WiWavelength

"Beavis, I'm a little disappointed in you..." We have been talking about these single radio path, e/CSFB handsets for the past two months. How could you miss it? AJ

Neal, I highly doubt that local exchange availability is the reason. Over the years, Omaha has had possibly a US record number of simultaneously separate wireless providers: Aliant (Alltel -> VZW), US West (AirTouch -> VZW), Sprint, AT&TWS (Cingular -> AT&T), Nextel (Sprint), Qwest (defunct), Cricket (AT&T???), USCC, and T-Mobile. I may even be forgetting one from a decade ago. Regardless, it is/was arguably the CDMA2000 capital of the world, as it once had four, possibly even five parallel CDMA2000 networks in operation. Not surprisingly, GSM type networks were late to Omaha and have long lagged behind. That is the more compelling reason why T-Mobile operates just a license protection market in Omaha. Now, Viaero has made Nebraska far more GSM type network friendly elsewhere in the state. So, some of us have discussed that T-Mobile should just get out of the market by selling to Viaero -- much as it has done with Iowa in the east by selling Des Moines to Iowa Wireless Services. AJ

The Welcome section had become a haven for overseas spammers. That is why it is closed to new members. Sorry. AJ

No, I would say that he was a bad hire. TmoNews reports on T-Mobile USA, but the editor does not even live in North America and cannot regularly use the wireless service he covers??? Maybe PhoneDog was going for distanced objectivity, but I doubt it, as that does not seem to be the outlet's modus operandi. No, hiring a Brit to run a US wireless operator focused site is just a head scratching choice. AJ

That is interesting news. I was not sure that T-Mobile would bother with LTE in Omaha. Well, I suppose that is nice for visitors who have T-Mobile. Data speeds should be insanely fast because there are almost zero local subs on the network. But coverage is reportedly very weak due to the skeleton network of just a few sites. On the other hand, roaming on AT&T would not be that much better. Omaha is and has long been a CDMA2000 town. AJ

Agreed, I definitely noticed that, too. I would assume that this is an e/CSFB issue, since LTE only mode does not allow a CDMA1X carrier for fallback. AJ

In many ways, T-Mobile is the oddball wireless operator, and one of those quirks is your very own Omaha. Even though it is a top 100 market, it is a license protection market for T-Mobile, which maintains a skeleton W-CDMA/GSM network consisting of about 20 sites for the entire metro. But it does not market nor sell service in Omaha. I am not sure that T-Mobile even has an MSC in Omaha -- traffic may just all get backhauled to Kansas City, Des Moines, or elsewhere. AJ

Many of you might enjoy reading this piece. Oddly, TmoNews is now edited by a Brit, and it shows in the article. http://www.tmonews.com/2013/12/t-mobiles-2014-resolution-its-got-to-be-coverage-coverage-and-more-coverage/ AJ

Well, who needs to "rent to own" their phones? Consider T-Mobile's audience. The "urban lowbrow" stereotype carries a fair amount of truth. AJ

Try reading this site: http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2013/12/korean-press-shocked-at-samsungs-galaxy-s4-sales-disaster.html S4GRU is supposedly a Sprint fanboy site, I guess. But Patently Apple is egregiously an Apple fanboy site. And it apparently relishes publishing inflammatory blog posts about Apple competitors. Enjoy, I guess... AJ

Oh, it still functions in LTE only mode. Here is what it reports: -- AJ

Huh? That is ludicrous. "T-Mobile" belongs to Deutsche Telekom. SoftBank would not retain the brand name of another communications conglomerate that is exiting the market. AJ

It is not. If you have to ask...well... AJ

Ah, you said "cheap." I thought you said "cheat." AJ

Steal a VZW variant Galaxy S4. That should buy you the device and at least a few hours of free service. AJ

http://s4gru.com/index.php?/blog/1/entry-131-updated-prl-builders-and-network-spelunkers-pay-heed-sprint-cdma1x-800-channels-and-sids-revealed/ AJ

What name? AJ

Not all is peachy keen on the isle of magenta... https://twitter.com/nerdtalker/status/417050909294596096 AJ

Not necessarily. The order in which SMS are sent does not dictate the order in which they are received. As I often say, if you need greater than 160 characters, send separate SMS yourself. Or use a more appropriate medium, such as e-mail or chat. Remember, it is called Short Message Service for a reason. AJ

You missed the "Yet" connection. AJ

Yeah, right. They are holding out for eleventy billion dollars. AJ

"Cleveland" is an internal Sprint market name. Every one of the dozens of Sprint markets has to have a name. You seem to be the one confusing the market with the city. AJ

Do not send SMS greater than 160 characters. Otherwise, you are ironically misusing Short Message Service. AJ

Simple. The family that controls USCC is not particularly interested in selling out. AJ

I hope that all the stores would cooperate. I would not go to an uncooperative store. AJ