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Hi I am wondering if I can activate a sprint hero on a vzw network and if so would they force me to get a dataplan. I really would like and android phone but don't want a dataplan. I am near wifi most of the time. I thought about cloning esns with the new eris but since it would be to avoid fees I think it would land me in some trouble.
What do you guys think? I thought about the vx6900 but no wifi and the bluetooth doesn't work in their build.
Thanks,
Isaac.S
why not just get the eris ....its the same thing as the hero but with out sprints crapware on it???
I don't think they would allow the handset to be activated. Plus, you'd have to start a sprint contract, cancel it, get charged for the device in order to get the thing in the first place.
As 702 said, just get an Eris, it's the same device and meant for VZW. Personally, I don't see why you would want to pay the much higher plan costs for VZW anyway.
Well I wouldn't mind switching but friends are all on verizon and it has the best coverage where I am. I would be purchasing a full price device from sprint to activate on verizon and selling my upgrade device ie droid or eris. What I am trying to avoid is shelling out an additional 30 a month for data.
Having a phone that relies so much on the internet might be kind of pointless without a data plan.
Also, with Sprint's "any mobile" it won't cost you a cent (or minutes) to call them Sprint to VZW. Nor will it cost you if they call you.
The device cost thing isn't a hurdle if you can afford it, which you seem to be able to.
The big hurdle is getting VZW to add the MEID to their database and allowing the handset onto the network. I don't think they will from prior attempts of my own.
thanks for the meid info ekinnee. I thought I had heard that verizon is pretty good about adding devices but maybe I was wrong about that.
Thanks,
Isaac.S
isaacws said:
thanks for the meid info ekinnee. I thought I had heard that verizon is pretty good about adding devices but maybe I was wrong about that.
Thanks,
Isaac.S
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Some are, some aren't...you're kindof at the mercy of whatever store reps you get (Verizon has a big thing a while back about being willing to put any device on their network). Best bet is to ask the VZ Rep.
EDIT: I do believe they will still force you into a dataplan. The store I went to used to do datablocks and they claimed they couldn't (either through technology or policy) do that on newer smartphones. Just about every provider requires a data plan for smartphones these days.
In my opinion, as like many of the others that posted here, I would just get it on Sprint. With Sprint, you now get unlimited free calling to ANY cell phone, even if it is on Sprint, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, US Cellular, you name it. Also, I have a feeling eventually someone is going to come out with a way to enable "Roaming Only" in the Hero... which basically means if you enable it, you will ALWAYS be using Verizon's service instead of Sprint. Also, Sprint is cheaper, so I'd just go with Sprint if I were you.
Google always has plans. There has to be a reason they went with T-Mobile. Is T-Mobile going to get an overhaul, or just continue to be the carrier with the worst reputation? I think Google is going to completely rebuild the infrastructure. Does anyone have any theories or facts?
droiddrop said:
Google always has plans. There has to be a reason they went with T-Mobile. Is T-Mobile going to get an overhaul, or just continue to be the carrier with the worst reputation. I think Google is going to completely rebuild the infrastructure. Does anyone have any theories or facts?
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It's too early to say... but I don't think it's a coincidence that T-mobile implemented their Even More Plus plans a few months back. They are tailor-made for unsubsidized phones.
Maybe Google will just buy T-mobile USA
I too, am thinking it will become G-Mobile.
I'm just glad I got a next gen smartphone on T-Mobile finally.
"Carrier with the worst reputation"? I suppose you've misconstrued a lack of (excessive) marketing from T-Mobile as an indication of inferiority. It's a shame so many people actually believe AT&T and Verizon's advertisements.
SurrealNetworks said:
"Carrier with the worst reputation"? I suppose you've misconstrued a lack of (excessive) marketing from T-Mobile as an indication of inferiority. It's a shame so many people actually believe AT&T and Verizon's advertisements.
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MOD EDIT - When you knowmanners, please come back
I got a chuckle out of that one
SurrealNetworks said:
"Carrier with the worst reputation"? I suppose you've misconstrued a lack of (excessive) marketing from T-Mobile as an indication of inferiority. It's a shame so many people actually believe AT&T and Verizon's advertisements.
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I'm a 7 year T-mo customer and can't think of a single reason to switch for the foreseeable future... but I'm the first to admit their network isn't as wide as the other three national carriers. They have plenty of room to improve. Their customer service, however, is amazing.
