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T-Mobile's new Pay as You Go plan is simpler and (sometimes) cheaper
Pay-per-use cellphone plans are sometimes befuddling -- the rates can change depending on whether you're calling or texting, or how much cash you put on your account. T-Mobile thinks it can end this confusion with its new, much simpler Pay as You Go plan. As long as you plunk down at least $3 per month, it costs 10 cents for every text message or minute's worth of talk time; you won't have to guess how much credit you have left after a long call. It should be cheaper in some cases, too. Previously, you had to pay as much as 33 cents per minute for voice if you only bought small Pay as You Go refills.
Carriers have to let you text 911 by the end of the year
You've had the option of texting 911 in a handful of US cities for a couple of months, thanks in part to voluntary efforts from bigger cellphone carriers. However, the FCC doesn't want you to be left out solely because you're on a smaller network. The agency has just adopted rules requiring that all American wireless providers have the capability for text-to-911 by the end of the year. You won't necessarily get emergency messaging by that point, but carriers will have six months to implement it in a given region if a local call center makes a request.
President Obama signs cellphone unlocking bill into law
After getting the approval of both the House and the Senate, the US cellphone unlocking bill needed just one more signature to remove the carrier-swapping restriction. Today, President Barack Obama signed the Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act into law, making it once again legal for smartphone owners to unlock their device without direct permission from the carrier it's locked to. If you'll recall, the effort began as a petition, and is what the White House is calling "an example of democracy at its best." Should you be in need of refresher on the finer points, we explain the whole thing right here. [Photo credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images]
Cellphone unlocking bill passes through the House, heads to the Oval Office
Well, it seems like the US cellphone unlocking bill didn't get held up legislation after all: the Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act just passed through the House of Representatives with unanimous support. The measure reverses the 2012 decision that made phone unlocking a violation of copyright law and frees consumers from the mercy of their cellular provider, but it's not law yet -- the bill still needs the signature of President Obama. Still, that's almost a formality: the "bulk unlock" measure portion of the legislation that caused waves in the Senate has since been removed from the bill. Its text is clean and simple: unlocks can be "initiated by the owner" of any device or "by another person at the direction of the owner" with the express purpose of connecting to the wireless network of their choice. Sounds good here. [Image credit: Mondo3, Flickr]
Senate passes a bill that legalizes cellphone unlocking
The US is now that much closer to a law that makes it legal to unlock your phone. A few months after the House of Representatives passed a bill that would authorize unlocking, the Senate has passed its own measure accomplishing mostly the same thing. The biggest difference is their attitude toward bulk unlocking; unlike the House, the Senate has no major objections to resellers unlocking devices en masse. Both legislative branches still have to harmonize their bills before the President can sign something into law, and it wouldn't be surprising if the volume unlocking issue holds things up. However, it's good to know that the government is largely on the same page -- and that you might not have to rely on the kindness of carriers to get more control over the phone you bought. [Image credit: Mondo3, Flickr]
Verizon's prepaid plans now let you use LTE smartphones
Verizon got a little more serious about tackling prepaid cellphone service when it unveiled new Allset plans a few months ago, but it was hobbled by the lack of LTE. Why not just go to rival carriers who've had fast data for considerably longer? That won't be a problem after today. Big Red now lets you either bring your own 4G-capable Verizon phone to Allset or buy a fresh device with Allset in mind. You won't have a wide selection of hardware to choose from, but Verizon isn't saving all the good phones for its subscription customers. You can get the HTC One, Samsung Galaxy S5 or Moto X if you want something relatively fresh; the Galaxy S 4 and two LG devices, the Lucid 3 and G2, are on tap if you'd rather save money and get something slightly behind the times. The data buckets are still modest at 500MB (included with the $45 base plan), 1GB ($10) and 3GB ($20), but you at least won't have to pair them with outmoded gear.
A shampoo tycoon is offering cellphone service with built-in music streaming
John Paul DeJoria has a knack for business success in areas as diverse as haircare products and tequila, and he's now ready to dip his toes into yet another industry: cellphone service. The magnate (along with ROK Entertainment's Johnathan Kendrick) is about to launch ROK Mobile, a US wireless carrier with music as its hook. Paying $50 per month will get you both all-unlimited phone service as well as 'free' streaming from a catalog of 20 million songs, saving you a lot of cash if you tend to splurge on music providers like Rdio or Spotify. DeJoria sees this as doing Americans a favor -- he tells Forbes that it could save the country billions by lowering the costs of both cellular access and music in one fell swoop.
