr. Sergei Mislevy, executive director of Network operations at Verizon Wireless.

Some More Reliable Efforts by Verizon Wireless in This Direction:

In addition to that, the company is making some more reliable efforts in this direction for ensuring hassle-free networks for all its customers. The list of ongoing efforts by Verizon wireless includes the following:

•    A full emergency response plan that includes preparing emergency command centers in case of storm or any other kind of crisis.
•    Network technicians working at Verizon Wireless focus on utilizing high-tech mobile equipment dedicated to measuring the quality of the company’s wireless voice calls and data services across the state.
•    Verizon Wireless has a huge fleet of CoWS, CoLTS and GOaTS (Cells on Wheels, Cell on Light Trucks and Generators on Trailers). This fleet can easily be rolled into hard-hit locations or areas where extra capacity of the network is identified as being needed for keeping cell phone service users communicating.
•    Pre-arrangement of fuel delivery for mobile units as well generators for keeping the network up and running in full swing even if the electricity breaks down for an extended period of time.
•    Capable on-site generators for erecting new cell sites.
•    New and extended fuel tanks dedicated to extending power generation capacity of generators for ensuring hassle-free cell phone service for users. 

Check for Qualifying Government Assistance Programs

All of these initiatives taken by Verizon Wireless are an essential part of the heavy network investment exceeding the amount of $111 billion since the company’s inception in the year 2000 for increasing the coverage and reliability as well as the capacity of its premiere network spread nationwide including the addition of new services. 

Finally:

Now only time will tell the success rate of the quality of improvements that Verizon Wireless has made in this direction.

Verizon Wireless Soon Introducing Three Carrier Aggregation Technology for Boosting Network Speed up to 300 Mbps

Verizon Wireless is all set to speed-up its network like never before. The company is about to exceed its LTE (Long Term Evolution) network speed over 300 Mbps. This is likely to be done using a technology called TCA (Three Carrier Aggregation). 

This technology utilizes separated lanes of spectrum to help them get used as a single wider lane. Its industry competitors like Sprint and AT&T have already been making the most of 2x Carrier Aggregation technology for a while now.  Sprint named it’s version “LTE Plus”. The company has been hiding the availability of Three Carrier Aggregation technology, apparently at its disposal for a long time.

The Possible Outcomes of Verizon Wireless’ Decision of Introducing Three Carrier Aggregation Technology

Using this technology, Verizon Wireless will become the first government assistance cell phone service provider to conduct a large scale roll-out of TCA (Three Carrier Aggregation).  This move to provide more speed and capacity to mobile users surely rang the warning bells for Sprint and T-Mobile. However, both Sprint and T-Mobile have been working on Three Carrier Aggregation publicly. Therefore, it is clear that Verizon Wireless, the government assistance cell phone service provider, needs to pull its socks up to convert its narrow competitive lead in the market into a big lead.

According to the information provided by trustworthy sources of Verizon Wireless, the company has already been using TCA (Two Carrier Aggregation) in most cities whereas Three Carrier Aggregation technology is being utilized in just a very few cities. The company has confirmed the speed range of Two Carrier technology at a maximum of up to 225Mbps. It effectively bonds 700MHz with the 1700 MHz Spectrum. Using Three Carrier technology, this range will easily exceed the speed of 300 Mbps. This variety of spectrum allows the company to add 1900MHz spectrum to make it even faster. 

But the Story Is Full of Twists:

This technology does not support every mobile set. Therefore, it is important for all mobile users interested in using it to have that right phone that is supported by this technology for various reasons mentioned below:

• This is service will not easily support most of the mobile phones in use today. Users will have to upgrade their government cell phones to one that supports this technology to help them be able to use it.
• Its speed will also vary as per the individual bandwidth.
• All of the government cell phone service providers use different speeds for every band of spectrum. This results in the end spectrums used with a varying amount of speed with various width pipes when they are merged together.
• The level or capacity of those frequency pipes also comes into play.

