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Sprint's next 5G phone is made by OnePlus
Sprint is adding another 5G phone to its (currently narrow) selection, and you might like who's making it -- though it won't be great news for people on other networks. The carrier has announced that OnePlus is prepping a 5G device for the network, with details and availability to come "soon." It could be the 5G version of the OnePlus 7 Pro, but we wouldn't count on that with murmurs of a refreshed phone (the 7T Pro) on the horizon.
Texas joins other states' effort to block T-Mobile and Sprint merger
The Justice Department's approval of the Sprint/T-Mobile merger has done nothing to sway the states suing to block the deal. In fact, the State of Texas has just joined the lawsuit, with Attorney General Ken Paxton assuming a key leadership role alongside California AG Xavier Becerra and New York AG Letitia James. The three officials are leading the charge with 12 other Attorney Generals across the nation.
Justice Department has approved T-Mobile / Sprint merger
Sprint and T-Mobile have cleared a significant hurdle towards completing their merger. The Department of Justice rubber-stamped the deal on the condition that the carriers sell some parts of the business to Dish Network.
DOJ could approve T-Mobile and Sprint merger tomorrow
T-Mobile and Sprint are still grappling with state lawsuits attempting to block their merger, but they can at least take some consolation from the federal government. CNBC sources claim that the Department of Justice is expected to approve the merger on July 25th (that's tomorrow, if you're reading in time). The union is contingent on T-Mobile selling assets to Dish, though. Reportedly, Dish will buy T-Mobile's prepaid phone business for $1.4 billion, and spend another to snap up $3.6 billion in wireless spectrum. You can likely say goodbye to a T-Mobile-owned Metro, then.
US networks improved in early 2019 with help from 5G upgrades
Did you have fewer gripes about your cellphone service earlier this year? You're not alone. JD Power's latest US wireless network quality study indicates that the ratio of complaints about call and data performance dropped for every major carrier in the country during the first half of 2019. Verizon (disclaimer: that's Engadget's parent company) had the fewest complaints per 100 people (seven) in all six of the regions studied, but other networks weren't far behind. US Cellular tied for first in the north central US, and both AT&T and T-Mobile usually took turns in second place. Sprint was the lone company consistently trailing behind, although it still saw an improvement.
Hackers broke into Sprint accounts through Samsung's website
Sprint's security team is having a very, very lousy 2019. On top of the earlier Boost Mobile breach, the carrier has revealed that hackers obtained "unauthorized access" to an unspecified number of Sprint accounts through Samsung's "add a line" website. The provider said that the data didn't pose a "substantial risk" for fraud or identity theft and didn't include credit card or social security numbers, but there's still good reason for concern. Intruders may have seen names, billing addresses, phone numbers, device IDs and account numbers, among other sensitive details.
Real 5G is nearly three times faster than LTE, but not everywhere
Carriers will tell you that 5G is a huge leap over LTE, but how much better is it in the real world? According to Opensignal's crowdsourced data, it's indeed a lot faster -- but mainly in the US. The research firm has found that peak download speeds on 5G reach just past 1.8Gbps in the States versus 678Mbps for LTE, or about 2.7 times faster. That's owing mainly to the use of millimeter wave spectrum whose ultra-high frequencies (about 30GHz and up) allow such a huge bandwidth boost. Other countries don't have it quite so rosy, though, and there are caveats to the American figures.
Bloomberg: Dish is close to a $6 billion deal with Sprint and T-Mobile
Over the last couple of weeks, we've heard that getting DoJ approval for T-Mobile's proposed $26 billion purchase of Sprint will require making moves to create a new national wireless carrier as a competitor. That could be achieved by selling off Boost Mobile and enough spectrum to make a service viable, however they needed to find a buyer. Now Bloomberg reports that Dish Network is in talks and could announce this week that it will be the company to do it, rather than possibles like Altice and Charter (Amazon wasn't mentioned). The price? Apparently about $6 billion. The pair promised the FCC they would sell Boost Mobile, and if talks don't fall through, then their hope is that this would help get approval and overcome a lawsuit filed by several state AGs. For its part, Dish has long harbored wireless ambitions, and acted to make them come true. It was even proposed as a buyer for divested T-Mobile assets during merger talks with AT&T back in 2011. We'll see if it happens this time or if things fall apart on the 1-yard line all over again.
FCC chairman wants to open mid-band airwaves for 5G
US carriers have mostly rolled out 5G on high frequencies, with upcoming auctions aiming even higher. And unfortunately, those choices create problems -- the implementations typically don't work well indoors, and they risk interfering with weather forecasts and other tasks that depend on high bands. The FCC might provide some much-needed breathing room in lower spectrum slices, however. Chairman Ajit Pai has circulated an order that, if approved, would open 2.5GHz airwaves for 5G.
NYT: Sprint, T-Mobile merger could get federal approval next week
Just days after AGs representing ten states filed suit to stop the combining of Sprint and T-Mobile, the New York Times reports the Justice Department is "moving closer" to approval. Doing so apparently hinges on an arrangement, previously reported, that would have the two sell off assets to create a new national wireless competitor. The Times specifically mentions Dish Network, Charter and Altice as companies that have apparently been approached about buying Boost Mobile, as Bloomberg reported earlier this week. If the companies sell off Boost Mobile and enough spectrum to make a valid fourth option, then that may help them defend against the state AGs charges that a merger would hurt competition. The trick, however, is first finding someone to bite on the offer, and with even Amazon's name coming up as an option, we'll need to see who's interested before things move any further.
