The initial iPhone 5 pricing was part of what made T-Mobile’s big new “no-contract” phones push so attractive. Now the carrier is changing the rules: it requires a $149 down payment. Read more »
A gain in prepaid customers offset a loss in T-Mobile’s postpaid subscriber base, bringing a branded net add of customers for the first time since early 2009. But the iPhone and LTE network is more likely to help in the future. Read more »
T-Mobile’s deal to join with MetroPCs closed and on Wednesday morning, the newly combined company started trading on the NYSE under the ticker TMUS. Read more »
Folks waiting for the new Samsung Galaxy S 4 may be waiting a few days longer. Sprint and T-Mobile announced inventory challenges, pushing back availability while AT&T’s site says phones will ship on April 30. Read more »
Samsung’s Galaxy S 4 is nearly ready to launch in the U.S. as three carriers updated details about pricing and availability. At the turn of the month, you could have a Galaxy S 4 on your choice of T-Mobile, AT&T or Sprint. Read more »
With a special promotion beginning on Friday, the carrier is hoping to give potential customers even more reasons to switch from a competitor to their new contract-free iPhones for sale. Read more »
AT&T may be the first in the U.S. to offer Samsung’s Galaxy S 4 phone, but it won’t come cheaply: The carrier starts taking pre-orders on April 16 for the $249.99 (with contract) handset. Read more »
On this week’s mobile call in podcast, we recap all of the T-Mobile news: no contracts, the iPhone 5 and a new LTE network. Then we hit your questions about running Linux on a Chromebook and which is the best keyboard for Android. Read more »
GigaOM’s coverage of T-Mobile’s “uncarrier” event can be found here. Read more »
T-Mobile’s $99 unlocked iPhone 5 may be one way of putting an iPhone in the purses and pockets of more price-sensitive customers in the U.S. Read more »
T-Mobile may have focused on finally getting the iPhone 5 at its UnCarrier press event, but the company also let slip that the Galaxy S 4 is coming around May 1 for the same $99 down plus monthly payments over time. Read more »
After building up its HSPA+ network for several years, T-Mobile has finally lit up its LTE network, with initial service offerings in 7 markets, along with several devices that can use it: Including the iPhone 5. Read more »
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said he was stepping down from the role today. Let’s take a look back and see how he did against our hopes for him back in 2009. Read more »
The latent LTE radio in T-Mobile’s Galaxy Note 2 handset makes more sense now: The company has an update that enables the faster broadband speeds, just in time for the new network. Google’s Nexus 4 also has hidden LTE capabilities. Hmm…. Read more »
The shift away from subsidies is happening in earnest, as the growing popularity of expensive smartphones makes it less viable for carriers to mask the real cost of the handset. Read more »
No U.S. carriers have officially announced their BlackBerry launch plans yet, but reports indicate that AT&T will kick off sales on March 22. Once sales begin, how many subscribers will switch from iPhone or Android? Read more »
Austin has pretty fast cellular network speeds normally, but how will SXSW crowds affect the experience. GigaOM and RootMetrics want to find out, and we need your help. Read more »
MetroPCS’s largest shareholder is now opposed to the merger. Opponents still don’t have the votes to derail it, but if more institutional shareholders join their cause, Metro and DT may be forced to alter the terms. Read more »
Raco Wireless is already connecting plenty of appliances, vehicles and gadgets to the internet of things using T-Mobile’s 2G networm, but with new carrier partnerships the M2M specialist can connect those things in more places. Read more »
Can’t wait for that new BlackBerry Z10 in the U.S.? You can get one now, but it’ll cost you a grand. Read more »
It doesn’t necessarily confirm those rumours about the T-Mobile owner buying a stake in Fon, but a tie-in with the service by DT subsidiary Hrvatski Telekom does keep the possibility alive. Read more »
Although other barriers to success exist, Research In Motion has one less obstacle for its new BlackBerry 10 smartphones: All four major U.S. carriers plan to sell the devices. The world is bigger than the U.S. but here the carriers are still the kingmakers. Read more »
The country’s smallest operator, 3, just grew significantly through the acquisition of number-three player Orange. However, regulatory approval was conditional on a new entrant taking hold later this year, and number-two player T-Mobile is also deeply unhappy about aspects of the takeover. Read more »
