A newly published report claims Verizon and AT&T are the subject of a Department of Justice investigation. According to the sources cited, officials are looking into whether the two carriers, as well as telecom standards organization GSMA, colluded to make it harder for customers to switch providers. The Justice Department hasn't confirmed the allegations at this time.
AT&T has tweaked its prepaid plans, making them slightly more attractive than before. Of note, users now have the option of an 8GB prepaid plan that costs $50/month, double or more the high-speed data you'll get from similarly priced plans elsewhere. As is common with prepaid plans, the carrier is making it attractive to set up auto pay by reducing the monthly fee in return.
AT&T, if you haven't already heard, wants to buy Time Warner's broadcasting business. The government, on the other hand, doesn't seem to think that such a merger is a good idea, and it's brought an antitrust lawsuit against AT&T in an attempt to block the deal. Yesterday, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson took the stand to explain why he thinks the merger wouldn't harm customers, and in the process, he announced a new streaming service that's set to debut in just a few weeks.
Back in November of 2017 we took a look at a bit of legislation from the FCC that'd all but destroy the program called Lifeline. Lifeline was created all the way back during the Reagan administration to help the poor afford telephone service. The FCC during the W Bush administration updated Lifeline to include wireless internet, then the FCC during Obama's presidency updated Lifeline to include broadband. Now the Trump FCC wants to gut Lifeline like a fish.
Last month, Sonim announced the XP8, a smartphone it claims is the world's toughest model. The XP8 is designed for EMTs, construction workers, and anyone else who needs a phone that'll be exposed to various adverse environments on a regular basis. At the time, Sonim had said it planned to offer the phone through AT&T, and now we have more details on that availability.
For a few weeks now, we've been waiting on Samsung to push Android Oreo out to the Galaxy Note 8. At the beginning of the month, the update passed through Google's certification process, letting us know that a release date was getting close. It would appear that day is today, with a number of users reporting that they're receiving prompts to install the update.
The Galaxy S9 is here at last, and with its status as a flagship device, it obviously costs a decent bit of cash. While the Galaxy S9 doesn't match something like the iPhone X in terms of pricing, the Galaxy S9+ does come close, which puts just how expensive this phone can be into perspective. Luckily for anyone who wants to make the Galaxy S9 or S9+ their daily driver, all four major carries in the US are running promotional offers on this new device.
Two-factor authentication or 2FA is definitely a lot better than a naked password, but not all 2FA methods are created equal. SMS, which is actually the default many 2FA systems use, has been criticized for being more of a liability than a security option. Now the four major US carriers, often viciously competing with other, are now working together to develop a 2FA platform that will rely on your phone, phone number, and other factors, so that you will rely on them rather than third-party apps for your 2FA needs.
Carriers are battling to get more unlimited subscribers and that's good news for consumers. AT&T has just announced that it will be dropping the price of its Unlimited Plus plan, offering it for $80 under the new "Unlimited Plus Enhanced" option. That new option is $10 cheaper per month than the existing Unlimited Plus option, though the scope of the changes aren't clear at the moment.
![Galaxy S9 price details: Verizon, T-Mobile, unlocked, more [Updated]](https://c.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/samsung-galaxy-s9-65-1-980x620.jpg)
Samsung has officially taken the wraps off the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+, and now the carriers are weighing in with just how much it'll cost to put one in your pocket. As usual, the deals vary according to your network of choice, whether you're activating a new line or upgrading, and whether you want the 5.8-inch Galaxy S9 or the larger, 6.2-inch Galaxy S9+. Read on for all the details.
5G, the next step after 4G, is also the communications industry’s next big push, whether you’re ready or not. And most are probably not. Unless you’re a chipset maker like Qualcomm or a network carrier like Verizon and AT&T. The latter has just revealed a small piece of its promise to bring what it brands as “mobile 5G” to parts of the US this year, and it will include parts of Texas and Atlanta on its first phase.
AT&T's controversial Sponsored Data plan has been extended to cover prepaid customers as well as postpaid customers. The program works by giving customers access to certain sponsored content without it impacting their monthly data allotment. Critics point toward net neutrality issues that make the sponsored content program problematic, but the carrier is expanding it regardless.