T-Mobile LTE & Network Discussion V2

[reedacus25]

I would love to check, but I can't get this old T-Mobile sim to get a signal in my unlocked iPhone. It just says no service. I can't remember if this is normal, or if an old, deactivated sim would at least give you signal, but no service. I remember reading about people being able to run speed tests on old TMO sims.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 6s

Not old deactivated SIMs, new un-activated SIMs allow network attach and speedtest traffic.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Arysyn]

Currently, there's only a few places where AT&T and T-Mobile are swapping AWS and PCS. Chicago isn't one of those places.

 

This is a really big disappointment for T-Mobile and a setback to their progress here, as little as that is, The Chicago market is only 15x15 AWS with no 700mhz here either. From my understanding, the PCS is only 10x10,on HSPA+, not LTE. Instead, LTE only is on 15x15 here in the Chicago market, which is getting more and more congested last I heard, as I mentioned in my previous post I have a hold on my account not active on a device just yet for me to utilize fully.

 

Still though, 15x15 is better than the 10x10 they had of it some months ago. I think T-Mobile really ought to try getting an extra 5x5 of AWS, then go after the 700mhz spectrum from the holding group which has it from the AT&T/Leap deal here. I don't know, but I am curious how much spectrum that 700mhz amounts to. If at least 5x5 it should help T-Mobile pretty well in getting better indoor reception, especially in the downtown areas of the city.

[Vince]

I finally got an old sim to authenticate on T-Mobile; the network is still 15x15 with the DL Freq at 2325.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 6s

[gusherb]

This is a really big disappointment for T-Mobile and a setback to their progress here, as little as that is, The Chicago market is only 15x15 AWS with no 700mhz here either. From my understanding, the PCS is only 10x10,on HSPA+, not LTE. Instead, LTE only is on 15x15 here in the Chicago market, which is getting more and more congested last I heard, as I mentioned in my previous post I have a hold on my account not active on a device just yet for me to utilize fully.

 

Still though, 15x15 is better than the 10x10 they had of it some months ago. I think T-Mobile really ought to try getting an extra 5x5 of AWS, then go after the 700mhz spectrum from the holding group which has it from the AT&T/Leap deal here. I don't know, but I am curious how much spectrum that 700mhz amounts to. If at least 5x5 it should help T-Mobile pretty well in getting better indoor reception, especially in the downtown areas of the city.

 

The A block is enough for 5x5. I checked it out while looking up the license swaps and found no activity on it, so nothing as of yet. I did notice that there is a lease expiration date of 3/13/16...  

 

Unless T-Mo pulls something out of their hat (like an A block acquistion) they will have to refarm PCS, dismantling DC-HSPA in the process and fire up a 5x5 B2 LTE carrier as well as carrier aggregation. 

 

I have always felt that my part of the Chicago area is neglected by the carriers more than the rest of the area (especially by at&t and Sprint) so it's nice to see that T-Mobile gives us something that the rest of the area doesn't have! 

[Fraydog]

I did do something today that was T-Mobile related. I reactivated the T-Mobile $30 SIM I had and put it in the Note5.

 

First off, I think that using the Note5 meant for Verizon is giving me a nice boost in coverage due to much better RF performance. Very few spots do I drop off LTE around here. Secondly, I am now Sensorly mapping for T-Mobile so that is part of the record. These conclusions aren't shocking, likely. I imagine with a bit of coverage expansion and a B12 acquisition, T-Mobile could be a really good value here. 

 

That said, BingeOn... I will just say that anything above the "Auto" or "480p" settings would lead to intermittent buffering on 720p or a lot and lot of buffering on 1080p. Now the "turn it off" people might be wanting to throw sharp objects at their computer screens right now, but please hear me out. How convenient is it to turn it off all the times that I want to go up and above the 480p setting. Logging onto the My T-Mobile site or app, and turning it off on there is a lot of extraneous steps. Most people are going to try to go above 480p, then see that it starts buffering and wonder what the hell is going on. 

 

 

Furthermore, given that John Legere is trashing YouTube, Google, and the EFF for being bought and paid for by Google, does it seem like YouTube is open or wants to be a BingeOn partner? YouTube is still the elephant in the room for mobile data. Not Go90, not DirecTV, not HBO or not even Sling or even Hulu or Netflix. On mobile, YouTube is still the elephant in the room. Is it really the wisest business move to trash YouTube or Google? I don't see the logic of it, frankly. 