Calm down, Napoleon, I can see your T-Mobile logo. Your bratty reponse and previous post speak volumes about the quality of your theory and debate. You claim the comment was meant to highlight the perception of the general public. If this is simply a perception then why would an "overhaul' be necessary? Please provide reference to the study that shows the "general public's opinion on wireless carriers". The general public's opinion is typically guided by marketing, but you already know that given how truly smart you are </sarcasm>
Instead of defending your post of ignorance, why don't you speak about your actual experience. If its good you can help to reverse these negative perceptions. If your experience is poor you can provide feedback about that experience, including the type of problems and areas that are affected. This will help other users to make an informed decision about their wireless provider. Here, I'll start by saying in the Midwest you'll be hard pressed to find a better carrier. Specifically I've experienced few, if any, dropped calls in the last several years. 3G speed has been exceptional; speeds ranging from 2-3mbps.
droiddrop said:
I too, am thinking it will become G-Mobile.
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I didn't think about that name. That's a perfect fit!
btmec said:
I didn't think about that name. That's a perfect fit!
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Pretty coincidental, eh?
g-mobile
I like that name, i have been with t-mobile ever since they where called voicestream. Never had a reason to change either. If/when Google ever acquires them that would be the biggest telecomm news ever. i would miss t-mobile, but then again bring on G-mobile. Maybe then we'll see true VOIP.
A theory I heard was that Google may/may not buy T-Mobile, but T-Mobile will become nothing but Google's data carrier and upgrades are due for 4G and more towers. No hard facts, just speculation, but it makes sense.
mikesm1234 said:
I like that name, i have been with t-mobile ever since they where called voicestream. Never had a reason to change either. If/when Google ever acquires them that would be the biggest telecomm news ever. i would miss t-mobile, but then again bring on G-mobile. Maybe then we'll see true VOIP.
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Voip should ideally be carrier independent. I don't think Google needs to be getting into the telecom business. They are great at what they do, and merging with a cellular phone carrier is way outside of the scope of that. Just my opinion.
Google is a business that does that business well. Look at all of the other unheard of products that they have bought up, re-manufactured and now are quite amazing. Grand Central - Google Voice, there are others. I think Google does not want be a cell provider, but completely revamp the way cell phones are used by employing VOIP/Google Voice technologies.
droiddrop said:
Google always has plans. There has to be a reason they went with T-Mobile. Is T-Mobile going to get an overhaul, or just continue to be the carrier with the worst reputation? I think Google is going to completely rebuild the infrastructure. Does anyone have any theories or facts?
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I went to 2 t-mobile stores today and the people that worked there didn't know **** about the N1's, the purchase options, the plan options, nothing. They were nice and I got my insurance, but dumb as ****, I knew more about the plans and phones then they did.
droiddrop said:
A theory I heard was that Google may/may not buy T-Mobile, but T-Mobile will become nothing but Google's data carrier and upgrades are due for 4G and more towers. No hard facts, just speculation, but it makes sense.
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T-Mobile USA has already said they will add a little more to their USA 3G coverage, but their focus is on 4G because they believe that is the true longer term future, and 3G is just a very expensive "short term" service that doesn't fit with their business model of low prices, top notch customer service, and economically sound coverage to match those low prices.
If you live in the SE, T-Mobile actually has the best coverage of any carrier for voice, and they have done a lot more for rural coverage than any other carrier can even hope to claim, yet alone back up.
As well, if T-Mobile were to jump in on the 3G hate war(they won't because they like seeing those other 2 go at it) they could point out AT&T is actually not forth right about having the fastest 3G, T-Mobile has the fastest 3G(both in terms of average market speed and peak market speed), but they also have the smallest footprint.
Anyone else worried that the N1s stuggles and the blame game going on in costumer service will spoil a Tmo/Google relationship ?
What if an N1 or N2 hits for Verizon and is a smash hit ?
for the record...by all accounts Tmos customer service is miles ahead of all the other carriers. The fact the service for N1 is so ****ty is squarely on Google...but I wonder if pissed off people are going to see it that way damaging Tmos already sensitive reputation.
May not make sense. . lol
Why doesn't Verizon just die already(Since they are just as expensive as at&t, but are locked down and limited in so many ways)? And at&t just man up and actually do some work to improve their phone line up(and service, 3G speeds are suffering because of a certain phone. . ) with something other then the 'assphone'. Seriously, it just ruins its reputation and line up, since they aren't focusing too much on anything else. I am a loyal at&t customer since 2002, but I might have to jump ship to T-Mobile because at&t has neglected the other side(Sure there are some other phones, but we still don't have any android devices, and most of the new WM devices are getting thrown at other carriers, plus the premium of the plans. . .).
If Google chose at&t, then it would be over shadowed by the iPhone, and I see that logic, but come on, we need some lovin' too.
