The get public airwave rights and act like we owe them for eternity with no redress.
They're just deciding who gets what part of the pie and then make us eat it with the plate and charges us for it.
All those companies make me sick.
With Net Neutrality dead, the AT&T/Time Warner merger completed, vertical media mergers on the loose, all your worst paranoid fears are coming true and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it except bitch on AI. How’s that feel?
The get public airwave rights and act like we owe them for eternity with no redress.
They're just deciding who gets what part of the pie and then make us eat it with the plate and charges us for it.
All those companies make me sick.
With Net Neutrality dead, the AT&T/Time Warner merger completed, vertical media mergers on the loose, all your worst paranoid fears are coming true and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it except bitch on AI. How’s that feel?
Feel great in general, I now live in Canada full time and only have to deal with that crap when out working at my US subsidiaries, business partners or clients.
I'm sure "paranoia" (sic) will be cured when they actually receive the big bill for shit level service though; that cures everything...
So, yeah don't need paranoia to feel this will be bad, there are plenty of logical, historical data on what happens when this kind of thing happens to back up my assessment.
But, you can feel smug about it and think I'm "paranoid" (sic) all you want while others look at actual service levels and the bills coming in for crap products.
I think I would like to be able to buy phone data from Apple - this may not be feasible, but I would like it. Why not ? A new services business for them.
I want to revise my post above...I would gladly pay $10-$20/mo more to Sprint/T-Mobile/Apple/HBO just to be able to tell my cable company (Cocks Cable) to stick it up their bum!
When has a merger ever been good for customers in the long term? Regardless of what they claim in the short term, once they've consumed a competitor, there is less incentive to charge anything less than the maximum they can get away with. Mergers always result in higher prices later.
Exactly. That they even mentioned 5G triggered all sorts of concerns to me. If you reduce competition you reduce the need to perform.
It's not expected that the iPhone models introduced this fall will be 5G-compatible.
D A M N !
That may change my plans -- IF my trusty old iPhone 6+ can hold out for another year...
On the other hand, that is definitely a reason for Apple to implement mid-year upgrades: Same phone but with an up-to-date modem. Buying an LTE phone now would be like buying an WiFi A/B modem after WiFi N was released.
It's probably a good time to assess how much combined data (home and cellular) you use in a month of typical use. There are some apps that can help you measure your home Wi-Fi/broadband use, and your provider should be able to tell you how much cellular data you use. Once you have that figure, double it to allow for future increases, and that's how much data a 5G plan would need to offer at a reasonable price for you to cut ties to your current home internet provider. The 5G technology is fast enough, but its all about how much traffic they'll allow. That when you'll know whether T-Mob is serious about this idea or not.
And about that time the cable giants will start adjusting their prices (downward) from the extortive levels of today -- and change the whole equation...
Cable companies have enjoyed regional monopolies for 40+ years now. In the beginning they were regulated. But, since that was killed off, they have been free to rape us each month. Serious 5G could be the first real competitor they've ever faced.
When has a merger ever been good for customers in the long term? Regardless of what they claim in the short term, once they've consumed a competitor, there is less incentive to charge anything less than the maximum they can get away with. Mergers always result in higher prices later.
Yeh, that's generally true.
But, in this case, Verizon & AT&T have been colluding to form an effective monopoly over the system for decades. This combined entity of T-Mobile+Sprint may be the first serious challenge to their near monopoly the market has seen.
Yes, I know the mantra.. "You always had alternatives" -- but they were weak. This will be the first strong contender... And, it will be interesting: Psychologists tend to warn against love triangles because 2 always tend to gang up on 1. Will this triangle work out the same?
It may be true 5G needs massive investments , but overall the industry would be better with at least 4 networks.
Disagree. I currently have Verizon but it upsets me when I pass a cell tower and don’t get a stronger signal. Without calling me a socialist, I’d rather see a single, multi-frequency cellular system with fast and total coverage over the entire US. No dead spots for anyone. Why do we need competition? To make stock holders richer? Same with broadband. The original network was paid with taxpayers money then taken over by corporate greed. Competition isn’t creating better technology because patent trolls are stopping it. Whoever owns 5G will make everyone else suffer.
Funny you say that. In countries with ‘government subsidized’ networks or ‘gov owned’ networks ,they usually have the worst coverage & support.
It may be true 5G needs massive investments , but overall the industry would be better with at least 4 networks.
Disagree. I currently have Verizon but it upsets me when I pass a cell tower and don’t get a stronger signal. Without calling me a socialist, I’d rather see a single, multi-frequency cellular system with fast and total coverage over the entire US. No dead spots for anyone. Why do we need competition? To make stock holders richer? Same with broadband. The original network was paid with taxpayers money then taken over by corporate greed. Competition isn’t creating better technology because patent trolls are stopping it. Whoever owns 5G will make everyone else suffer.
Funny you say that. In countries with ‘government subsidized’ networks or ‘gov owned’ networks ,they usually have the worst coverage & support.
They aren’t the US with lots of money to waste/spend on all sorts of things. The New T-Mobile is planning on spending $40B on supposed upgrades. Would this be enough to satisfy all US phones? If so, then why have 3 other companies spend the same amount to duplicate the same cellular network to shown competition? Cellular service is a utility, same with high speed internet. (I’m talking about actual high speed, >200Mbps, not the 10Mbps “high speed” many providers offer.