$20 FreedomPop 'Unlimited Everything' plan includes 1GB of Sprint LTE, limits
FreedomPop's been signing up customers with the promise of free mobile phone service since last year, but once you're hooked, you'll need to shell out a bit of dough to keep things going. The basic plan, which does in fact come with a $0.00 monthly fee, gets you 200 minutes, 500 text messages and 500 megs of data. Once you reach those caps, you'll pay one cent per minute or 2.5 cents per MB, or you can step up to the new "Unlimited Everything" plan, which will run you $20 monthly for all-you-can-eat voice, text messages and data, with a catch: You'll only get 1GB of LTE, after which you'll drop down to Sprint's 3G network. Assuming you'll consume that gig of data in far less than 30 days, FreedomPop's four LTE smartphones, including three from Samsung and Apple's iPhone 5, may not be the best fit. Still, $20 is a relative steal for unlimited smartphone service, and if you can live with 3G speeds after that first gig is up, FreedomPop's ready to start saving you cash.
AT&T relaunches Cricket prepaid brand with nationwide 4G coverage
It's a brand new day for Cricket, AT&T's budget wireless arm. Last year, the mobile giant announced plans to acquire Leap Wireless, Cricket's parent company, and has since launched a major refresh, formally introducing the new service today. After purchasing new devices, Cricket customers will be able to access AT&T's nationwide 4G network, including LTE. All plans include unlimited domestic calling, messaging and international texting to 35 countries, and come in at $35, $45 and $55 monthly (after a $5 auto pay credit), with 500MB, 2.5GB and 5GB of data, respectively. You won't be charged for data overages -- instead, Cricket will cap your speed at 128 Kbps for the rest of the billing period.
Cuba's first independent digital news will be sent via cellphones and flash drives
Cubans haven't had an above-ground, independent digital news outlet in their country so far -- not surprising when their government only allowed personal cellphone and computer sales six years ago. However, all that's set to change when blogger Yoani Sanchez launches her digital newspaper 14ymedio on May 21st. Rather than simply publish news on the web, the team will get the word out through whatever technology Cubans can use: cellphones, email, CDs and even USB flash drives are fair game.
AT&T's high-quality LTE calls arrive on May 23rd, but only on one phone
Right in sync with rumors, AT&T has launched its high-quality LTE voice calling in a handful of places across the US. If you live in the right parts of Illinois, Indiana, Minneapolis and Wisconsin, you'll get pristine-sounding phone conversations starting on May 23rd. There's no public roadmap for other regions, but AT&T is promising news on a "market-to-market" basis. Just don't expect a wide selection of phones at first. The only phone that will support voice over LTE from day one is the fairly ho-hum Galaxy S4 Mini -- if you just bought a Galaxy S5 or some other hot new device, you'll still have to wait patiently for word of an update. Many smartphones are capable of handling the technology, however, so don't be surprised if your next heart-to-heart chat sounds much clearer than usual. [Image credit: Getty Images]
Sprint had legal details of the NSA's bulk phone data collection in 2010
The public only started learning about the legal justifications for the NSA's collection of bulk phone records last June, but we now know that at least one telecom received notice much earlier. Both declassified info and Washington Post interviews have revealed that the White House gave Sprint the secret reasoning behind the NSA's surveillance in 2010 to fend off a threatened court challenge over the program's legality. Sprint dropped its formal opposition after that, but it pushed for the declassification last year as a retort to Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court claims that there had been no court challenges. There might not have been a legal battle, a government official tells the Post, but there were still doubts.
White House wants immunity for telecoms that surrender customer data
American telecoms already have legal immunity when they cooperate with the government's warrantless wiretapping, and they may soon be in the clear when they supply customer data, too. As The Guardian has learned, the White House is asking for legislation that would grant immunity to anyone obeying requests for phone records once companies are in charge of that information. The request isn't surprising, according to an unnamed senior official -- it's in line with existing measures that shelter companies when they respond to Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act court orders.
