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Project Fi now works with LG's newest phones and Moto's affordable G6
In spite of recent additions, Google's Project Fi hasn't had great device choices. You've hadto buy a Pixel if you want a high-end phone, and the most affordable modern option has been the mid-tier Moto X4. No more -- Project Fi now supports three more third-party phones that fill in some huge gaps in the experimental carrier's roster. You can now use LG's G7 ThinQ and just-unveiled V35 ThinQ, for starters. They're not cheap at $749 and $899 respectively, but they do give you a viable choice if you feel the Pixel 2 is long in the tooth (or just prefer LG's self-branded designs).
Verizon will turn on 5G in LA this year
Verizon has already committed to launching 5G in Sacramento in 2018, but what about the other cities it promised? They're finally starting to trickle out. Company chief Lowell McAdam has confirmed that the high-speed network will launch in Los Angeles sometime in the fourth quarter of the year. As before, the initial focus will be on fixed internet access. You'll need to wait until the first quarter before you can carry a 5G-capable mobile device, McAdam said in a chat with CNBC.
T-Mobile and Sprint will merge to create a 5G powerhouse
After years of on-again, off-again talks, it's official: T-Mobile and Sprint have announced plans to merge. The all-stock, $26 billion deal values Sprint at $59 billion (the combined company would be worth $146 billion) and will give T-Mobile the reins, with the carrier's John Legere serving as CEO and Mike Sievert continuing to operate as COO. Sprint chief Marcelo Claure will serve on the board of directors alongside Masayoshi Son, the CEO of Sprint's parent company SoftBank. As for the ostensible reason for the merger? If you ask the networks, it's all about 5G.
T-Mobile and Sprint may announce a merger after all
T-Mobile and Sprint have started and stopped merger talks so often that it's easy to become jaded about the whole thing, but it now looks like they're close to a deal -- no, for real this time. Sources talking to CNBC, Reuters and the Wall Street Journal have all insisted that the two carriers are close to finalizing a merger agreement that could be announced as soon as April 29th. The pact would reportedly value Sprint at $26 billion and would give T-Mobile's parent Deutsche Telekom a roughly 40 percent stake in the combined carrier. T-Mobile chief John Legere would run the combined entity.
T-Mobile promises 30 '5G-ready' cities this year, but no actual 5G
T-Mobile isn't going to sit by the wayside while AT&T and Sprint brag about their 5G rollout plans. The magenta network has outlined its early deployment strategy for 5G, and you can expect actual service well before the company's self-imposed 2020 goal for a nationwide network. It's building the gigabit-class networks in 30 cities in 2018, including on the 600MHz band and the high-frequency millimeter wave spectrum. Actual service will launch in Dallas, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and New York City in early 2019, but T-Mobile is promising a 'real' launch with smartphones -- not hotspot routers or fixed home broadband.
AT&T will launch mobile 5G in Atlanta, Dallas and Waco
AT&T is finally willing to say exactly where you'll see mobile 5G in 2018. The carrier has confirmed that "parts" of Atlanta, Waco and its home turf of Dallas will adopt the standards-based service when it goes live before the end of the year. It'll name the remaining nine cities "in the coming months." There's no mention of the first devices (many of those will have to wait until 2019), but it's clear that this will be a cautious first step into the future rather than a full-on leap.
Google's Project Fi now covers 170 countries with international data
Project Fi's same-as-at-home international data is now decidedly more useful -- including before you've even left. The Google-run carrier has expanded its travel coverage from "over 135" countries to 170, including nations like Belize, Monaco, Nigeria and Tunisia. You'll still pay $10 per 1GB up to 6GB (with another 9GB free), with unlimited texting and calls at 20 cents per minute. The additions may not make or break your vacation plans, but they could reduce doubts about whether or not it's safe to document your vacation on Instagram.
Verizon's lower-cost unlimited plan now works in Canada and Mexico
Verizon's latest unlimited plans may have some undesirable... limits, but at least you won't have to pay for the more expensive plan the next time you're on a North American vacation. As of January 25th, the $75 Go Unlimited plan will include calling, data and text while you're in Canada or Mexico. This applies to both new and existing customers, so you won't have to touch a thing to surf the web in Vancouver. As with the Beyond Unlimited plan, though, there are some gotchas to watch out for.
Xfinity Mobile now works with your unlocked iPhone
Until now, Comcast's Xfinity Mobile service has meant buying one of its locked devices. But what if you already have a phone and want to switch? You now have that choice... if you're firmly in Apple's camp. Xfinity Mobile has enabled an in-store Bring Your Own Device option, but only for "select" unlocked iPhone models. Other manufacturers' phones will have to wait until later in 2018. You can receive a gift card if you trade in a phone that doesn't qualify, although that means settling for a locked handset (and likely getting less than your handset is worth).
Google's Project Fi now offers unlimited data (with a catch)
Google's Project Fi can make sense if you only use a smattering of data and want to save money, but it hasn't been an especially good deal if you consume gigabytes like they're going out of style. Thankfully, there's now an unlimited option... of sorts. Google has introduced a Bill Protection feature that caps your data bill at $60 if you use over 6GB in a given month. In other words, $60 (plus your base bill) gives you as much data as you need. It's not quite an unlimited plan in the strictest sense, though -- it's more of a bridge between Fi's original approach and what incumbent US carriers offer.
