T-Mobile LTE & Network Discussion V2

[bigsnake49]

The other carriers don't care because they know most of their subscribers have an app that does the same thing already on their device, whether it be Facebook Messenger, GroupMe, WhatsApp, etc. 

 

RCS is pretty much DOA until the other 3 carriers decide to implement it. So they're in no rush at all. As it stands, it's only useful on one carrier. Just like HD Voice is today, it's only good if you're talking to someone else on the same carrier.

RCS has been around since 2007. It has very little takeup

[mittenmitten]

a ) customers aren't really asking for it, which is why the other carriers likely won't implement it right away or ever (there is no demand)

 

b ) it's not like people aren't already able do to what RCS does using other apps (there are plentiful substitutions)

 

c ) if the other carriers choose to implement it down the road, T-Mobile doesn't really gain anything from it, other than getting to say 'we did it first', despite what others have said about it being available through apps already (no real competitive advantage)

 

the ONLY scenario this works in is if you and your friend have T-Mobile. I have Sprint, and I don't know another person with Sprint. My brother's gf has T-Mobile, but apart from that, I don't know anyone else with either of them. EVERY other person I know has AT&T, Verizon, or an MVNO on those networks.

 

this seems like yet another thing for them to market. it's become T-Mobile's MO: 'we're the good guys, the other carriers are the bad guys. they want to oppress you, we want you to have freedom!'...now pay us for doing the exact same thing they do. they're becoming Apple of the wireless industry.

[cortney]

this seems like yet another thing for them to market. it's become T-Mobile's MO: 'we're the good guys, the other carriers are the bad guys. they want to oppress you, we want you to have freedom!'...now pay us for doing the exact same thing they do. they're becoming Apple of the wireless industry.

 

Whatever T-Mobile does is taken way too seriously. I guess if they released pink road apples, everyone would go nuts.

[Arysyn]

 

Whatever T-Mobile does is taken way too seriously. I guess if they released pink road apples, everyone would go nuts.

They could mold an apple the shape of John Legere's head and give the apple its own Twitter page that'll get a lot of Magenta followers following it, right along with that undoll of his.

[greenbastard]

a ) customers aren't really asking for it, which is why the other carriers likely won't implement it right away or ever (there is no demand)

 

Customers didn't ask for SMS, Push-to-talk, or smartphones. Yet they became very popular. Steve Jobs put it best; customers don't know what they want.

b ) it's not like people aren't already able do to what RCS does using other apps (there are plentiful substitutions)

 

They cannot send high resolution pictures to all of their contacts in one try. I have several contacts spread throughout several services, yet conveniently placed together on my phone book. If I want to send a group message, then RCS makes it easy to send them a video or high resolution picture. Facebook does not as some of my contacts aren't Facebook users. Same applies to WhatsApp, BBM, AIM, etc.

c ) if the other carriers choose to implement it down the road, T-Mobile doesn't really gain anything from it, other than getting to say 'we did it first', despite what others have said about it being available through apps already (no real competitive advantage)

 

The same thing can be said about HD Voice. High quality voice calls have been available through VoIP, but that didn't stop providers from providing HD phone calls.

the ONLY scenario this works in is if you and your friend have T-Mobile. I have Sprint, and I don't know another person with Sprint. My brother's gf has T-Mobile, but apart from that, I don't know anyone else with either of them. EVERY other person I know has AT&T, Verizon, or an MVNO on those networks.

 

Inter-network compatibility is easier to achieve with RCS than it is for Facebook, AIM, and other messaging services to work together to allow messaging amongst their platforms. That's lost potential revenue for each of those services.

 

this seems like yet another thing for them to market. it's become T-Mobile's MO: 'we're the good guys, the other carriers are the bad guys. they want to oppress you, we want you to have freedom!'...now pay us for doing the exact same thing they do. they're becoming Apple of the wireless industry.

Like it or not, everybody has benefited in one way or another thanks to T-Mobile. I personally have benefited as Sprint and other companies have been forced to address international roaming in one way or another.

[EvanA]

I seriously doubt other carriers will sit by idle as T-Mobile offers their subscribers an extra feature that they could add with a simple update.

 

With your way of thinking, text messaging should have never taken off either, but yet it did. HD Voice is just the latest example of carriers trying to work to get inter-network compatibility. Networks won't shun their subscribers from the latest technology. If they did, they wouldn't be doing a disservice to their competitors but to themselves instead.

It's not a "simple software update." RCS requires implementation on the network side, and that's not simple.

