TMobile and Sprint Merge

[UCFWayne]

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/t-mobile-agrees-acquire-sprint-161607630--finance.html

i love tmobile, i hope they dont suffer because of sprint tries to drag them down.

looking forward to their streaming tv platform later this year and then maybe the start of their 5g roll out.

 

[Poolside Knight]

I switched to TMobile around a year and a half ago & love it. I remember browsing opinions and there was the usual fear mongering from AT&T and Verizon customers that seem content to just pay an extra $30 a month for the same thing.

Their customer service and other perks are top notch. They are also much more convenient and cheaper when traveling international.

 

[NinjaKnight]

I had Tmobile for 4 years in Orlando and it was alright, switched to Verizon and I really love it, hands down better coverage everywhere. If I were to switch again I'd go to Fi because the international plan is just amazing, I hate having to buy a new SIM card every few months for whatever country I'm in.

 

[Bob the Citronaut]

I switched to TMobile around a year and a half ago & love it. I remember browsing opinions and there was the usual fear mongering from AT&T and Verizon customers that seem content to just pay an extra $30 a month for the same thing.

Their customer service and other perks are top notch. They are also much more convenient and cheaper when traveling international.

I have AT&T with three lines and it's the same price as TMobile. We pay $45 a line.

 

[chemmie]

...and then there were 3.

No wonder we spend more on wireless in America than the rest of the world.

 

[UCFWayne]

...and then there were 3.

No wonder we spend more on wireless in America than the rest of the world.

same with internet

 

[bqknight]

I have AT&T with three lines and it's the same price as TMobile. We pay $45 a line.

I have AT&T in Orlando. I'm on a family plan or I wouldn't. It's HORRIBLE here. Phones completely do not work at Florida Mall or the whole Millenia area.

 

[fabknight]

I have AT&T in Orlando. I'm on a family plan or I wouldn't. It's HORRIBLE here. Phones completely do not work at Florida Mall or the whole Millenia area.

AT&T is about the only provider that works consistently where I live.

 

[Poolside Knight]

I have AT&T with three lines and it's the same price as TMobile. We pay $45 a line.

think TMobile pricing goes $80-$40(2)-$25(4) for unlimited everything for North America + free data & texting to just about every other country worth visiting.

I've never had an issue with them, think most of the bad reviews are from 5-10 years ago and they have improved a lot since then

 

[Bob the Citronaut]

think TMobile pricing goes $80-$40(2)-$25(4) for unlimited everything for North America + free data & texting to just about every other country worth visiting.

I've never had an issue with them, think most of the bad reviews are from 5-10 years ago and they have improved a lot since then

$47 per line for three and $40 per for four according to their website, so AT&T is actually cheaper for three lines. I wouldn't have a problem switching to TMobile or Verizon if their prices were considerably cheaper, they just aren't. Sprint is a no go for me.

 

[UCFKnightfan08]

I know everyone craps on Sprint but I've had it for awhile now and don't have any complaints.

 

[UCFBS]

T-mobile, with or without Sprint, has spent $10B on frequency acquisitions this past decade -- more than all other combined (probably 2x over)! They even bought part of Verizon's 700MHz band before Verizon found out T-mobile had outbid Verizon for another part of a 700MHz band from the US FCC (coup).

T-mobile's LTE Band 12 (700MHz) is what got them rural access.
And now T-mobile's new LTE Band 71 (600MHz) is what will totally cause them to dominate.

In 2017, T-mobile overtook Verizon on overall LTE performance.
By 2019-2020, T-mobile will overtake Verizon on overall LTE coverage.

• http://www.spectrumgateway.com/t-mobile-700a-spectrum (current B12 tower coverage -- rollout in final phase/closure)
• http://maps.spectrumgateway.com/t-mobile-600-mhz-band-71-deployment.html (current B71 tower coverage -- rollout in only first phase)
  
• http://www.spectrumgateway.com/600-mhz-spectrum (B71 spectrum 'ownership')
• https://www.phonescoop.com/articles/article.php?a=18991 (B17 spectrum 'ownership')

Here's a video of how the 600MHz completes their coverage in 2019-2020.