It’s been a decade since MVNOs first challenged major wireless carriers, and now they account for more than 10 percent of mobile users. Telecom veteran Whitey Bluestein says the latest crop of MVNOs are poised to trigger a whole new round of disruption. Read more »
The year 2013 may bring real disruption to the mobile industry. Upstart carriers are embracing noncellular technologies to provide cut-rate services, third-party developers are gaining traction with cheap (or free) alternatives to SMS, and a major U.S. operator is preparing to drop handset subsidies. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Next year, T-Mobile will abolish smartphone subsidies, opting instead to offer devices with an up-front payment and monthly hardware installments for lower rates. But from Dec. 21 though year-end, the carrier is offering a rebate up to $200 on the up-front investment for popular phones. Read more »
In about 18 months, over 90 percent of wireless subscribers will be able to text 9-1-1 to get the help they need, bringing one more element of our telecommunications infrastructure out of the landline era. It’s a project that’s over two years in the making. Read more »
The mobile-messaging value chain is changing as OTT players upend mobile operators’ SMS business. There will be 27.7 trillion messages by 2016, and most of the growth in traffic will come from IP-based services. Successful carriers will use this new technology to extend reliability and scalability. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
So you’re buying one of Apple’s newly unlocked iPhone 5s. Now you just need to figure out what carrier to take it to. If you want LTE your only current option is AT&T, but there are plenty of 3G options out there. Read more »
Looking to get a connected car without buying a new vehicle? A small module with GPS and cellular radio that plugs into your vehicle’s diagnostic port may be the answer. Moj.io is just that and includes 8 useful apps to add smarts to your car. Read more »
The France-based operator group is the latest to deploy an app that competes directly with the likes of Skype and WhatsApp, but also potentially steals away its own paying customers. Apart from evolving because it has to, what does it hope to gain? Read more »
Consumers are gravitating to an ever expanding array of OTT services – much to the chagrin of telecom operators. Andreas Bernström, CEO of Rebtel, argues that not partnering up means missing out on big revenues and the control of their market. Read more »
Live in Washington, DC; Baltimore or Houston? If so, you have something common with folks in Kansas City and Las Vegas: Your unlocked iPhone or other AT&T smartphone can now run on T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network instead of the carriers old 2G network. Read more »
AT&T and T-Mobile have signed a roaming deal that lets their customers in New York and New Jersey make calls on which ever network is strongest in their area. The deal helps customers who are struggling with poor service in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. Read more »
Isis hasn’t taken Austin by storm, but it’s not a bad experience. A mobile payments platform should either be super convenient or replace my wallet and for me, Isis doesn’t do either. But depending on where you shop it may offer more for you. Read more »
Following an investor call where it reported another loss on $8.7 billion in revenues, Sprint announced a special-offer on smaller tablet plans to help retain customers. New 100 MB and 1 GB tablet plan start next month for $10 and $15 respectively, with no activation fee. Read more »
Isis, the mobile payment effort launched by the carriers, has launched in Austin, Texas, but I couldn’t find many places that knew about the program or said they accepted Isis payments, despite being listed as participating merchants. This wasn’t the launch I was looking for. Read more »
Apple stole the spotlight in the third quarter with the release of its iPhone 5, Amazon pursued the tablet market aggressively with a new line of tablets, and Microsoft prepped to launch Windows 8 and the highly anticipated Surface tablet. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
T-Mobile Austria, Huawei and Qualcomm have announced a relatively smooth handover of a voice calls between LTE and 3G network technologies. This should clear the way for manufacturers to start building Voice over LTE into more phones. Read more »
A deal between T-Mobile and MetroPCS combines 42.5 million customers, which keeps T-Mobile behind Sprint in terms of subscribers, but it creates two opportunities: A wider, faster rollout of LTE services with more spectrum and a chance for Deutsche Telekom to eventually leave the U.S. Read more »