 Apply now for Free Cell Phone Service
 
All in all, it is not a cakewalk to deploy this technology for utilization over long distances. And Sprint, having a huge amount of spectrum is the best example of it, says a company insider.

That Is Merely the Outline of the Whole Story:

All of the reasons mentioned above don’t completely describe Verizon’s clear intentions behind making this decision. So far, Verizon Wireless has confirmed the list of mobile phones that support Three Carrier Aggregation technology that may include the following mobile phones:

• Samsung’s Galaxy S7, Note 5, Note 7 and the S6 Edge Plus
• HTC 10
• Apple’s iPhone 7
• LG V20

Verizon Wireless has confirmed the news that they are striving to complete all sorts of firmware updates for phones supported by the Three Carrier Aggregation technology. With the help of this new technology, the company is expecting to expand its consumer base and consolidate on its narrow market lead over Sprint and T-Mobile as a government assisted cell phone service provider. It will be very interesting to see what the outcome of this technology will be on company’s plan to seek new growth in the wireless sector.

T-Mobile and Sprint Collaborate for New Market Growth to Compete Against the Alliance of Verizon Communications and AT&T

It appears as if the news of the tie-up between Verizon Communications and AT&T has reached the doorsteps of T-Mobile and Sprint. Perhaps this is why both of the companies have decided to collaborate and close in on the alliance of Verizon Communications and AT&T. It seems to be a kind of strategic reply to gain a competitive edge in the market. Perhaps the tie-up between Verizon Communication and AT&T, the two best cell phone service providers, has surely shaken both T-Mobile and Sprint to the core.

On the other side, Verizon Communications does seem to be affected by this decision of T-Mobile and Sprint. Accurately conducted surveys do get a lot of attention in the cellular phone service market nationwide.

Let's See What Rootmetrics Has to Say 

Rootmetrics, a pioneer in the field of mobile ranking, recently conducted a survey. And the report brought some amazing findings, mentioned below, to light.

• Verizon Communications managed to top five national categories. The company secured the best provider in overall rankings because of a reliable and lightning fast network and data performance.
• Brilliant performance during the first half of 2016 put AT&T second in the list.
• Sprint got 3rd place in the overall rankings because of outstanding call related performance whereas T-Mobile bagged the same place in the data categories for cell phone services.

These findings are nothing more than a snapshot of the way these cell phone service providers are continuously dedicating time, focus and resources towards expanding and reinforcing their networks for seeking new customers and growth.  

Order Your Free Government Cell Phone for Georgia

Statistics Never Lie. They Speak the Truth Loudly.

Let’s take a look at how this is expected to happen.

• Both T-Mobile and Sprint expressed their unhappiness about some of the results yet they remained focused on discussions about their considerable improvement in the market of cellular phone service providers. This improvement of up to 1.24% is believed to be way more than Verizon (0.28%) and Sprint’s (0.18%) collective improvement.
• T-Mobile came out with improved statistics. The T-Mobile think tank focused on marking improvement in other reports whereas it struggled to do the same in Rootmatrics studies conducted for determining the best network.
• T-Mobile single handedly dominated the results among all carriers with the score of 0.58% in the metro area tests. Almost 40 awards in the category of powerful overall services and nearly 17 awards in a prior survey verify this improvement.
• Sprint bagged six awards in six major metropolitan cities. The company repeated the same performance with six more awards in the prior surveys. Most importantly, the company has managed to ring the warning bells for the alliance of AT&T and Verizon Communications with 42 wins in a number of metropolitan areas.
• Verizon Communications managed to sneak in with 0.28% improvement. Moreover, AT&T’s refusal to comment at only 0.18% improvement sums up everything.

This Cat-Fight Is Certainly Getting Very Interesting:

T-Mobile and Sprint are continuously making giant strides towards displacing the two huge cell phone service carriers from the top spot. The main objective of this alliance between T-Mobile and Sprint is particularly to do so in the category of large metropolitan areas. Rootmatrics has confirmed it in its recently published report.

This is enough to prove that the rankings do not have any impact over a company’s market reputation because of their quality services. All in all, T-Mobiles alliance with Sprint indicates cut-throat competition in the market with Verizon Communications and AT&T for new growth and customers.

