The Department of Justice has closed an eSIM investigation involving AT&T, Verizon, and the GSMA trade group.
Verizon Offers Free Year of Disney+
Verizon is giving new and existing customers a free year of Disney+ which will launch on November 12 for $6.99/month.
Automattic Buys Tumblr for Pennies on the Dollar
Automattic, the company behind WordPress, just bought Tumblr from Verizon for less than US$3 million. Verizon had acquired the site from Yahoo for US$1.1 billion.
As part of the deal, Automattic will gain 200 staffers from Tumblr. Verizon is said to have discussed a sale of Tumblr with a handful of different companies but ultimately landed on Automattic. “The sale price isn’t material to Verizon,” today’s report says citing “people familiar with the matter.”
Before you get excited, know that the porn ban will remain in place.
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.
First T-Mobile 5G Test Reaches 493 Mbps in New York
During the first T-Mobile 5G test in New York City, the service scored 493 Mbps using a Verizon phone.
T-Mobile’s feat becomes greater when you understand that the carrier is using much less spectrum than Verizon is. Allnet Insights says T-Mobile is using 80MHz of spectrum in New York, which would make its theoretical maximum speed 500Mbps, but I’ve also heard that T-Mobile is using 100MHz, which would make the theoretical maximum 625Mbps.
Maybe PornHub Could Resurrect Dying Tumblr
After banning porn, Tumblr’s users have fled the platform. Now Verizon Media Group is looking to sell it off.
It’s tough to say which media company might be in the market for Tumblr at this point. The once white-hot platform doesn’t hold the same sort of cache it did when it was purchased half a decade ago. Notably, Tumblr also lost its CTO to SeatGeek earlier this week.
I love serendipitous moments in life. For example, last night I read that Verizon wants to sell Tumblr. I immediately thought to myself, “PornHub should definitely buy it.” An hour later, BuzzFeed News wrote that, indeed, PornHub is interested.
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.
Carriers Fight Bill That Would Stop Them Throttling Data of Public Safety
Carriers oppose a recently passed bill that would stop them from throttling the data of public safety—like firefighters—during emergencies.
Verizon Wants You to Forget it Throttled Firefighters' Phone Data
Verizon doesn’t want you to remember when it throttled the cellular data of first responders during the California wildfires.
Visible is a New Prepaid Carrier Selling iPhones
Visible is a new Verizon-owned prepaid carrier, and it recently announced it will start selling iPhones at 0% APR.
As for what Visible is actually offering, you pay $40 a month for unlimited text, voice, data and hotspot usage at speeds of up to 5 Mbps. There’s no contract, no extra fees and you manage everything through an app on your phone.
I’m tempted to sign up for Visible. Last year they reached out to me to test the service but I never heard back. Time to test it on my own.
Verizon Unlimited Customers Get Free Apple Music
Customers of Verizon Unlimited plans will get free, full Apple Music as a perk. This is for the Beyond Unlimited and Above Unlimited plans.
The bonus Apple Music should be launched in the next couple of days, according to the information that we received. Verizon is yet to make the announcement publicly, but the information comes from a source that has proved reliable in the past.
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.
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?
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.
For Now, You Won't Be Getting Verizon eSIM Support
Although the four carriers promised to support it at launch, Verizon and T-Mobile are lagging.
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.
U.S. Carriers Launching Project Verify App to Replace Passwords
Those in the computer security industry aren’t impressed though.
Verizon's $2, Apple's Newest Football, Netflix's Rebellion - ACM 476
Verizon recently throttled a fire department’s command and control vehicle in a pursuit of $2, and Bryan Chaffin and Jeff Gamet have some thoughts about the propriety of such an action. They also wonder whether rumors of a new iMac mean we can start trusting Apple to update its Macs again, or if Lucy will just yank the ball away instead. They cap the show with a look at Netflix’s baby steps towards rebellion against Apple’s App Store cut for subscriptions.
Verizon Throttles California Firefighter Bandwidth During Emergency, Demands More Money, Later Calls It 'A Mistake'
Verizon has crawled ass-backwards into a PR nightmare of its own making after throttling firefighter bandwidth during an emergency in an effort to get $2.00 more per month.
Here Comes In Home 5G Broadband - TMO Daily Observations 2018-08-16
John Martellaro and Dave Hamilton join Jeff Gamet to look at Verizon’s plans for 5G broadband in our homes and how that may work out.