But T-Mobile seems cool because of the "Even More" Plans since they are cheap, and they have some good phones lined up soon, and they don't solely rely on one phone to bring in the Benjamin Rolls(Toilet paper made out of 100 dollar bills).
My 2 cents.
Will it be possible to put the Epic on boost mobile like many have done the Touch pro 2 and some droid phones.
*Boost mobile is CDMA* non walkie talkie
*Boost Mobile is IDEN* with walkie talkie
I'd imagine that ESN swapping makes anything possible..
never done that before is that easy and how could i do that
It's illegal...
WHY is it illegal? whats the actuall reason why its Illegal?
It's an FCC violation to tamper with serial numbers. You're committing fraud.
Ok understood is there any other way that i could the epic 4g to work on boost
why? you that broke that you cant afford a monthly bill, but can afford the phone?
I CAN afford sprints everything data plan as well as i can afford Sprints simply unlimited plas as well as to purchase the phone out of contract i just dont like to be in contract and i prefer to pay $50 over $100 a month.
Ma$etas said:
I CAN afford sprints everything data plan as well as i can afford Sprints simply unlimited plas as well as to purchase the phone out of contract i just dont like to be in contract and i prefer to pay $50 over $100 a month.
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but for 50 dollars less, its a smaller network with no coverage.
Either way, no, it won't happen.
not true i have had great reception wherever i go the few times i have had no sprint service my phone goes into verizon service all that for $50 less on tp2
entropism said:
It's an FCC violation to tamper with serial numbers. You're committing fraud.
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Tampering with serial numbers is illegal, but not taking the phone to another carrier. Thanks to the FCC you can take any phone to any compatible network. If IPhone was CDMA sprint would have to let you put it on. They may fight you and they don't have to support the phone, but they have to let you use it. This has been talked about tons of time on XDA. Search it. Boost will probably have no problems. Just no support for the phone.
a454nova said:
Tampering with serial numbers is illegal, but not taking the phone to another carrier. Thanks to the FCC you can take any phone to any compatible network. If IPhone was CDMA sprint would have to let you put it on. They may fight you and they don't have to support the phone, but they have to let you use it. This has been talked about tons of time on XDA. Search it. Boost will probably have no problems. Just no support for the phone.
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how would i be able to make boost accept the epic on their system and in regards to support who cares if they dont support it thats why we have xda
Ma$etas said:
how would i be able to make boost accept the epic on their system and in regards to support who cares if they dont support it thats why we have xda
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Well one reason you care if they support it or not is because of issues you can potentially run into that can't be helped. I know someone who works for Criket who talks about people who bring phones from other carrier onto their plan, and how some people might not be able to send or receive, txts or calls or what not and the carrier can't support it at all. I guess if enough people put the epic on boost and it was a phone software thing that could be modified to make boost and the phone play nice then you'd have no issues, and of course it all depends, many phones will be just fine on other carriers, but there is the risk. Luckily since boost mobile is sprint, this hopefully is a nonissue and I'm just being silly.
First off, Sprint WILL NOT activate a non-sprint phone on their network. Simply will not happen, just like Verizon (who used to if you found an easy-going rep) will not. Since Boost IS Sprint, it just won't happen.
Secondly, the reason Sprint won't let you activate the phones on the Boost plan is because those devices are tied to specific plans that Sprint offers. There's a reason NOBODY has gotten an EVO, Instinct, Pre, Pixi, Hero, Moment, Bold, Tour, etc on Boost or Virgin without tampering with the ESNs, and it's the same reason why the Epic won't be on there either. The only Sprint phones you can activate on Boost are the non "everything plan required" phones, and you'll never see a non-Sprint, non-Boost phone on there.
I'm fairly certain you can use it on Cricket or MetroPCS, if that's useful. No promises that it'll work perfectly, but it'll likely work to some degree.
JUST2SUAVE said:
why? you that broke that you cant afford a monthly bill, but can afford the phone?
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Cost of the phone is trivial compared to the plan.
I'm not going to start anything. Just google Evo on boost and it will probably lead to the same with the epic. But... There is always a way.
Ive read all sms mms and 3G works on EVO. No 4G. So I'd bet on the Epic too.
a454nova said:
I'm not going to start anything. Just google Evo on boost and it will probably lead to the same with the epic. But... There is always a way.
Ive read all sms mms and 3G works on EVO. No 4G. So I'd bet on the Epic too.
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im going to do that maybe after or week or two of the phones releas. I know someone is gonna be able to do it. were there is a will theres a way! LoL. im perfectly fine with only 3g besides there isnt any 4g speeds where i live so it wont make any difference to me. i dont want to be stuck in a contract or have a plan with any limitations. oh and $100 a month for everything unlimited yeah right not gonna happen.
can it be done now? Epic on boost anyone care to share how too
i know its possible just want to know how
With the announcement of AT&T buying T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom, I am for sure going to switch back to Sprint as soon as I can.