They SHOULD be a utility. The same as any other necessary part of national infrastructure like gas, electric and water. But, that idea was recently assassinated.
I think I would like to be able to buy phone data from Apple - this may not be feasible, but I would like it. Why not ? A new services business for them.
And they wouldn't spy on you or sell your data to the highest bidder....
It's probably a good time to assess how much combined data (home and cellular) you use in a month of typical use. There are some apps that can help you measure your home Wi-Fi/broadband use, and your provider should be able to tell you how much cellular data you use. Once you have that figure, double it to allow for future increases, and that's how much data a 5G plan would need to offer at a reasonable price for you to cut ties to your current home internet provider. The 5G technology is fast enough, but its all about how much traffic they'll allow. That when you'll know whether T-Mob is serious about this idea or not.
Good comment; concur.
I use orders of magnitude more data at home than mobile, and suspect that is true for most.
I am skeptical the merger is good for consumers, and me in particular. But then, I remember paying a per-minute rate for long distance voice phone calls.
In 2017 I finally got rid of my roll-over minutes voice plan. AW3 forced me off that grandfathered unlimited plan, so I'm with ya.
It's not expected that the iPhone models introduced this fall will be 5G-compatible.
D A M N !
That may change my plans -- IF my trusty old iPhone 6+ can hold out for another year...
On the other hand, that is definitely a reason for Apple to implement mid-year upgrades: Same phone but with an up-to-date modem. Buying an LTE phone now would be like buying an WiFi A/B modem after WiFi N was released.
There's a lot of dust to settle before we know what chipsets (Intel/Qualcomm/Mediatek/etc.) support what bands at 5G. Combined T-Mobile/Sprint now have a lot of spectrum at 600 & 700 MHz spectrum, so they are positioned well for 5G from a spectrum point of view. We'll have to wait and see when their infrastructure can take advantage of all the new/combined bands under one company.
Bottom line: phones that say they support 5G this year may not fully support all bands now. You may want to wait another cycle if you're holding out on full 5G support.
Basically Sprint & T-mobil need to be merge. They have no choice. Sprint already losing money to even stay operational.
Without merge Sprint may fold the card within 10 years.(I think around 5 years) Specially everyone fully merge to 5G.
The current USA internet problem(regardless wire or wireless) is nothing to do with net neutrality.
Most of problem come from was your local government that not allow(or charge too much money) build new cell tower or bring in new ISP.
When net neutrality was effected time, what rural area get improved? Nothing.
And another problem is population. USA is very big country and population concentrates on major state and city.
So rural area has no reason the big ISP company pay for fiber or high speed internet service. Simply they will never get the money back.
High populate city also have problem that ISP company will not put more line into building or block. because too much competition. People switching server every 2 years or so.
So if your equipment can handle 1000 connection any given time with max speed, ISP simply sign more people to it with slow down speed.(even that block has 3000 people or equipment. Because ISP think if this city has 3 ISP company then each company never get 50%. So they just make the equipment handle around 35% to maximum 40%.)
There is no winning situation for consumer. That will change when T-mobil start 5G internet for home. No more laying down line cost. As long as T-mobil and/or Sprint coverage area you living you can get the new internet service. This will shake local cable internet company and current dominant ISP in that area.
Question will be current T-Mobil and/or Sprint network can handle that connection. Time will tell.
I think year 2020 will be interesting.. More company start service 5G into home. Specially Google and Amazon. Amazon failed cell phone business but I think they restart it anytime they want.
Think about it, if Amazon Echo plus with 5G router function and each echo dot as mesh built in. you can place it anywhere you want.. Currently mesh system is expensive. But by year 2020, it will be base line.
I think soon all smart home speaker will be replace mesh routers.
I think I would like to be able to buy phone data from Apple - this may not be feasible, but I would like it. Why not ? A new services business for them.
And they wouldn't spy on you or sell your data to the highest bidder....
If you missed the very recent news about Verizon and ATT announcing they would no longer SELL user data including specific location to 3rd parties you should look it up. Note they did not say they would no longer make it available at all. If you thought setting privacy controls on your iPhone was good enough, it isn't.
Comments
Even though the merger hasn’t occurred yet, there is some kind of sharing going on.
I can no longer recommend T-Mobile over Verizon. The price advantage is no longer good enough...
That may change my plans -- IF my trusty old iPhone 6+ can hold out for another year...
On the other hand, that is definitely a reason for Apple to implement mid-year upgrades: Same phone but with an up-to-date modem. Buying an LTE phone now would be like buying an WiFi A/B modem after WiFi N was released.
For me, the days of buying a phone tied to carrier's network are pretty much over -- particularly if that network is an obsolete one.
BTW, I heard that someone is selling 3G iPhones at discount...
Cable companies have enjoyed regional monopolies for 40+ years now. In the beginning they were regulated. But, since that was killed off, they have been free to rape us each month. Serious 5G could be the first real competitor they've ever faced.
Yes, I know the mantra.. "You always had alternatives" -- but they were weak.
This will be the first strong contender... And, it will be interesting: Psychologists tend to warn against love triangles because 2 always tend to gang up on 1. Will this triangle work out the same?
EDIT: Here's one pertinent link.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2018/06/19/verizon-will-suspend-sales-of-customer-location-data-after-a-prison-phone-company-was-caught-misusing-it/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.345754d3a3f4