The Federal Communications Commission’s ongoing sale of wireless licenses has fetched more than $66.4 billion after three weeks of bidding, a record sum that could alter cellphone carriers’ prospects for the next decade. From a report: The auction proceeds have already topped the $44.9 billion raised in 2015 by an earlier sale of midrange cellular licenses, which U.S. cellphone carriers used…
Tag: Sprint
Here’s the 5G Glossary Every American is Apparently Going To Need
T-Mobile last week introduced the market’s newest 5G moniker: “Ultra Capacity.” The label, writes blog LightReading, will stew alongside “5G Ultra Wideband,” “Extended Range 5G,” “5G+,” “5Ge,” “5GTF,” “5G Nationwide” and plain-old “5G” in the US wireless industry, ensuring that if American mobile customers aren’t confused yet, it’s only a matter of time before they’re hopelessly bewildered by operators’ thesaurus-toting marketing…
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai Will Step Down on January 20
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has announced plans to depart the commission when President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated on January 20th. Pai has served on the FCC since 2012. From a report: “It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve at the Federal Communications Commission, including as Chairman of the FCC over the past four years,” Pai said in a…
Python’s Steering Council Assesses the After-Guido Era
47 of Python’s core developers participated in this year’s Core Development Sprint, according to this report — “but what’s more important is the very real and necessary community building that seemed to have taken place…” It’s an especially critical time for Python, which switched to a steering council model in February of 2019, after Guido van Rossum had stepped down as…
T-Mobile Will Stop Saying Its 5G Network Is Better Than It Actually Is
Earlier this week, the FCC fined T-Mobile $200 million for its abuse of Sprint’s Lifeline program for low-income consumers — the largest fine to be paid in commission history. Now, the Better Business Bureau’s National Advertising (NAD) is telling T-Mobile to tone down its misleading 5G claims about having the “best 5G network.” Gizmodo reports: The NAD’s investigation of T-Mobile’s 5G…
T-Mobile Will Pay $200 Million To Settle Sprint’s Alleged Lifeline Abuse
T-Mobile is paying the price for the reported misdeeds of its recent acquisition. From a report: The carrier has agreed to pay a $200 million settlement over FCC allegations Sprint abused the Lifeline program for low-income communications, claiming subsidies for 885,000 customers that weren’t using the initiative. The agreement also requires that T-Mobile honor the rules of a consent decree.The provider…
AT&T Considers Cellphone Plans Subsidized by Ads
AT&T is considering offering wireless phone plans partially subsidized by advertising as soon as a year from now, Chief Executive John Stankey said in an interview on Tuesday. From a report: The consideration, which has not been previously disclosed, underscores AT&T’s commitment to the advertising business as the U.S. phone carrier reviews its portfolio to identify assets to sell in order…
T-Mobile’s Project 10Million Aims To End the Homework Gap
As schools start around the US, many face a problem with getting all their students connected for virtual classes. To help with that crisis, T-Mobile has launched its grant program that aims to eliminate the so-called homework gap. From a report: Unveiled a year ago, Project 10Million will provide hotspots and free connectivity for millions of students around the country. Now…
T-Mobile Passes AT&T To Become Second Biggest US Carrier
In T-Mobile’s Q2 2020 earnings call today, the company says that it has surpassed AT&T in total branded customer count to become the second biggest carrier in the U.S., trailing only Verizon. PhoneDog reports: In Q2 2020, [which is the first quarter that includes Sprint following the merger of the two carriers] T-Mobile added 1.245 million customers, giving it a total…
Sprint 5G is No More, as T-Mobile Focuses On its Own Network
A day after formally completing the sale of Boost, Virgin and other Sprint prepaid networks to Dish, T-Mobile is pulling the plug on Sprint 5G. From a report: The move is one in a long list of issues that need sorting out in the wake of April’s $26.5 billion merger. And like a number of other moves, it’s set to leave…