Who's else is going to bail, or are you going to stick out or wait and see what happens?
Please take the poll above, and if you have something to say about this, head over to the already ongoing thread about this merger/buyout.
I for one will probably be sticking with Att/Tmobile. I have to use wifi calling in my apartment, and this will eliminate the need for that. Not to mention they will probably have to grandfather in all plans they acquire for the time being.
WHy would you bail? Once they merge Tmobile and ATT with me sharing the same towers hence HUGE coverage gains on both ends. ATT/Tmobile will pass-up verizon's coverage likely and data coverage will be alot better. It's just ironic alot of the iPhone users have migrated to Verizon for better coverage.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2011-03-20-att-deal_N.htm
jeffokada81 said:
WHy would you bail? Once they merge Tmobile and ATT with me sharing the same towers hence HUGE coverage gains on both ends. ATT/Tmobile will pass-up verizon's coverage likely and data coverage will be alot better. It's just ironic alot of the iPhone users have migrated to Verizon for better coverage.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2011-03-20-att-deal_N.htm
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Never had a problem with signal when I was on Sprint before, sure I don't do much traveling, but my area is covered well, and the trip from St. Louis to Nashville that I take a couple of times a year is covered very well also. So I'm not worried about coverage.
What I don't want to deal with is AT&T monopolistic ways. The things that they are doing now is going to cause the government to have to come back in and start regulating again, just as happened in the past with them. Expensive plans, locked down phones, data caps, crappy customer service. Not very customer oriented, but very line-their-own-pockets oriented instead. I can't blame a company for wanting to make money, that's the purpose of a business, but when it increases what they charge and takes away services, then I don't want anything to do with them.
If the merger is eventially aproved (antitrust gov), then I'll just wait & see in about 12 months where we stand.
How does upgrading phones work when you're under a contract with Sprint?
Can you just buy your own phone and activate it?
erikikaz said:
How does upgrading phones work when you're under a contract with Sprint?
Can you just buy your own phone and activate it?
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However you get the phone, weather from Sprint, a private party or another reatailer, you will need to either call Sprint or go to a Sprint store to get the phone activated. If you call, you can't use the phone that your about to upgrade, you'll have to use another phone such as a land line or a friends phone. Sure it's not as convenient as just swapping your SIM card, but still pretty easy, phone call usually only take a few minutes anymore. They instruct you step by step what to enter on the new phone and, in my experience, it's usually working withing minutes. In the case of going to a Sprint store to have them activate it, it's usually working before I get to my car, which is only a minute walk at the store in my area.
I've had all kinds of problems with at%t/Cingular. I'm bailing and going to sprint. Not all the towers will be shared anyway & say goodbye to tethering w/o paying 14.99 and unlimited data plans.
Sure, as long as you dont upgrade or change your plan you will be ok, but it would only be a matter of time until you switch sometime.
I can only hope Google releases the next series of nexus on sprint also. I'd hate to give up my nexus
Sent from my Nexus One
Every news outlet has it wrong......
Read the press Releases people !
Why have all sites gotten the interpretation of the Press Release incorrect???
"T-Mobile USA continues to operate as an independent company."
"T-Mobile USA remains an independent company. The acquisition is expected to be completed in approximately 12 months."
In BOTH cases, the statements are PRESENT tense, not future tense. There is ZERO indication that TMobile WILL BE an independent entity after the acquisition has been completed. Has people's understanding of grammar become THAT incomplete and incorrect that EVERYONE in the news can't differentiate between a statement of PRESENT and one of FUTURE tense ?
Pay attention people. This is nothing but BAD for current TMobile customers.
I have no idea what to do. I was planning on selling my N1 to go the route of either the G2X or some other dual core phone, but now this changes everything.
There is no point in buying a TMO phone now if it'll be without provider support in a year. Even if there is scant support, the value of whatever phone I purchase will drop like a rock by the time the merger nears completion.
The value of phones drop 2 months after you buy them nowadays :/ (ok i'm exaggerating XD).
I only want to know if they will keep both companies type of GSM so I can still buy a phone in the US and use it when I travel to Europe at it's full potential.
Dude !! You stole my mind!
erikikaz said:
I have no idea what to do. I was planning on selling my N1 to go the route of either the G2X or some other dual core phone, but now this changes everything.
There is no point in buying a TMO phone now if it'll be without provider support in a year. Even if there is scant support, the value of whatever phone I purchase will drop like a rock by the time the merger nears completion.
