There are certain times in every wireless company’s life when their network needs a boost, whether it’s because of a natural disaster or the pope’s in town. On the heels of AT&T’s announcement that it’s testing drones as flying LTE antennae, Verizon Wireless says it’s been doing basically the same thing, and has been working on it for the past few years. [More]
4g lte
AT&T Now Testing Drones As Flying LTE Antennae
By 7.13.16 — Updated: 10.6.16
When wireless companies prepare to handle huge events — like the upcoming political conventions and the recent papal visit to Philadelphia — they roll out mobile cell towers and sometimes make permanent infrastructure upgrades to deal with the increased data use. Now AT&T is testing out whether it can use aerial drones to bolster LTE service in these situations. [More]
Verizon Prepping Trials Of 5G Wireless; Could Be 50 Times Faster Than 4G
By 9.8.15
Odds are that your wireless provider’s 4G LTE service is nearly as fast — and maybe faster — than the wired Internet service to your home (if only it weren’t so expensive on a per-gigabyte basis). But Verizon says it’s getting ready to test 5G service that could blow all current wireless — and most wireline — broadband out of the water. [More]
T-Mobile “Data Stash” Will Let Some Customers Roll Over Unused 4G LTE Data
By 12.16.14
Here’s the latest piece of evidence showing that data is dirt cheap and we’re paying too much for it. T-Mobile announced today that it will start letting subscribers with plans of at least 3GB/month (1GB/month for tablet plans) begin rolling over any of their unused 4G LTE allotments into what it’s dubbed the “Data Stash.” [More]
Don’t Believe Comcast… Mobile Broadband Is Not Competition For Cable Internet
By 4.24.14
Merger-mad Comcast and Time Warner Cable would have you believe that they are in direct competition with mobile broadband. And Verizon has successfully misled the state of New Jersey into thinking that accessing the web on your phone is the same as having a high-speed data connection to your home. Both of these conceits may someday be accurate, but the reality of the here-and-now is quite different. [More]
Like To Multitask On Your Smartphone? Sprint’s Spark Service Isn’t For You
By 4.3.14
Sprint calls its new Spark service, which they started implementing last year, a “super-high-speed capability” network. It’s faster than the 4G LTE network that they’re still expanding nationwide, but is a Spark-compatible phone something that you should look into? Well, that depends: how many things do you do on your phone at once? [More]
T-Mobile To Finally Transition Entire 2G Edge Network To LTE; Issues Cease-And-Desist To Verizon
By 3.13.14
T-Mobile may offer competitive pricing and be an important disruptive factor in a wireless market otherwise dominated by two much larger players, but the company’s network doesn’t yet provide the level of LTE coverage offered by AT&T and Verizon. But T-Mobile is now promising to rid itself of its sludge-like 2G Edge network in favor of LTE by mid-2015. [More]
Verizon LTE Phones & Time Warner Cable Set-Top Boxes Are Not Playing Nicely With Each Other
By 12.6.13
Some Time Warner Cable customers in Raleigh, NC, who also have Verizon Wireless phone service have noticed that whenever they get an e-mail, text, or otherwise use their phone, the TV signal can go squirrely on them. This is apparently what can happen when a cable company broadcasts channels on the same broadband spectrum used by wireless service. [More]
Verizon Hit By Too Much LTE Demand, Pushing Some Customers Down To 3G
By 11.13.13
You know those Verizon ads where the company brags about its flippin’ awesome 4G and LTE coverage maps? Those may look pretty on an art museum wall, but the nation’s largest wireless provider admits that it may not currently have enough LTE bandwidth to go around in some markets, meaning some users are being thrown back in time to 2009, forced to use the Verizon 3G network. [More]
Wireless Carriers Banking On New iPhone To Turn Everyone Into Data Hogs
By 9.11.12
For years, wireless providers have been moaning about their highest volume data users and shaking their fists at the sky for ever having tried unlimited data plans in the first place. But now, with the impending release of a reportedly 4G LTE-compatible iPhone on the horizon, these same carriers are popping champagne corks, hoping that the faster data speeds will nudge consumers into the next level of data hogging. [More]
Sprint To Roll Out 4G LTE Network To 100 Cities Over Coming Months
By 9.10.12
While Sprint may be a distant third place in the wireless wars, the folks in yellow are not going down without a fight. Earlier today, the company announced a plan to roll out a new 4G LTE network in more than 100 cities during the near future. [More]
Sprint Customers In Texas & Georgia May Now Have Access To 4G LTE Service
By 7.16.12
With Verizon already touting its 4G LTE roll-out and AT&T claiming that LTE is currently available in 47 markets around the country, third-place wireless competitor Sprint needs to do everything it can to compete. Over the weekend, the company finally flipped the switch on its LTE network, but unless you live in some parts of Texas, Georgia and Missouri, you’ll probably still be waiting. [More]
Verizon: If You Want Your Unlimited Data Plan, You'll Have To Pay Full Price For Your Next Phone
By 5.18.12
After a bit of hemming and hawing on the topic, Verizon Wireless has finally released some concrete info on its plan to kill off grandfathered unlimited data plans as it moves customers from 3G to 4G LTE service. [More]
Verizon CFO Probably Wasn't Supposed To Say That Thing About Killing Grandfathered Unlimited Plans
By 5.17.12
Yesterday, the CFO of Verizon Wireless kicked the hornet’s nest that is the Internet by unofficially announcing that VZW would be killing off currently grandfathered unlimited data plans as customers made the shift from 3G to 4G LTE. Judging by the company’s response since then, he probably wasn’t supposed to let that particular cat out of the bag just yet. [More]
Verizon To Kill Grandfathered Unlimited Data Plans
By 5.16.12
If you were one of the Verizon Wireless customers who was allowed to continue their unlimited data plans after the company switched to tiered pricing last summer, we have some bad news. The company says it will be eliminating grandfathered plans as it rolls out LTE service. [More]
Is AT&T Misleading iPhone 4S Users About 4G Access?
By 3.8.12
Yesterday, the same day that Apple announced its new iPad would be able to access AT&T and Verizon’s 4G LTE networks, AT&T iPhone 4S owners received an update to their devices — and suddenly millions of people who had been told their phone didn’t work on 4G networks now had a little icon that reads “4G.” But it’s really just the same speed they had the day before. [More]
Report: Next iPads Will Run On 4G LTE Networks
By 2.14.12
The Apple iPad currently dominates the tablet market, even though none of the currently available versions give users access to 4G wireless networks. But according to a new report, that could all change when the latest iPads are unveiled next month. [More]
4G Phones Are Fast But Spotty Service Is A Real Drain On Your Battery
By 2.6.12
With Verizon’s 4G network covering a good chunk of the country and AT&T gaining ground, more smartphone users have access to the fastest wireless service available. But because 4G coverage isn’t truly continuous in many locations, users’ batteries are taking a big hit. [More]