 

Finally, T-Mobile might have its fanboys, but there are many, many, MANY more Google, Android, and YouTube fanboys who are fanboys of The Big G to a far greater degree than being T-Mobile fanboys. 

 

That said, my experience with YouTube and BingeOn seems to be, from my short experience, in line with the EFF's technical testing of BingeOn. On apps like HBO GO with no direct control of the video feed, I don't see how there's optimization of any sort going on with the video. It seems blurry, at least on my 1440p Note5 screen. 

[joshuam]

https://newsroom.t-mobile.com/issues-insights-blog/open-letter-to-consumers-about-binge-on.htm

 

Legere apologizes to EFF...lol

[derrph]

Well that took long enough. Still sounds like a sales pitch though.

 

 

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[Maverick]

https://newsroom.t-mobile.com/issues-insights-blog/open-letter-to-consumers-about-binge-on.htm

 

Legere apologizes to EFF...lol

Less of an apology than a damage control in regards to the EFF.

 

 

One thing he isn't is transparent and that falls in line with BS used Shady car salesman pitch!

 

Same ole same ole.

[derrph]

I had a thought last night when I was debating with my friend who has T-Mobile and how it's better in x ways. After the debate I realized that T-Mobiles data data plans should not really exceed past 6gb only because T-Mobile is basically mandating how your data is used and how much. Music freedom and bingeOn. So I think eventually (sounds crazy ) T-Mobile will do away with actual data buckets and you'll just have data for your music, video and whatever else that T-Mobile is feeding through their pipes that they can control and how much of it is required for whatever service. Since they have the popular services being data free now.

 

Yes it sounds beyond crazy but that's just something that piped up in my head after talking to my friend. He also insisted I switch and I said no I like to use my data 100% as I please.

 

 

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[irev210]

Less of an apology than a damage control in regards to the EFF.

 

 

One thing he isn't is transparent and that falls in line with BS used Shady car salesman pitch!

 

Same ole same ole.

 

 

It will be interesting to see how he handles this.  I still think he has a chance to make things right.

 

Couple of options:

1) Make participating BingeON video streams throttled and unlimited and make non-participating BingON video streams unthrottled unless you specifically opt in.

2) Make this a completely opt out service you have to opt into.

 

I get the customer confusion part but this is pretty bad.

[Ascertion]

It will be interesting to see how he handles this.  I still think he has a chance to make things right.

 

Couple of options:

1) Make participating BingeON video streams throttled and unlimited and make non-participating BingON video streams unthrottled unless you specifically opt in.

2) Make this a completely opt out service you have to opt into.

 

I get the customer confusion part but this is pretty bad.

I think the way T-Mobile should have handled it is to send an SMS to ALL subscribers that were opted in and allow them to enable/disable it by texting BINGEON ON or BINGEON OFF.  Leave the setting in account settings too, but utilizing sms as a means to conveniently turn it on/off would be a better alternative.  Most people leave don't opt out of opt in stuff so I understand T-Mobile's stance towards enabling it by default. 

[S4GRU]

The bottom line for me is if ALL video streaming was being throttled, why even require content providers subscribe and be approved by T-Mobile? All video that was being throttled should have counted equally and not charged against your data plan. That is a Net Neutrality violation in my mind.

 

Why even have a content provider vetting/subscription process if the results are the same? That's why the whole thing was fishy about T-Mobile setting up control gateways where they determine winners and losers. They made up some crap about being able to work through compatibility issues and dedicated this and that...but it has now been shown that they throttled all video the same, whether a BingeOn approved provider or not.

 

Beware the gateway controllers. None can be trusted. Too much power. Legere has proven he cannot be trusted. And he's supposedly better than the Duopoly.

 

And truth be told, I don't trust Marcelo to make these decisions for me either. And I do like/trust him a lot more than Legere. I wouldn't even trust me in that position. And I don't trust any of you, either.

 

We need reasonable and fair rates for data. Then we can use them any way we want. On anything we want. Want to stream porn, or your local church services? Fine. It should count the same per GB as everything else. Because a GB is a GB. No one should deem one more more worthy than another. As soon as that happens, it comes down to personal preferences, moral relativism and sometimes just plain greed of those who have the control. The less people who make decisions for you, the better.