Raspberry Pi modded into a $160 cellphone
Remember how happy you were when you got your Raspberry Pi project to do, well, anything? Programming savant and photographer David Hunt has merely created a working cellphone with his, complete with video proof (below). The PiPhone consists of a bunch of off-the-shelf parts, like a PiTFT touchscreen and 2,500mAh battery that cost a grand total of $158. While that might seem a lot for an ungainly dumbphone, bear in mind that it's a one-off with no economies of scale working for it. As any Pi hobbyist knows, it's also an impressive feat and Hunt is willing to upload his source code if you're brave enough to give it a crack. [Image credit: David Hunt]
Verizon fought the NSA's metadata collection program but lost anyway
It looks like Verizon's concerns about government snooping go beyond publishing transparency reports -- but also haven't had much of a tangible effect. The Washington Post understands through both a declassified ruling and sources that Big Red quietly challenged the constitutionality of the NSA's call metadata collection in January, only to be shot down by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court in March.
You can take your Sprint phone to other US carriers next year
If you're with Sprint, you don't have many options for unlocking your phone's SIM card slot; if you can do it at all, you're limited to service on foreign networks. You'll have far more flexibility in the near future, though. The carrier has revealed that it will unlock devices for American use starting with those launched on or after February 11th, 2015. The move will let you use SIM-based features (such as LTE data) on AT&T, T-Mobile and other US providers as long as your device supports the right frequencies. Sprint's prepaid brands, including Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile, will also offer the added freedom.
T-Mobile is killing overages on all plans starting this June
T-Mobile hasn't quite been as UnCarrier as some would like. Despite the network's turn toward overage-free service, there's still occasional chances that you'll pay extra for heavy use -- especially if you're on a grandfathered plan. That won't be a problem for long, though, as the carrier will soon eliminate overage fees across the board. You shouldn't be seeing any rude surprises on your bill from June onward. The move won't deliver huge savings unless you regularly pay surcharges -- and you'll still have to deal with throttling -- but it's good to have some reassurance that your costs won't get out of control in the future.
Sprint's cellphone for kids lets parents keep a close watch
Many parents are comfortable with giving cellphones to teens, but young kids are a different story -- how do you introduce them to mobile technology without also exposing them to all kinds of dangers? Sprint thinks its new WeGo phone is a good answer to that dilemma. The simple, rugged design not only limits a child's calling and messaging options to pre-approved contacts, but lets their parents track just about anything through mobile apps or the web. Concerned adults can pinpoint the location of the WeGo whenever they like; they also get alerts when the unexpected happens, such as when the phone shuts off or someone pulls its tether-based panic alarm.
Cellular competition shrinks as Verizon swallows another small-time carrier
While many have been fretting over the possibility of reduced cellular competition if Sprint buys T-Mobile, some real reduction has just taken place. Cincinnati Bell has sold all of its spectrum to Verizon for $210 million, removing itself from the wireless industry. The regional carrier's network will run as usual until the deal's expected closure in the second half of 2014, but the company plans to move customers to other providers shortly after that. It's bowing out because it simply can't afford to compete -- it's too "economically challenging" to build an advanced network, CEO Ted Torbeck says. The move should help Cincinnati Bell concentrate on its fiber internet and TV plans, but it's not great news for subscribers who'd like to hold on to as many carrier choices as possible. [Image credit: Robert Donovan, Flickr]
US Cellular's new plans let you avoid contracts and big phone payments
If you'd rather not go to a very big US carrier like T-Mobile to avoid both contracts and up-front phone costs, don't worry -- US Cellular now lets you drop those obligations, too. Its newly launched Simple Connect plans provide unlimited data, messaging and voice without a contract, starting at $40 per month for basic phones. Smartphone plans start at $50 per month with 500MB of full-speed data, and $60 per month for 2GB. Going contract-free opens the door to an equally new (though far from original) installment plan that lets you pay for a device over the course of two years, rather than shelling out a lot of money up front. US Cellular's fresh rates won't tempt anyone away from the bigger data caps on regular plans (or competing networks), but they could give those with modest demands more control over when they upgrade phones or jump to other providers.
