Tmonews is reporting that T-Mobile, the carrier of the people, will soon be bringing back the holy grail of unlimited data plans. It’s the real deal, folks. No speed limits, caps, overages, throttling or anything—just an unlimited amount of data for you to use every month, as it should be. More »
MetroPCS has a new 4G LTE offer for those of you who want unlimited data but don’t want to pay out the nose. Announced today, its new 4G LTE plan will cost $55 per month for unlimited talk, text, and of course, 4G LTE data. Everything plans are nothing new, but MetroPCS President Thomas Keys assures CNET that there are “no strings” attached with this one.
Keys also says that there isn’t a solid cut off date for this particular promotion, claiming that the end date will be determined by how popular the plan is with consumers. To go along with your new 4G LTE plan, MetroPCS will also be offering the freshly-revealed LG Motion 4G. Paying $149 (with a two-year contract, naturally) will net you a 3.5-inch HVGA display, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich out of the box, a rear-facing 5-megapixel camera, and a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor. This just so happens to be the carrier’s first ICS smartphone, and while it isn’t going to be something smartphone fanatics go crazy over, it will be enough for newcomers who are looking to get in on the 4G action.
If you’re in need of some kind of family plan, MetroPCS will let you share the 4G everything plan with up to three other devices for an additional $50 per phone. The company is also currently offering rebates when you buy a second 4G phone, and the LG Motion 4G is indeed included in that offer. It appears that this promotion will be going live on the MetroPCS website later on this week, so be sure to keep an eye out for that if you’re interested in signing up.
If there truly aren’t any strings attached, then this sounds like it could be a good deal. If it’s successful, MetroPCS stands a pretty good shot at giving the other, larger carriers a run for their money. We should be seeing just how successful this 4G LTE promotion is soon, so stay tuned.
MetroPCS announces new 4G LTE plan, reveals LG Motion 4G is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
This week Verizon has found itself under the legal gun for blocking tethering apps on Android and iOS devices, with the FCC fining them on top of it all for $1.25 million USD. This case appears to be forcing Verizon to adhere to Net Neutrality rules on its 700 MHz spectrum, thusly resulting in the company having to rescind its standing policy of blocking wireless tethering without an additional fee to its smart devices. The spectrum under investigation in this case is used to operate Verizon’s 4G LTE network.
This investigation states that it was unlawful for Verizon to request Google to remove applications in the Google Play store (up until recently the Android Market) that would otherwise allow users to access free tethering. Verizon has a $20 “tethering fee” per month for otherwise free internet access (with normal data fees applying) for non-Verizon devices. This means that you’d still be paying for the data you’re using, but Verizon wouldn’t get its extra $20 USD a month for your right to do so.
The FCC spoke on how rules for this spectrum, C Block of 700 MHz spectrum, say that offering service includes that Verizon “shall note deny, limit, or restrict the ability of their customers to use devices and applications of their choice on the licensee’s C Block network.” The first questioning Verizon had on this situation took place back when Verizon still offered unlimited data plans.
While the settlement Verizon faces today does not rule on 3G data, 4G LTE users will be able to use tethering apps without question forevermore. Unlimited data plan customers have not been included in the ruling at the moment it seems. The ruling does, however, say that Verizon must make a $1.25 million dollar payment to the Treasury and that they must notify (and they already have, apparently) Google that they no longer object to the tethering apps offered throughout the Google Play app store.
[via FCC]
Verizon no longer allowed to block tethering apps is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
With the introduction of AT&T’s Mobile Share this morning, the two largest mobile operators in the US (the other one, of course, being Verizon) have officially embraced the idea of pooled data plans. The concept is simple: bundle talk, text and data together in the same family plan, instead of forcing each individual member to pay a separate fee if they want internet access. With the announcement of these plans, we were instantly curious to find out if these new options will save customers money on a monthly basis — and which company offers the best value. Determined to get some answers, we’ve broken down AT&T and Verizon’s plans and will highlight the pros and cons for you after the break.
Continue reading AT&T and Verizon shared data plans compared
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablet PCs, Wireless
AT&T and Verizon shared data plans compared originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Jul 2012 15:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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AT&T’s got some new shared data plans that, thankfully, look a lot simpler than Verizon’s. Shared data is a good thing that makes your life simpler. But every time you look at AT&T’s page, it’s hard not to stare at that absurd little 250MB plan. More »
As far as regional carriers go, C-Spire is a pretty big deal. Which makes it all the more surprising that the company hasn’t offered standalone pre-paid data plans until now. The southern cellphone network now has three tiers of pre-paid access for your tablet or Mi-Fi, beginning with a $15 100MB package that expires after a week. $30 nets you 300MB over two weeks, while the top tier grants you a whole month’s access and 1GB of data — but will set you back a rather steep $50. Of course, there’s always post-paid solutions for the more demanding, that start at $20 for 1GB per-month and go up to $50 for 5GB. For more, check out the PR after the break.
Continue reading C-Spire debuts pre-paid tablet and hotspot plans
C-Spire debuts pre-paid tablet and hotspot plans originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 15 Jul 2012 14:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
If you were planning on heading to Verizon to pick up your favorite 4G LTE capable tablet this week, you might be in for a surprise – the prices for these devices have gone up significantly. The reason for this is that Verizon has decided to stop subsidizing tablet prices, selling them instead for their full original ticket price with no service contract attached. This move comes along with Verizon’s new Share Everything plans which were enacted last month.
On the negative side of this coin, you’ll be paying a large amount of cash up front if you want to own a tablet with Verizon. If you want the least expensive 4G LTE-toting Motorola Droid Xyboard 10.1, you’ll be paying $630 USD. If you want the least expensive 4G LTE-toting Apple iPad, you’ll also be paying $630 USD.
The plus side is that with this new system, you’ll be able to add service for a tablet for just $10 a month for starters – which is cheap until you actually start using your internet. For data per month you’ll be paying $60 a month for 2GB, $70 for 4GB, $80 for 6GB, $90 for 8GB, and a whopping $100 gets you 10GB of data per month. Each 1GB of data overage costs you $15 USD unless the user chooses to go over and says so before they do so – in that case it’s just $10 per 1GB.
Current customers are grandfathered in to their current data plans while new customers will only be able to choose from this Share Everything set of plans. Pre-paid tablet plans also exist, with $20 for 1GB of data, $30 for 2GB, $50 for 3GB, or $80 for 8GB – see if you can find the strangeness in these prices. And of course, go grab a tablet now!
Verizon tablet prices explode is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
T-Mobile just updated its prepaid data plans a month ago, and now it’s the corporate crowd’s turn for a shakeup. The new (and quite frankly daunting) array of primarily business-minded plans is based around whether or not you’d rather face throttling or overage fees if you push past a set cap. Overage Free plans for subsidized (Classic) and unsubsidized (Value) devices are largely self-explanatory and slow down that bandwidth cap-busting hotspot, modem or tablet until the next month. The High-speed plan range costs lower as a matter of course, but you’ll be dinged to the order of two to 10 cents for every megabyte over the limit. That said, there’s some bargains to be had versus other carriers, especially with the 5GB and 10GB plans. Provided you’re happy with T-Mobile’s coverage, it may be worth signing up to eke out a few extra dollars in savings every month.
T-Mobile brings out new mobile data plans mainly for the suits and ties, makes overage optional originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Jun 2012 07:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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