 

Using Tapatalk on Note 8.0

[Ascertion]

And I don't trust any of you, either.

 

Rude!

[maxsilver]

I think T-Mobile should have (snip)  allow them to enable/disable it by texting BINGEON ON or BINGEON OFF. 

 

I agree they should have had that ready upfront. But they do offer this now.

 

You can dial a shortcode to turn on/off BingeOn at any time. (Similar to the data usage and other shortcodes)

 

#BNG# (or #264#) - Check Status

#BNO# (or #266#) - Turn BingeOn On (Activate)

#BNF# (or #263#) - Turn BingeOn Off (Deactivate)

[S4GRU]

I agree they should have had that ready upfront. But they do offer this now.

 

You can dial a shortcode to turn on/off BingeOn at any time. (Similar to the data usage and other shortcodes)

 

#BNG# (or #264#) - Check Status

#BNO# (or #266#) - Turn BingeOn On (Activate)

#BNF# (or #263#) - Turn BingeOn Off (Deactivate)

I'd prefer to shout, 'Magenta Twins, Activate!'

 

And then Neville Ray and John Legere would stop what they're doing and attend to my BingeOn account controls.

 

Using Tapatalk on Note 8.0

[JossMan]

I'd prefer to shout, 'Magenta Twins, Activate!'

 

And then Neville Ray and John Legere would stop what they're doing and attend to my BingeOn account controls.

 

Using Tapatalk on Note 8.0

Your BINGE ON is Disabled, Dial #JOHNLEGERE# to enable it.

 

Your BINGE ON is Enabled, Dial #NEVILLERAY# to disable it.

 

  

[orangeblue]

I have an unlimited data plan (2 lines for $100 / same on Sprint) and I noticed in the Bay Area that T-Mobile is getting worse in terms of providing a good image. I also noticed that if you do an image search via Google, it takes much longer now until the image is clear. On Sprint I have not seen it and B41 seems to grow every day. Sites that were Clearwire before have now been reflaged to Sprint.

[joshuam]

T-Mobile changes the "deprioritization" threshold from 23GB to 25GB for unlimited data customers.

 

http://prntscr.com/9vdfih

[Ascertion]

T-Mobile changes the "deprioritization" threshold from 23GB to 25GB for unlimited data customers.

 

http://prntscr.com/9vdfih

The neat thing about this threshold is that it'll continue going up as data demand increases.  Thus, it'll be more "truly unlimited" as time progresses.  I wonder if Sprint/AT&T will follow up.  They both claim that the cap represents 97% of users, but I think they just look up the competition's sheets and either match or 1-Up them.

[Maverick]

FYI

 

PhoneArena just came out with the four major wireless carriers data plans. Check it out!

 

 

.http://www.phonearena.com/news/Verizon-vs-AT-T-vs-T-Mobile-vs-Sprint-data-plans-and-phone-payments-compared_id77601

[EvanA]

https://newsroom.t-mobile.com/news/binge-on-expansion.htm

 

New partners:

 

Amazon Video

Fox News

Univision Now

WWE Network

 

One major video service, included in the list of services that stream without eating up your data, is seeing a 79% jump in daily viewers.

And there is the problem with zero rating. Zero rated providers win while others lose if they don't want to participate.

[S4GRU]

 

 

And there is the problem with zero rating. Zero rated providers win while others lose if they don't want to participate.

*Rolls Eyes*

 

 

 

Using Tapatalk on Note 8.0

[nick]

FYI

 

PhoneArena just came out with the four major wireless carriers data plans. Check it out!

 

 

.http://www.phonearena.com/news/Verizon-vs-AT-T-vs-T-Mobile-vs-Sprint-data-plans-and-phone-payments-compared_id77601

didn't realize sprint was  64kbps after high speed was used up, that is painful. atleast you could stream music if it was 128kbps.

[nexgencpu]

Finally! Study by Stanford law school proves the obvious. Hopefully the FCC will take appropriate actions.

 

BingON should have been DOA, but better late than never.

 

http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/net-neutrality-expert-fcc-t-mobiles-binge-likely-illegal/2016-01-29

[red_dog007]

IMO BingeOn needs to zero rate ALL video or no video at all.  They already throttle all video to 1.5Mbps.  Just zero rate all of it.  No need to have this list at all. 

 

If this was Comcast it would be a poo storm, but because it is TMo it is ok. I don't like myself.