Verizon

I’m sorry Verizon CEO, but you didn’t talk Steve Jobs into bringing LTE to the iPhone

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 11, 2013

Apple has long been criticized for not making an LTE iPhone at a time when most Android handsets boasted high-speed cellular networking capability. Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam has come out of the woodwork to take credit for personally persuading Apple's late co-founder Steve Jobs to add LTE connectivity to the popular smartphone.

He also shared interesting stats regarding the technology, saying that half of all wireless traffic on Verizon's network is now related to video content. McAdam remarks he's expecting that video will comprise two-thirds of all wireless traffic on the Verizon network by 2017, thanks to the company's capital expenditure in deploying LTE technology. As for his comment regarding an LTE iPhone, I'm not buying it and here's why...

Verizon would consider eliminating contracts, but not unless consumers demanded it

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 5, 2013

As T-Mobile this morning started accepting pre-orders for the iPhone 5, its 'Uncarrier' initiative is about to be put to the real test. Will consumer prefer paying $20 in monthly installments for their iPhone 5 (with $99 downpayment) in exchange for a more affordable and simpler wireless service plan?

Or, would they rather continue dropping a hundred bucks or more each month for their overpriced wireless service, with no easy way to cancel their long-term commitment without incurring hefty penalties and hidden fees?

We should know in the coming days and weeks as the Deutsche Telekom-owned telco starts selling the popular smartphone beginning next Friday, April 12.

When T-Mobile announced earlier this year it would kill subsidies and offer Apple’s handset on monthly installments, cowardly AT&T and Verizon employed waiting tactics, opting to instead sit on the sidelines and monitor how the situation unfolds rather than improve their own dealings with customers.

When asked to comment on T-Mobile's new Uncarrier business strategy, Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam Wednesday rather ambiguously responded that his company isn't really ready to kill subsidies right off the bat...

Eyeing the world’s #1 telco crown, AT&T signs up Verizon for joint Vodafone bid

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 2, 2013

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HCRnC8fLA4

AT&T and Verizon, the two leading U.S. wireless carriers by subscribers and revenue, have reportedly joined forces in a massive bid to acquire London-headquartered Vodafone, a multinational telco which operates networks in over 30 countries and has partner networks in over 40 additional countries. The transaction would easily dwarf the monumental AOL/Time Warner merger as Vodafone already is a huge corporation: it's the world's second-largest wireless carrier after China Mobile and commands 403 million subscribers worldwide.

This compares to AT&T's 107 million subscribers, Verizon's 116 million customers and China Mobile's 703 million subscribers. What's really interesting is Vodafone's existing U.S. partnership with Verizon Wireless: the nation's leading telco is actually a joint venture of Verizon Communications and Vodafone where the former holds 55 percent ownership and the latter controls the remaining 45 percent ownership of the joint venture.

As Europe has traditionally been Vodafone's stronghold, the deal would give AT&T a long-rumored entree into the European market while Verizon would get to control its own destiny without oversight from Vodafone...

Comparison of iPhone ownership cost on AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 12, 2018

With yesterday's announcement that Apple's iPhone 5 will finally start selling through T-Mobile on April 12, we can now compare the total cost of ownership across the nation's four largest wireless carriers: AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile.

A bunch of outlets ran their spreadsheets to assess the current landscape, including Zagg, best known for its line of protective coverings for consumer electronics.

In figuring out how much one saves on T-Mobile over two years versus other carriers, Zagg concluded that T-Mobile’s contract-free iPhone 5 comes in at a very cool $580 cheaper over two years. However, the difference evaporates if you switch your significant other or an entire family of four to the nation's fourth-largest carrier...

iPhone and Galaxy owners are not that different

Ed Sutherland ∙ March 22, 2013

While iPhone and Galaxy S3 owners are often viewed as fans of rival teams, the two groups have more in common than Apple or Samsung would care to admit.

A new report finds owners of the two smartphones follow the same usage patterns, while maintaining some distance on hardware and carrier choices.

Based on surveys conducted in January and February, both iPhone and G3 owners follow a trend away from voice calls and emails to texting. Before anyone thinks the two will for a mutual admiration society anytime soon, there are some striking differences, as well...