Verizon's Prepaid Customers Can Stay Connected Even After Consuming Data Allotments

The nation’s biggest telecom giant unveiled a service that gives a provision to its prepaid customers to stay connected at lower speeds even after the consumption of high-speed data allotments.

The telecom company also recently revealed certain new data plans for postpaid customers including rollover data and a similar provision to stay connected at lower speeds even after exceeding data allotments.

The prepaid offering, named “Always-on-data” debuted on July 17. The speed will reduce to 128kb/second after users cross the data caps for the remaining billing cycle. This service is quite similar to the “Safety Mode” feature that was introduced by the company last week at the time of rolling out new pricing plans. The difference between the two is that “Safety Mode” costs an extra $5 a month for customers with inexpensive service plans whereas in “Always-on-data”, the prepaid users do not have to pay any charge. But for postpaid users the feature costs an additional $5 a month.

Droid Life reported the new feature and a Verizon representative confirmed the offer.
The US carrier received criticism last week over upsurge of prices of the monthly plans and the respective data allotments. Verizon cleared the air that the move is not actually price hike, rather the price per gigabyte is lower in the new plans.

The three prepaid plans offered by the company include unlimited text in the US, Canada and Mexico, and unlimited talk and text within the country. Among the new plans, a Wi-Fi only data plan is for $30 per month, 3 GB of LTE data and mobile hotspot capability for $45 per month, and 6 GB of LTE data with mobile hotspot and unlimited calling to Mexico and Canada for $60 a month. 

Free Cell Phone Service in Washington

With this new move, the company has indicated that it is targeting the prepaid market. In another recent move, Verizon has increased the data by two times in some of its prepaid plans.

As the value gap between the prepaid and postpaid customers is closing, the company seems to pay attention to the fierce competition in the telecom market.

Concerns Raised Over Sprint Mobilitie's Small Cell Roll out Efforts

Sprint’s commitment to roll out nearly 70,000 small cells in cities across the country, mainly through Mobilitie, has slightly halted due to issues in obtaining authority for transmitters. Some Wall Street analysts are questioning the large amount of money that the company is writing off from customers who got in contract for the carrier’s handset-leasing offer and later took the devices for no charge.

Regarding the Sprint network, The Wall Street Journal stated that Sprint is trying to deploy small cells, principally for its 2.5 GHz spectrum, on utility poles in "public rights of way," which includes the land that holds city utilities such as street lamps, fire hydrants and several others. Sprint is reported to be working with Mobilitie to install the briefcase-sized antennas on the poles.

But the efforts are temporarily suspended as Sprint awaits zoning approval for some of the small cells. This is also a bit of the reason for lowering the capex guidance for the remaining part of the year to $3 billion, much lower than the expected value of $4.5 billion.

As per the WSJ, Mobilitie currently has 1,000 permits and will start a wide-scale rollout when it has more. Mobilitie's CEO shared that building and operating cost of the small cells is $190,000 over 10 years, which is much less than the average cost to operate a macro tower. Also the filing of permit applications under different names has led to confusion. The company has said that all future applications will be filed under the name Mobilitie.

The analysts at MoffettNathanson observed that the company incurred a $166 million loss that is related to "cell site construction and other network costs that are no longer recoverable as a result of changes in the 

Company's network plans." 

Are you qualifying for government assistance programs?

"Although $166M (out of a ~$3B current capex plan) once again represents a relatively modest amount, and indeed an amount that may have been spent years ago, one wonders if there is the potential for additional capex-related write-offs should Sprint continue to slash prior network commitments," wrote analysts about Sprint's charge.

Analysts also added "Interestingly, Sprint's 10-K discloses that Sprint is now borrowing against future lease receivables, having sold $1.2B in not-yet leased device receivables for cash of $600M in the calendar first quarter. This suggests that Sprint may be running out of runway for additional handset securitizations," "Perhaps this is why T-Mobile, after a brief dalliance, has decided to de-emphasize leasing."