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That is PRECISELY the decision process I was going through......I figured...ok...get the G2X and keep the N1 as a spare.......Now...why the F would I want it ? It's ridiculous.....
galaxys said:
If the merger is eventially aproved (antitrust gov), then I'll just wait & see in about 12 months where we stand.
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My thoughts as well. It will be sometime down the road if we see any changes if it even gets approved. So in the mean time let your contracts run out lol
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It's a shame that TMO is being bought out. I've had them for over 7 years and I've loved them. Great service, the best prices, and the best Android devices. I hate AT&T with a passion (I used to work for em so my hatred runs VERY deep). Their network is congested, slow, and under-developed. There is a real lack of Android devices, their prices suck, and there is no unlimited data. My wife and I are checking out Sprint and Verizon right now but Sprint is winning thus far. I'd rather get crappy service from a small company that has good devices with better plans and lower prices than get crappy service from either one of the 2 giants that I'd pay too much for and have a poor selection of phones.
DBBGBA said:
The value of phones drop 2 months after you buy them nowadays :/ (ok i'm exaggerating XD).
I only want to know if they will keep both companies type of GSM so I can still buy a phone in the US and use it when I travel to Europe at it's full potential.
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Nope, all current T-Mobile phones would not get 3G.
Ive had Vzw and at&t for at least 2 years each. Vzw had the best coverage then at&t (in my area) but call one of them and dispute a charge on your bill. Good luck.
I deployed to Iraq, sent at&t a letter stating that I was breaking my contract as per a congressional order. Not only did they not, they charged me for 2 lines which I was never signed up for. After I came back, I found I owed nearly 1500$ in late charges and it had been sent to collections. Call them up and after nearly 30 hours, numerous certified letters sent in and faxed, it took nearly 9 months for it to be removed. Call Tmo service, you get a English speaking representative every time. Screw at&t, and any one believing nothing will change, go ahead and sign up for 2 more years and find out the hard way
Sent from my Nexus One
Im in no rush to figure it out... but ultimately my company will decide. We arent too happy with Tmobile's support for us and might be swapping to Verizon, but that also depends on signal strength at our office (in the mountains). They pay for my phone, so I go along for the ride (although i buy my phones outright so that cost stings).
if tzones keeps working i am in. if not metro pcs
Been with Tmo since Voicstream and I will indeed miss Tmo's support in the coming years. I have ATT for DSL and for the most part is ok comparing it to Verizon Fios back in NY.
I for one will let ATT and Tmo do it's thing. ATT has its towers here as well as Tmo so I think I'll get decent coverage for now. Because of my wife's corp discount, we had to sign up for another 2yr contract about 3 months ago so we'll be grandfathered for a spell. If not, ATT better let us out of any ETF's if we do decide to go elsewhere.
But in the future, we may get a bigger corp discount with conjunction of bundling our dsl and wireless. We'll see.
It just really depends on what types of policies ATT will enforce on former T-Mobile customers and how quickly they switch things over postmerge. I have been a happy T-Mo customer for years and I was just thinking recently how much I enjoy the Nexus One and would probably not need to get a new phone for a long time. However, this clearly changes things.
I think it's highly likely that my grandfathered "perks" from being with T-Mo forever such as my $49.99 two-line family plan, $10/month @Home VOIP landline service, $10/phone web2go unlimited internet, and maybe even my 12% AAA discount will all disappear shortly after the merger is completed. Additionally, I don't tether much but I like having the option built into my N1, and ATT is going after "unauthorized" tethering on their network.
Another thing that concerns me is that I can see the "new" ATT offering some discounts to former T-Mo customers down the road when T-Mo's "old" 3G phones become useless as that spectrum is swiched over to LTE... however, I am sure that will not include N1 customers since we did not buy the phone through T-Mobile.
All in all it will have been a great ride with T-Mobile and I am sad to know that it will likely be ending. I am just going to have to see how things shake out. The increased coverage of ATT+T-Mobile would certainly be welcome, but I am concerned about pricing. I get a work discount through Sprint and they have pretty good coverage in my area - I've just never seriously considered them due to the great deal I've been getting through T-Mo. Sprint has also shown a very strong commitment to Android which I think is a positive. As the merger approaches I will definitely be re-evaluating my options.
Ok, so here's the deal. US subscribers are in a pickle as far as unlimited data plans are concerned with tethering. Our plans suck (comparatively).
Some of it has to do with wording of contracts by carriers. Some of it has to do with the entitlement we feel when we purchased our respective unlimited data plans. Either way, we all feel hurt by this. As consumers, we want it our way. We want our unlimited data plans to cover our 2GB months to our 200GB months. We don't want to be told about limits on plans labeled and sold as unlimited.
