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T-Mobile to offer free unlimited international data, texts

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Re: T-Mobile to offer free unlimited international data, texts

#91

Post by dude3 »

dude3 wrote: post #89

I switched to t-mobile from Verizon. I have actually been really happy with the service. My plan is unlimited data 5 gigs of 4g data/unlimited 3g and 100 minutes of talk time for $30 a month. Every extra minute is .10 over the 100 minutes. So my plan ends up being $50 a month. But compare that to any other carrier and its a much better price. Also, I like that it's a German company and didn't sell out like Verizon gi…

Also I can use the SIM in international phones in the US. I have a french phone.

Re: T-Mobile to offer free unlimited international data, texts

#92

Post by aditya »

potatolicious wrote: post #47
mikeash wrote: post #16

T-Mobile's policies over the past couple of years have really made me want to become a customer. Plans that are actually reasonably priced, explicitly calling out handset subsidies and making them optional, and now this. I just wish their network was a little better!

I switched with the iPhone 5S. Off-contract too. I rarely leave the city, so the lack of coverage in rural areas doesn't bother me. In NYC I have to say I've noticed a small improvement in reception over AT&T - buildings where I've been dead in the water before now have some connectivity. So far so good, this new announcement is just icing on the cake, especially as a Canadian expat. It used to be that when visiting…

Awesome. How's the HSPA/LTE network in the city? Can you do a quick speedtest and post results?

Re: T-Mobile to offer free unlimited international data, texts

#93

Post by tanzam75 »

aaronbrethorst wrote: post #45
eurleif wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>If T-Mobile wasn't in a distant fourth place in the US market, or if they'd been acquired by AT&T we wouldn't be seeing this, nor would we see Verizon and AT&T introduce their own versions of T-Mobile's JUMP program. I'm not an economist, and I haven't looked into the details of the cell phone market in depth, but here's a possible alternative opinion. I'm not asserting that this is the case; just wondering if it mi…

Ostensibly, VZW and AT&T enjoy certain economies of scale above and beyond T-Mobile given their significantly greater customer bases. T-Mobile has a perception of shitty service, which means they have to spend a metric shit-ton of money buying spectrum and building out their LTE network. Take a look at T-Mobile's their most recent 10-Q filing. Their EPS is actually negative: http://edgar.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1…

Do note that T-Mobile USA paid $225 million in "Interest expense to affiliates." The affiliate, in this case, is Deutsche Telekom, which owns T-Mobile.

If this had been structured as preferred equity rather than debt, then it would turn into dividends and move "below the line" on the income statement. T-Mobile USA would then magically be making a profit.

And of course, you're just looking at one quarter: Q2 2013. Q1 2013 was profitable. Q1 + Q2 was also profitable.

T-Mobile USA is not out of the woods yet. But they're in better shape than they were in 2011.

Re: T-Mobile to offer free unlimited international data, texts

#94

Post by firloop »

lobster_johnson wrote: post #33

I wonder if they have added more roaming agreements to their network. Last time I was in Norway, there was no coverage at all -- no network, no calls, never mind Internet access -- which I found strange. Usually you will be able to connect to via local network and pay for roaming charges. Norway is all GSM, same frequency band, and my plan has International calling, but I still had to swap out the SIM card for my Nor…

I was in Norway as well and I did not get any reception on my T-Mobile phone until I contacted the account holder on our family plan (they were still in the US) and had them add international roaming to our post-paid plan. Immediately afterwards my phone was able to connect to a network, so I think roaming with T-Mobile is opt-in.

Re: T-Mobile to offer free unlimited international data, texts

#95

Post by aaronbrethorst »

tanzam75 wrote: post #93
aaronbrethorst wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ostensibly, VZW and AT&T enjoy certain economies of scale above and beyond T-Mobile given their significantly greater customer bases. T-Mobile has a perception of shitty service, which means they have to spend a metric shit-ton of money buying spectrum and building out their LTE network. Take a look at T-Mobile's their most recent 10-Q filing. Their EPS is actually negative: http://edgar.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1…

Do note that T-Mobile USA paid $225 million in "Interest expense to affiliates." The affiliate, in this case, is Deutsche Telekom, which owns T-Mobile. If this had been structured as preferred equity rather than debt, then it would turn into dividends and move "below the line" on the income statement. T-Mobile USA would then magically be making a profit. And of course, you're just looking at one quarter: Q2 2013. Q1…

Interesting, I missed that. Good catch, thanks for the context!

Re: T-Mobile to offer free unlimited international data, texts

#96

Post by X-Istence »

SeoxyS wrote: post #39

This is huge. I recently spent ~$200 on AT&T's $30/120MB bundles on a two-week trip to Europe. I thought I was getting a good deal, too. It's fantastic to see the market shifting slightly in favor of the customers.

last time I was in Europe I got a sim from T-Mobile, pre-paid, loaded up with 25 EUR, and had 3 GB of data to use. Which is great because my grandparents on my dads side don't believe in getting internet access! Tethering my phone got me through without withdrawal symptoms ;-)

Re: T-Mobile to offer free unlimited international data, texts

#97

Post by liquidcool »

I did a bunch of traveling earlier this year and getting local SIM card is pretty easy and cheap (~$20/mo), and has the advantage of allowing local calls. In Bangkok and Kyiv you can get them at any 7-11 or electronics store. Philippines and Prague it was a visit to a carrier. The rough patch was Tokyo, but you can rent a mobile hotspot for a reasonable amount and have it delivered to the airport.

If you're only there for a few days, free roaming is very nice to have, but if you're there a week or more I think it's worth the small effort to get the local SIM. That also allows me to keep Straight Talk prepaid in the US with my own phone. YMMV, but this was the most economical, flexible route for me.

Re: T-Mobile to offer free unlimited international data, texts

#98

Post by praxeologist »

aaronbrethorst wrote: post #27

And this is why competition and effective government regulation[1] are fantastic things. If T-Mobile wasn't in a distant fourth place in the US market, or if they'd been acquired by AT&T we wouldn't be seeing this, nor would we see Verizon and AT&T introduce their own versions of T-Mobile's JUMP program. [1] http://techcrunch.com/2011/12/19/att-tmobile-merger-dead/

If the gov't didn't have its hand in this space for so long, there would be no massive AT&T and there would be way more innovation. You're cheering someone for applying a cast when they also broke the leg.

Re: T-Mobile to offer free unlimited international data, texts

#99

Post by masklinn »

praxeologist wrote: post #98
aaronbrethorst wrote: post #27

And this is why competition and effective government regulation[1] are fantastic things. If T-Mobile wasn't in a distant fourth place in the US market, or if they'd been acquired by AT&T we wouldn't be seeing this, nor would we see Verizon and AT&T introduce their own versions of T-Mobile's JUMP program. [1] http://techcrunch.com/2011/12/19/att-tmobile-merger-dead/

If the gov't didn't have its hand in this space for so long, there would be no massive AT&T and there would be way more innovation. You're cheering someone for applying a cast when they also broke the leg.

> If the gov't didn't have its hand in this space for so long, there would be no massive AT&T

I didn't expect to see revisionism in here, let alone of such magnitude.

Without government intervention, there would be no AT&T, nor would there be alternate carriers. There would only be Ma Bell.

And don't bullshitting about Ma Bell's regulated monopoly, the regulation was put in place because Bell was already a monopoly by the time 1934 rolled around.

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