Ten states sue to block T-Mobile merger with Sprint
The proposed merger between T-Mobile and Sprint just ran into a major roadblock. Ten states, including California and New York, have sued to stop the merger on the grounds that it would hurt competition and raise prices for cellphone service. They argue that this would not only reduce the number of choices, but punish lower-income communities where even a slight rate hike could cause trouble. They're also concerned that there would be a "substantial loss" of retail jobs in the wireless space, not to mention lower wages for those who remain.
Amazon is reportedly interested in buying Boost Mobile
If helping to create a competitor is a necessary condition to get the Sprint/T-Mobile deal done, then perhaps Amazon can help. A report from Reuters suggests the retailer is interested in buying Boost Mobile from the combo, particularly because it would come with the ability to use T-Mobile's network for six years. The unnamed sources also claimed the company could be interested in spectrum the newly-merged pair would have to divest. Amazon has tried to get into the mobile business before -- remember the Fire Phone? -- and it wouldn't be a huge surprise to see it add wireless to the suite of services it offers. Yesterday's report pointed to the possibility of a cable company trying to rise up as the fourth major mobile operator, but if Amazon can pass regulatory scrutiny, maybe Prime will cover one more thing pretty soon.
Sprint turns on 5G service in four cities
Make that three big US carriers that have hopped aboard the 5G bandwagon -- Sprint has launched its 5G service in parts of Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and Kansas City. You'll need to wait until May 31st to buy the LG V50 ThinQ or HTC 5G Hub to take advantage of those speeds, but the experience might be better than for some rivals when Sprint is boasting of the biggest "initial" 5G coverage to date.
Bloomberg: T-Mobile's merger could require creating a competitor
While FCC commissioner Ajit Pai is ready to recommend approval of a merger between T-Mobile and Sprint, the Department of Justice has been reportedly unconvinced. Now Bloomberg reports that one thing the two could do to convince unnamed "top" officials is to "lay the groundwork" for a new national wireless carrier. In previous years the Justice Department has balked at seeing the national wireless market from below the four major options, so it's a surprise to see this is as a condition, but it may not be one they're willing to meet. The report's source claim Justice Department antitrust chief Makan Delrahim specifically is unconvinced by the claim that the two combining would make for a stronger third player against AT&T and Verizon. These concerns helped scuttle AT&T's attempt to take over T-Mobile in 2011, and a previous merger attempt by these two in 2014. Finally, an analyst interviewed suggests that a fourth option could come from a cable company combining spectrum it owns with a virtual network deal -- similar to Comcast's Verizon-powered mobile service. It's unclear whether or not any of this will happen, but if it doesn't, then we could be looking at yet another failed attempt once the deadline passes on July 29th.
T-Mobile and Sprint make promises to clinch FCC's merger approval
T-Mobile and Sprint are still determined to secure a merger, and they've just made a fresh round of promises to win regulators' hearts. The carriers have made new commitments to the FCC that would guarantee wider access to high-speed mobile internet and home broadband, not to mention address concerns about a lack of competition. They've vowed to deploy 5G service that covers 97 percent of the US population within three years of an approved merger, and 99 percent in six years. About 90 percent of Americans would have mobile internet at speeds of "at least" 100Mbps, while 99 percent would have speeds of 50Mbps or more.
US carriers say they've stopped selling location data
You might not have to worry quite so much about carriers selling your phone location data to less-than-diligent third parties. AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon (Engadget's parent company) have provided responses to FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel's request for an update on the practice, with all four saying they'd halted sales to aggregators sometime after promising to do so back in June 2018. AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon all said they'd terminated their last sales at varying points in March 2019, while Sprint said it was ending its last deal with a location aggregator on May 31st.
LG's V50 ThinQ 5G is up for pre-order tomorrow from Sprint
Starting tomorrow, customers in select cities can preorder Sprint's first two 5G devices -- the LG V50 ThinQ 5G and HTC 5G Hub. They'll be available in Sprint's first four expected 5G markets -- Atlanta, Dallas, Houston and Kansas City -- by May 31st. And in the next few weeks, they'll hit Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, Phoenix and Washington, DC. Sprint's announcement suggests its on track with its goal to launch 5G in those cities this spring.
Boost Mobile informs customers about a data breach -- two months ago
Sprint-owned virtual mobile network operator Boost Mobile quietly informed customers that it suffered a data breach that allowed hackers to access some user accounts. In a notice posted on the Boost Mobile website, the company said a previously undisclosed breach occurred on March 14th, 2019 and resulted in a number of customer phone numbers and PIN codes being exposed.
T-Mobile and Sprint push merger deadline to July 29th
T-Mobile and Sprint have pushed back the deadline to complete their $26 billion merger, reports Reuters. The companies will now have until July 29th to earn the approval of the US Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission.
AT&T and Sprint settle lawsuit over faux 5G branding
To say AT&T's rivals were unhappy with its fake 5G branding is an understatement -- Sprint even filed a lawsuit against the carrier, accusing it of "blatantly misleading customers." The competitors must have hammered out a deal that's acceptable for both of them, though, because they've reached an amicable settlement a couple of months after the case was filed. Both carriers have confirmed the agreement to Engadget, but neither would talk about its details.