Now understand that 600MHz and 700MHz are longer wavelength (more reach) but lesser frequency (reduced throughput). In the cities, 1700, 1900 and 2100MHz on Band 2 and 4, as well as AT&T's extended Band 66, are going to be faster LTE.

But even 600-700MHz LTE smacks legacy 3G and even HSPA+ (sometimes marketed as "4G") in reliability and coverage, which means Verizon's lead is really falling behind. There's a reason Verizon started heavy marketing once they lost the "mean LTE throughput" to T-mobile in 2017.

I've had T-mobile since 2005. This was after the 2004 AT&T-Cingular debacle that bricked my $500 phone and $3,000 plan (they finally heeded to drop me from 24 month contract to 12 month contract), and after the 2002 Verizon contract I had reneged on their promise of free nights (not just weekends).

By 2008, I found T-mobile faster in New York City than AT&T and Verizon.
By 2013, I found newer T-mobile HSPA+ (21-42Mbps) faster in most cities than AT&T and Verizon.

T-mobile's coverage was an issue in the Florida Panhandle and portions of Alabama before LTE Band 12 (700MHz). But now with both Band 12, and newer 71 (600MHz), if you have a phone that does both, you're looking at the best, high-speed coverage in the country.

Unlocked, but US retail/warrantied (I never buy gray market or use most distributors that outsource, because of Chinese spyware concerns) Band 71 (600MHz) phones will be hitting later this year. For now, only the Samsung S9 and LG V30+ are really options in a new, unlocked, US retail/warrantied purchase.

 

[UCFBS]

I know everyone craps on Sprint but I've had it for awhile now and don't have any complaints.

Depends on where you live. It's great for the mid-Atlantic, especially Virginia and DC. But T-mobile overtook their coverage almost 5 years ago, and became #3 for a reason.

Right now AT&T leads overall GSM 2-4G coverage, and Verizon overall in CDMA+LTE, but T-mobile is #2 in LTE coverage and #1 in LTE performance.

One way T-mobile is 'cheated' is by re-using 3G radios as with 4G LTE Band 2/4 CU/DUs. That's why some people lost 3G, especially non-HSPA+ (but also some HSPA+ too), and dropped down to 2G Edge, if they didn't have a 4G LTE Band 2/4 phone available circa 2013-2015.

By 2020, T-mobile will have the outright lead, but you'll need a phone capable of both LTE Band 12 (700MHz) + LTE Band 71 (600MHz). Virtually all phones late 2016+ (first phones in 2015) have the former, but the latter are just becoming available in 2018 (first phones in 2017).

I'm waiting on a good, low-cost, US Retail B71 phone to upgrade.

For now, I still have a B2/4/5/7/12/17 -- basically all AT&T and T-mobile bands, plus US Cellar and Canadian bands -- of 700MHz and 1700-2100MHz, not including AT&T B66 (which is an augmentation of B2/4).

 

[Poolside Knight]

@UCFBS is on Team TMobile, bringing the Facts.

 

[UCFBS]

@UCFBS is on Team TMobile, bringing the Facts.

Traveling 100% some 12 out of 15 years from 2002-2016 tends to cause me to care about coverage.

I had Verizon 2001-2005
AT&T-Cingular 2004-2005
T-mobile 2005-present

T-mobile has always let me roam on AT&T and others for voice for free.
Data is another matter, and usually capped at a measly 100-250MiB/month, at least in legacy years.

T-mobile was great when I was in NYC, Baltimore, DC, etc... It was bad in remote areas like

Spoiler

(redacted) and (redacted) which I cannot talk about. The funny thing is that the Chinese and Russians, like anyone with financial access, can look it up via my financial credit reports, and since they have a copy c/o (redacted) thanx to (redacted)'s subcontractor that had no security, and can find out more.

Nowdays, with B12, it's great in most of those places.

Now T-mobile has more LTE coverage than AT&T, although when you add 2G Edge, 3G and HSPA+, AT&T has an argument. But it's often a very slow argument. Same with Verizon, which still relies on legacy CDMA -- which was faster than all but HSPA+ -- but still, a lot of legacy coverage.

Which is why T-mobile finally overtook Verizon on median speed per subscriber, thanx to their LTE.