AT&T will launch real mobile 5G in 12 cities this year
Now that the industry has settled on a spec for 5G, carriers are racing to use it -- and AT&T hopes to be one of the first. It just unveiled plans to launch spec-based mobile 5G (not the fixed-in-place kind) to everyday consumers in 12 cities by late 2018. It's not specific about where those markets are or which devices will be the first to adopt the faster speeds, but the arrival of the 5G spec has kicked off the start of hardware development.
Ofcom pressured to fix lingering mobile not-spots
Last week, Ofcom published its annual assessment of UK mobile and broadband coverage. It was generally positive: so-called "superfast" internet (classified as 30Mbit/s download speeds or higher) is now available in 91 percent of homes, up from 89 percent last year. Similarly, mobile coverage has risen across the UK. But in a scathing letter, Lord Andrew Adonis, chairman of the National Infrastructure Commission, has called on the regulator to draft an action plan "for radically improving mobile coverage in the short to medium term." In short, he believes progress is too slow and carriers should be pressured to do more.
Verizon will launch 5G home internet access in 2018
Verizon's 5G wireless will soon become a practical reality... if not quite the way you might expect. Big Red has announced that it's launching residential 5G broadband (that is, fixed-in-place wireless) in three to five markets starting in the second half of 2018. Most details aren't nailed down at this point, but the rollout will begin in Sacramento, California.
Sprint's owner increases its stake after failed T-Mobile merger
Now that Sprint's would-be merger with T-Mobile has been called off, how is it going to fend for itself? By getting a little help from its parent company. SoftBank has revealed plans to increase ts stake in Sprint, whether through stock deals or other means. It's not saying when it will up the stake or by how much, but it doesn't expect to boost its stock share to 85 percent or more. The Japanese tech company isn't shy about why it's making the move, at least: it's about giving Sprint a long-term future.
Cable giant Altice will become a wireless carrier with Sprint's help
Just because Sprint was jilted at the altar doesn't mean its weekend was all bad. The carrier has struck a deal that will turn Altice (the French company that bought CableVision) into an American wireless provider. Under the agreement, Altice USA will have "full" use of Sprint's network for nationwide voice and data service. In return, Altice will use its broadband network to help Sprint "densify" its coverage as it adds legions of small cell sites.
T-Mobile and Sprint end merger talks
So much for T-Mobile's bid to rescue a potential merger with Sprint. The two carriers have ended their not-so-secret merger talks after they couldn't find "mutually agreeable terms." Neither side is specific about what went wrong, but their remarks suggest an uneven power balance. T-Mobile's John Legere said a union was appealing for a "variety of reasons," but that a deal had to provide "superior long-term value" for a network that was already doing well on its own. Sprint had the support of its owner SoftBank, but its statement was more conciliatory; it wouldn't say much more than that it was "best to move forward on our own."
Cricket adds data to its most affordable smartphone plans
AT&T's low-cost Cricket brand has historically been somewhat stingy with data unless you've bee willing to pay almost as much as you would for a regular AT&T plan, but it's loosening things up a bit on November 5th. The budget carrier is adding more data to its most affordable smartphone plans and increasing the worth of its unlimited service. To begin with, you now get 2GB of full-speed data on a $30 plan (versus just 1GB before), and 5GB of data instead of 4GB on the $40 plan. That may not sound like much if you're used to watching Netflix on your phone, but it promises to make a big difference if you're keeping your costs down -- you don't have to be quite so cautious about sharing a photo or streaming some music.
T-Mobile puts 5GB cap on high-speed data in Canada and Mexico
T-Mobile has been a tempting option for travelers, and for good reason: if you've traveled to Canada or Mexico, you've had as much LTE data as you wanted without fear of returning to a giant phone bill. Unfortunately, the party's over. T-Mobile has revealed that, as of November 12th, it will cap the no-extra-charge LTE data to a maximum of 5GB per month while you're visiting the US' neighbors. You won't run into overages (this is T-Mobile), but you'll have to make do with speeds as low as 128Kbps if you go over your high-speed allotment. One subscribers can tack on unlimited LTE by adding One Plus International, but that's another $25 per month on top of the base plan.
Google's Pixel 2 phones don't need SIM cards
Google added a lot to the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL, but one of its more intriguing upgrades comes from what it's taking away: the need for a SIM card. Both devices still have a nano-SIM slot (contrary to a few rumors), but they also use eSIMs like that on the Apple Watch Series 3. So long as your carrier supports it, you just have to download a virtual SIM during the setup process to activate service. Needless to say, that's a welcome change if you're tired of the usual SIM swapping ritual needed for upgrading handsets.
Sprint and T-Mobile could merge in late October
There have been hints that Sprint and T-Mobile are seriously talking about a merger (again), but how likely is that union, really? Quite likely, if you ask Reuters' sources. They understand that the two carriers are "close" to agreeing on terms, and they could have a deal ready by late October. There are the usual caveats (the tipsters say there's still a chance things could fall apart), but it's notable that Sprint and T-Mobile are apparently confident enough that there's a timeline.
