John Martellaro and Bryan Chaffin join host Kelly Guimont to discuss the evolution of the CBS/DirecTV standoff, and a new ad from Microsoft.
AT&T
Which Carrier Really Has 'America's Best Network"?
Every carrier at one point seems to be crowned “America’s Best Network” but which one is actually the best? It turns out that the companies that perform these tests use different methodologies and so reach different conclusions.
In recent weeks, three key studies have reached conflicting conclusions about the top four nationwide carriers, which includes Sprint. But reports by RootMetrics, OpenSignal, and PCMag that, respectively, gave top honors to Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T aren’t wrong—not if you understand how they were put together.
Apple's Silent Updates, Robocall Blocking – TMO Daily Observations 2019-07-11
John Martellaro and Andrew Orr join host Kelly Guimont to talk about the state of updates from Apple, and the latest in blocking robocalls.
AT&T Robocalls to Be Blocked in the 'Coming Months'
AT&T robocalls will be automatically blocked, the carrier announced. New customers have the service now, and existing customers will have it “in the coming months.”
AT&T’s Call Protect service does three things: it detects and blocks fraudulent calls entirely, flags telemarketers and spam calls as “Suspected Spam” when the phone rings, and allows you to maintain a personal block list to specifically block individual numbers.
It’s about damn time that carriers start using robocall-blocking technology. And I mean automatically; they all have their various blocking apps.
AT&T Administrative Fee Results in Lawsuit
AT&T is being sued in California over its US$1.99/month administrative fee that it doesn’t disclose in its advertised rates.
AT&T Launches Free iPhone 8 Offer With 30-Month Installment
AT&T is launching a free iPhone 8 offer when you sign up for AT&T Next with an eligible AT&T unlimited plan under certain conditions.
AT&T is First Carrier to Accept Cryptocurrency Payments
AT&T became the first major U.S. mobile carrier to accept payment in cryptocurrency, announcing users can pay bills via BitPay.
Apple Earns Money, Services vs. Hardware, and AT&T's Fake 5G with Ken Ray - ACM 511
Bryan Chaffin is joined by guest cohost Ken Ray for a spirited look into Apple’s earnings report. The two also weigh the real meaning behind Apple’s outward emphasis on services and what that means for Apple hardware. They cap the show with a rant about AT&T’s fake 5G. Spoiler: AT&T’s claims of a “5G” network are fake.
Why I Love T-Mobile
Dr. Mac didn’t much care for AT&T Wireless, but he loves T-Mobile, his current wireless provider. Find out why in this week’s thrilling episode (#328 for those keeping track) of Dr. Mac’s Rants & Raves.
AT&T Sells its Stake In Hulu to Disney (and Comcast) for $1.43B
The Verge writes:
[It’s a] move that will now give Disney (which already had gained a controlling interest in Hulu through its Fox purchase) even more control going forward….
Disney gaining even more control over Hulu could also mean a radical shift in what Hulu even is.
Now, Disney owns 66 percent of Hulu. The remaining stakeholder is Comcast which, as a result, now owns 33 percent. Comcast owns NBCUniversal, and it might only be a matter of time before Comcast pulls its Hulu content back to its own streaming service. Soon, it appears, each and every studio will have its very own exclusive subscription service.
Fake AT&T 5G E Could Be Slower Than 4G
A new study from OpenSignal claims that AT&T’s fake 5G E network could in fact be slower than existing 4G networks.
More T-Mobile Location Data Abuses
In response to a letter from Senator Ron Wyden, T-Mobile has come forth with more location data abuses by third parties.
Sprint Brands AT&T 5G 'Fake' in New York Times Advert
Sprint took out a full-page advert in Sunday’s New York Times hitting out at AT&T’s 5G claims. MacRumors reported that the advert branded AT&T’s claims as “fake 5G”, saying it was not faster than Sprint’s 4G LTE network. In February, Sprint filed a lawsuit against the 5G claims.
In the letter [PDF], Sprint calls AT&T’s 5G Evolution “fake 5G” and clarifies that AT&T is not, in fact, offering faster speeds than other carriers who deliver the same 4G LTE advancements that AT&T has enabled such as three-way carrier aggregation, 256 QAM, and 4×4 MIMO…AT&T first started upgrading customer iPhones to read “5GE” in the iOS 12.2 beta, and the misleading branding will become much more widespread when iOS 12.2 sees a public release.
AT&T Raises DirecTV Price an Extra $10 Per Month
Back in December AT&T CEO Randal Stephenson said that it would hike the DirecTV price and adjust the content available.
DIRECTV Gets Apple TV App Integration
AT&T has integrated DIRECTV with Apple TV. Users can now discover content on the service via the Apple TV app on iPhone, iPad and Apple TV.
At&T Return to Advertising on YouTube After 2 Years Away
At&T, one of the biggest marketers in the U.S., is back advertising on YouTube after a nearly 2-year hiatus. The company removed all its adverts from the video platform in 2017. It said Friday that it was satisfied that YouTube had worked to stop its adverts appearing next to disturbing or extremist content. At&T’s Chief Brand Officer, Fiona Carter, spoke with New York Times and emphasized that her firm demanded “a near-zero chance of our advertising appearing next to objectionable content.” That standard now appears to have been met.
The decision reflects the progress that Google-owned YouTube has made with advertisers in the 22 months since a number of them discovered that some of their ads were appearing during, or before, videos promoting hate speech, terrorism and other disturbing content. AT&T was among the first companies that stopped paying to advertise on YouTube, telling it that they wouldn’t return until it made improvements.
AT&T Claims it will Stop Selling Your Location Data
The carriers had already promised to stop selling customer location data back in June 2018. But a recent investigation showed they kept going.
AT&T Updates Smartphones With Misleading 5G Icon
AT&T is so excited for the rollout of 5G that it’s updating smartphones a bit early, with a misleading 5G icon.
AT&T has updated three smartphones from Samsung and LG to make them show 5G connectivity logos, even though none of them are capable of connecting to 5G networks…That “E” in the “5G” logo is supposed to tip you off that this isn’t real 5G — just some marketing nonsense. But there’s no way of knowing that just from looking at the logo.
As it turns out, the government didn’t create or ratify 5G. Neither the FCC nor FTC are regulating what the term means, so technically AT&T is still within the law by doing this. Doesn’t make it right, but it shows how absurd the 5G situation is.
AT&T is the First Carrier to Support eSIM
In a support document, AT&T said that it fully supports eSIM and dual-SIM iPhones.
AT&T Screws Customers Even More By Killing Prorated Bills
The carrier will start charging customers for the full month after they cancel.
5G Rollout - Here's Where We Are
The rollout of 5G connectivity is on its way, but when will consumers benefit? And just how fast will it really be?
Do You Indulge in Internet Piracy? Don't Use AT&T
Over the next week or so AT&T will kick some customers off its network because of copyright infringement.
5G Connectivity Coming to iPhone in 2020
5G connectivity is coming to the iPhone sometime in 2020, but some overheating issues need to be sorted out first.
Apple Starts iPhone XR Pre-orders, Availability Still Good
Apple’s new iPhone XR has been available for pre-order for several hours and the only model showing a shipping delay so far is the 128 GB yellow model from T-Mobile.