T-Mobile and Sprint's on-again, off-again merger is near to terms being agreed, sources claim, though there's still some way to go before the four major carriers become three. The two networks have been potential suitors for several years now, though so far have failed to reach a conclusive deal that would see them merge. However, reports earlier this month claimed that it was once again a possibility.
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Ever since Verizon and AT&T introduced unlimited plans earlier this year, each of the big four have been tweaking their plans and trying to make it the most attractive for consumers. T-Mobile is the one doing the tweaking today, confirming rumors that we heard earlier this morning. Today's changes deal with T-Mobile's "prioritization point," otherwise known as the point where T-Mobile begins throttling your data speeds.
Good news for T-Mobile customers planning on getting the new Apple Watch Series 3: less than a day after revealing that the new LTE-enabled smartwatch would be limited to 3G speeds on its network, T-Mobile has reversed its stance and says users will get full 4G LTE data speeds. The carrier's CEO John Legere revealed the change on Twitter, acknowledging users' "frustrations" and "feedback."
T-Mobile users who have their hearts set on the new Apple Series 3 with LTE are facing some unfortunate news: the carrier is limiting the wearable to 3G-ish speeds. The carrier doesn't go out of its way to underscore that reality, instead listing it among various tidbits of fine print. According to that fine print, you'll get 512Kbps speeds with your shiny new Apple wearable.
Here's something you probably weren't expecting: Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint have announced that they're all joining forces. No, they aren't coming together to summon some kind of 4G LTE demon that will end the world as we know it, but rather to work on a new mobile authentication solution. The new group they've formed is called the Mobile Authentication Taskforce, and while that name may be a bit silly, the group serves an important purpose.
T-Mobile has thrown the switch on 600 MHz LTE, promising a "record-shattering" roll-out of the new spectrum use as it fills in rural America's patchy connectivity. The carrier certainly can't be accused of wasting any time, having secured the 600 MHz spectrum licenses only two months ago. Usually, T-Mobile says, a customer roll-out like this would take more like two years.
T-Mobile just made a big change to the device upgrade program it introduced in 2015. According to the carrier's JUMP! On Demand support page, which was edited on August 2, customers now have the option to upgrade to a different device every 30 days, this despite the 18-month agreement they enter into initially. The new upgrade option is only available for the hottest phones on the market, though, meaning you're stuck with your budget handset for a while.
A new tablet has appeared without any formal announcements on T-Mobile's support website, and it is called the LG GPad X2 8.0 Plus. This tablet marks the second time a device has appeared ahead of launch on the carrier's site, the first being the carrier's own Revvl smartphone. As far as this tablet is concerned, it appears to have decent specs alongside support for the Uncarrier's LTE network.
T-Mobile is back to calling out the other carriers today, and this time around, it's focusing on pulling in a major source of revenue for Verizon and AT&T: baby boomers. T-Mobile has introduced a new version of its ONE unlimited plan that is exclusively available to customers who are 55 and older. If you think I'm joking about that, then you should know that T-Mobile is actually going to check your ID when you try to sign up for this plan.
T-Mobile is going to launch its own phone called the Revvl, and it has just appeared on the carrier's website ahead of its official debut. The product page, which is still live on the site and may have been made visible intentionally, reveals some of the handset's specs including a 5.5-inch display and support for the carrier's 4G LTE network. A separate leak seemingly reveals the launch date.
OpenSignal recently published its August 2017 'State of Mobile Networks USA' report, and in it we see the results of its evaluation of the biggest carriers in the nation. While Verizon has a solid history of getting top marks in these sort of tests, T-Mobile has slipped ahead of it this time, managing to take the top slot in every category including latency and 4G performance.
If you have a phone on T-Mobile's network, you have access to a technology that automatically identifies and, if you wish, blocks incoming calls from scammers. The technology is baked into T-Mobile's network, and it'll soon be available to anyone using MetroPCS devices. The technology has been live since this past April, and it has thus far identified and/or blocked scam calls for more than 243 million users, according to the company.