Here's where you come in. How would you change the terms of the agreement as an AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, or other carrier's customer if you were in charge? Keep in mind that you may have limited network resources, funds, or staff to carry out the extreme plans. You still need to generate income for your investors. What would you do to make your customers happy as well as the investors? Is it possible? Is there any sort of reform that is possible in our wireless industry?
Ban contracts all-together. The bundling of phones with network vastly distorts both markets; phones are no longer truly competing on price (e.g. apple's strong position with the iPhone allows them to dictate high carrier subsidies, whose costs must be paid off by effectively taxing everyone else on the network) while carriers are instead competing on phones (rather than the quality of their service).
On the other hand, without subsidies (which essentially hide the costs for the average person who doesn't think it through), manufacturers would have to actually worry about choosing a price low enough to be attractive. This is something that is sorely missing under the current regime.
Not to mention, contracts themselves are effectively anti-competitive, locking in users who don't really know how to properly evaluate their choices. The way to ensure the best service for the user is to allow them to quit at a moment's notice.
Now, I notice you might be thinking more specifically about how the service agreements can be modified, rather than the "contracts" per se. Do the above, and this woud automatically happen. The carriers will have to actually compete for better service (rather than just drawing in people with new shiny phones in order to lock them in). If their service is not up to par with their advertisements, people would just quit the next month. Hence, no more random throttling of plans, etc.
thebobp said:
Ban contracts all-together. The bundling of phones with network vastly distorts both markets; phones are no longer truly competing on price (e.g. apple's strong position with the iPhone allows them to dictate high carrier subsidies, whose costs must be paid off by effectively taxing everyone else on the network) while carriers are instead competing on phones (rather than the quality of their service).
On the other hand, without subsidies (which essentially hide the costs for the average person who doesn't think it through), manufacturers would have to actually worry about choosing a price low enough to be attractive. This is something that is sorely missing under the current regime.
Not to mention, contracts themselves are effectively anti-competitive, locking in users who don't really know how to properly evaluate their choices. The way to ensure the best service for the user is to allow them to quit at a moment's notice.
Now, I notice you might be thinking more specifically about how the service agreements can be modified, rather than the "contracts" per se. Do the above, and this woud automatically happen. The carriers will actually have to compete for better service, rather than just ensure that people are locked in longer than they can think about. If their service is not up to par with their advertisements, people would quit the next month. No more throttling plans with nothing the users can say about it.
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I understand your position, but I have doubts that this would be possible to implement in our market. T-Mobile's CMO made a statement about device subsidies contorting what the devices actually cost. T-Mobile actually has a line of Value plans that are kind of on par with what you're thinking about. The rate plans are considerably cheaper than the ones with a device subsidy. The real problem is convincing the other carriers to follow suit.
See, by doing this, it put investors at risk. It's all a money making game. If an idea isn't profitable, then it generally never sees the light of day. What about a sales model similar to what T-Mobile is offering? Could you see a way to make this model profitable to both carriers and consumers alike?
I think it should be handled like the european networks handle their service agreements. You sign up for service when you buy a phone, and you pay full retail price for the phone. Then you pay a relatively lower price for service. Instead of paying say, 59.99 for a phone that retails for 399.99 and then paying 100$ give or take a little each month, you pay full price for the phone, and then get your bill for 50ish a month. Which one sounds better?
Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk
leo321 said:
I think it should be handled like the european networks handle their service agreements. You sign up for service when you buy a phone, and you pay full retail price for the phone. Then you pay a relatively lower price for service. Instead of paying say, 59.99 for a phone that retails for 399.99 and then paying 100$ give or take a little each month, you pay full price for the phone, and then get your bill for 50ish a month. Which one sounds better?
Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk
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I agree that this would benefit us more as consumers, but we would need to come up with a marketable solution to the current situation that would be agreeable to the carriers as well.
cajunflavoredbob said:
If an idea isn't profitable, then it generally never sees the light of day.
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This.
Blaming carrier greed is easy but really doesn't solve anything. Carriers want to make more money and contracts make them more money - I can't fault them for that.
I don't see the US market becoming like Europe's. Although T-Mobile USA is trying to change things, I can think of two things in the way:
-Americans are too stupid to save money~~ Everyone thinks short term savings, hence the persistence of contracts.
-Carrier incompatibility~~ Verizon and Sprint are CDMA. T-Mobile and AT&T run on (mostly) different 3G bands. Buy a phone for full retail and you're probably going to be stuck with one carrier anyway.
luftrofl said:
This.