[cortney]

It's not a "simple software update." RCS requires implementation on the network side, and that's not simple.

 

That's the issue with this standard. Say it's awesome and we do all want it. Great, now until Verizon and AT&T at the very least implement it fully, most people can't use it. First on their end. That's still neglecting the software updates needed to get it to work on people's phones.

 

I find it hard to believe they would even consider implementing this technology until next year at the least (unless I'm missing something?).

 

So presently, more troll food: "T-Mobile did it first!!"

[greenbastard]

It's not a "simple software update." RCS requires implementation on the network side, and that's not simple.

I was referring on the phone part.

 

I cant imagine this being something overly expensive to do on the network side either.

[greenbastard]

 

So presently, more troll food: "T-Mobile did it first!!"

I'm neither pro T-Mobile or pro Sprint. As a matter of fact, I'm not a fanboy of carriers. I'm just interested in how they move their networks along.

 

But you consider this 'food' for the 'trolls'. If anything, you should be happy that someone in this industry is pushing the latest technology. It benefits the consumer, which is us.

[EvanA]

I was referring on the phone part.

 

I cant imagine this being something overly expensive to do on the network side either.

Not expensive, time consuming. Integrating it seamlessly into the network, developing software for the servers, deploying and testing takes months.

[cortney]

But you consider this 'food' for the 'trolls'. If anything, you should be happy that someone in this industry is pushing the latest technology. It benefits the consumer, which is us.

 

No. Because of the fact this is usable on just one phone with plans for only two more right now, and we don't know of any other carriers officially releasing it, it currently serves no purpose but to feed fanboys/trolls. Even if they extend it to 10 or mostly all of their phones: it's still only intra-carrier, meaning useless for many. I do hope that changes soon, but no signs of that yet. 

 

That doesn't mean I'm unhappy T-Mobile is pushing new technology. I hope T-Mobile and Sprint push more and denser LTE, for example. And not just competitively, but in areas where Verizon and AT&T are lagging behind with either no, weak or congested LTE to force them into the game. 

[WiWavelength]

The problem is that while you already have these features with these apps, they aren't integrated into a one stop shop.

 

And this will not solve that problem.  You are trying too hard to sell this as a solution.  That plays into the cult of T-Mobile -- everything it does is smart, progressive, and consumer friendly.  But many of us are not buying that or this.

 

Apple, Google, and BlackBerry are not going to make RCS, joyn, or whatever the hell this is the default messaging client.  They already have their own OTT messaging in place.  So, that basically takes iOS devices, Nexus devices, and BlackBerry devices out of the loop.

 

Hmm, you just lost a huge chunk of users, so that one stop messaging utopia never materializes.  Except for SMS and MMS, which we already have and work just fine.  If RCS ever takes off, it will be 5-10 years from now.  Do not hold your breath.

 

AJ

[payturr]

I don't think RCS is gonna get everyone excited because T-Mo is the only one with it. And not everyone is on T-Mo, as subscriber counts tell us. It'll have it's own small user base among T-Mo subs, possibly more if VZW and AT&T decide to adopt it, but it's not very likely; Verizon already has it's own whacky separate messaging service, and AT&T is too hung up on VoLTE.

[Houston_Texas]

 

 

I'm neither pro T-Mobile or pro Sprint. As a matter of fact, I'm not a fanboy of carriers. I'm just interested in how they move their networks along.

 

Signature worthy.

 

Troll is an overused word.

 

Sent from my SM-N910T

[WiWavelength]

Sent from my SM-N910T

 

But I guess that you are on T-Mobile now, yet you are still here.

 

 

AJ

[travismheim]

If RCS can be integrated into iMessage or Hangouts the way SMS and MMS are I might see it taking hold. I just don't see the incentive to add support unless the other three carriers add RCS on the network side and demand the functionality be native in those apps.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[cortney]

And this will not solve that problem.  You are trying too hard to sell this as a solution.  That plays into the cult of T-Mobile -- everything it does is smart, progressive, and consumer friendly.  But many of us are not buying that or this.

 

Imagine if AT&T, for example, released RCS. People would laugh. They'd state all the points others have here about how other OTT apps are far more popular and how this isn't a need for anyone. They'd laugh at the intra-carrier limitations that would exist and the extremely limited number of phones it'd be released on. They'd scorn AT&T's network, whine about VoLTE, then that'd lead into DirecTV, lusacell, etc. 

