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T-Mobile Turns An Industry On Its Ear

nytimes.com

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Re: T-Mobile Turns An Industry On Its Ear

#61

Post by hrkristian »

dm2 wrote: post #30
toomuchtodo wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If we ever get a wireless alternative that is as fast as fiber (and easily deployable) we'd see the end of traditional telecoms as we know it. Like every Google Fiber set top box being a wireless access point accessible to other Google Fiber customers, as well as free to Android users? And Google using their fiber right of ways to deploy 802.11ac or picocells? Only in my dreams sir.

It would be neat if they offered a discount for them being wireless access points accessible to other Google Fiber customers. I'm not sure about the Android part, just because it would be almost impossible to prevent someone from running all connections in a house through an Android device and get free internet.

I don't know, I've used my phone as an internet hub, and the sheer heat from pulling that amount of data through the antennas while charging seems like a great way to drastically shorten the lifespan of a phone.

Granted, I did this with an old Galaxy S (it ran upwards of 80°c), which has its antenna and power supply right beside each other.

Re: T-Mobile Turns An Industry On Its Ear

#62

Post by kabdib »

bjelkeman-again wrote: post #42
kabdib wrote: post #11

Certainly walking into my current provider's storefront and mentioning T-Mobile finally broke loose a long-standing warranty issue I had with AT&T. "Fix this, or I'm gonna walk." "Suuurrre you are." "No, really." [go to other end of the mall to the T-Mobile store, talk to sales guy -- who frankly almost got me to switch right then. Walk back to AT&T anyway.] "Hey, do you want me to still be your customer?" [Wave quot…

So why didn't you switch?

I have an absolutely unlimited data plan (long story...) that I'd hate to lose, and T-Mobile would have been a bit more expensive.

Re: T-Mobile Turns An Industry On Its Ear

#64

Post by icebraining »

faddotio wrote: post #41
derefr wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Like every Google Fiber set top box being a wireless access point accessible to other Google Fiber customer... There's a provider (Shaw) doing this part in Canada: http://www.shaw.ca/wifi/

Much of the same in France. Many semi-"public" hotspots set up for subscribers.

Portugal is blanketed with Fonera hotspots, from the homes of the clients of our biggest ISP. The nice thing is that you can buy a router from Fonera and use the network without having to be switch ISPs :)

Re: T-Mobile Turns An Industry On Its Ear

#65

Post by 67726e »

kabdib wrote: post #62
bjelkeman-again wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So why didn't you switch?

I have an absolutely unlimited data plan (long story...) that I'd hate to lose, and T-Mobile would have been a bit more expensive.

Several coworkers had truly unlimited data grandfathered through older contracts, but ultimately decided that voting with their dollars for a decent company/policy was more important for what might have been very little (if any) additional cost per month.

Re: T-Mobile Turns An Industry On Its Ear

#66

Post by 67726e »

NoPiece wrote: post #53
xerophtye wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Glad to see someone else here who is baffled by the state of American telecom industry as I am. So here's what i understand about the industry prior to TMobile's "innovations": - You buy phones from the Cellular service provider, which are bundled with the service (hence apparently higher bills) - Since the phone is bundled with the service, i assume even if you don't use the service you still pay a good amount every…

The simple version is: US cell phone contract = service bundled with a small loan for a phone. It isn't that bad. They can't charge you whatever they want, your plan is locked in, and if they change it you can leave without penalty. For whatever reason you leave, you can take your number. Pre paid plans are available as options. Nothing forces you to stay with a carrier. The penalty is just recouping some of the unpa…

Correct me if I'm wrong as I always used a pre-paid phone on an MVNO prior to switching to T-Mobile after they started their reforms, but my understanding was that cell-phone companies would typically have something like:

PAYMENT = PRICE_OF_SERVICE + (PRICE_OF_PHONE / CONTRACT_DURATION)

I know this is a "naive implementation", but the problem is they would never take off the charge for the phone even after one had paid it off and that they didn't tend to have transparent billing so you wouldn't really know if/when you had.

Re: T-Mobile Turns An Industry On Its Ear

#69

Post by itsmeduncan »

I was an early adopter when T-Mobile rolled out their $50 unlimited everything plan in NYC. The pros outweigh the cons, but they do sometimes give me pause. I don't have service in 90% of my apartment in the middle of Manhattan. It is a newish(2001) building, but my fiancee has full service from Verizon. Outside of NYC the service is fairly spotty compared to bigger networks. T-Mobile with an unlocked 5S is priceless for travel. I just got back from a trip to Japan, and the Philippines. You don't need a SIM card. The phone joins the network it supports, and T-Mobile texts you your limits. 200mb of 3G data, unlimited text messaging, and cheap phone calls were included in my standard unlimited plan with no configuration. I pay $77.76 a month for unlimited everything, and 2GB of tethering data. I suggest it in a bigger city or if you travel internationally and need to stay connected. I give pause to people in the suburbs. I am sure it will get better though.

Re: T-Mobile Turns An Industry On Its Ear

#70

Post by Kurtz79 »

Negitivefrags wrote: post #4

The firm’s real innovation began last March, though, when it announced its Simple Choice plan This is how the rest of the world already works. I buy an iPhone direct from Apple and then pay ~15USD per month on service with no contract.

Although in "the rest of the world", where I'm from, you have the option of buying the mobile separately, and then paying for a separate contract (or top-up sim cards), the upfront cost of a new top-of-the-line mobile devices is much higher (iPhone 5S 700 EUR), so most people I know end up choosing the contract+phone option anyway.
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