Blaming carrier greed is easy but really doesn't solve anything. Carriers want to make more money and contracts make them more money - I can't fault them for that.
I don't see the US market becoming like Europe's. Although T-Mobile USA is trying to change things, I can think of two things in the way:
-Americans are too stupid to save money~~ Everyone thinks short term savings, hence the persistence of contracts.
-Carrier incompatibility~~ Verizon and Sprint are CDMA. T-Mobile and AT&T run on (mostly) different 3G bands. Buy a phone for full retail and you're probably going to be stuck with one carrier anyway.
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The incompatibility is changing this year, at least with AT&T and T-Mobile. T-Mobile is currently refarming their spectrum to rollout a network on the 1900MHz PCS spectrum. This will be used for their HSPA/+ network, while the existing 1700MHz network will be used for LTE. This move makes their network inter-operable with AT&T devices.
Other than that, I agree with your points. I don't feel that T-Mobile is going to make contracts as we know them go away. I admire the bold move, but I doubt it will ripple the waters much. That being said, I'm hoping we can come together and brainstorm a bit to think of a way to benefit carriers and customers alike. Our market NEEDS to change.
Pentaband unlocked handsets for everybody! Then you can choose whatever retarded WCDMA bands you like!
A list of things I would do:
1) Bring back the unlimited data plans, but only for LTE. (bandwith limits 3g unlimited plans)
2) Have them start rolling out LTE v10 or LTE advaned right now.
3) Voice over LTE.
4) Unlimited voice and text added to a data plan like this:
Plan1) Unlimited voice and text+2gb of data for $
plan2) Unlimited voice and text+5gb of data for $$
plan3) Unlimited voice and text+10GB of data for $$$
plan4) Unlimited voice and text+Unlimited data for $$$$ (LTE only)
They are just ex and I hope the pricing is better than that, but I am trying to be real here.
And verizon needs to fix this:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDxJoGv3FLA&feature=player_embedded
4ktvs said:
A list of things I would do:
1) Bring back the unlimited data plans, but only for LTE. (bandwith limits 3g unlimited plans)
2) Have them start rolling out LTE v10 or LTE advaned right now.
3) Voice over LTE.
4) Unlimited voice and text added to a data plan like this:
Plan1) Unlimited voice and text+2gb of data for $
plan2) Unlimited voice and text+5gb of data for $$
plan3) Unlimited voice and text+10GB of data for $$$
plan4) Unlimited voice and text+Unlimited data for $$$$ (LTE only)
They are just ex and I hope the pricing is better than that, but I am trying to be real here.
And verizon needs to fix this:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDxJoGv3FLA&feature=player_embedded
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This isn't really a plan. It's more of a wish list. I was hoping that some of the people around here might actually have better ideas of how to do things than the carriers. This isn't a wish list thread. I intended it more as a brainstorming thread.
Well, before anything I want to happen will even be possible, we'd have to see real net neutrality laws in this country...
I would like to see wireless carriers charge for internet access the same way that most ISPs charge. You pay for speed and have unlimited data. Say I have an LTE device. I can pay $50 for unlimited data at 10 Mbps or $100 for 20 Mbps. This makes much more sense to me.
Also, carriers need to be dump pipes. That's just how it has to be. I know they all fear that and will do everything in their power to stop it but I think it's inevitable.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
cajunflavoredbob said:
This isn't really a plan. It's more of a wish list. I was hoping that some of the people around here might actually have better ideas of how to do things than the carriers. This isn't a wish list thread. I intended it more as a brainstorming thread.
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#2 was more of a wish, but the rest of it is not. Let me try to put it in a better way:
1) give 4G LTE users a higher cap/unlimited data, becuase there is more bandwith. They could charge a bit more for the new Data plans, but over all save $ for the buyers. In turn, this would likely help the push for LTE and kill 2g and 3g sooner, so that the bandwith can be used for 4G.
2) Voice over LTE( 3 will be why)
3) When Voice over LTE is done, then make voice/text/data all one plan, Like:
1) 2GB for $60. ( Voice and text would use data)
2) 5GB for $80.
3) 10GB for $100.
4) 20GB/unlimited for $120.
Any way I am not a CEO and I don't have the # for everything, so this "plan" of mine may not work/be good, but I tryed.
I have both AT&T and verizon unlimited data plans and don't like the low bar they have set of 2-5gb plans, but really most don't use more than about 5GB. Now I bet they would if they used a crap load of voice at 50mb per 60 min. ( If you used 900min per bill then you would use about 750mb or about bit less 1/2 of the 2GB plan and then a few e-mails, some text and bam over the limit.)
Mobile voice is surely not 50Mb for 60 minutes. That'd be close to 128kbps MP3 quality, which our phones certainly are not!