[bigsnake49]

Even if the other carriers adopt it, it will be 4 separate silos, unless they open up their "phone book" to others for presence based messaging. Otherwise it's just SMS over IP.

[Houston_Texas]

Even if the other carriers adopt it, it will be 4 separate silos, unless they open up their "phone book" to others for presence based messaging. Otherwise it's just SMS over IP.

Regardless, the higher capacity to send files is welcomed.

 

No one is saying it's Earth shattering btw.

 

Sent from my SM-N910T

[joshuam]

Regardless, the higher capacity to send files is welcomed.

 

No one is saying it's Earth shattering btw.

 

Sent from my SM-N910T

What is the file size limit on imessage?

[greenbastard]

Regardless, the higher capacity to send files is welcomed.

 

No one is saying it's Earth shattering btw.

 

Sent from my SM-N910T

Exactly. I really don't get the bad sentiment towards RCS. I don't know if its the anti everything T-Mobile crowd of just a genuine dislike for RCS. Its a service that would be welcomed by many users. As a sprint user, I'd welcome it. It certainly won't hurt to have.

 

If you don't like, simply don't use it. Nobody is putting a gun to users head to switch from Facebook messenger or BBM.

Edited July 27, 2015 by greenbastard

[greenbastard]

And this will not solve that problem. You are trying too hard to sell this as a solution.

It's definitely not a solution, but its the right step intomaking it easier to share videos and Hi-res pictures with friends who stay off the grid.

 

That plays into the cult of T-Mobile -- everything it does is smart, progressive, and consumer friendly. But many of us are not buying that or this.

 

AJ

What is it with this website's obsession with T-Mobile hate? Even the mods?!

 

Many of us get too carried away with being fan boys. You simply can't deny that some of the stuff T-Mobile has done has pushed other carriers to respond and add features for their customers. Look at the market for evidence. At&t introduced a form of data roll over in response to T-Mobile and Verizon/Sprint have addressed some of their international roaming costs.

 

Had T-Mobile never introduced free international data/texts, do you really think Sprint would have added the same feature? I don't think so.

 

I've bashed Legere before, but damn, some of you have an unhealthy obsession with him.

[Arysyn]

It's definitely not a solution, but its the right step intomaking it easier to share videos and Hi-res pictures with friends who stay off the grid.

 

What is it with this website's obsession with T-Mobile hate? Even the mods?!

 

Many of us get too carried away with being fan boys. You simply can't deny that some of the stuff T-Mobile has done has pushed other carriers to respond and add features for their customers. Look at the market for evidence. At&t introduced a form of data roll over in response to T-Mobile and Verizon/Sprint have addressed some of their international roaming costs.

 

Had T-Mobile never introduced free international data/texts, do you really think Sprint would have added the same feature? I don't think so.

 

I've bashed Legere before, but damn, some of you have an unhealthy obsession with him.

I can't speak for the reasons some people have here for disliking/hating T-Mobile/John Legere, but I'll guess at it based on how I see it, and if they agree with me or not.

 

My opinion isn't against the fact T-Mobile has done good for the industry, but how they do something good then following up bashing the competition with immaturity, often doing so while introducing these ideas as "uncarrier", which is meant as a taunt in the process, rather than as a professional development. It's always "them" vs "us" with T-Mobile, along with putting down Sprint as below all else, then putting together AT&T as the duopoly. The whole thing is being done unprofessionally by T-Mobile, as led by John Legere.

 

Also, the entire attitude Johm Legere has is bullying and demeaning, not proper of a CEO, especially one who gets into personal attacks against other CEOs, for instance, not to forget John Legere's comment that Marcelo Claure had "too much to drink". That pretty much says it all right there. Besides, other CEOs are perfectly capable of doing better than John Legere, without the foul language and other immature behavior.

[Paynefanbro]

I think all of you just think we're hating T-Mobile for this but in reality we are just acknowledging the shortfalls of it. We're not arguing that RCS is bad, we're arguing that it's useless for now and likely for a while.

[luvixuha]

Verizon is making strides towards supporting RCS. Full support is on their roadmap.

 

"VoLTE and RCS Video Calling are being dubbed as “Advanced Calling 1.0″. The company plans to roll out other RCS features like presence notification, instant messaging, and file transfers in the future. Unfortunately, despite the IP voice interconnection with T-Mobile made earlier this year, we were told that VoLTE HD Voice calls only work among Verizon Wireless customers for now." - http://www.extremetech.com/electronics/188756-verizons-volte-rollout-will-kill-off-cdma-and-allow-unlocked-lte-phones-too