AT&T’s LTE is the fastest, Verizon rules coverage

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 20, 2013

Aren't you sick and tired of top U.S. carriers advertising their 4G LTE service as the nation's fastest and most reliable? This mostly false advertising has been ticking me off for quite some time, especially how T-Mobile promotes its 3G HSPA+ network as 4G. Time for a reality check.

Research firm Rootmetrics yesterday published the results of its survey of U.S. carriers and their fourth-generation Long-Term Evolution (LTE) networks. Surprisingly or not, AT&T's LTE came on top as the fastest, but rival Verizon grabbed the title of the nation's best LTE coverage. More tidbits right after the break..

T-Mobile to AT&T: if our network sucks, why did you try to buy us?

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 11, 2018

Everyone loves a good fight, especially in the highly-contentious mobile carrier arena. Not to disappoint, spunky T-Mobile is expected to wallop one-time suitor AT&T in a series of upcoming newspaper ads.

The ads feature the corner of AT&T's recent 'Truth about T-Mobile' advertisements, asking readers whether the rival carrier may be getting nervous. In another, a snarky T-Mobile asks if their network performance is so bad, why did AT&T try to acquire the smaller network in 2011...

Verizon unveils 3G-only prepaid plans for ‘budget-minded consumers’

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2017

The nation's top carrier, Verizon Wireless, on Friday launched new wireless plans that are only aimed at owners of 3G-enabled smartphones and tablets. New prepaid plans expand options for "budget-minded consumers", Verizon said.

There are two plans to choose from: one costing $60 a month and the other a $70 value, tailored to your monthly data needs...

Most iPhone owners pay over $100 a month to carriers

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

The next time you visit your local carrier asking for an iPhone, don't freak-out too much if the salesperson doesn't respond right away - it could be that loud 'ca-ching!' sound.

Nearly 60 percent of iPhone owners pay more than $100 per month to carriers - 10 percent paying more than $200 each month, according to a new survey released Wednesday.

By comparison, 55 percent of Android smartphone owners, 40 percent of BlackBerry owners and 56 percent of Windows Phone users have smartphone bills more than $100 per month, according to Consumer Intelligence Research Partners...

Carriers watching closely as T-Mobile preps to offer iPhone on monthly installments

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 29, 2013

T-Mobile will officially sell the iconic iPhone in three to four months and when it does, the Deutsche Telekom-owned wireless carrier, the fourth-largest in the United States, will be offering Apple's handset on monthly installments. The struggling telco won't have to bet the farm by spending billions in upfront iPhone subsidy to Apple and would-be customers will get more bang for their buck in terms of voice and data.

It should be a win-win. Matter of fact, T-Mobile USA's strategy is "very intriguing" to Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam and AT&T boss Randall Stephenson applauds the idea and says that's something his company is "going to be watching" going forward.

Should the T-Mobile experiment pays off, it's entirely conceivable that the US market could finally catch up with the rest of the world by offering non-subsidized hardware and instead focus on more affordable wireless services...

AT&T buying $1.9 billion worth of spectrum from Verizon

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 25, 2013

U.S. carrier AT&T announced Friday that it will acquire 700 MHz spectrum from rival Verizon Wireless in a cash transaction valued at $1.9 billion. The 700 MHz band was originally used to broadcast analog TV channels and in 2008 was put up for auction. AT&T says it will use the airwaves to improve its 4G LTE U.S. network presence...

How Verizon almost made Siri an Android exclusive

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 23, 2013

Apple's digital secretary, Siri, arrived as an iPhone 4S exclusive in October 2011, but the feature almost ended up being exclusive to Android devices on the Verizon network. According to a new report, Verizon in the fall of 2009 managed to sign a deal with the startup to make Siri a default app on all Android phones set to launch in the new year. It's interesting that the agreement was signed several months before Apple approached Siri and that the carrier even created unreleased ads highlighting Siri on Android.

Several months later, Apple came into full view to acquire the startup outright, effectively making the feature exclusive to its devices and narrowly escape seeing Siri falling into hands of the Android camp...