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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.
T-Mobile and Sprint merger is 'unlikely' without major changes
So much for T-Mobile and Sprint enjoying a smooth merger. Wall Street Journal sources say the Department of Justice has told the carriers that their $26 billion union is "unlikely" to receive approval under its current structure. While the particular objections aren't available, DOJ offcials reportedly questioned claims that the merger would create "important efficiencies."
FCC announces 5G airwave auction and $20 billion rural broadband fund
The FCC has announced a spectrum auction and a $20.4 billion rural broadband fund to bolster connectivity across the US. The auction is scheduled to start December 10th, and it will be the largest slice of airwaves the FCC has auctioned for commercial use at one time, with 3,400 megahertz in three different spectrum bands up for grabs. Providers have been urging the FCC to open mid-band airwaves that can project signals over greater distances, which should bolster connectivity in rural areas.
Verizon turns on its 5G mobile network a week ahead of schedule
Verizon has flipped the switch on the first parts of its 5G mobile network a week ahead of schedule. The service is live in parts of Chicago and Minneapolis, just in time for the March Madness Final Four in the latter city this weekend. Once you move out of an area where the 5G network is active, the 4G LTE network will take over. 5G access with Verizon (which is Engadget's parent company) costs $10 on top of regular unlimited plans, though the first three months are free.
LG G8 ThinQ will be available in the US April 11th
If you're more interested in LG's unabashedly weird G8 ThinQ than the relatively safe Galaxy S10, you're in luck. LG has announced that the G8 will arrive on April 11th, with pre-orders starting March 29th at major carriers including AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon (Engadget's parent company). It'll undercut its South Korean rival's price by a fair margin -- pricing starts at $820 up front versus Samsung's $900, and that's before the usual promos that knock as much as $150 off the price.
T-Mobile opens a home internet trial in rural and underserved areas
T-Mobile is rolling out home internet service with an invitation-only trial starting today. It hopes to connect 50,000 homes in rural and underserved areas through the LTE program this year.
Engadget at 15: A look at how much tech has changed
A lot has changed since Engadget was born, both in the gadgets we use and what we do with them on a regular basis. When the site started in 2004, fitness trackers, voice assistants and electric cars were the stuff of fiction. Now most of these are commonplace, so much so that we put our trust in them on a daily basis. To celebrate Engadget's 15th birthday, here are 15 things that didn't exist 15 years ago.
T-Mobile denies delaying its 5G launch (updated)
Sprint may have committed to debuting its 5G service this May, but partner T-Mobile is a little behind. In an interview with CNET, the company's chief technology officer Neville Ray said that a 5G launch wouldn't occur until the last half of 2019. He'd previously said it would happen in the first half of the year. However, T-Mobile and Ray himself have denied this report. The company says that its plans haven't changed and that it is still on track to deliver what it originally promised.
Sprint's 5G service launches in four cities this May
It's Sprint's turn to commit to a 5G network launch. The carrier has confirmed that full-fledged 5G service will debut in May in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas and Kansas City. Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, Phoenix and Washington, DC will follow before the first half of 2019 is over. It's not certain which devices will be available on launch day, although Sprint has already committed to offering the LG V50 ThinQ and HTC 5G Hub in the spring. The Galaxy S10 5G is due in the summer.
HTC and Sprint's latest 5G product is a hub-tablet hybrid
HTC might not be making very many phones anymore, but that doesn't mean it can't trot out 5G mobile devices here at MWC 2019. Following up on its 5G hotspot from a continuing collaboration with Sprint, the company has unveiled the HTC 5G Hub. It's not just a connectivity hub that lets you link to 5G networks, but also has a 5-inch Android tablet built in. Though you can speak to Google Assistant on the Hub, it's not designed to be a smart display. Rather, its screen is meant more for accessing quick controls than actually watching videos on.
Security flaws in 4G and 5G allow snooping on phone users
Security researchers are already poking holes in 5G mere months into its existence. They've discovered three flaws in 4G and 5G that could be used to intercept phone calls and track someone's location. The first and most important, Torpedo, relies on a flaw in the paging protocol that notifies phones of incoming calls and texts. If you start and cancel several calls in a short period, you can send a paging message without alerting the device to a call. That not only lets you track the device's location, but opens the door to two other attacks.