I read that on verizon, that voice would be about 45mb per hour. I don't know all the #, but think it may work. They may up the voice quality to make this work and I think it's one of there goals with voice over LTE.
4ktvs said:
#2 was more of a wish, but the rest of it is not. Let me try to put it in a better way:
1) give 4G LTE users a higher cap/unlimited data, becuase there is more bandwith. They could charge a bit more for the new Data plans, but over all save $ for the buyers. In turn, this would likely help the push for LTE and kill 2g and 3g sooner, so that the bandwith can be used for 4G.
2) Voice over LTE( 3 will be why)
3) When Voice over LTE is done, then make voice/text/data all one plan, Like:
1) 2GB for $60. ( Voice and text would use data)
2) 5GB for $80.
3) 10GB for $100.
4) 20GB/unlimited for $120.
Any way I am not a CEO and I don't have the # for everything, so this "plan" of mine may not work/be good, but I tryed.
I have both AT&T and verizon unlimited data plans and don't like the low bar they have set of 2-5gb plans, but really most don't use more than about 5GB. Now I bet they would if they used a crap load of voice at 50mb per 60 min. ( If you used 900min per bill then you would use about 750mb or about bit less 1/2 of the 2GB plan and then a few e-mails, some text and bam over the limit.)
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That's actually a much better way of saying it. It's not a bad idea. Going all data would seem to be the way to go for the future. That problem is going to be getting carriers to realize this and make adjustments accordingly. They keep saying that they don't have enough bandwidth to service everyone, but this plan makes exclusive use of data. It requires a nationwide "4G" footprint. Verizon is the closest to this right now. T-Mobile is close behind with its HSPA+ rollout. AT&T has a large HSPA+ footprint as well, but it's not any/much faster than their 3G in my testing. We won't even go into Sprint's "4G" services....
I think that Verizon and T-Mobile would be the biggest players in this. T-Mobile currently has the bandwidth and lower customer base to make this a reality. Verizon may still have quite a way to go, though. CDMA technology really needs to hurry up and die already.
In any case, this is any interesting plan, that would indeed be beneficial to both parties. The biggest hurdle is that their are still large parts of the country that do not have high speed wireless access. Within the next three years, I can see this being put into play.
EDIT: Also, GSM networks use the G.729 codec (as far as I recall) for voice calls which compress the call to roughly 6-8Kbps. This makes it about 3.6MB per hour on a normal, non VoIP GSM call. I have no idea what CDMA uses.
4ktvs said:
They are just ex and I hope the pricing is better than that, but I am trying to be real here.
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... you're not trying hard enough
Seriously though, that list is unrealistic. "I want more advanced tech and I want it released and working now." is not a useful answer for "How would you change the wireless market?"
As for me, I want American cell networks to be more compatible with other networks - right now AT&T and T-Mobile are the only carriers with anything close to this. Maybe there's hope for this with LTE developments, but I don't know.
If this happens, maybe cheaper postpaid plans will be available - I really like this - it's why I'm on T-Mobile. I wish AT&T would have discounted plans if you're not on contract - it's not like they need to subsidize a phone.
luftrofl said:
... you're not trying hard enough
Seriously though, that list is unrealistic. "I want more advanced tech and I want it released and working now." is not a useful answer for "How would you change the wireless market?"
As for me, I want American cell networks to be more compatible with other networks - right now AT&T and T-Mobile are the only carriers with anything close to this. Maybe there's hope for this with LTE developments, but I don't know.
If this happens, maybe cheaper postpaid plans will be available - I really like this - it's why I'm on T-Mobile. I wish AT&T would have discounted plans if you're not on contract - it's not like they need to subsidize a phone.
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You're answer is similar to the one you jest about. How would such a move benefit the carriers? If it is not beneficial to them, it will not happen. What would be their motivation to make their networks or devices interoperable? Customer loyalty, or doing it to make customers happy isn't a reason, unfortunately. Generally, there needs to be financial motivation to make changes to the market.
cajunflavoredbob said:
EDIT: Also, GSM networks use the G.729 codec (as far as I recall) for voice calls which compress the call to roughly 6-8Kbps. This makes it about 3.6MB per hour on a normal, non VoIP GSM call. I have no idea what CDMA uses.
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Thank you, I couldn't remember the exact bitrate but I knew it was really very low.
Adaptive Multi-Rate Speech (AMR) is the codec used by WCDMA voice and it tops out at 12kbps.
Now I know were I got 45mb/hour. I read it in the mobile broadband part of a verizon mag.
It list Voice call(VoIP) as 45MB/hour over 4G LTE.