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]
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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]
Get Service Credit For Crappy AT&T Reception, Get Upgrade Date Pushed Forward
By 6.8.12
In ads, AT&T has been hyping their 4G rollout. It is pretty exciting, Unless you’re a customer using 3G whose service has been taken out by the upgrade. Scott is trying to remain patient, but has sought compensation in the form of service credits for the crappy service he receives. Big Orange granted him these credits, but he got an irritating surprise when he checked his upgrade eligibility date. It had been moved ahead three months, because he was now giving AT&T less money. Because they were granting him service credits for their crappy service. [More]
T-Mobile Customer Demands Refund For Two Years Of Too-Slow Data… And Gets It
By 3.21.12
When Sam was having problems with his T-Mobile smartphone, he did what he thought he was supposed to do: call up support. The agent on the phone couldn’t restore his phone’s Internet connectivity, but they did try to upsell him on some new services. He’d rather have the services he was already paying for working, thanks. When he took the phone to a retail store for help, he learned the real cause of his problems: he’d been wandering around for two years with an old 2G SIM in his 4G phone. He thought that he should have the extra cost of a 4G data plan refunded to him, and T-Mobile acquiesced… but only after he launched an executive e-mail carpet bomb. [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]
Verizon Refuses To Admit To Me That The Nationally Reported 4G LTE Outage Happened
By 12.30.11
Brian is one of the many customers nationwide who was affected by the data outages Verizon Wireless’ 4G LTE network has suffered recently, including an incident this week. He complained to customer service about the frequent outages, and asked for a $20 credit on his account. Their response? No outages happened whatsoever! [More]
Verizon 4G MiFi Device Could End Up Crippled If You Stray Into 3G Territory
By 8.4.11
Verizon Wireless has already sold millions of Novatel MiFi 4510L mobile hotspot devices, which should work on Big V’s 4G and 3G networks. But there’s a glitch that has some users permanently stuck in 3G mode. [More]
CTRL-H Replace, Voila! AT&T's 3G Network Is Now 4G!
By 1.6.11
“AT&T Inc. flipped a switch and turned on its 4G wireless network Wednesday,” reports the WSJ. “The switch, however, was in the company’s marketing department.” Taking advantage of loose definitions for what qualifies as 4G, AT&T has simply relabeled its existing, and much-maligned, 3G network as 4G. [More]
Sprint's Premium Data Plan For Samsung Epic Has Slower Upload Speeds Than Regular 3G Phones
By 9.20.10
Yesterday, the blog Explain the Fee noted that Sprint customers with the new Samsung Epic 4G, who have to pay an extra $10 a month for a premium data plan, are reporting upload speeds slower than phones they had 3 or 4 years ago–with upload limits seemingly capped at 150kps. [More]
Verizon May Introduce Tiered Data Plans As Early As Next Week
By 7.21.10
One month ago, Verizon Wireless’s CFO hinted in an interview that the company might follow AT&T’s lead and replace unlimited data plans with tiered ones. Now Engadget is reporting that the switch might come on July 29th. Because this is just a rumor so far, there’s no word yet on whether Verizon will offer the same 200 MB / 2 GB split as AT&T or whether it will grandfather in existing unlimited customers. [More]
Verizon Wireless May Follow AT&T, Drop Unlimited Data Plans
By 6.22.10
When Verizon Wireless begins to introduce plans for its next generation data network later this year, don’t expect to see any all-you-can-eat unlimited offerings. In an interview with BusinessWeek, the company’s CFO said the company will likely have to change how it bills for data consumption as more data-hungry smartphones and apps enter the marketplace–and that means tiered data plans similar to the ones AT&T has introduced to help control data consumption. [More]
Congratulations, Apple: You Lost Another Prototype iPhone?
By 5.12.10
The internet is all a flutter over pictures from Vietnamese forum Taoviet.vn that seem to show a new lost iPhone 4G prototype. This one is all “16GB”, turns on, and once ripped apart, appears to contain an Apple-branded processor. [More]