LG’s first 5G phone is the V50 ThinQ
In case you've somehow avoided everyone talking about it, 2019 is the year you'll finally be able to buy a 5G smartphone. Samsung has its Galaxy S10 5G. Huawei has its gorgeous Mate X. And now, LG is jumping into the mix with a 5G device of its own: the V50 ThinQ.
Samsung's first 5G phone is a higher-spec Galaxy S10
Samsung has revealed its first flagship 5G phone as part of its Galaxy S10 lineup and it turns out a November report about the device was pretty accurate. With a 6.7-inch, 505ppi AMOLED Infinity-O display, it's the largest of the Galaxy S10 lineup. It measures 77.1 x 162.6 x 7.94 mm, so it's a little taller, thicker and wider than the three other models. The S10 5G weighs 198 grams -- 23g more than the standard S10+, but the same as that device's ceramic variant.
LG's first 5G phone will likely be the V50 ThinQ for Sprint
LG and Sprint haven't been shy about their plans to launch a 5G smartphone in 2019. Now, though, you might be looking at the device in question. Well-known scoop provider Evan Blass has obtained an image of the V50 ThinQ, a Sprint-bound flagship with some very conspicuous 5G branding. The picture doesn't include many details outside of a notched display and an abundance of cameras, but it hints at a February 24th reveal date that lines up with LG's South Korean announcement promising a 5G phone introduction that day, just ahead of Mobile World Congress.
Democrats want to take another look at the T-Mobile-Sprint merger
T-Mobile's planned purchase of Sprint is facing new and intense scrutiny from the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives. The executives of the two companies will sit before two congressional hearings this week -- House Committee on Energy and Commerce took up the topic on Wednesday and the House Committee on the Judiciary will question the company heads on Thursday.
Sprint sues AT&T over its fake 5G branding
After AT&T decided to start rolling out "5G Evolution" branding on phones and networks that use 4G LTE Advanced technology, competitors have had to make decisions on how to respond. While T-Mobile mocked it with a sticker, Verizon (Engadget's parent company) fired off a letter. So what is Sprint going to do? It has filed a lawsuit in federal court, seeking an injunction to prevent AT&T from using 5GE tags on its devices or advertising. In its claim, Sprint said it commissioned a survey that found 54 percent of consumers believed the "5GE" networks were the same as or better than 5G, and that 43 percent think if they buy an AT&T phone today it will be 5G capable, even though neither of those things are true. Sprint's argument is that what AT&T is doing is damaging the reputation of 5G, while it works to build out what it calls a " legitimate early entry into the 5G network space."
Carriers were selling your location data to bounty hunters for years
Remember the controversy surrounding mobile networks that were selling your location data to bounty hunters? A new report at Motherboard says that the problem was far worse than the isolated incident it was initially made out to be. Rather than a couple of bad actors buying phone tower information, more than 250 organizations had been accessing individual location data. In one instance, a company made 18,000 requests for location information in a single year.
Senators demand investigation into carrier location-selling scandal
Several senators are calling on the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission to investigate how carriers share customers' real-time phone location data, following a Motherboard report this month suggesting it's a cinch for bounty hunters to snag that information. A group of 14 Democrats (including Kamala Harris and Kirsten Gillibrand, who are running for their party's presidential nomination) and independent senator Bernie Sanders signed a letter addressed to the agencies.
Sprint lets you chat with customer service reps through iMessage
Apple's Business Chat, which lets you chat with companies through iMessage, was announced in 2017, though adoption has been somewhat slow. From today, however, Sprint customers can connect with customer service reps directly using the Messages app on their iPhone or iPad.
Sprint is the latest carrier to stop selling location data
Sprint has announced that it will cease selling users' location data to third parties, following similar moves made by Verizon (Engadget's parent company), T-Mobile and AT&T. The four major US carriers are responding to a report published by Motherboard last week that revealed just how easy it was for anyone to purchase another person's mobile location information. While the companies said selling location data to aggregators was intended for legitimate services like spotting fraud and offering roadside assistance, Motherboard reporters demonstrated how simple it was to secure a phone's location with a few hundred dollars and the right contact.
